To datamax and all the rest of the crossbow zealots it's pretty simple. It doesn't matter if a crossbow is a gun or not. Nothing matters but one, it's not a bow and arrow. It's not a legal weapon.

You are promoting the use of a weapon during a season it is not legal. Quit crying and read the rules. If you don't like them, go where you do and dry your tears.

One is a bow and arrow. One is not a bow and arrow.

Jack Ryan - unlike you, I like discussin the WHY's of how things are. Not only is this a crossbow discussion, its also on one level a discussion on just how far archery equipment has come - and where it will and when technology will get to the point that its not archery anymore.

Remember, someone bucked the rules bigtime to get your compound allowed. Someone promoted the use of the compound when it wasn't legal. It wasn't a bow until they made it legal - do you wish they'd have never fought for your compounds ?

Well put Jack! Let them have their own season, just like Gun, Muzzleloader and Archery! I don't see it as archery one bit!

How about their own Forum as well??? JMO

Longbow hunters should not tell recurve hunters they should not be in the woods. Recurve hunters should not tell compound hunters who shoot with fingers they should not be in the woods. Compound hunters who shoot with their fingers should not tell release hunters they should not be in the woods. Hunters who shoot compounds with 65 % let-offs should not tell compound hunters who shoot compounds with 85% they should not be in the woods. And none of us need to mouth off about some guy using a crossbow in the woods.

Hell yes ! We'll lop off 3/4 of the archery season for real bows (recurves and longbows) since compound have such huge difference, and 1/8 of the current archery season we'll give to compounds and 1/8 to crossbows.

Lets petetion and try to change it, shall we ? I mean, compounds and crossbows bring in HUGE numbers of archers and they kill the vast ammount of deer - makes only good sense to rope most of the current archery season off for MY CHOICE of bow, doesn't it ?

Trad hunters have a forum, compounds have a forum ........... trad hunters should have their own season, compounds should have their own ......... yeah, I see what you mean !

I knew you would

Longbow, Recurve and Compound = Handbow. A crossbow is not. Why do you insist a crossbow season during archery season? Why not during gun season? A crossbow is shot like a gun, is it not.

Well, no, they are no where NEAR the same kind of bows. Held in hand ? Well, yeah, I guess, but there the similarities end at best

Is not what ? A bow ? Why hell it is, look up what a bow IS. Hand held ? Yessir, it IS hand held. Its got a different mechanics to how it works - but hey, a compound does to vs recurve/longbows.

Because crossbows not allowed in archery season except for handicap people makes no sense. Its a rule that most states have ...... for no valid reasons. Read the past 40 pages and its quite clear

I think ANY harder weapon should be allowed in general rifle season. If rifle season is open, shoot your compound, your recurve, your muzzleloader .......... so it already IS allowed in rifle season, isn't it ?


OMG ............ is that the best you can do ? Its HELD like a rifle, other than that its got 2 limbs, a string, the energy is released into the arrow that it propels .......... and its been around for centuries as a bow too.

Compounds have sights, triggered release .......... why aren't they rifles ??

Where the hell do you get your info!!! What did you do , go shoot a $200 crossbow and base your opinion of their effectiveness on that?
I had the opportunity to shoot a 10pt crossbow. From what I was told then it's the top of the line. I could very easily sit and shoot at spots the size of quarters at 40yds and stack the bolts in there ALL day long. Dont know what type of kinetic energy it produced or what speed it was shooting but I do know that a 40yd hunting shot with that particular crossbow was a givin! And from what I could tell 50yds would also be effective.

Thanks for the lesson! Go back and look at the differences between the two (compounds/recurves vs crossbows) when concerning hunting situations. Thats what we're talking about here!

Right now? We cant use them in any season unless disabled. I would love to see a seperate crossbow season and/or allow them during gun season. Then the "youngster" could hunt with a crossbow.


If we're going to take statistics into account lets eliminate AR from the equation. I dont know about GA or OH but AR has had legal crossbow use in general archery season since the 70's? Wasn't the 70's the booming age of the compound? So realistically speaking , most of the archers in AR (todays archers) knew no other way. So it's pretty hard to put AR into the equation of what might happen today in states where a crossbow was never allowed during bow season and the impact it might have if suddenly allowed.
That leaves two states out of fifty to base our success/failure info on. Guess I want more substantiated proof.

Still curious.

Bowfanatic,

Above are two of my last posts, please tell me if I am wrong (and how) in my thinking vs yours in how to categorize a crossbow as a weapon. The reason why I am so adamant about it's catagory is this will tell us what season to put it in.

Again just to sum up I feel you should look at ALL of the aspects of the weapon and not just a few in order to label it a firearm or a bow.

What do you think?