The traditions of bow hunting Bruce has nothing to do with shooting a Traditional bow, you miss understood dude! The Traditions of bow hunting is just that bow hunting, picking up a compound, recurve, longbow, self bow, etc something that you actually have to pull back. When has xbows been part of the tradition of bow hunting in the USA? Bruce I've been involved with Archery/Bow hunting for all of my life (33 years) and the actual tradition of bow hunting is on its way out the window if someone doesn't soon put the brakes on some where. Compounds have probably gone further then anyone of us figured they would of and if it wasn't for the P&Y club they would be allot farther along and who knows where bow hunting would be today. The xbows if let in everywhere would be going just as crazy with technology as the compound and where would they stop? Before you know it arrows are going to be put in rifle barrels and launching them. Don't laugh, I'm sure its in the works. I said before I'm all about helping the old and disabled out, I have no problem with them picking up a xbow and hunting with it. Another thing too, if the crossbow is allowed, put it in with the gun season. Pretty similar weapons. For the folks who have just got into bow hunting I'm sure you could care less being you haven't been involved in the change of bow hunting. Bruce, how many years you been bow hunting?

They both have a trigger and scope. Don't have to pull either one back either. Hunting with a pistol now that there's a challenge and allot of fun from what I've heard!

Its called a Harpoon(spl)...Used for Whale hunting.......

My apologies.. that wasnt directed towards you. It may have looked that way but that was directed to the hardcore hunters who cant stand the thought of hunting with a crossbow. You've stayed pretty straight forward thorught this debate stating that you used to hunt with a crossbow and its just not for you anymore. Truth be told, I hope to say the same thing in a couple years. I am going to purchase my first compound within the next year and hope to become an exclusive compound hunter. I'll still hunt with my crossbow from time to time just cause they offer unique challenges and are just plain fun to hunt with.

With follow through, I'm going to stick with my theory just based on personal experience. When shooting with a rest (not a solid, sand bag rest.. just a table top) I have had tighter groups and more consistency following through. Just my experience and opinion.

I understand what you're sayin'. Its like I stated before, I'm 18 and completely healthy and have no problem drawing a bow back. I just picked up crossbows a couple years ago to get my feet wet into archery hunting and extend my season a bit. This year I'll purchase my frist compound and hope to become efficient with it and sometime down the road I hope to be able to hunt with a trad. bow (hopefully with the same success as you my friend). Crossbows can be used for many different reasons from women to young kids to disabled. To me it got me into bowhunting and now I want to move onto to further challenges down the road.


No. But until you have hunted with a crossbow it would be difficult to understand the challenges that it does in fact present. With that being said I have missed my fair share of deer with a crossbow. Its like I said before.. there is a learning curve that comes with hunting with a crossbow. Contrary to belief you dont just pick it up and go hunting.

a crossbow is a bit easier overall than a compound, neither compare to a bow though

I've got a Q2 and might use it this fall - but I recognize one is really bowhunting, the other is a high tech weapon that is allowed in bow season



LOL that is bull and you knew it when you typed it

35 years in Arkansas now isn't it ? WAYYYYYYYY before a compound is what they are now. before mechanical heads, fiber sights, drop away rests and yes, ebfore mechanical releases and >65% letoff was allowed !


prove that

we have fewer bowhunters now ? game populations going downhill ? less bag limits ? fewer days to hunt ?

gawd ........ compounds did for archery what crossbows are now doing - getting more people involved in archery season, plain and simple and you as a compound shooter want your easy (the compounds) but you don't want others to have THEIR easy -


finally a decent sentence - they'll stop when game animals decline, seasons are cut back and limits are decreased. unless you want to preserve the tradition of what primitive weapons are ? And we can compare my longbow to your decked out compounds and the latest crossbow and discuss that to if you'd like

Good post Rock!! I respect what you have to say more then you think. Good luck down the road when you pick up your 1st compound.

Have you fell off your rocker Duane? I shoot a damn recurve, not a compound!!! Nothing surprises me anymore coming from you!!!!!!!!!!

I think cross bows are all right. In wis disabled folks and people 65 or older can hunt with one. We all hunt for different reasonsand have different abilities. Cross bows are a good fit for a lot of people. Respect for our fellow hunters is the important issue. We all should have the right to choose the weapon that we enjoy or have to use. We should respect those choices.

I own twenty some odd recurves, three compounds and eight crossbows. I hunt will all three of the forms of archery. I have to say that the only true bow is the recurves and the long bows. You guys who are argue against crossbows know very little of them in a hunting situation. On one can hold a crossbow steadier than a compound. You compound shooters have it easier than the traditional or crossbow hunter. My last deer was stalked to within 15 yds with a wide, heavy crossbow. I also took does with my Gamemaster recurve and my Vulcan. All were difficult but the easiest and the longest shot was with the Vulcan. Using a drop away rest, illuminated sights, a well tuned bow, light arrows, silenced equipment, arrows going over 300 ft/sec, judge release off a loop and a let off that feels like I am holding 20 pounds some how just isn't difficult compared to stalking with a crossbow or hunting with traditional bows. Traditional bows are the only true pure archery, everything else is an offshoot of that. But we are all archers bow hunting. Reading some of the truly ignorant posts(ignorant as in not knowing, not meant as an isult) I have to think some here don't hunt or shoot at all. Some here may even be real anti's stirring up the pot. I cannot imagine that the negative comments come from knowledgeable archers. No way!

I wouldn't disagree with that. It is more difficult to hunt with a traditional bow than a compound. Otherwise,why would anyone buy a compound?

Too many people living in grey areas these days. A crossbow is a step up from a compound. Sure, some of us love weapons of all sorts, nothing wrong with crossbows. It's a better weapon.It'd be tough for somebodywith a compoundto outshoot somebody at 30 yards with a crossbow in a tree withit beingrested. The whole idea of opening up crossbows for everybody during archery is to get more people involved in hunting. That's a good thing. Many of whom would never get involved in "archery" otherwise, because of the real or perceived difficulty of it. Is their such a thing as bad crossbow form? I think not.

So you're saying you can hold a crossbow steadier than a compound, but it easier to hunt with a compound? I'm confused?