crossbow debate


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Re: crossbow debate

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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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Wow!!! I don't think I've heard that much bragging since........since.......well, I don't think I've heard that much in a really long time. You're not conceted you're convinced.

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Re: crossbow debate

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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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Wow!!! I don't think I've heard that much bragging since........since.......well, I don't think I've heard that much in a really long time. You're not conceted you're convinced.

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Don't mistake it for bragging, in fact I'm not sure how anyone could take that as bragging, seeing how I downplayed compound bows, you gotta actually read the words bud. And the prodigy and naturally gifted line was sarcasim wink.gif

I'm just saying that's it's not hard to shoot a compound...for anybody. Could I shoot a traditional bow...no way grin.gif

My point was, crossbows are not that much different than a compound shot with a mechcanical release...that being said I won't knock any crossbow shooter until I can shoot traditional and then I'd be able to knock both crossbows and compounds equally because they're on the same level IMO. But even then, I wouldn't knock either one.

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Guest stellfox

Re: crossbow debate

If they are legal to use and you like to shoot them so be it. It still throws an arrow. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything in life. Everyone should concentrate more on ethics of hunting and the preservation of hunting. There are many people that want to take those freedoms away from the hunter.

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Re: crossbow debate

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If they are legal to use and you like to shoot them so be it. It still throws an arrow. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything in life. Everyone should concentrate more on ethics of hunting and the preservation of hunting. There are many people that want to take those freedoms away from the hunter.

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well said.

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Guest jereseyhunter101

Re: crossbow debate

We need hunters in this world so to keep some old timers hunting or the physically impared i am all for it!!!! But for those young guys that have nothing wrong with them and they can pull a bow back and they still use crossbows i say they are lazy hunters!!!!!!!!

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Re: crossbow debate

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But for those young guys that have nothing wrong with them and they can pull a bow back and they still use crossbows i say they are lazy hunters!!!!!!!!

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I knew it wouldn't be long before someone with your attitude, or opinion chimed in.

You think shooting a compound is so much more challenging than a crossbow.

Let me tell you something that I learned from my own experience.

I had shot only instinctively with a re-curve until my son bought a Matthews a couple of years ago.

(I must add here that I am not a good shot with my re-curve and had not picked it up in over ten years)

Anyway, he let me shoot his new Matthews in our back yard.

I did not know Diddly about this compound other than it was easy to hold back at full draw.

I was shooting at 25 yd. because I did not want to fling arrows into the next county.

He showed me where the string peep was, and told me to line up the peep picture with the first pin.

I was not holding his bow correctly and slapped a red string bruise on my arm about the size of Texas.

However, the arrow hit about four inches low of the bull.

Second shot, I put on a light jacket and shot another arrow. This time I was about three inches high and to the left and turned my string slapped arm into a light blue and red Texas sized sore.

My third shot turned my arm into a raw piece of hamburger meat the size of Texas that hurt like ......

but the arrow still landed within three to four inches of dead center.

I was doing a lot of things wrong, (thus the string slap), but still hit within an 8" pie plate target area.

I have my own compound now, and have improved my form a little. I also wear a leather arm guard just in case.

I did not do anything right, but still hit my target. So what is so darned difficult about a compound bow?

I wish you lived close by, so I could show you how a 58 yr. old "Lazy cross-bow hunter" shoots a crossbow.

I'll bet I can hit an 8" pie plate with "your" compound at 25 yd. first shot.

....popgun

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Re: crossbow debate

Let anyone and everyone use a crossbow,just don't call it a bow.Putting a compound bow and a crossbow in the same classification would be like calling a bb gun a high powered rifle. grin.gif

The biggest difference between a crossbow and a compound is the fact you need to draw the compound and hold the draw with game present.Something that sets the two miles apart from each other.

I myself don't agree with the 80% let offs and some of the newer technology going into the compounds.Still if you have to draw the weapon and hold the draw it's still a bow IMO.

popgun-no doubt shooting a recurve gave you a better understanding of proper form and what was needed to shoot the compound.Lets not forget the bow was already set up and tuned for another person.Alot of hard work was already put into that bow working out the bugs for proper arrow flight.With a few adjustments to you no doubt your groups would have improved too.What's your point??

The average guy that's never shot a bow to walk out of Wal-Mart with a bow.Will not come close to shooting groups with a compound as opposed to the groups he'd get walking out with a crossbow.

Shooting a crossbow may not be for the lazy,but in many minds it'a big short cut to being called a bowhunter.

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Re: crossbow debate

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The average guy that's never shot a bow to walk out of Wal-Mart with a bow.Will not come close to shooting groups with a compound as opposed to the groups he'd get walking out with a crossbow.

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I have to respectfully disagree with that statement,,,,When I got into bows I had never picked one up in my life,,,the only knowledge I had of them was that my father shot for Team PSE.....

I was nothing but a avid rifle and shotgun user, He decided he would like a shooting partner out back on our range and talked me into buying a bow....With his heart problems I decided it was time to really start putting some quality time in with my father before it wa way too late. So he brought me to one of our proshops where I choose a nice little Apline Bow.....after having it setup, we brought it home within a few hours of shooting with him out back I was grouping arrows withing 1/2" of each other dead on the bullseye......

A year later I can group shafts the very same way out to 50+ yards.....

Well, my father has worsened with his health issue's and bought himself a nice PSE cross bow all setup with a red-dot scope and the works......Needless to say the first few time I tried to shoot his weapon I totally missed a 3'x3' box target.......and where the cross bow has advantages it also has big dissavantages also.....such as speed loss and accuracey beyond 25 yds....and they are noiser than a landslide in dead quite...... crazy.gif

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Shooting a crossbow may not be for the lazy,but in many minds it'a big short cut to being called a bowhunter.

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The only thing I can say on this statement is Then why is it called a cross BOW ????

Let me ask you a question.......Do you ML hunt ?? If so I don't think ML's of today should be called ML's I think that these ML's should be in the rifle classification with their rifled barrels,,,,TRUE ML's don't have a riffled barrel.... wink.gif

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Guest BigAl1781

Re: crossbow debate

well they're legal here in tennessee now....i would have had to use 1 any way i broke my left arm in a car wreck...in 4 weeks i have to get a metal plate put in it,,,,im glad its my left arm since im right handed......im for them bc it brings more people out to hunt during archery,,,hopefully they will kill off some of these does, we have too many

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Re: crossbow debate

popgun and Vermont Hunter. You guys can give excellant facts and examples and it would not change certain people one iota

.Luckily we haveplenty of hunters here who just love to hunt and do not mind sharing the woods with others.

Thanks for your efforts to educate. cool.gif

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Re: crossbow debate

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The average guy that's never shot a bow to walk out of Wal-Mart with a bow.Will not come close to shooting groups with a compound as opposed to the groups he'd get walking out with a crossbow.

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I have to respectfully disagree with that statement,,,,When I got into bows I had never picked one up in my life,,,the only knowledge I had of them was that my father shot for Team PSE.....

I was nothing but a avid rifle and shotgun user, He decided he would like a shooting partner out back on our range and talked me into buying a bow....With his heart problems I decided it was time to really start putting some quality time in with my father before it wa way too late. So he brought me to one of our proshops where I choose a nice little Apline Bow.....after having it setup, we brought it home within a few hours of shooting with him out back I was grouping arrows withing 1/2" of each other dead on the bullseye.....

A year later I can group shafts the very same way out to 50+ yards.....

Well, my father has worsened with his health issue's and bought himself a nice PSE cross bow all setup with a red-dot scope and the works......Needless to say the first few time I tried to shoot his weapon I totally missed a 3'x3' box target.......and where the cross bow has advantages it also has big dissavantages also.....such as speed loss and accuracey beyond 25 yds....and they are noiser than a landslide in dead quite...... crazy.gif

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How fast or how good would your groups have been if your Dad that shot for Team PSE wasn't there looking over your shoulder.

I said the average guy grin.gif

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Shooting a crossbow may not be for the lazy,but in many minds it'a big short cut to being called a bowhunter.

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The only thing I can say on this statement is Then why is it called a cross BOW ????

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Ok,you got me here. grin.gif Let me re-word that last statement.

Shooting a crossbow may not be for the lazy but,in many minds it's a big shortcut to being called an archer

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Let me ask you a question.......Do you ML hunt ?? If so I don't think ML's of today should be called ML's I think that these ML's should be in the rifle classification with their rifled barrels,,,,TRUE ML's don't have a riffled barrel.... wink.gif

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Yes I ML hunt and I think they should be classed in with the rifle classifification.Nothing different with the inlines other then powder used and loading them from the barrel. grin.gif In shotgun only areas where Ml are also legal many hunters I know would take the Ml over the shotgun to reach out and touch them.

I think the flintlocks and percussions should be kept in a seperate classification from inlines.

Like I said before,give anyone and everyone a crossbow.At the same time give them a season too and don't class them in with archers.Same way with inlines and flints/percussion cup.

Draw the line somewhere and distinguish between them.Don't lump the different weapons all in one big pile and say they're all the same.That is why we have the different seasons.

For the record I have no problem with the disabled hunting with crossbows alongside archers.For many disabled it's a continued form of bowhunting.For the young and healthy let them bowhunt with the verticle bow.If there's no difference between the two different weapons it shouldn't be a problem.

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Re: crossbow debate

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I said the average guy

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Well I am a below average guy. grin.gif

THe first time I shot a compound bow I had great groups at 20 yards within 10 minutes and within another 10 minutes I had the same at 30 yards. IT has been that way ever since. The only time I mess up is when a deer is my target. blush.gif

All 3 of my sons did the same shooting a compound in same amount of time.

Unless the person learning is a complete klutz they can be shooting a compound well in under 30 minutes. tongue.gif

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Re: crossbow debate

So, where do you all draw the line as to what weapons should be placed in our bow seasons? Do you really have any limitations? When somebody comes along and says, "gee it would be nice if we could use pistols during bow season", will any of you have any complaints. After all, it will keep those older hunters afield. It will allow physically challenged people access to the bow seasons. It will add more hunters to the hunting community. Perhaps you can find no reasons to exclude flintlocks from bow seasons for the same reasons. Heck, why are we discriminating agains the gun hunters. Why not allow them the use of the season. How about shotguns, rifles, whatever. That action would also have the same effects on the hunter numbers, and the ability of the the infirmed to utilize the extra time that we currently call bow season. I suspect that there are not a whole lot of crossbow proponents who would happily agree to those changes.

We sure did swallow up the compound and now the x-bow doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Why stop there?

Doc

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Re: crossbow debate

Doc, I think you have a very good point.

The State DNR's know ahead of the season how many deer they want taken out.

Here in AR we have a yearly bag limit of three deer.

Archery season starts on Oct. 1 and runs through Feb. 15.

Muzzleloader Season, Modern gun (including handgun), fits in between at various dates.

There could be a given bag limit, and all hunters could hunt with whatever weapon they choose between Oct. 1 and Feb. 15, as long as the hunter does not exceed his or her bag limit.

What difference would it make as to which weapon took the deer.

The season would be so long, that many would have their bag limits and be out of the woods early.

Some hunters would wait for the truly big one to come along and hunt until the end of the season.

Some could hunt with a bow the entire season, and others may choose to hunt the entire season with a handgun or rifle.

Either way, the same number of deer would be taken out of the herd and there would no longer be any sense in debating over what weapon choice the hunter takes.

All hunters could spend their time and efforts hunting and fighting against the Anti's, instead of bickering among themselves.

Good idea!

(Note to self): Good satire is wasted if the audience has no sense of humor.

....popgun

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Re: crossbow debate

Oh boy...here we go again. smirk.gif Sure wish we had the roll eyes face back again.

I've never hunted with a x bow but I have shot someone elses for the fun of it. I honestly don't have a problem with them being legal for bowhunting. Sure wouldn't be my choice of weapon for bowhunting though. Anybody that wants to tote that ball and chain to a stand can have it. JMHO but there are more disadvantages to using one when compared to a compound or traditional bow and I hunt with both. They may be more simple to aim and shoot but I can shoot groups with a compound as good as other guys I know that hunt with a x bow. Put the target at 30+ yards and a x bow is sucking wind because like Luke said it's a 25 yard or less weapon. Like popgun said those suckers are real load too.

I don't understand why people have a problem with them being legal during bow season. I sure don't as long as someone doesn't ever make it where I have to hunt with one. I'll stick to my compound or recurve for as long as I can pull one back, which I hope to be till the day I die.

Every time this comes up it reminds me of the days when compounds were 1st available for bowhunting. Traditional hunters all called them string guns and many still do. They were all dead set against them being legal back then because you could draw and hold at full draw as the deer approached and then, oh my goodness hold and aim with sights! Wasn't fair to true bow hunting in their minds. Heck I am guilty of being one of those narrow minded traditionalist back in those days. Where would we be now if traditional bowhunters had won out with their arguements back in the old days?

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