JLmoore1956

The Mind: guess I never thought of it in those terms. I would say that i have seen parkers bows, and they arent too shabby themselves, cheaper but not bad.

And I didnt join the New York State Bowhunters because of crossbows. You are right with the speeds increasing and being easier, crossbows is just another way to enjoy hunting. If it was legal in NY I would use it. But alas, in Ohio my home state I can. Just think of the sales in stores or the hunting revenue that could be gained.

And I will tell you a secret, back in 1975 they wanted to Outlaw compounds....... now we are seeking to increase speed. Perhaps some of todays compound shooters would have to shoot recurve or long bow if they had outlawed them. Wonder what they would think of that, wouldn't nearly be as many I am sure because it would require little more time practice, and not as easy...... so they probably wouldn't. But yet some condemn a perfectly lethal way to hunt, because it has a trigger..... oops releases have a trigger, maybe we should outlaw the use of compounds, or compounds using releases and go back to the finger method!

The Mind

JLmoore1956 correct. At one time, there was no "traditional" archery. There was archery, and this new thing that people were trying to call a bow that was designed to make archery hunting easier to do.

Hmmmmmmmm, thats exactly the same argument that we find ourselves in today in most states, except archery as we know it now is compromised of mostly compound shooters, and the new bow is a crossbow. Sure, we can talk about all the subtle differences etc, but bottom line, everything that manufacturers do is geared towards one thing - making shooting the bow easier and increasing the chances of you killing a deer.

Now, on the surface thats a good thing, but eventually there will have to be lines drawn in the sand and hard one. I don't know how that can happen with everything thats now considered legal.

But I do know this, once a person decides to make archery hunting harder, to step back into what archery is suppose to be, they develope a whole new mindset on what archery is, and what it isn't, whats important about the hunt and what is not.

JLmoore1956

The Mind, the bottom line is dollars! If the manufactuers make it eaiser and easier, then it increases the numbers, then cha ching! the cash register rings open!

Arthur P

I'd say give it another 10-15 years and the compound will be practically extinct.Folks will switch over en masse to the crossbow once it's gotten legalized in most states. It'll be exactly what happened to recurves and longbows once the compound got legalized.

JLmoore1956

Arthur, you are right, once it becomes available most might cross over, except us die hards. I don't mind them using, not sure I ever will though I could in home state of Ohio. Yes, compound bows extinct, guess I will save the old ones for antiques! [8D]

YooperMike

Maybe it's because I'm still sorta young (24) but I guess I don't see the extinction of the compound bow in the future, nor the massive switchover to crossbows. Granted, I wasn't around for the creation of the compound, but I think there are just too many people right now that are into shooting archery, especially with the compound bow, for it to die. When I go to the pro shop, I don't see many long bows, but what I do see are a ton of people that are shooting their compound bows with good accuracy, but striving to get more accurate. 5 spot is still the benchmark for accuracy and no matter how good an archer is, there is always room for improvement. I think that the challenge of archery with compounds/recurves will keep the crossbow from overtaking in popularity. I hope at least...

JLmoore1956

yep Yooper you are right, might last longer, but it is the generation behind you that will determine. From what I have seen, and it is not all, want the easy way. So if they can use the crossbow, slip into woods, shoot deer and then be back to get on the computer then maybe it will gain popularity. Guess it ain't gonna happen over night, but I am sure there will be a big increase with the crossbow.

stoneman

I guess I'm not an "archer", because if I couldn't hunt deer with a bow, I wouldn't shoot one at all, ever. I LOVE chasing whitetail deer. My bow is just a tool I use to do that. I screwed up my should this year, and used a crossbow, and it was neat being able to sit in my stand all comfy knowing I didn't have to stand up and draw if a biggun' came through. But on the negative side, this thing was HEAVY, and bulky, and a friggin' PAIN when walking through the woods..it's just cumbersome. I don't think compounds will die out. Guys who are good with them, will continue using them. The crossbow will just bring more people to hunting. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that...selfishly, I want the woods for just ME. lol One other thing I want to mention. I've seen quite a few guys start out with crossbows, and after a year or two, go to the compound. I've yet to meet someone who started with compound and went to crossbow, unless they injured themselves and could shoot compound. (I'm just talking about the small group of people I meet duringa season, I'm sure it goes both ways all the time). I don't think there's an end in sight for how much performance can be enhanced on bows, or anything else. Look at human beings. How long ago was it that it was said to be IMPOSSIBLE for a man to run a sub 4:00 mile? Once it was broken by one man, it became common for top milers...now every so often, the world record is beaten...Will the 3:00 mile be broken in 100 years? LOL Love to see it done man. (darn, I rambled like a 5 year old on Snicker's and Mt. Dew...sorry)

slobbyrobby33

Ya know, back in the late 1980's I said the same thing and all the proshop guys in my area said that we wer maxed out on technology.

So what happened: We really didn't ( we did get a few faster bows) get fasterr bows, just better bows. I knew guys blowing up bows back then shooting 310-15 ft per sec. Today we are shooting bows 310 to 350 with full length arrows. Back then people were shooting up in the 300 FPS range and the bow sounded like a .22 LR going off, now we are shooting in the 300 fps and hardly making any noise at all.

With the direction technology is going, I agree one day comppounds will no longer be accepted a primitive weapons.

Double Creek

After only 1 year of going trad, I completely agree with that.... It definitely changes your outlook on hunting......... I love it!!