racingdl19

i don't think it'll be a problem.my dad's right arm is messed up and he can barely shoot about 3-4 practice shots with his compound til it gets to the point he can't get it back to full draw.he bought a crossbow a year or 2 ago to use in the muzzleloader season and he only uses it then.for some reason he won't go get the thing that says he's disabled so he can use it but in his situation i'd see a good reason why they should let people use them.personally i wouldn't and i know what everyone says about it being easier but in cases like his it might actually draw some more of the older guys back into archery that can't pull their bows back anymore.and you can buy scopes for compounds so i don't see what the big deal is there.he's got the parker terminator i think and he's shot it about 40 yds. max practicing.a compound can shoot just as fast as they can.and it'd be alot easier to get a second shot with a compound then a crossbow i'd think.the laws got it's plusses and minuses.it may attract some more guys and girls back into archery that stopped before but it'll make it somewhat easier for some people.you still have to pick out your shot and are limited to a certain distance thats about the same a compound can shoot.i've seen guys shoot deer with a bow out to 50 yds. with a compound.it won't ruin archery season at all.

907Alaska

Great comparison

GR8atta2d

Yeah there were 3 guys hunting with trad gear at the time and it doubled to 6 when compounds came out



Oh it willmake a huge differenece of hunters in the woods, at least till the novelty wears off.The bow shop, I shoot at, can't keep crossbows in stock. they are back-orderd and sold before they hit the shelves. I myself have sold everyone I can find at a good price and flip it for double. Cross-Bows are coming, and there is no stopping them now!!

After the initial rush everything will even out, we've had cross-bows in Ohio for decades.

PABuck_HNTR

This thread is a perfect example of divide and conquer. Why is it that we as hunters must bash the various methods of hunting? We are our own worst enemies. We really need to stand together and not fight amongst ourselves just because we don't like crossbows or guns or whatever. There are plenty of deer for everyone.

LittleChief

Thank you! I couldn't agree more.

LittleChief

Or until most of them learn that crossbows are really more of a P.I.T.A to use than a compound. I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it - the ONLY advantage of using a crossbow, even with a scope,is not having to draw. After shoulder surgery in October 2007, I bought a Ten Point Pro Slider with a scope so that I could hunt, so my opinion is based on experience. I'm much more accurate with my Drenalin, both at short yardage and long range than I could ever have been with the crossbow, even resting it on a bench. Crossbows are heavy and awkward. IF you miss, there is NO chance of a follow-up shot since they soundsimliar toa small caliber rifle going off. Even if they were quiet on the shot, it takes a lot of time and movement to re-cock and load another bolt.

It's my belief that most people who oppose crossbows being allowed during archery season aren't really against the crossbows - what they don't want is all of theadditional huntersin the woods during a time that they view as their own: Archery Season. Personally, I think it's a good thing to get more people involved in hunting in any way possible. We're going to need those numbers in our ranks in the not too distant future.

YooperMike

Well said Chief. If a crossbow allows someone to be in the woods, or even spurs them on to get into the woods for the first time, great! For whatever reason, people equate crossbows to slob hunters all the time, not sure why that is. Effective range is no different than with a compound, nor is the necessary accuracy to kill something. You guys think everyone in the woods with a compound practices every night?? Come on, when season gets close, you should see some of the bull**** bows and setups that come in to the archery shop I go to and the shooting displays that take place. From Sept 15 to opening day, 90% of the guys in there haven't even seen their bow since last season, at least with a crossbow accuracy comes a lot faster. Maybe, just maybe, some of these guys who don't like to practice with their compounds will pick up a crossbow and become more deadly instead of the increased wounding risk with an out of tune compound and no practice before the season.

Windwalker7

I think the point is.....PA is the biggest slob hunting state of this country. They are everywhere. Ask anyone that hunts PA. The stories never end.

Yes, crossbows will get more people into the woods. That, in itself, is a double edged sword. It may introduce newbys to this great sport but it will add many more slob hunters.

Many of these new crossbow hunters will lack an understanding of what is involved in getting a deer with a bow. Many won't take the time that is needed. Just grab the crossbow and head to the woods.

Crossbows make it easy because the can be used by anyone. This includes lazy hunters. The kind of guys that will wound a deer and give up looking after a few minutes, guys that aren't that dedicated to archery hunting and who were rifle hunters all their lives.

Many that don't understand the kind of dedication that archery hunting requires, will be taking to the woods this fall. They don't understand blood trailing or even the importance of properbody angle with archery gear.

I know many, many rifle hunters that have been hunting for decades, yet they are totally clueless about how different it is hunting with a bow. I've seen first hand how bad they are at blood trailing and how ignorant they are about the body positioning a deer must have before you shoot.

PA is the slob capital of the country. It is bad here and that is a big reason for me being against crossbows. It will just introduce more idiots to the fall woods.

If some sort of testing were required, I'd be all for it. But as it stands, anyone with the money for a crossbow will be out there flinging arrows this fall.

OHbowhntr

+1 Doug, where has he been!!! It's been a hot topic for a while, even made a couple magazines.

Here's the real issue. The crossbows in many cases are ballistically inferior to a well tuned compound bow, and though they require very little practice (I have a friend who shot mine a total of 4 times last fall, the fourth shot being a kill of his first ever archery season deer), they have their limits as well. They are LOUD, much louder than the average compound bow, the bolts they shoot do not have a very dynamic spine so they do not flight through the air as effortlessly as as arrows shot from a compound, and inherently, guys are going to be tricked into taking longer shots than they should with them and whiffing because many may think they have a gun when really what they have is a bow for handi-capped people.

Don't get me wrong, I have two of them, and I used them last year to get 6 different people into the woods, all of whom were proficient at 25yds in less than 30 minutes time each, and I think they are a GREAT introductory weapon, but it will not be the END of hunting in PA. Now if the PA Dept. of Wildlife has a good management plan, the crossbows themselves may be another useful tool in getting the population to it's optimal level as well. OH broke 70,000 archery kills last year, about 43-44k crossbows and 36-37k vert-bows. In many cases the crossbows can be used as a weapon to get someone into "real archery," as I did with my nephew who hopefully will be toting a BT Tomkat to the woods this fall, rather than a Barnett Quad 400 Crossbow.

bigtim6656

i understand it sucks when you sitting there one year by your self and the next bubba and billybob come in drinkin and smoken with there crossbows. But this might help get more people into the sport of hunting.