Arthur P - please tell me what your choice of bows are.

It's a tough call, and certainly there are lots of opinions.

I think a lot of it is grumble by hunters who don't want more hunters in the field. You'd be amazed how many people I hear complain about the youth only gun season we have that is like a week or two before the major gun season. Why? because kids get a chance at big bucks before the regular guys......sad really youth is the future of this sport, best to give them good experiences. You have guys so bent on getting a big buck they practically force their kid into the youth season. The archers complain that the gun season is during the rut and the gun hunters complain the archery season opens 2-3 weeks before the gun season. Then the gun hunters complain they have to enter a lottery for a specific area for their deer tag where the bow hunters can hunt anywhere for any type of deer. The bow hunters argue rifle hutning is too easy, and the gun hunters argue how hard is it to shoot a deer under a bait site. If hunters argued less and worked together more we'd have a lot less worry about our hunting rights.

I've shot a friends crossbow a little and they most certainly take practice, anyone that thinks they are like shooting a rifle has never tried one before. I'm more accurate with my compound bow than I was with that crossbow, at any yardage. It would take me a good amount of practice to get anywhere near as good with one.

No one would be forced to use a crossbow but it would be a nice option for youth who may not be capable of drawing and accurately shooting a 40lb bow or more depending on state regulations.

New technology has always been fought, before compounds were allowed the traditional archers were up in arms about letting those in the bow seasons, then it was range finders, lighted pins are still illegal many places, everytime the let off % goes up people are up in arms about that.

I mean maybe bow season needs to go back to traditional only, no release, no cams, no sights, frankly I feel sorry for the deer then because I've seen most of those traditional shooters shoot, a very small percent of them are very good, some even amazing, but most of them can't hit a whole deer at 20 yards reliably, much less the vitals.

Muzzleloading is getting to be as much of a joke, these days you can buy a muzzleloader that will shoot 4" groups at 500 yards at close to 3000 fps.....mise well put them in with the normal gun season.

Maybe that's not a bad idea.......put all the seasons together, You have a 6-12 week season whatever your state decides is good, and during that season any legal weapon is allowable. If you want to use a crossbow, muzzleloader, gun, traditional bow, handgun, etc. so be it.

I believe as someone else said if a person is going to hunt unprepared and unethically, they will do it with any weapon, if they are not going to practice to ensure they make a good clean kill, it won't matter what weapon they have.

Please disregard this previous statement. I must retract it based on your last self-righteous rambling.
If you are the guy promoting Bow shooting, I see why your club numbers are dropping.

Geez who are you for???

Where have you ever heard me say I'm against the use of crossbows by the handicapped, slugman? You haven't, because I've never once said any such thing. Being handicapped myself, I'm fully in favor of crossbows keeping people with legitimate handicaps in the woods. Period. I'm firmly against able bodied people using a crossbow during bow season though.

In fact, my left shoulder has permanently crapped out on me though and, rather than go get a doctor's permit to use a crossbow during bow season, I've started shooting left handed instead.

CMPT, which day are you asking about? Recurve, longbow, selfbow, barebow compound, sighted compound with release... EVEN THE CROSSBOW I'VE BEEN KNOWN TO HUNT WITH IN TEXAS' GENERAL SEASON. Right now, since I don't have anything but right handed bows and I don't have a buttload of money to go rig up with the same selection of lefthanded bows, I'm shooting primitive. Selfbows are free, except the time they take to make.

Believe me, my scores at a 3D shoot right now would flat suck, but I'm perfectly capable of taking a dime off your nose at 10 yards with an arrow from my left handed selfbow. Might get a good bit of your nose in the process, but I'd get the dime.

Badatta2d, so my ramblings are only though provoking when they're something you don't mind thinking about? LOL

Well put. It seems to me, and maybe I am wrong, that the crossbow attracts some of the same crowd that buys a gun the first day of the season and rushes out to the woods with the tags still on. Again, this is obviously a generalization and I am sure most crossbow shooters are quite responsible, but when you own a small parcel of land (23 acres) in a heavily hunted area as I do, complete with its fair share of poachers, I simply don't want any more projectiles flying onto my property than possbile. Is that selfish? Yes, but then I am selfish when it comes to my safety and health. I don't bowhunt during gun season as it is because of safety reasons, even though it is my own land!

Todd, that would definitely put a quick end to this crossbow nonsense. As I've said several times, crossbows are legal here in general season. However, I've never once in the 15 years or so since crossbows were legalized seen anyone besides me hunting with one. When the crossbow guys can legally use them, seems they prefer their guns instead. That tells me how unimportant the issue truly is to them. They don't want to hunt with them bad enough to use them in a season where they're legal, but they get on these forums and act like their lives are incomplete if they can't hunt in bow season.

Now your sterotyping , which is exaclty what ppl like PETA do , all hunters are bad, so they say. I loved hunting with my bow
(recurve & compound ) and have had that taken away from me. So if am in least bit able to do some "form" of bowhunting , why
would you deny that to me because you think cross bows shouldnt be used as hunting. Instead of looking down on me why dont you be happy that I am able to contiue participating in a sport I love ?

And to top it all off , looks like you have used one as well. Hope your recurve buddy's dont find out.

from Dkeener

You will never be able to keep some idiots from owning weapons ...the 2nd amendment applies to everyone. Just dont lump the irresponsible hunters in because of the method used to take game. I've seen plenty of idiots with bows , rifles , shotguns & crossbows. Idiots are Idiots and it is what it is.

slugman, you accuse ME of stereotyping, then you turn right around and do it yourself. Just like the guys who holler that anyone opposed to crossbows in bow season is being selfish while trying to disguise their own selfish motivations for trying to get time in! Somehow stereotyping is a bad thing to do for anyone opposed to crossbows and perfectly fine for crossbow proponents??

Fact is, I've never made any secret about the fact I've owned, shot and hunted with crossbows. I've even had my crossbow out to the range and my 'recurve buddies' and I have played with it. Last year I helped one of our club members, who had injured his shoulder and couldn't shoot his regular bow, get a crossbow tuned up so he could go hunting in Arkansas.

Honestly, I had weakened in my opposition to crossbows at one time, until I found there was a sizeable faction within the crossbow community that was doing their damnedest to get traditional equipment outlawed. Seems they think getting rid of traditional bowhunters would pave the way for them to get their slimeball selves into bow season. You accuse ME of PETA tactics? What about those guys? They're on the same road as PETA and goosestepping right alongside them. After that, I'm more opposed to allowing crossbows for the able bodied during bow season than ever before.

I wouldn't p!ss on a xbow

No doubt slugman, but which of these idiots are more dangerous? Hard to misfire or accidently discharge a trad. bow or compound and hit another hunter compared to these other weapons. Some idiots are simply more dangerous to others because of their hunting method of choice.