thanks for all of the posts on here yall and i dont think that the compounds wil be extinct for te reason that the crossbows make it to easy of course people said that about the compund when it first came out and i am the nex generation and i am definitly not switching to crossbows

Bows have become faster ( judging distance became less crucial). Bows are being made quieter ( more enjoyable to shoot but deer will still hear it). But did the bows become more shootable? I say no. I have owned several brands of bows, two cams, single cams, hybrid cams, magnesium riser, aluminum riser, long ATA, short ATA, and I can't say that any of them shot any better than the others. I believe the biggest improvement in my shooting came from learning proper form. Bow companies add new gadgets to increase speed or reduce decibals so they have something new each year, if they didn't change anything we would all just keep what we have.
I have an older bow that sounds like a rifle going off, but it groups arrows just as well as my newer quiet bow. So I really can't see compounds being banned just because they are a little faster and alot quieter. I think most of the advancement in archery has been in us shooters being taught proper form and techniqueby way of magazines, videos, and forums like this one. I hate to see the bows get all the credit. I think we need a little too.

Bottom line is dollars, I agree, however WHAT is being marketed and why is it being boughts ? All to make archery EASIER. Name one product marketed in the past 5 years that make compounds HARDER to shoot, that would decrease your chances of tagging. Name one.

Then if its been legal in a state for 30 years there would be no compounders there, right ?

Wrong. Arkansas is the state that has had it legalized for decades, and yet still no flooded woods of cross bow shotoers.

Why ?

What ? You love NOT ebing able to shoot as far ? You love NOT being able to shoot as flat or as fast ? You love NOT having that kind of KE ? You love NOT having letoff, a mechanical release ?

Why ? Thats counter to everything that is human nature, isn't it ? We live in a society where everything is basically disposable. Human life revolves around how we can make it easier, quicker, better and without the fuss from microwaves and tv dinners to TIVO to the electric razor.

And you're trying to tell me that you intentionally handicapping yourself in the woods with your equipment greatly INCREASES what you get out of archery ?

Its not the mose obvious thing that technology has increased, no. However, almost anyone can pick up a compound and be shooting it well enough to hunt with within a day or two. Isn't that amazing in itsself ?

What if there was a new law saying no sights, no mechnical releases and no rests. How accurate would your compound be then ?

Anyone can learn to shoot well enough to hunt in a day or so? I don't agree...Learning the (physical) rules of archery, and remembering to apply them are two different things. Like when you hear a golfer lament that he "forgot to keepmy head down" and flubbed a shot. When you miss a shot on a deer it's because you made a mistake, and only lots of practice cures that!
That said, I tend to agree that crossbows won't ever take the place of compounds. Although, if the day ever comes that I can't draw a bow, I'll shoot a crossbow before a rifle. I like having to get "up close and personal" with deer. In my opinion, the shot should be the easiest part of the hunt...that's what makes it exciting!

How long do you think a person should shoot before being able to hunt ? Legally they can hunt same day. Ethically ? A bowhunter needs to be able to put the arrow in the kill zone of an animal consistantly, right ? Even though there is no law mandating it, there is an ethical code to do so.

If you can learn to do it in a few minutes, or if it takes you months to do so, does it matter ?

Fact is, I've seen it time and again where a guy picks up my compound and is able to within minutes shoot good groups. That is all that is required, to bowhunt, isn't it ?

Compounds make it easier and easier to shoot well. They are designed to do so from the highly visible sights to the release, to the mechnical heads to the drop away rests - all designed to do one thing, make shooting the arrow into the intended target EASIER.

I was around when compounds came out and I saw how quickly recurves went bye-bye.It was almost another 20 years before 'traditional' archery started making a solid comeback, much of that driven by people who were sick of the so-called 'advances' in compound technology.Now traditional is growing rapidly - and there may be morerecurve and longbow shootersnow thanever before -but still makes up only about 5% of all bowhunters. Not extinct but very smallcompared to the compoundjuggernaut.

You say you'd never switch to a crossbow. At the time, I said I'd never switch to a compound. Some 10 years later, I succumbed to pressure,picked up a compound to shoot tournaments and spent another 20 years doing that. I never hunted more than 4-5 times with a compound though. Today,I find myself wishingI'd ever soiled my hands with one.

Even if the compound doesn't go totally extinct, you have to consider that much of the research and development that is going towards compounds now will have to be focused on crossbows when the day comes. Instead of seeing hot new bows and new features every year, it'll be maybe a new wrinkle every 3-5 years. It'll be the crossbows that get the full treatment because that is where the hot end of the market will be.

I was talking to a guy at a shoot this past weekend who was telling me about his brother-in-law. The guy had never picked up a bow before. Last season, he bought a compound with all the gadgets, was shown the basics and was shooting 3" groups at 20 yards by that evening. He went and bagged a doe the next day.

Doesn't seem to be an isolated incident either.

Dang I never thought that someone could do it that fast, next day, but then with 80% let off, and a fairly strong person could do it. Guess that makes me down a little cause I try to shoot every chance i get almost everyday before season! Does that mean it is to easy?[&:]

Too easy? I guess that's relative to what you want from bowhunting. Is it just the meat and horns? Or do you want the challenge? If it's the challenge you want, how much challenge? Are you satisfied with the end results or do you feel like something is missing? That tells you whether it's too easy or not.

Personally, I like the challenge. I like the challenge of making my own traditional and primitive bows and thentaking those bowhunting.There is noother style of huntingthat gives me more satisfaction than making meat with a bow and arrows I made with my own hands.

Just as a side note... I often wonder when I see guys griping that they missed their deer becauseof their crappyrest, or couldn't see their sights or their release broke... Would they give full credit to their rest and sights and release when they DO get a deer? If the equipment has to take the blame, then I think it should get the credit!

Well, I like the challenge of making my own arrows, of watching the arrow score on a 3D target, to watch them hit the circle I am aiming for, to feel the pull of the bow, to hear the silence as the arrows speeds to the target. To climb a stand when it is cold or drizzling, to wait for a deer to come in close to your stand, to feel your heart pounding out of your chest to not be aware of anything around you except the deer that is close enough to shoot! That is why I do it, and do it as much as you can, the self-satisfaction and challenge.

And you are right Arthur P, we complain about the bow or the accessories but how much do we really credit them for success. I will say, that by process of elimination I have what i think is a good bow sight and a good rest, I have seen my scores improve as well as accuracy which is both the rest and the sight as much as it is the practice to put the arrow where you want it at one point of time when you only have one chance! [8D]

The exact reasons compounds should be allowed in general archery season - just another weapons to improve shooting for that one shot.

Right ?






Compound shooters will have you believe that it takes months and years of constant practice to be accurate. Its just not true.