I dont use a rest when i shoot my crossbow, and i (in my situation) tend to move a bit more with my compound then i do with my crossbow. However, with a deer behind me i would stand and move to face that direction no matter what bow i am using that day. I was just curious to see how many hunters who slam a crossbow actually have hunted with one and to see they could compare movements between the two bows. When i shoulder my xbow, its not on a rest, i hold it there until the deer gives me a shot. Now grant it, holding a compund bow at full draw, and shouldering a xbow is a bit different.....but the same in alot of instances.

The outdoors is yours, treat it with RESPECT!!!

"Now grant it, holding a compund bow at full draw, and shouldering a xbow is a bit different.....but the same in alot of instances."

Would you expand on that statement a little and describe how holding a compound at full draw and shouldering a crossbow is the same?

I would be glad to.....depending on the "let-off" of some bows, holding a xbow and compound are virtually the same in this regard, you still have to keep still, level and on target. I USE BOTH so i speak from my own experience only here. My xbow wieghs 17lbs if that gives you a better idea. Now with a lesser let off the odds favor the xbow at "hold on target" but as the let off increases the ease of both becomes equal.

I have a question about your numbers of xbow kills versus bow kills in Ohio. To my knowledge or experience i have never been asked when checking in my deer if i used a xbow or a compound, and i have taken deer in every season with one or the other. Where did those stats come from? Maybe they only "poll" a few hunters at a few check stations? Just curious thats all.

The outdoors is yours, treat it with RESPECT!!!

Edited by - buckforme on 01/29/2002 13:57:14

I am glad i dont live in Texas, only 29 days to bowhunt.... God i would go crazy.....and 3 months to gun hunt??? Man, no wonder your success rate is so high......If they would shorten the gun season and increase the bow season would you be over run with the deep population?

BClark -

341 BC
Earliest reliable record of crossbow use at battle of Ma-Ling in China.

228 BC
Earliest crossbow artifact, a bronze lock mechanism from the tomb of Yu Wang.

0-100 AD
Heron of Alexandria describes gastraphetes.

300-700
Roman carvings of crossbows.

385
Vegetius mentions crossbows in DE RE MILITARIA.

1066
Crossbows introduced to England by Normans.

1096
Anna Comnena describes Norman crossbows.

1100-1200
Composite crossbow lath appears.

1139
2nd Lateran Council interdict forbids use of crossbow among Christians.

1192
Crusader victory at Jaffa aided by crossbows.

1314
Earliest reliable record of steel lath.

1346
Genoese crossbowmen defeated at Crecy by English longbowmen.

1373
Earliest illustration of cranequin.

1503
First of many English laws restricting possession and use of crossbows.

1550-1600
Firearms replace crossbows in most Western armies.

1860
Photographic evidence from Chinese shows repeating crossbows still used there as military weapons.

1939-45
"Arrowspeed" crossbow used by Australian commandos in Pacific Theatre.

1945-1975
Crossbows employed by Montagnard peoples and US special forces during Vietnam conflict.

1960?-present
Crossbows used to shoot anesthetic darts for capturing and treating wildlife; also used to obtain tissue samples from marine animals for obtaining genetic information

Just a little history on the crossbow. They are traditional archery equipment much more so than a compound. Explain your statement then ... Cougar hasn't replied, has he ?

Arthur P - well thought out post

buckforme - use a rest for God's sake - you'll be MUCH more accurate. Yes, I have shot both, I aint ignorant on the matter. Holding on a crossbow is zero, holding on a 60 pound Q2XL is about 12 pounds, holding on a longbow/recurve is 100%.

LOL..... I am very accurate with both bows, i practice lots of hours with both but dont like the rests, get in my way too much. How can you say a hold of a xbow is zero....that is unless its on a rest....then i would agree with you.

The outdoors is yours, treat it with RESPECT!!!

Good Lord!!! 17 pounds??!? You haul that thing around in a trailer or what? <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Mine weighs about 7 pounds with scope and quiver full of bolts.

I don't disagree with you on the high letoff compounds. In fact, that's the main reason Pope and Young won't budge on their 65% minimum. They knew the crossbow proponents would someday make that argument. However, getting TO full draw with a deer in front of you is still a bit more difficult than simply shouldering a crossbow.

The Ohio kill numbers came off the ODNR website. It's your game department, not mine. You would have a better idea of how they come up with their data than I would. But, I have to admit to a little ignorance on my part how my state comes up with it's numbers.

As to whether our deer population would overrun everything if they shortened our gun season, the answer is yes. Texas has about 4 million whitetail deer and, with just under 600,000 hunters, we NEED that 75% success rate. But, as I said earlier, you can hunt with whatever you want to hunt with in the gun season, aside from some public lands that restrict you to shotgun, muzzleloader, bow or crossbow.

I wish I could give you hard data on Texas bow season, but several years ago TPWD started selling licenses with all stamps and permits needed for nearly all hunting and fishing in the state. So, someone that only goes fishing for redfish or hunting for whitewing dove and needs those permits but doesn't have any interest in turkey hunting or bowhunting, he will buy the combined license with the turkey and archery permits. It's cheaper than just getting the hunting/fishing license with only the permits he needs. So, we really don't know how many are bowhunting. We don't have check-in stations either, so they can't do any on site surveys.

That's why I don't know how my state gets it's data. I can tell you that bowhunters don't like it for that very reason. We don't know how many of us there are. We can't go to the commission and say there are 'X' number of people they are going to mess up by pulling one of their little schemes to get guns into bow season. We had a devil of a time last winter when TPWD proposed a youth only gun season to be held each and every weekend of bow season. We managed to hold it to only the last weekend, but still, our season was encroached upon.

In fact, we think the license program is a prelude to incorporating the bow season into the general season. If, or when, that happens, the argument against crossbows in this state will be a moot point. And there won't be any more crossbow hunters here than there are right now.




Edited by - Arthur P on 01/29/2002 15:44:09

Yep, use a winch to bring it up to my stand. Dam thing wieghs as much as my summit bushmaster... Its an older xbow made my huntsman advantage, full stock, heavy limbs, etc...dont have a scope use the rear peep sight with one pin. i have to admit it is one heavy SOB! So my perception of &quot;holding&quot; is centered around my own experience.

I looked at the ODNR site and saw the numbers (scratching my head) i am amazed. I have never in 20 years of bow hunting been asked what type of bow i used. Must be a spot poll from year to year and i just have missed it! <img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

The outdoors is yours, treat it with RESPECT!!!

Buck4...I thought the same thing about the x-bow vs longbow numbers. We were in a similar discussion earlier this year, and I couldn't remember being asked. However, I was asked this year, and the CO that checked my deer said that everybody should be asked.

I'm like you though...I can't remember being asked in the past.

So Stealthycat, you are saying that because xbows are dated much earlier in history than compounds, that crossbows should be legal based on that???? Makes no sense at all. Using that sort of logic, then guns should not be allowed for hunting.