How about CrossBows?

Thank god I'm 50 and have a doctors note.

All oft he hunting methos likes/dislikes are based in personal bias. Trad bows see recurves as cheating. Recurves see compounds as cheating. Let's not get into the Garmin electronic bow sights for compounds...crazy. Muzzy purists think inlines are cheating. Inlines in CO having to use open sights think inlines that are scoped are cheating.

I'm more biased about hunting technique. I'll never do an outfitter on a private ranch in TX to shoot a $15k whitetail over a feeder...or a private land outfitter in CO to harvest a big bull. It's like that for everything though. Chances that the rich guy with the huge blue marlin taxidermy actually struggled for years on his boat to catch that are slim. Chances are he paid a charter captain thousands and just reeled the thing in.

Everything is subjective. Unless you hunt absolutely primitive....we're all trying to hedge our bets.

 

All the bows where you draw and hold the string are at least actual bows. I think there’s an argument to be made that a modern crossbow, in terms of distance, accuracy, and the way it is shot, is far more akin to a muzzleloader than any primitive, recurve, or compound bow out there. I think muzzleloader season should be muzzle and crossbow season

 

You use to need a doctor excuse for a permit to hunt with a crossbow in PA years ago. Not anymore. Now when I go bow hunting (I shoot recurve or compound), I see people carrying a crossbow most of the time.

 

I agree.

 

It's not like I only own this Crossbow.
Also have somewhere around three dozen ShotGuns,Rifles and Pistols.
So I figured why not round out the collection with a CrossBow?
It's unique and not to many people have them.
Especially of this Quality.
Dont really see it being much different than Putting the Magnuson and all of the other mods we put in and on our Tundras.
Besides.....It's a Hell of a lot more exciting than collecting rocks or stamps.
And they perform a useful function unlike rocks and stamps.
So yeah...I'd much rather collect guns/crossbows.
Hell,if I could afford it I'd collect Tundras.

 

Hold up now....
If you're looking to be a purest you shouldnt shoot compound bows,nothing more advanced than a recurve bow.
Hell,a Crossbow isn't that much different than a Compound Bow.
Both use Pulleys to increase performance.
The only real difference is it has a stock and a trigger.
Hell,Crossbows have been around since the middle ages they just lacked the Pulleys,same as with a standard bow vs. the compound bow.
You can bet the Injuns would have loved to have the compound bow,or better yet a compound Crossbow.
They definitely would have been able to kill a lot more White Devils that invaded their happy hunting grounds.

 

I fit in the Old and decrepit category.
Turned 60 yesterday as a matter of fact.
I didnt buy the Crossbow for hunting so much to have another shooting hobby.
And I can shoot it damn near anywhere without pissing off the neighbors
They might get a little Testy if I were to start shooting the 30.06 in the backyard.
Oh..and after running Manual Lathes and Mills for 40 years I have plenty of aches and pains.

 

Shot a nice Buck near Lake and tracked him for about 2 hours....

 

Here in Texas we're allowed to hunt off feeders since we have an overabundance of Whitetails.
We can shoot 5 Whitetails per season,3 Doe and 2 Bucks. If you fill all your tags you can apply for two more and generally they'll give them to you.
Back in the early 30's Whitetails were hunted to damn near extinction here due to the great depression.
People were hungry and a lot of people fed their families by hunting.
They enacted all kinds of new limits and they came back like Gangbusters.
One of the best things about hunting in Texas?
The Exotics!! Black Buck,Adodads,Axis and a Shitload of others!!!
I have a Beatiful Axis Deer I shot at our weekend place,and they're Huge!!!
And they have Zero Gamey taste!!!

 

I’m not any kind of purist at all. I have zero problems with owning or shooting crossbows. I shoot a compound bow during archery season, a muzzleloader during muzzleloader season, and a rifle during rifle season.

It’s not about the purist angle at all. It’s about weapons categories. We give the guys who are willing and able to pull back a bow (and get much closer to take a shot) first dibs in archery season.

I just think modern crossbows function far more like a muzzleloader rifle than a bow, and crossbow shooters should have to wait until muzzleloader season to shoot them.

 

Very nice. You could use a different weapon for each one you shoot. I heard you have a hog problem in Texas too. I watched utube videos of people shooting them out of helicopters. Have you tried that yet? You would need a semiautomatic rifle for that.

 

Thats debatable.
Muzzle loaders have more range than a crossbow and with rifled barrels they're arguably more accurate and less affected by crosswinds.
Crossbows and Compound Bows are pretty close in power and range although I will admit the crossbow is easier to aim since you can use optics rather than pins.
And they're far easier to shoot accurately since it's essentially a rifle and takes no effort to draw or hold.
But...when you get right down to it it's still an arrow/bolt vs a bullet.
Ya gotta hand it to the Indians though,using a primitive bow and arrow is a Hell of a lot harder to shoot than a Compound Bow or Crossbow thats for damn sure!!
Give the Indians either and the West would have been a Hell of a lot harder to win!!!

 

Oh yeah!!!
Hogs are a Huge problem here!!!
Had a female Boxer that loved everyone!!
Apparently even the Hogs,She went over to play with them and ended up with a Huge knot on Her Noggin for Her troubles!!

No need for a Helicopter.
I'd shoot em by the Dozen and scoop em up with the front end loader and dump em on the shoulder on Hwy 377 in front of our weekend place.
When the mowers would come by a couple of times a year it sounded like someone dropped a grand piano off a 10 story building when they ran over all the bones!!
They're some filthy critters and the deer processors wont touch em.
They tasted like Shit anyway since they ate a lot of cedar tree berries!!
Had a Black Buddy who was so excited when he shot three of em and found he couldnt find anyone to process them so he did it himself even after I warned him not to waste his time.
I told him to cook a piece before he got all involved processing them.
He didnt take my advice,and boy did he regret it after spending a weekend doing it himself.

 

I had a shirt with an Indian holding a compound when I was a teenager. 1980ish. Man time flies! This ain’t the one, but it’s close. Kinda makes you think.

 

This guy looks even more fearsome. Truly a “What If”.

 

NICE!!!
Thank God they hadn't even invented the wheel let alone the Compound Bow!!!

 

300 lb draw weight with 460fps bolt velocity accurate out to 100yd and beyond in favorable conditions after just sighting it in puts it more into a rifle category to me.

Reloading/followup shot matches a muzzleloader more than a bolt- or lever-action. So rather than put it in rifle season like some states, I would match it to muzzleloader or only allow it during the normal archery season for older or disabled hunters. Many states operate like this.

https://10bows.com/can-you-use-a-crossbow-in-archery-season/

 

I have noticed one thing about crossbow shooters and compound/ traditional shooters. It’s rare to see anyone practice let alone go to a 3D shoot. Most people I talk to that use a crossbow don’t shoot it until a little before hunting season. Check to see if the scope is still on. But crossbows have come a long ways. Faster and quieter. Years ago a guy shot one on a 3D shoot. Our group was back little and we heard the loud wack. we finally caught up to them and found out that noise was from the crossbow. They had the 3-D target laying on its side trying to pull the bolt out. They said they had to do that to almost every target. I don’t think they enjoyed that shoot.

 

I guess you could look at it that way,but still a crossbow no matter how you slice it.
And they're are faster Crossbows out there than the 460.
Oh...and your link doesnt work for me.
I'd really like to check it out.

 

Some hunters have physical limitations that prevent them from using a bow. Crossbows allow them to extend their hunting season and take advantage of bow season as well.

EDIT: As @Terndrerrr explains further down in the thread

 

They do make a tool for pulling Crossbow bolts.
They're kinda like Pliers but they fit the diameter of the bolt/shaft and have a rubber coating so as not to damage them.
With them being carbon fiber they are brittle but strong as long as they aren't damaged in anyway.
Read up on them and they emphasize inspecting each Bolt before firing them everytime you shoot them.
And they showed the possible outcome of shooting a damaged Bolt.....I'll just say it wasn't pretty.
As in broken bolts/arrows through forearms.
Although these were mainly from compound bows.
Which makes sense since your arm runs alongside the bolt/arrow rather than above like a Crossbow.

 

You do what you gotta do. Any day outdoors is better than being at work.

 

For sure. I check my arrows most of the time after pulling them from the target. I’ve found nocks being broken and wood grain lifting on wooden arrows. Bent aluminum arrows and splits in carbon arrows. Always a good idea to check. You never know.

 

Just tried the link again. It works for me in Chrome and Safari

 

Yep...worked that time.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PaVUmfrQkE