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Is the point of hunting with a crossbow instead of a firearm when a firearm is a legal, no-hassle option?
For pest control on suburban Whitetails & coyotes, OK. I get it. A lot of places are not suitable for firearms, and not everyone is willing to make the (extremely) modest effort to learn to shoot a compound adequately out to 20-25. And let’s face it; if there weren’t compounds and crossbows, we just wouldn’t be able to keep the overall deer numbers in check anywhere east of about I-25 .Certainly not east of 35…. There just aren’t enough people interested in/competent with single-string bows to fill that many tags without let-off, releases and freight-cars of bait.
I’ve hunted deer in modern rifle seasons with my .45/70 (iron sights, naturally) and with my .54 round-baller and with the recurve…. simply because I enjoy shooting them. And yes, I’m talking about hunting in places where that’s a decision which is very likely to mean that you’ll have to pass up the One shot that you might be offered in a given year.
But a crossbow when you could just use a rifle?? I don’t get it. And not-for-nothin’….
Around here, Crossbows and mandatory background checks (on the same level as for a Carry Permit) are going to be The End of firearms for deer hunting purposes, which is a bit problematic, given that a lot of political fence-sitters are still OK with gun ownership for hunting purposes… But what Moron would buy a firearms small game license AND a firearms public-land deer tag AND put up with all of the hassle of submitting fingerprints to the FBI just so you can buy a box of slugs so you can hunt for a week and a half on land that’s already been hammered for 2 months by compounders and crossbow shooters when you could just buy a crossbow and an Archery tag and hunt both deer and small game on public OR private for 4 1/2 months out of the year?
Bow seasons are great. Now you can hunt them without everyone in the family needing their own bow, without the tinkering knowledge or practice required to be proficient with a bow and the advantage of not having to get drawn in the presence of a critter.
It's terrible if you want to see bowhunting thrive but great of you want to hunt bow seasons without the hassle of a bow.
But you CAN hunt with archery gear on private land while gun is open…..but you can’t use a rifle on 10 acres or less…..so you would be forced to use archery gear during gun season for deer on private land in CT. There’s your answer Corax.
Why play level 5 when you can get a new high score in level 1?
Why ride a bike when you can drive a car?
I use my compound in archery season, and in muzzleloader season, and again in rifle season. I’m in it so seldom that I forget the code to my gun safe. WTF
I would prefer bow season was set aside for bowhunting. Including crossbows is proving to replace bowhunting in some states.
The things that make bowhunting hard are the same things that paved the way to have longer seasons, less crowding, easier access to tags and the special satisfaction that comes from filling a tag with a bow and arrow.
I want to see bowhunting thrive. The barrier to entry, the ongoing challenge of being proficient and getting drawn in the presence of game are good things. I welcome new bowhunters and have recruited my share over the years. I fear if we keep eliminating the hard things that bow seasons were built on that make it so rewarding instead of embracing them, we lose in the end.
I live in one of those states (Indiana) and the comment above is spot on. Crossbows have taken over bow season here...vertical bowhunter recruitment in this state is virtually non-existent. It's just too easy to sight in a crossbow and become lethal out to 50 yards plus within an hour...and no archery pro shop required.
Those bowhunters who are fortunate to hunt private land don't have to deal with onslaught of hunters that now participate in bow season without a bow. Those bowhunters relegated to hunting public land are not so lucky.
For those of us who actually CARE about the FUTURE of bowhunting, crossbow liberalization in bow seasons is devastating. Crossbows are killing bowhunting where I live and it has happened faster than I ever imagined. Now, airbows and muzzleloaders want a piece of "bowseason". Where does it stop? History says it won't....
This is Bowsite, right! It is disappointing to see so many posts from bowhunters that either have their heads in the sand...or just don't give a rat's azz about the future of bowhunting. Apathy is dangerous...because the squeaky wheel always gets the grease. There sure seems to be ALOT of bowhunter apathy here...a place where I would least expect it.
You CANNOT hunt deer on public land in CT with archery equipment during firearms season. So from November 16-17 or so until Dec 20th each year - all people wanting to hunt hunt with archery gear on public land where firearms are legal for deer are SOL. (Excluding bow only state land spots).
If a state wants a concurrent season running with bow season, that’s fine. But, they aren’t a bow and don’t belong in a bow season.
If rifles were allowed during bow season, the crossbow industry would take a giant hit. It's about getting into bow season with less effort, not really about crossbows.
You’re telling me that people are choosing to hunt with crossbows instead of firearms because they are looking to voluntarily “handicap” themselves? So a guy with a scoped, 500-fps crossbow parks himself 20-25 yards from a baitpile or a waterhole and keeps his laser rangefinder handy because he’s looking for a “more challenging ‘hunt’” than it would be with a firearm?
Yeah…. I’m not buying it.
And Blood…. Seriously? We’re supposed to feel bad for a crossbow hunter who is “forced” to use a shotgun post-rut on a 1 gun/20 acres by-lottery-only public-land unit AFTER he has been hunting that same unit with a crossbow from 9/15 through 11/15? ROFLMAO. You HAVE read the harvest report stats for those poor SOBs who don’t get drawn ‘til the second half of the season, right? Like 5% success in Shotgun B and 4% or less for ML?
When I moved out here, it was illegal to hunt Shotgun season - public OR private - with my .54 cap-lock. I don’t recall for certain whether archery gear was legal AT ALL during shotgun even on private, but I do recall that we weren’t allowed to use muzzleloaders on properties where centerfire rifles were/are allowed. I guess the DEEP was afraid that one might get away if we didn’t have repeaters….
“If rifles were allowed during bow season, the crossbow industry would take a giant hit. It's about getting into bow season with less effort, not really about crossbows.”
Sorta like how the Compound industry has taken a massive hit, right?
BTW…..I hunt with a bow on state land bow only areas during gun season in CT…… because I want to handicap myself. Gun is easy. And I like to suffer.
You’re telling me that people are choosing to hunt with crossbows instead of firearms because they are looking to voluntarily “handicap” themselves? So a guy with a scoped, 500-fps crossbow parks himself 20-25 yards from a baitpile or a waterhole and keeps his laser rangefinder handy because he’s looking for a “more challenging ‘hunt’” than it would be with a firearm?
Yeah…. I’m not buying it.
And Blood…. Seriously? We’re supposed to feel bad for a crossbow hunter who is “forced” to use a shotgun post-rut on a 1 gun/20 acres by-lottery-only public-land unit AFTER he has been hunting that same unit with a crossbow from 9/15 through 11/15? ROFLMAO. You HAVE read the harvest report stats for those poor SOBs who don’t get drawn ‘til the second half of the season, right? Like 5% success in Shotgun B and 4% or less for ML?
When I moved out here, it was illegal to hunt Shotgun season - public OR private - with my .54 cap-lock. I don’t recall for certain whether archery gear was legal AT ALL during shotgun even on private, but I do recall that we weren’t allowed to use muzzleloaders on properties where centerfire rifles were/are allowed. I guess the DEEP was afraid that one might get away if we didn’t have repeaters….
“If rifles were allowed during bow season, the crossbow industry would take a giant hit. It's about getting into bow season with less effort, not really about crossbows.”
Sorta like how the Compound industry has taken a massive hit, right?
