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Crossbow facts - Lay 'em on me.

T

The Wizard

Guest
For those opposed to opening up archery season to crossbows.... I'm curious as to the reasoning. The research I’ve done would indicate that a long bow, compound and crossbow all launch a very similar projectile in a very similar manner. (they all launch broadhead tipped arrows from a string) Both the compound and crossbow have a similar effective range.


I'm hoping to get some non-emotional relies that are based on facts ... things you would use to convince someone on the fence, that crossbows are bad for archery season.

P.S. I hunt with a compound and would NOT switch to a crossbow even if they were legal.... (I love my bowtech) just trying to figure out why crossbows are bad.
 
The main difference I see, is you don't have to draw back. If a buck were to come in, you just simply hold it on him until he was in range, and whether or not he saw your or not, you could pull the trigger, and have him. Once in our lives most of us have probably tried to pull back on a deer that was looking at us, whether it was a doe, buck, whatever, most likely it bolted out of there. If you had a crossbow in your hand, and if what was still looking at you, with very little movement the shot would be on it's way. I know most of us have probably tried to shoot a deer while it was looking at us with a gun in their hand at short distances and most likely you got the shot. That is the only big difference I see.
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I am neither for a cross bow season, or against it. I am going to remain neutral on this subject, but that is the difference I can see between the two.
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Here is some of my reasoning against!

1: A person can drive around with their xbow cocked in their vehicle and shoot it from their vehicle just like a gun. I have seen this done!

2: You can keep it cocked all day long, as where a compound you can only hold back so long!

3: I concur with Liv's statements also.

Do we really need more seasons? More weapons? Do you really think someone is going to go out and drop a grand to try crossbow shooting? No. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid!

I am all for a proven disabled or handicapped person to utilize a xbow in the archery season.

These are my own personal opinions and are not the opnions of this site nor the IBA.
 
I use to think I was against them, but after shooting one, I can honestly say I think they are less of a weapon than todays modern compound. Very cumbersome and ackward to carry around, especially in a tree. Given the choice for a more effective weapon to kill a deer, I would select the compound.

They don't need there own season that is for sure, but if they were made legal I don't really think you would see that much of an increase in usage and I doubt it would effect 99% of folks. One way or another, I just really don't care!
 
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1: A person can drive around with their xbow cocked in their vehicle and shoot it from their vehicle just like a gun. I have seen this done!



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As the driver of the vehicle, you are responsible for the actions of it's occupants!!
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Oh, it wasn't your vehicle?
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For me, it's the same reason why we don't have a rifle season. It's just plain old unfair advantage. You make a good point about it being hard to hunt with. I sure wouldn't want to carry it around through the woods. My climber makes enough noise! But I think it would just boil down to the shot! With a crossbow you have the advantage of pointing and pulling the trigger. There is no mechanics to it, like drawing without being seen, ect. With a bow, a lot has to happen to harvest a animal, and I think a crossbow just takes away some of the "what if's"....
 
Reasons I wish I was capable of shooting a Compound , they are quieter, less cumbersome, shoot flatter, there is a possibility for a second shot, speed is comparable and vertical bows are more fun.
 
I am all for someone who has to use one such as Ryan. While they are close to a compound performance wise now down the road that is all going to change. Check out my link and you will see what I am talking about. And it was devoloped right in Iowa. 450+ crossbow
 
A little background info first… I’ve studied this issue for a couple years before making up my mind. Now, I’m personally in favor of legalizing X-bows but even if they are legal I would still continue to hunt with a compound.

The following is not exactly what you asked for in your post but it sums up the whole issue. The only difference is that with a cross bow you just “aim and shoot”. With a compound, recurve or longbow you have an added component of having to first draw the bow back before you “aim and shoot”.

Bottom line; the added component of having to draw the bow back is the dividing line between those who favor and oppose the X-bow.

The effective range of an X-bow and a modern compound is in fact very similar. Some would make a strong case to suggest that the compound might hold an advantage in this area. When you boil this part of the argument down it quickly becomes a non-issue and is irrelevant in the discussion of facts.

Does not having to draw the X-bow back in the presence of game offer the hunter an unfair advantage? This theory is disputed given the fact that many archers hunt out of ground blinds. The blinds primary purpose is to prevent the game animal from detecting the hunter as they draw back their bow. Given this theory, if you’re against X-bows you’re against groundblinds, treestands with camo curtains and other things used to conceal hunters movements too.

I feel that if you approach the issue with an open mind and apply a little logic you’ll come up with the same conclusion that DOR stated in his post; if they (X-bows) were made legal I don't really think you would see that much of an increase in usage and I doubt it would affect 99% of folks.
 
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1: A person can drive around with their xbow cocked in their vehicle and shoot it from their vehicle just like a gun. I have seen this done!

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I must say that they must have some pretty tame deer if they can drive to within 30 yards of them before shooting them. Even if I could keep my bow drawn indefinitely I don't think I would be able to get close enough to deer to shoot them from the vehicle. Besides, I think the aargument could be made that anybody shooting deer from a vehicle is a poacher and choice of weapon at that point doesn't really matter much. If you're a poacher you're going to shoot deer illegally with whatever weapon you choose.
 
When i got in my bad car accident I was forced to use a crossbow if I wanted to hunt. I used one for the season and shot a few deer with it. I personally thought they were way to easy with no challenge. i had a scope on mine and it felt like I was gun hunting. You just put the scope on the chest and squeeze the trigger. They are no fun like a bow either because once they are dialed in you don't need to practice much because you know it will be right there. I mean come on how challenging is that. As soon as I could pull a bow back I was out with the compound and never felt better about hunting.

I personally think they are trying to make hunting as easy as they can for people and I hate that. On a similar subject like this I think they should disallow scopes on muzzleloaders. Muzzleloader is supposed to be a separate more challenging season than shotgun. They are already making these better weapons than shotguns with just one shot which is all you need anyway. Just another way of making it easier.

Hunting is a challenge and the harder you have to work for something the more you appreciate it.
 
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When i got in my bad car accident I was forced to use a crossbow if I wanted to hunt. I used one for the season and shot a few deer with it. I personally thought they were way to easy with no challenge. i had a scope on mine and it felt like I was gun hunting. You just put the scope on the chest and squeeze the trigger. They are no fun like a bow either because once they are dialed in you don't need to practice much because you know it will be right there. I mean come on how challenging is that. As soon as I could pull a bow back I was out with the compound and never felt better about hunting.

I personally think they are trying to make hunting as easy as they can for people and I hate that. On a similar subject like this I think they should disallow scopes on muzzleloaders. Muzzleloader is supposed to be a separate more challenging season than shotgun. They are already making these better weapons than shotguns with just one shot which is all you need anyway. Just another way of making it easier.

Hunting is a challenge and the harder you have to work for something the more you appreciate it.

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Well said! I agree 100%!
 
The mechanics of the shot are a huge part in what sets archers apart from the firearm users, among other things.
The fact that this also resolves bowhunters to overcoming the movement issue when game is close is also a huge part of the challenge. Archers HAVE to put in the extra time to hang a treestand, build a ground blind and find a way to decept the best we can. You have essentially made the close range deception much easier with the use of crossbow.


Get yourself a crossbow, good set of camo, a set of shooting sticks and sit down at the base of a tree in nice tight funnel come the second week in November. I'd say you've got a pretty easy kill coming your way.


People will always change things to suite their needs obviously. Bowseasons were created in respect and according to the difficulties and challenges archers accept. Why do we have to alter the original plan and it's integrity? To make things easier? Well that's not what bowhunting is about.

Sorry I got away from the facts, but...
 
I don't want to be blasted on here but I just don't see crossbows being the huge threat to bowhunting that many are making it out to be. I've never shot a crossbow and have only seen it a couple of times on outdoor shows. From what I gather though they offer no advantage as far as range or accuracy and from the noise the ones I saw on tv made I would say they are at a disadvantage.

Something I don't really understand, and maybe somebody can give me a logical explanation for is why is it that people seem to be perfectly fine with people who have a medical reason for not being able to draw a bow hunting with crossbows yet are so adamantly against others using them?

For example what about allowing kids to use them during bow season? Wouldn't that be a huge positive for recruiting kids into the sport and allowing them to get into the field and hunt with their fathers and grandfathers during the longer and milder bow season? What about women? I know plenty of women who aren't strong enough to pull back a bow with enough poundage to efficiently kill a deer, shouldn't they be given an opportunity to get out there in the woods with their families?

I just don't get how an otherwise healthy man who had a shoulder injury should be treated differently than a young boy or girl or a woman. Would it be fair to have a standard test where anybody unable to pull a predetermined amount, say 45 or 50 pounds, is allowed to hunt with a crossbow but nobody else is? And of course then you beg the question if it's ok for all of those people then why don't we just let anybody who chooses to use them do so?

Sorry, not trying to get under anybody's skin, just don't see how allowing crossbows would irreparably damage bow season.
 
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Get yourself a crossbow, good set of camo, a set of shooting sticks and sit down at the base of a tree in nice tight funnel come the second week in November. I'd say you've got a pretty easy kill coming your way.

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That's basically the exact same thing as saying "Get yourself a new fast compound, good brused in ground blind, set it up in nice tight funnel come the second week in November. I'd say you've got a pretty easy kill coming your way".

If it's that easy to kill a deer where you hunt then count me in. Otherwise I think you are exaggerating and oversimplifying things a bit. You make it sound as if drawing a wary whitetail within 30 yards is the easy part and the only challenge of the game is drawing the bow.

I've drawn on lots of deer that never saw my movement, I would honestly say there have been maybe a couple times ever that I have had to let down at my draw from having to hold it too long and less than I can count on one hand where a deer saw me draw and I didn't get a shot off. In my experince it has always been far more difficult to get close to a deer and get that deer to offer me the right opening and angle for a shot than to draw and shoot undetected.
 
Crossgun Facts

Fact - The crossbow issue is not being pushed by current bowhunters.

Fact - The crossbow issue is being pushed by crossbow manufactures who stand to line their pockets.

Fact - Crossbows have nothing to do with hunter recruitment. Kids, women, others currently not hunting, are not going to "all of a sudden" become involved in hunting because a crossbow "all of a sudden" becomes a legal hunting weapon.

I don't buy into that logic for a minute.

I have a ten year old son that is begging me to buy him a bow tag this year. He is shooting close to 40 pounds now and has been working really hard practicing to get proficent enough to convince me to buy him a tag.

"Working very hard"

Excuse me, but I am going to leave facts and go with emotion for a minute.....It is very easy to pull the trigger on a gun.

Would this have a negative impact on the quality of Iowa's deer herd?

I am 100 percent for the use of crossbows as stated by the current Iowa laws.

I also feel that across the board acceptance of cross bows in archery seasons will fuel technological advancement in crossbow manufacturing.

You may be able to stand on the "range of the weapon" issue right now, but throw a wide open market to Hoyt, Mathews and Bowtech and see what the effective range of a crossbow becomes..... food for thought.

Peace Out.....Ghost
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I personally don't think that allowing a crossbow season would have a short term effect, it is the long term effect that I am worried about. Think about it for a moment, you are a ten year old kid set up with a crossbow, after a little practice you can easily kill a deer. Now ten years later, after killing 20-30 deer with the crossbow, do you think you would have the desire to drop a grand to get set up with the newest latest compound bow? I personally don't think so. Think about when you started off hunting, for some it might not apply, but for 90% of us, like myself, I bet got started off with a Compound bow. Now, ten years later, do you feel like spending 4-500 dollars and buying a recurve or long bow. For each case the step to something different is going to demand many hours of practice, dedication, and hard work to become proficient in taking a whitetail, compared to the first initial set up. I have been shooting a recurve lately (only because it cost 10 bucks at a farm sale, and I would not be out much in trying it out), and would like to try to take a doe with it, but when it comes to buck hunting, there is on way I would even fathom it. I am way more proficient with a compound and my effective range is 3 times as far, as that compared to my recurve skills. I feel it might not effect us now by allowing crossbows, but in 10,20,30 years I believe, crossbows would be the weapon of choice for the Archery season. Humans by nature do not like change, whether it is on political views, opinions, or your favorite archery shop closed down and you have to go the place you never really felt welcome at. I don't see the next generations to come enjoying the experience, hard work, and dedication we put into the opener on Oct 1. Granted no matter what weapon you use, you still got to get close, but currently it seems the traditional archers are a dying breed, and I believe us compound shooters will be too someday, if it is allowed. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? You decide.
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