That' s probably one reason the guy that wrote that article was so snippy. He' s a crotchety ol' fart.... like me.

By the way, Doug! Just in honor of you, I dragged out my crossbow, nocked the cobwebs off of it and shot a few bolts this afternoon. General season starts here next week and I might even take it to the woods. In it' s proper season, don' t ya know.

It reminds me of what some modern day compound shooters are saying about crossbows.[]

I read once that Howard Hill shot a swan at more than a hundred yards.

Here in Oregon there are now some area' s and seasons that are traditional only.

That being said I myself shoot both and I enjoy them both equally well. But the technology aspect does concern me some.

I grew up shooting a bow to the point that pheasants didnt escape me much. Then you could hunt both seasons, we always started out hunting the archery season and if you didnt get your deer then the tag was valid for the rifle season. Soon things changed and we had to choose one or the other, figureing it was easier to put meat on the table with a rifle, the bows turned into just a hobby.

The last ten years i have been hunting strictly with a bow, until this year I drew an antelope rifle tag, I pulled one of the rifles from the gun safe sighted it in and had a sucessful antelope hunt, or so i thought.

This being my first attempt at an antelope i put in for the rifle tag hoping to insure sucess, and i did shoot an antelope (a beautiful 14 1/2 inch buck that had close to an inch of ivory on each horn) but thats exactly what i did was shoot him i dont feel as though i truley hunted an antelope.

We as hunters have our own set of ethics and our own limitations. I dont begrudge anyone who wishes to hunt in their own way its just not for me.

The main reason I went back to bow hunting is to get closer to the animals, Firearms manufactures are constantly harping on how effective their weapons can be at greater and greater distances, That to me takes away from the hunting experience. With the technology in bows today I see them heading in the same direction.

We all choose how to hunt in a way that we get the most from the experience and since i shoot both i guess that i can sway one way or the other.

Arthur P, your right it was removed from the site, then they put it back up. I found it the day I posted it.

I honestly told you why I posted it. You don' t think it turned any tables I disagree, ain' t America great.

People have got to get over this OUR SEASON mentality. I hunt in muzzleloader as well as firearms season with my bow. The " Other" guy does NOT effect my success or failure. I make my plans and see how I do. If I fail it' s me. Hell, make it one big hunting season for all I care.

Theres absolutelly some truth to that article. Of course the examples were to the extreme, but the vast ammount of bowhutners are compound shooters who want the easier, fastest, most accurate bows they can get that are as trouble free as they can be and are the easiest to shoot.

Take away the technology - the solo cams, the machined risers, the mechnical heads, the drop away rests, the fiber pins, the releases ..... and you' d see a big drop in bowhunter numbers. Why ?

Too damn hard and they' d not do it, thats why.

Trad only season ? Why not ? Compounders LOVE to have crossbows put in their own season, how about do the same to compounds for the very same reasons ?? (ease of use) ???

I guess I can see your point when looking at it in that perspective! I still think we all need to work with each other instead of fighting amongst each other. I' m all for whatever it takes to get more people into bowhunting.


Good luck to ya!

I too believe there is a lot of truth to that newletter article. I grew up hunting with a recurve and took quite a few animals with it, including elk. I am far more pround of each one of those then I am with any that I' ve taken with a compound. Compounds make it easier, much easier. Anyone who doesn' t think so, hasn' t hunted much with traditional equipment. I am becoming more disillusioned by today' s equipment. The challenges that I use to have, are much less with my equipment now. If advances in technology keep pace at their current rate, It won' t be much more difficult then using a shotgun (without a scope) within a few years.

I am not one who wants to see modern equipment banned, but I must admit, I wish the progression towards easier-to-shoot equipment would slow. All I seem to hear is, " how fast is it?" , " how high is the let-off?" , " I can get 2" groups at 50 yards, but I' d like to get those groups smaller" , " I can put 70 lbs as easily as I could pull 30 with a longbow" , etc.. So few seem to be looking for a greater challenge. Most are looking to make it even easier.

If it gets so every other bowhunter is successful, they are sure to shorten the season. More and more people are bowhunting each year. Eventually, harvests will have to be reduced, especially if efficiency keeps going up. It use to be, a hunter who didn' t practice a lot, probably wouldn' t even hit a deer outside of 20 yards. Today, with one day of practice, they' re shooting 6" groups and thinking they can shoot 40 and 50 yards (not many taking the 100 yards shots, but lots in the 40-50 yards range, from beginners). Bottom line, many more deer are being killed in archery season. I really wouldn' t like to see bow season shortened, but I fear that it' s inevitable at today' s pace of technology.

Yep. Sure wouldn' t take long to find out who are the REAL bowhunters if they did that. Wonder how many bow companies would survive that first year.