No One is leveling personal attacks against you, here.

My experience is that it is Crossbow guys that I catch trespassing. Seems like they typically lose more deer percentage wise too, though I could be wrong. Add to these things the fact that I will never agree that they are even bows and should even be allowed during bow season at all...well you get the idea.

Here is my probably heavily flawed theory:

Average Joe wants to learn to hunt. Joe works a lot and was maybe never in the woods as a kid, or more likely was raised by his mama cause his daddy wasn't around. Joe thinks crossbows look cool (Who Doesn't especially the reverse draw ones, anyway, I digress).

Joe wants to get in early season but is limited on time and don't really know a lot of guys that hunt or if he does he is too intimidated to ask them to teach him how to be an ethical hunter.

The idea of learning to shoot a bow (and this is key HUMBLING himself enough to ask questions of the guy at the counter of the bow shop) is intimidating.

Joe buys a crossbow (Has another guy site it in lol) and heads out in the woods at the end of the street to kill a deer.

He never learned any huntcraft and has cut lots of corners everywhere he could.

I catch several Joe's in the woods trespassing every year.

If a guy takes the time to shoot an actual bow he will most likely take the time to ask questions, learn huntcraft, and be a respectful sportsman.

Having said all that, If you are Joe and you need to learn to hunt, I will happily show you the ropes. I teach a lot of kids to hunt around here and have no problem teaching an adult too.

"Has modern technology changed things - sure. But most of us can see a clear dinstinction in one key part of the process. If you have to move the weapon and create the energy while the animal is in range - that's bowhunting.

I would leave a crossbow off the list because of that."

- I posted that in previous discussion about this. Not sure why that factor isn't mentioned more.

- For the record, I have no problem with cross bows being legal during legal gun seasons. Same reason as quoted statement. They are point and shoot weapons.

If the Compound guys want to complain how about Crossbows, how about they quit "cheating" and get a Recurve or Long Bow with no sights. I have personally killed deer with a Recurve shooting instinctly, I have killed deer with compounds also and I have killed deer with my Recurve Crossbow. I like using archery equipment to harvest deer, but make no mistake you will only get one arrow down range with a Crossbow, whereas a vertical bow will give you multiple shots chances and that's a fact. I've been there an done that myself.

A bow is pretty much a one shot weapon regardless, and if a deer is dumb enough to stand while you grab another arrow and draw, you can sure cock a crossbow

You guys are all wimps, I only use those slingshots that shoot arrows. But instead of shooting arrows, I use the rubber banding to sneak up on the deer and choke them out.

Atoler, I killed several deer with the second arrow launched from a vertical bow, the crossbows are accurate but way lo loud and way to much motion used to cock them. I have killed several deer with the 2nd arrow from a vertical even the 4th arrow about 20 years ago. The crossbow is a great tool but in a lot of ways you are handicapped by using them only going to get one shot from a climber or rough ground blind.

Guys keep a open mind about what your fellow archers are carrying to the woods to hunt deer. I would invite everyone to try these different platforms out. You will learn something!

I have never used a cross bow. I enjoy shooting my regular bow even if it's is just at targets in the back yard. But who knows some day I may be forced over to a cross bow. It would still let me get out and enjoy hunting.

The same argument can be made for muzzle loaders. The ones that are out today should be classified as hp rifles. But people still use them over the old style with a ball and patch setup. People do what they do for whatever reason. I would rather see someone make a kill with a cross bow and use the meat than wound a deer and never find it.

I hunt with a compound and a cross bow. I've killed 2 deer in one sitting with a compound and a cross bow . I killed 3 pigs in about 45 seconds with a crossbow. You can easily get a second or third shot with a crossbow.i think you should use whatever you feel the most comfortable with making a clean and ethical kill.

I own a lot more traditional bows than anything else.

I thought basically the same thing when I saw people using compounds.

I do own a spear and have used it on hogs.

I tore my rotator cuff when I broke my neck.

I also can't do bench press anymore.

I don't care what anyone uses.

I never understood why a crossbow has a scope when you only shoot 40-50 yards... i thought it was for the eldery.

You know some people just don't enjoy shooting a compound bow. I don't like it. I bought a bow several years ago and hunted hard all bow season and had several deer in bow range but never fired an arrow. Bow hunting is most definitely a challenge, but it's a challenge and a craft that right now I don't have the desire to master. That doesn't make me lazy, I'm just not passionate about it. Ill walk 10 miles to kill a turkey but the bow hunting thing just doesn't do it for me. All that being said, I don't own an Xbow, but if I got the urge to hunt during October that's what I would carry and I'll even sit to pee if need be

LOL, well said, I have to say...

I saw a queer hunting with a crossbow, once!

I admire you guys that are hardcore bow hunters. Maybe one day I'll get the bug.

I remember a time when I didn't think a guy that shot a compound was a "real" bow hunter.I was in a club with two other recurve hunters and a half dozen compound hunters. 1995 got my first compound and had an attitude change. Still kinda didn't think a crossbow hunter was a "real" bow hunter. After struggling to pull my Mathews the last few years with RA, guess what , another attitude change: buying a crossbow. It will keep me in the woods, fetch some early backstrap. There's plenty for everybody and we are not competing with each other. When I shot the recurve I had a lot of respect for a man who had the discipline and patience to shoot a straight bow. Muzzle loaders have the same issues we are talking about. I think I have learned not to judge to much by what and how a hunter goes about his business as long as it's legal. i have come full circle and I suspect some primitive bow hunters and compound hunters will judge me for using the crossbow.

I can't wait till they legalize bazookas!! When all the high power rifle hunters say I'm not a real hunter I'll tell them where to shove it !!!!

This applies to me. Can't see good enough to to focus on pins and target at same time. Need the optics to focus the cross hairs and the target.

If you don't have the desire to learn the woodcraft involved with being a bowhunter, then you should stay out of the woods till gun season. That was many of us coplaint from the start. X-guns are just a short cut, you learned no skill so you aren't qualified to hunt BOW SEASON. They crammned it thru not caring what bow hunters thought so they could sell those things.When I cant pull my bow, Ill go fishing !

Well I've managed to stay out of this thread until now, but I've read enough here tonight to see that a lot of you fella's either have the "we've always done it this way" attitude and see no reason to change, or are just not willing to accept change when it comes along.

As others have already said, if you're against cross bows, then I would ask if you use a modern rifle when you gun hunt? If so, why? According to your thought process, you should be using a flintlock since that was the first gun-type weapon used. Or better yet, why are you using a compound bow when you could be using a longbow, recurve, or an atlatl..... Are you using any type of arrows other than wooden ones that you made yourself? Hope not, cause applying your anti-crossbow logic you shouldn't be. Do you use any type of release when shooting your bow? The Indians didn't have those, so I sure hope you're not either.... Again, applying your anti-crossbow logic (as I see it), you can't have it both ways. Pot meet kettle.

As for me, let me finally piss you off by saying I truly don't give a rip what you think of me for using a crossbow. I've hunted with a compound bow beginning with the 2004-2005 deer season through the 2014-2015 season. Back in 2007 I fell backwards off a loading dock and landed squarely on my left elbow. The result was I broke my elbow (offically called a "radial head fracture"). I permanently lost some range of motion in my left arm, plus I now have arthritis in that elbow. My left elbow hurts every time it rains or gets cold. And I'm left-handed, so I draw my bow back with my left arm. As much as I love deer hunting, I'm not going to sit at home during bow season when I could use a crossbow.

I learned a very long time ago to work smart, and I try to apply that logic to everything I do, including hunting. Why not use a crossbow when it's perfectly legal to do so? For all of y'all who think crossbows are some sort of lazy way out... well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. But don't lump me into a one-size-fits-all category, cause I gaurantee you I don't fit that mold.