crossbow debate


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Re: crossbow debate

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Just another weapon to hunt with in my eye's,,,,,,,if it's legal in your state I say go for it.... wink.gif

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Agreed.

I see it this way. A cross bow is to a compound that a compound is to a tradition bow. They are all bows of sorts just with more mechanical advantage as you go up the line. Still makes them all bows in my eyes.

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Re: crossbow debate

I am not for or against, but it will get more people in the woods. Me being an eternal optomist, I see this as a good thing. I think a lot of people who use crossbows will not use them correctly (ie 40 yds and in and still account for string jumping) and this will put a lot more deer on the move during bow season. At least that is what I am hoping for.

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Re: crossbow debate

Crossbows have been legal in Arkansas during regular archery season for quite a few years now, and I don't think the use of them has made any difference in the overall deer harvest in the State.

I use one and I can tell you from my experience there are good and bad aspects to it's use.

I have to carry a junk bolt to shoot in order to unload it.

I almost ripped the skin off my fingers trying to hold the string back with both hands using my left index finger to raise the bolt safety, and using my right thumb to pull the trigger; all the while remembering that if your foot comes out of the stirrup or the stirrup should come loose, the bow would come crashing into my face and chest at at least 150 lb. of force.

My crossbow weighs just short of a ton and is so unbalanced to carry to the stand, that I could probably carry a Volkswagen to the stand with less physical effort.

My crossbow is heavy. I have thought seriously of camouflaging a wheelbarrow just to carry it in.

My crossbow is loud. My son was sitting on a stand about 400 yards away, and heard me shoot a doe. He called me on the walky-talky asking me if I had heard the explosion in the woods.

I have killed several deer with mine so far, and none has been further away than 18 yards. Any further and I think they would either have jumped the string or died from a heart attack.

My crossbow thumps so hard that after four shots practicing, I have to tighten up the scope because it is sliding back off the scope mount.

I love my crossbow....It allows me to get into the woods from Oct. 1 until Feb. 15.

I love my crossbow....It makes me anxious for muzzleloader and modern gun season to start.

I love my crossbow....It reminds me that no matter how big a deer may be, I can still drag it to the corner of the woods. After all..... All I need to do is follow the same procedure as I did dragging the crossbow into the woods.

I love my crossbow....It makes me look forward to the solid sheet of ice that comes around in December. That makes it much easier to drag a crossbow into the woods.

I love my crossbow.....By using it I was able to bag a deer during Archery Season, Muzzle Loader Season, and Modern Gun Season, earning the Arkansas triple trophy award two years in a row.

I hope this year to do it again....

.......I also love my Compound Bow, but I will save those reasons for a future thread.

....popgun

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Re: crossbow debate

This question seems to come up about every few months or so,,,,,,I can't even imagine why anyone would even think twice about frowning on someone using a crossbow.......

My father has a PSE crossbow all setup to the MAX with all of the bells and whistles.....and he can't even come close to outshooting me with my compound....... crazy.gifcrazy.gif

There seems to be alot of misconseptions about what a crossbow can and can't do,,,,,YES they have some features that look like a rifle,,,,but believe me they shoot nothing like a rifle......

They are very bulky, and aren't as accurate as you would think they should be,,,even with a red dot scope on one you still need to have form and establish an anchor point.... wink.gifwink.gif,,You don;t just shoulder it aim and fire......You still need to find an anchor point and have good form in order to hit the target....

As for speed and power,,,,NOPE not even close,, anything after 25 yrds...and your really pushing the capabilities of any cross bow......Where with my compound I know for a fact I can group shafts out to 40+ yrds and not lose half of the energy that huge bolt is loosing.....

And they aren't very quite,,,even with all of the silencers available,,,,and the rail glue you can put on it,,,,crossbows are just plain old noisey..... crazy.gifcrazy.gif

So for anyone that thinks a crossbow is a give me in the woods, better think again and have a go with one just for fun...... You'll see what I mean and just may shed some light on the so called debate thing.

I've been around all kinds of hunter using all kinds of different weapons,,,,and to be it all boiled down to one thing that I could see.... We were after the same things, a good time in the woods,,,,a effective way to kill our game,,,,and just be a plain ol' hunter gathering with his buddies....

So remember a legal weapon of choice is still called a weapon no matter what name it goes under.... wink.gif

So look at the hunter next to you and say....Good Luck,,, Hunt Safe,,,and have fun..... cool.gifsmile.gifwink.gif

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Re: crossbow debate

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even with a red dot scope on one you still need to have form and establish an anchor point.... ,,You don;t just shoulder it aim and fire......You still need to find an anchor point and have good form in order to hit the target

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Could you elaborate on this point just a bit? I'm not understanding the anchor point on a x-bow. And in terms of form, I really don't follow what the special form requirements would be other than the natural form of shooting a gun. I guess I am thinking in terms of all the different aspects of form and anchor disciplines when shooting a vertical bow, and am having problems picturing how these shooting features would relate on a x-bow. I have never shot one, so I suppose that explains my confusion, but perhaps you could clarify.

Doc

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Guest jayjaysin

Re: crossbow debate

Vermonthunter couldn't have said it better. He about summed it up. Here in PA they just made them legal in gun season two years ago, and allowed them in archery season in the special regulations areas with high deer densities last year. This topic in PA is like a lightning rod amoungst archery people. There are so many compound shooters that feel the x-bow is just like a gun and they feel it is such a threat to "their" archery season. I link this thread to another PA forum I visit.

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Re: crossbow debate

Doc,,,,the cross bow has the very same charateristics that the compound has, and acts the same in many ways......I thought the same way as you did until this year when my father bought one for himself......he asked me to sight in the red dot scope for him......AIM AND SHOOT RIGHT ?? BIG WRONG...

If you cant the crossbow it's aiming point changes...just like a coumpond bow would,,,if you don't center the red dot in the scope the same way everytime,,,,you will be off your target everytime,,,,if you don't hold the crossbow in the same position everytime you get the same affect,,you will be off target everytime.....

So you see it shoots in many ways like a compound bow,,,,,achor point,,,form,,,and sight perseption almost has to be perfect everytime,,just like the coumpond bow.....to me the only difference is that one has a stock on it..... wink.gif

Hope that made sense to ya...... wink.gif

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Re: crossbow debate

When I think of just how critical little things like grip, wrist position, bow arm relaxation and position, follow through, back tension, draw arm alignment and all the other little things that have such a large impact on shooting consistancy with a compound, It is still hard for me to relate form requirements of x-bows to compounds. I can see some correlation, but not a lot. It seems to me that because a lot of compound form requirements apply while the spring force is working against the shooters muscles and a lot of the form requirements of the compound involve the reaction of the shooters muscles and the sudden realease of tension from those muscles, many of the more demanding form requirements of a compound would disappear when shooting a x-bow. I can understand that some semblance of consistancy would be required, just like shooting a rifle requires some element of consistancy, but I am still wrestling with the notion that form would be as demanding on a x-bow as a compound. That probably just comes from the ignorance of never having shot one, but it still is quite confusing.

Doc

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Re: crossbow debate

I personally don't see a huge challenge in shooting a compound. Mabye I'm a prodigy, or just naturally gifted. Or maybe it's because it has an 80% let off... I'm shooting a mechinical release... the thing is machined to achieve near perfect balance... I have I fiber optic sight... I have expensive carbon arrows...I have a fool proof peep sight.

Either way, I don't think it's that challenging, and yes I'll hit 10 rings all day. If a guy wants to shoot deer, I say, "have at it hoss it's fun huh?"

Until I'm making my own long bows out of cedar limbs and start forging my own broadhead from melted alloy which I've mined from caves, I don't have a hollier than thou attitude just because I'm toting a compound. JMHO

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