BuddyBo

SwampDog, let me see now, Why do I use a crossbow when I could use a rifle? We, when I started hunting, you could only shoot atlered bucks and there was only two days of doe days near the end of the season. You had to buy a primative tag to hunt with a recurve bow or black powder rifle.
Compound bows had notcome out yet. Black powder rifles were mostly rifle kits you built yourself and it fired using a #11 percussion cap. Slowly things improvedand bows and black powder rifles started getting a lot more modern. More bells and whisles. I bought all the bells and whisles I could afford and still do! The crossbow is just another whisle for me and I like it very much. It's a lot easier to shoot deer with than a recurve for me. My black powder rifle uses 209 shot shell primers and has a 3-9 rifle scope with flip up lens covers on it. Bells! My Browning A Bolt 7mm Mag. is really something else and thetower box stand is a fully equipted home away from home. Soooo, Anything will kill a deer, even a thrown rock in the right place. It's the age of advancement for those of us that like today's little bells and whisles so toot, toot and tweet, tweet!
BBO

excalibur43

I use one occasionally if the situation calls for it. Sometimes, if I have seena big mature buck moving through only in thick areas with lots of cover and no trees, I will set up on the ground in that area with my crossbow. It doesn't bother me at all to use a crossbow, even though most of my deer hunting is donewith my compound. There are times, when hunting for big bucks, that a crossbow is my weapon of choice, it just depends on the terrain and the situation. My objective is to get a big buck on the ground, Period!

EnglishHope

The reason I use a crossbow is because I can. Where I live, modern gun season is over. Crossbow and bow season is still in.The reason I use a crossbow instead of a bow, I don't really have a spot to bow hunt. I would just sit on the ground. (Kind of hard with a recurve though.)

XCaddis

A great question...my answer is simple...

1) In Ontario a crossbow counts as part of the archery season so I get to hunt additional time during the archery season
2) Additional tags are available in many areas during the archery hunt
3) I dont have a whole pile of time to practice with a traditional bow to add to the many other hobbies I have. An excaliber crossbow is so accurate, it is like shooting a rifle...yes, you need to practice your shots at different ranges, but nowhere near the time people dedicate to becoming good archers with traditional bows.

907Alaska

I have 2reasons I use my crossbow, one...it's legal, and 2...I want to, as others have said shooting distances are around the same as compounds...30yrds or less for me

kodiakhuntmaster

I'd hate to try to shoot my crossbow at 50 yards... I have it sighted in at 25 yards, by the time I get out to 40 yards it's already dropping about a foot.

Shot placement and selection is the same as with vertical bows. The deer still has to be broadside and there still isn't any room for error.

My compound bow has a much flatter trajectory, it's faster, and has more KE. It's also easier to tune and lighter. So why would I shoot a crossbow? Well, I was amarksman and MK-19 gunner when I was in theservice and even though I have to practice just as much with the crossbow as I do with the compound, the crossbow just feels more natural in my hands. My crossbow is also easier to maintain, and it's cheaper. I've killed twice as many deer with the compound bow, mostly due to having a longer effective range (I hunt a wide open CRP field) but I guess I just like the crossbow better.

So, it's more economical, easier to maintain, and feels more natural to me. Though the specific challenges that face crossbow hunters may be different at times than those of vertical bowhunters, I believe the actual level of difficultywith taking a deer is about the same with either method.

reds10ss

ive successfully harvested deer with compound, crossbow and gun. AND successfully missed with all three at some time. they all have pros and cons. i hunt in ohio where it is legal in archery season. ive been hunting with my x-bow for 2 years now in a result of a football injury in high school (right shoulder) that was 6 years ago. just couldnt pull a compound back like i used too. i say hunt with whatever your choice of weapon (legal) is and have a safe and fun time doing it.

Mr. Longbeard

I'll tell you why I switched...

I've killed my far share of whitetails with a compound bow, over a hundred...

I'm 44 and I've just plain goton lazy lol... Now I just enjoy the fact that if a deer walks within in 30 yards of my stand I know I can take it home if I choose so... No more missing. No more bad hitsTo each there own... I'm hooked

Dnk

It took me years to get enough balls to use a compound and I didn't like the minor amount of unreliable hits. I can pin starlings at 30 yards 90% of the time but that small percentage of bad hits on deer is very much uncalled for and not necessary whatsoever. The worst time I found was when wearing bulky clothes. So I tried a crossbow and bad hits are non-existent. I ask one question, why would anyone want to hunt with a vert bow(I still do) when you can pick up a hunting too which will cause fewer to no more wounding?

1shotkill1993

I felt like buying and using a crossbow because I like the extra FPS. And I only use the bow during bow season so I can get in the woods earlier. Once gun season comes in, I will use guns. I find it pointless to use a bow during gun season.