It is nice to finally find a forum where people have grown up for the most part.

I use a compound....have no desire to use a crossbow (I think a compound is a better killer).....but I have absolutely no problem with anyone using a crossbow during the bow season.

Hunt legally....ethically....I don't care what you use!!

You hunt....and that's good enough for me!

No, and I don't think I ever will unless I become disabled and can't draw a bow.
Yes, my uncle owns one....doesn't hunt with it, but plays around and shoots it.
No, I have no experience sighting in a crossbow....what difference does that make?

My main point isn't that the tool be difficult to use....more along these lines: If anyone can pick up a crossbow and become proficient enough to hunt with it in a matter of minutes then what's stopping them from doing it? Most everyone I know and on these boards and others use a peep and pin sights, not scopes and not red dot sights! If crossbows are legallized they(I know states do this now with archery) need to make a bowhunting education course mandatory to get your archery license. Frankly, all states should be doing this now, IMO!

Crossbow distance? Do you mean max hunting distance? I'll agree with you there! Less energy....I'm with you on that too. Accuracy....I have to agree there too! Easier to use? Oh, so now you're holding 200 pounds? Using your legs or a cranking device that isn't all that much weight to pull! Bells and whistles? Let's break down what most guys have on a bow vs. crossbow.....sights-both, quiver-both, rest-both(crossbows rail compared to a compound rest I think is fair), stabilizer goes to the bow, but crossbows are stabilized differently because of the rifle shooting style, trigger release is very much the same.

The point of my questions was to determine whether or not you had a fair base for comparison . Your uncle owning one doesn't necessarily mean that you have experience with them , lack of experience with one usually indicates a lack of real knowledge about them . I guess I'm trying to say that you don't seem to know much about the tool you're fighting against . Once you have a fair base for comparison you can debate any topic .

Sighting a crossbow , even one equipped with a scope , is not that much different than sighting a bow . You still start with a fixed point of aim and adjust for drop and wind drift . BTW , bolt drop can be quite dramatic compared to an arrow . Mine drops about 8-10" between 20 and 30 yards . Also , if you think that you can master one in minutes then I'd respectfully suggest that you revisit your uncle and try his . Be sure to remove the scope and then put it back on and resight it before shooting . I also reccomend stringing it too , that's always an adventure .

There's also nothing stopping any compound shooter from mounting a scope , red dot , or electronic range finder on a compound anymore , check the Cabela's Archery catalog if you don't believe me , they're available . If you think your fellow compound shooters wouldn't buy them you're only kidding yourself . Cabela's doesn't carry anything that doesn't sell for long , and that includes crossbows .

Until you actually have some experience with one your arguments against it won't have much credibility with your state F&G department , they've already heard every lame alarmist POV before , so parroting them won't help . For this to even come up in PA tells me that there is already support for the crossbow , or F&G is having a cash crunch , or both .

My experience is limited, but I have some. I have shot my uncles crossbow, but never sighted it in or tuned it(can you even tune one?)! My reference to mastering it in minutes is simply based on my experience with one. I picked it up, cocked and loaded it and fired a few rounds.....straight into the bull at 20 yards....about a 2.5" group, nothing special....it was loud and had a bunch of shock! This was all under his supervision as I knew nothing about crossbows at the time. It reminded me of shooting a rifle for the first time....the sequence, the trigger, etc. BTW, he only had a peep and pins on it, so I have no experience with a scope.

You're right, nothing stopping compound shooters from using scopes, red dots, or rangefinders(I'm not sure what the reference to rangefinders has to do with any weapon, but whatever you want). The thing is though that most don't....jump over to the bowhunting forum and ask who uses scopes or redots. For less biased answers just ask what type of sighting system everyone uses.

I don't think we're disagreeing as much as you seem to think. I just don't want my season infiltrated with an orange army that decides they suddenly want to hunt with archers because the weapon is easier to use with less effort. The crossbow has been shown in a bad light as long as I can remember. Archery seasons were fought for by traditionalists, not crossbow hunters or even compound hunters, but the acceptance of 'new' weapon with this much controversy is bound to raise debate.

I am thankful that Ohio has a liberal crossbow law. I wanted to start bow hunting this upcoming season, but I discovered that tendinitis in my shoulder makes it impossible for me. So I got a crossbow. No doctor's exam, no paperwork -- just freedom.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion Jason ,
but firing a few shots from one that an experienced shooter set up for you isn't what I call experienced , and certainly not objective . I'm not suggesting that you buy one , but try to be a bit more open minded before you condemn a tool that just may help keep bows in the woods . Every single person who has tried mine also wanted to try my vert bows , and at least 2 of them have expressed a desire to get one of their own , both vert and crossbow . These were all non-hunters , though one has said that he may go bowhunting in the foreseeable future .

What sighting system folks on the bow hunting forum use now isn't necessarily the same one they'll be using next year . Are the sights on yours the same ones you started with or have you upgraded ? A riser mounted laser range finder would be a huge advantage to a bowhunter , that's why I referred to it . So would a scope or red dot for that matter . Don't kid yourself into thinking that you won't be seeing them in the woods soon , you will . As far as tuning goes the compound versions take all of the tuning that your compound does and then some , the recurve and straight prods don't require as much .

Your season ? Really ? I can think of about 999,999 fellow Pennsylvanians who might disagree with you there . Yes , hunters fought for a long time to make archery legal , so did the gun hunters in their day when the states first created hunting laws because of the serious depletion of game that market hunting caused . Ironically , compound hunters like yourself faced the same uphill battle that the crossbow faces now 30 years ago , ask any compound hunter over 50 . "Too modern" , "You can hold at full draw all day" , "Not a real bow" , "You can put gunlike sights on it" ... Any of this sound familiar ? If not then your're probably under 50 .

The crossbow gets and has gotten bad press because misinformed folks listened to their know-it-all buddies instead of finding out for themselves , just like the compound . The compound was very controversial in it's day too . Crossbow hunters haven't been given the chance to prove what their tool can do like vert bow hunters , many states don't allow them for anyone but the disabled , some don't allow them at all .

How can you fight for what you want if there is no season to hunt in ? How can you generate interest in a tool if it's only practical use is shooting targets in the back yard ? Ironically , I bought mine for target shooting because it looked like fun , it had been legal to hunt with for 4 years and I didn't even know it until I was perusing the hunting regs one day .

Like them or not they're headed for a woods near you , maybe not this year but sooner than you think .

In this state, just coming this fall crossbows will be allowed during our firearms seasons, our early muzz. season and our late archery/flintlock season. That tells me that somebody wants crossbows in pretty bad since just last year you couldn't use them at all or in limited special regs areas. I don't really want to generate interest in crossbows, and from what I've read/heard(you know how that is) the big push for crossbows isn't coming from sportsman as much as it is coming from crossbow manufactures....I don't know how much truth there is to that, but I do know they're involved.

I don't like it, but you're right, it's going to happen! Sooner or later I'll have to accept that, but for now I won't.

It's not gonna be as bad as you fear Jason ,
they've been legal for all here for nearly 7 years and I've never seen anybody else in the woods with one unless I happened to look down at a puddle ... LOL

Indiana's total crossbow take last year was on the order of 300 deer or less at check in , so there aren't that many out there . Yes , the manufacturers have pushed for more liberalization , liberal use translates to more sales just like the bows those same folks sell . There's nothing wrong with doing honest business .

Somehow I have a problem with mixing guns and "devices that fling feathered sticks" like you guys do , it kinda makes seperate seasons seem like a waste of time . Our bow hunters have been able to bow hunt during our 2 week gun season for some time now , and I know why DNR does that but I never could agree with it . I guess we're not so different after all , eh ?

Not so different.....just on opposite sides of the fence! I may be selfish or flat out scared $h!tless[&:] about these crossbows coming into archery season in the not so distant future, but quess what? The sky will not fall and life will go on.....I'll just have to grumble for a few years!

Well Im 38 years old. Been hunting since I was 10 years old. Started bow hunting around 15. Now I have a screwed up back. I cannot climb trees anymore. So I hunt on the ground. And just this past year I applied and received a crossbow permit from the N.C. Wildlife Commission. I have not killed anything with the crossbow except a 3-D target. I never had any desire to shoot a crossbow. But to be able to hunt during archery season. Things in life change. For better or worst...who knows. But this does offer me the time to get in the woods. The doctors claim I may very well be in a wheel chair time Im 50. So Yea,like me or not.I will take advantage of my (estimated 12 yrs of hunting)situation as much as possible. Because one day. I may not be able to get in the woods at all. I used to climb hills and hollers to hunt. Never owned a ATV until last year. After walking about 100 feet I have to sit down and rest. This is reality people. Be thankful for what you have. Because in the blink of an eye.... Life changes. Yes, theres pros and cons to a crossbow. But to people in situations like myself. I do beleive theres more Pros.