Prejudices Against Crossbows

[amythntr]

....ask those people what they plan on doing into their 50's....when their shoulders start to deteriorate and they're no longer able to play Robin Hood with their compounds!....

....One would think that "sportsmen" would embrace the crossbow since we live in an ever decreasing pool of adults and children who show an interest in getting outdoors and hunt....I go out of my way to tutor young people because they and only they are the future...you would think they would have the "we" mentality when they speak of hunting...instead they have the "me" mentality....sad!

....shake off the dust and move on...sooner or later they will see the light, if for no other reason than their body dictates it!

Anthony

[Crazy Horse]

I've never had so much fun being called a cheater....with no remorse!
Haters are gonna hate...(I believe they are envious!)

[retrieverman]

BTW....I've been to ranches in Texas that are as you are imagining a canned hunt to be and my group had no interest in being there and we left. I've also hunted ranches in Texas that you could get lost on the thousands of acres, as a matter of fact one of our guys got turned around and was lost for several hours. My point is, don't be closed off with preconceived ideas. Like the ranch hunts, crossbow prejudices are just that. Jmo.

Paul

Sorry, but I have no preconceived ideas about high fence ranches. I understand the concept completely. If a physical "barrier" prevents your neighbors from being able to hunt the same animal you are trying to hunt, it's not free range (no matter how much land is inside the "barrier").

[wabi]

If you hunted with an atlatl someone would say it's too easy. I don't worry about them, I just enjoy being able to hunt!

[j.krug]

I am aware of the crossbow prejudice and have had comments made to me a couple times, "not really an archery hunter" and "not really bow hunting". It bothers me a bit but not enough for me to worry or fret about. Fact is I also really enjoy shooting a compound bow and actually started with one. I switched back and forth between them for hunting until my vision got too bad to shoot a compound reliably. My daughters like shooting a recurve and I'm looking into picking a couple up for them and I to have some fun with.

[GrassyKnoll]

I march to my own tune and could not care one bit if someone does not like my crossbows...

It's funny, because even my local Pro Shop does not really like them, but they sure do sell.. They even have a whole department dedicated to crossbow everything. They carry all the big brands, dedicated scopes, arrows/bolts, broadheads, etc.. However, when I said I wanted to get into the crossbow two years ago, the first question I was asked in the shop was " are you hurt?".. I said no, I think they are cool..

[paulaboutform]

BTW....I've been to ranches in Texas that are as you are imagining a canned hunt to be and my group had no interest in being there and we left. I've also hunted ranches in Texas that you could get lost on the thousands of acres, as a matter of fact one of our guys got turned around and was lost for several hours. My point is, don't be closed off with preconceived ideas. Like the ranch hunts, crossbow prejudices are just that. Jmo.

Paul

Sorry, but I have no preconceived ideas about high fence ranches. I understand the concept completely. If a physical "barrier" prevents your neighbors from being able to hunt the same animal you are trying to hunt, it's not free range (no matter how much land is inside the "barrier").

You're entitled to that of course. I've hunted small, 5 acre private tracks of property that were much easier than the 5000 acres on a ranch high fenced. I've also hunted 5000 acres of private property, fenced but animals were free, on the Peace River. No one else had access to this intentionally. I'm just saying it depends where you go. BTW, that high fenced 5000 acres took me three trips and almost two weeks of hunting to score. Each to their own, I wish I had the time and throw away money to do it again.
edit to add: I had to re read this. Not claiming it's free range but can be completely an actual hunt. Not walking into a pen to shoot.
***apologies to the OP, not trying to hijack.

Paul

[galamb]

Yes, there is some bias - more prevalent in some places than others.

Here in Ontario Crossbow hunting is open to all and crossbows are included in all archery seasons - I think that has led to greater acceptance in the general bowhunting population.

But you still have compound hunters that think a crossbow gives you an advantage - that is until most of them shoot one and find out, that while they may be easier to get "sufficient at" quicker, they certainly don't give you any great advantage in terms of range, knock down power etc etc.

And in fact, they can be more cumbersome to shoot in dense surroundings because you have to worry about "lateral lines". With a vertical bow if you can stand unobstructed, you can shoot unobstructed (mostly).

And I stopped worrying about what guys that shoot carbon fiber limbed, multi-cam, fiber optic/peep sighted, shoot through rest, 80% let-off rigs think anyhow.

If they have a problem with my crossbow maybe we should all go back to instinctively shot recurves and longbows. I still have my recurve but holding back that 51 pounds, without any let-off, is getting tougher.

After all, if you had to use "primitive bows", most of those compound shooters wouldn't be in the woods either because without their peeps/pins they couldn't hit the side of a barn from 25 yards away.

[GRUNDY]

Gotta admit I'm on the fence a bit.

It took me alot of time and hard work to get proficient at shooting and working on my V bows. Emphasis on the work. The insane amount of constant fooling around with the new fast bows to keep them timed and shooting fixed heads accurately finally go the best of me. I cracked one day and went out and got a Micro.

I took pride in the hardwork and certainly earned every last hair of every deer I killed with a V bow.

My new crossbow is extremely easy to shoot, especially in the sub 20 yard range which is my archery sweet spot. I've killed 2 deer so far this year with extremely well placed shots, both at 20 yards or less. It was almost too easy making the shot, but still extremely exciting.

I kinda miss using the V bow, but will not likely go back to it.

I may buckle down and try to master my old bear recurve though. Recurves are simple, which is why I bought a recurve crossbow...

So yeah, I've run into some anti-crossbow sentiment, but I certainly can understand where it comes from. Its made archery hunters out of people who previously had no business in the woods with a bow. Its taken alot of the solitude out of bow seasons.

The best way I can describe it is that crossbow hunting isn't necessarily much easier, its just different.

Regards,

Brian

[Scalemaster]

Ok 1st... Haters gonna hate no matter what!! 2nd I don't like those vertical bows it's too easy for me the 10 yrs. of competitive shooting and all the deer that I've taken with my bow I'm just mad that I don't get my own tv series and new chevy truck every yr. the clowns they give this to .....its just a mystery where they are looking for talent in the archery industry these days lol.

[JB'STAXIDERMY]

Well i shoot 3d archery on a national level and here in the U.S. they have crossbow classes in the ASA and the IBO. I'm a taxidermist by trade and i choose to use a crossbow to hunt with for 2 reasons one i dont have the time to practice like i want with my bow because during hunting season i am covered up with people bringing in mounts and 2 a crossbow is a good way for me to introduce my children to hunting and they have a very effective and ethical way to harvest deer. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but to me as long as you are able to get out and do the things you love i dont care if u shoot it with a sling shot no matter what it is people are going to bash crossbows that are die hard archers to each there own but ill keep shooting archery tournaments with my bow and hunting deer with my crossbow till im unable to do soo.

[tomcat]

Give it time...Here in Ohio crossbows have been around since the beginning of time and I can honestly say that with a 50/50 break of compound vs crossbow users, very few compound guys thumb their noses at the crossbow guys publicly:)

[maple]

In Ontario where I live, everybody WANTS a crossbow. Who wants to hunt with a temperamental compound bow that's not user friendly? Not me.

Don't think I've seen anyone hunting with a vert bow of any sort. Ever. And I've been in the country a lot.

Actually, if anything, there seems to be a prejudice against compound vert bows.

[8ptbuk]

As long your hunting legal , Go for it !

[Doe Master]

I think a lot of it comes from ignorance .
I have heard them called string guns . There is their ignorance showing right there . The crossbow came long before the gun . The gun came about by putting a stick cannon on a crossbow stock .
A lot of compound shooters don`t realize they are shooting the most modern weapon . There was a time when they were frowned upon by the longbow crowd .