stealthycat

That got your attention ? I have seen time and again posts on how crossbows were so easy to use that they shouldn't be allowed in archery season. I have debated this over and over again and compared the compound to the crossbows to longbows and recurves. I have often wondered just how easy compounds are to someone who has never used one ?

Anyway, a coworker had a High Country Excalibur bow given to him. I took it home and spent about an hour tuning it. The tuning was NOT rocket science. I used a bow square to level the arrrow and the on the side to side I looked down the string and eyeballed it. Its a 65# bow, the arrows are 2314 and I think 30" long, a simple TM hunter rest and an old one pin Toxonics sight. Nothing fancy. It doens't shoot paper real well because A - its a two cam and I think they're off a bit, B - the rest hasn't got precise adjustments and C - I didn't really tune the arrows just used what came with the bow. However, with field points and mechanicals fletched with 5" vanes it shoots a hard straight arrow pretty good.


Anyway, just came in from shooting. He had never shot a bow before, although he does have a crossbow he uses. I showed him the basics, he strapped on the old Winn release and proceeded to shoot. Distance was 20 yards and he was shooting outdoors into a 3' x 3' target with a 4" square piece of survey tape to aim at. He shot 4 arrows, the first about 2" left and the other three inside that 4" square. Because he hasn't shot compounds before, he really whacked his holding arm good - I mean the blue, puffy knots on his forearm whacking !! He declined to shoot anymore until he got an armgaurd but was very impressed with how "easy" shooting the compound was.

I have no doubts that he could go out this evening and kill any deer that walks within 20 yards +/- of him.

Hows that for easy ? Can a crossbow be ANY easier ? In fact, I don't think crossbows are, he doesn't for sure and he shoots one ! I suspect I converted a crossbow shooter, but the underlying theme remains ..... is shooting a crossbow an advantage ? Why seperate them from archery season without also seperating compounds ??

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Edited by - stealthycat on 11/26/2002 16:01:31

Bill(WI)

Hello:

Well for starters, A compound bow requires once you see the deer, get the bow, draw it back, and then shoot. The crossbow is ready to fire with the pull of a trigger, aim and shoot. You can mount quality optics on that crossbow, and it shoots a lot farther and faster than that compound. You will never hear of anyone having to hold a crossbow back for several minutes until they are presented with a good shot on a deer.

Just my humble opinion.

Bill(Wi)

jcrayford2001

JMHO, but a cross-bow can be loaded, ready and waiting for the shot. Any self drawn bow (compound, recurve, long) has to be drawn just slightly before the release. This in itself gives the advantage of fair chase to the deer BECAUSE of the extra movement of drawing the bow. It's because of the lack of this movement that I think cross-bows give the unfair advantage to the hunter, and that they (cross-bows) should remain part of the "motionless" gun/rifle season.

How many times over the years have bowhunters been busted just by the act of drawing the bow? A hunter using a cross-bow only has to be concerned about the aiming part of the shot (as far as being busted for movement).

Whoops! sorry Bill - posting at the same time.

Again, it's just my humble opinion...

Jim.

Edited by - jcrayford2001 on 11/21/2002 14:54:05

stealthycat

Good points, let me address them

#1 - " You can mount quality optics on that crossbow, and it shoots a lot farther and faster than that compound "

Thats not true. A compound will perform better at longer ranges. Faster ? I don't think thats true either, and if it were we also know that faster doesn't mean more accurate, it means less accurate.

A crossbow isn't drawn. That much is true. But lets comapare the high letoffs of compounds to longbows/recurves ? Also compare that there no way to prepare for shooting a deer like you can with a compound. No drawing when the deer is coming in and waiting, no drawing when the deer is behind a tree and holding. Also, can we compare the speeds and distances of the compound to recurves and longbows like we have to crossbows and compounds ? See my point ?

#2 - " How many times over the years have bowhunters been busted just by the act of drawing the bow? A hunter using a cross-bow only has to be concerned about the aiming part of the shot (as far as being busted for movement)."

Jim - Good point. However again compare the times a recurve/longbow shooter gets busted as opposed to compounds that draw before the animal gets close or is fully in the open ?

Equal comparisons will show that a compound is easier to use vs a recurve/longbow than a crossbow is to a compound. Am I wrong ?
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MATTHEWS

I will agree with the fact that compounds are harder to draw on deer. But I will say that I will shoot as good or outperform any crossbow on the market. I shot against many crossbows at target shoots and have shot as good and almost always better than a crossbow shooter.

Bill(WI)

Stealthy, after reviewing what you said, I was off in saying they are that much faster or shoot farther, you would be correct. And I also agree that I can usually shoot better than most with a crossbow, but the advantage of the letoff over the crossbow being cocked back still I don't feel is that close. The Bow does take more work with being quiet with the draw and holding it back no matter the letoff. The crossbow is just a pull of a trigger.

Good topic

Bill(WI)

mez

I believe whatever you are comfortable and confident with go ahead and shoot. FYI, in Wyoming crossbows are legal weapons during archery season.

Sitter

Stealthycat;

Good post. I am going to leave this alone<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>. Some advice though. If your freind is hitting his forearm, he has form problems. He should not need an armguard for a compound bow. If he gets out in the field shooting at deer with a bulky jacket on with that form he could have some serious accuracy problems. I know its not the point of the story, but thought I'd nip it in the bud.

Shaky

i've heard of guys being able to shoot trad. bows while lying on the ground and i'm pretty sure you could do that easily with a crossbow, since these weapons can be shot from virtually every posistion possible, i say that they should be banned and only compounds left in archery season - do not some extremely experienced hunters that have used both equip. consider trad equip. a superior hunting weapon?? doesn't it seem that plenty of people may hit paper great but compounds still account for thousands of misses a year - maybe they only appear to be easy.

i'm just joking around really. but in all honesty i consider the fact of drawing in the presence of game and other calamities associated with compound, longbow, and recurve users that aren't associated(or so i assume) with crossbows to be a much heavier weighted difference. i don't care all that much if they allow crossbows either and i think your arguements are very valid and sound. i just see it a little diff. but i haven't had the chance to shoot any branches<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> - i mean shoot traditional or crossbows so i could be off on some of my assumptions.

i think more fair would be requiring compound hunters to hunt from the ground - would that even up compounds and trad. some??

if i was any good at hunting i'd be shooting trad. too, don't take my advantage away from steathlycat, i'll starve<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

basserman

I've heard this before. My father is a disabled hunter. In WI that is the ONLY hunters that can use the crossbow. I see the issue about &quot;holding&quot; a draw and depending on the circumstanses that can be true. Disabled hunters (i.e. 1 arm or hand) have a significant amount of problem holding their xbow as long as a conditioned compound shooter.

I have heard so many arguements pro and con actually comparing the different bows available to different long range cartridges being an advantage that I don't really care anymore.I for one like to see disabled hunters being able to hunt and get sick of people using &quot;fair chase&quot; as an arguement. I heard the same thing when compounds evolved.