Opinions On Crossbows

[claudeb]

I shot an elk with mine last fall he made it about 50 ft. before he piled up

I am seeing a lot more crossbow hunters than regular bow hunters i quess its
because their easier to use and you don't have to spend as much time to become proficient as far as tuning I have an excaliber its a recurve there is
nothing to tune it's harder to cock than a compound but there are aids that
work pretty well. the range with the newer crossbows is about the same as
any bow

[Walksalot]

In my last post I insunuated that only people who don't have the time to become proficient with a crossbow should use them and that is an unfair statement. I am sure there are people who simply like the crossbow over any other piece of archery tackle.

[Doug]

It appears to me (I am an Ontario lad) that one may legally bow-hunt in BC during the archery seasons with a crossbow? I had understood that only Ontario permits this - as I know that most jurisdictions do not.

I have been hunting with a crossbow for over twenty years, and I have taken a fair number of deer with crossbows. This year I hunted about forty days with the crossbow, so I do have a bit of practical knowledge about this.

Amongst the very good reasons to hunt with a crossbow, I think two stand out:

1. It does not take as much practice time annually to be competent (and confident) enough to take an animal with a clean shot. Many people cannot commit the roughly forty hours practice time before opening day that a bow-hunter using a compound or traditional bow needs to commit. So if a hunter cannot spend the time to become competent/confident with regular archery equipment, EACH YEAR, they owe it to the game animals to find another solution.

2. There are a number of people who simply do not have the upper body strength, or in some cases mobility, to be able to use regular archery equipment, and for these people the crossbow is a godsend.

BUT let's not kid ourselves, a crossbow is much more limited than a good compound bow, especially in terms of effective range, but also in important activities like stalking. Stalking deer with a crossbow is kind of like swimming with chest waders on, it ain't impossible but it sure is difficult and not too pretty to watch.

In my own case, my eyes aren't worth a fart any more and I moved up to a scoped crossbow a couple seasons ago. For me, this was a logical choice and keeps me able to do a sport I love. If I had to use a compound bow for bow-hunting, I might well have to give it up entirely.

Doug

[greybark]

Hey Walksalot , I agree with your post with one exception. Those Compound and Traditional bowhunters whose archery skills are limited should not ( as you suggest ) be banned to shoot crossbows . They must be aware of their distance limititations and increase their proficiency thru practice and attending 3-d shoots . A good friend of mine who hunts with a longbow limits his shots to 15 yds and gets his WT deer each year.

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

[Walksalot]

Hey Walksalot , I agree with your post with one exception. Those Compound and Traditional bowhunters whose archery skills are limited should not ( as you suggest ) be banned to shoot crossbows . They must be aware of their distance limititations and increase their proficiency thru practice and attending 3-d shoots . A good friend of mine who hunts with a longbow limits his shots to 15 yds and gets his WT deer each year.

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

greybark, nowhere in my post do I say they should be forbidden to use a compound or traditional bow.
To limit one shots to 15 yds is admirable as long as he or she can consistently hit the kill zone at 15 yds. The bigger the percentage of arrows out of the kill zone the bigger percentage of animals to potentially get away wounded.

[greybark]

Hey Walksalot , You are right the word banned is wrong and the sentence should state "They too should be carring a crossbow " Obviously I disagree with this premise.

[Onesock]

British Columbia is the only western province that allow's crossbow's in Archery season. In my opinion 95% of crossbow shooters are gun hunters trying to extend their season by 2 weeks. The other 5% are really bowhunters with physical problems that can't shoot a traditional bow or a compound. Crossbows have an unfair advantage in archery season because of not having to draw the bow as the rest of us do. A huge difference once within 20 yards of an animal. Most crossbow hunters do not have the bowhunting knowledge to find a arrow shot animal. I say make bowhunter education mandatory and leave crossbows in the archery season. We would not see another crossbow in the field if this was the case. If a crossbow shooter was so loyal to his sport that he took the bowhunter education course he could hunt along side me anytime. As far as accuracy is concerned I personally feel a compound is far superior to a crossbow.

[Blacktail]

welcome to the board Onesock

[houndogger]

Hey Onesock,

How do ya purpose a mandatory bowhunter education come into effect?

[leftcoast]

You will have to take my word on the following because i can't find the info again.

There was a study done somewhere in the States (oregon i think) a few years back that showed that 17% of all game shot by archers was wounded and lost. the same study found that rifle hunters wounded and lost 17% of all game shot. So who loses the most game to bad shots?

Tell ya what, the argument that a crossbow is more ethical and shows more respect for the game than a longbow is baloney. A camera is more ethical and shows more respect. guns and bows are out there for one purpose only, to kill. Animals like deer do not have the same emotional or physical response to wounds that we do. Ever seen a wolf or a coyote chewing or eating on live prey?

As far as competence testing goes, we have far to much government in our lives now. We don't need garbage like that. I have dogs that will track wounded game as does mooseman and houndogger and K-1 and others. Call us or follow our example.

I guided for many years and I guided some damn good target shots. State Champions and such. Lots of them guys missed moose at 75 yards. So if it works one way why not the other? Lots of guys shoot better at game than they do at targets because when it is real they get into the zone and all their instincts take over. Same as some guys can't speak to a crowd but can do real well one to one. Basically a competence test will pass the target shooters and leave alot of real hunters out of the picture.

Who is going to decide what the criteria for such a test is? Rifle hunters?

=keith=