I've used both and love each one of them for their own unique characteristics. If there was an earlier season for using only a slingshot then I guarantee I would be loving slingshot hunting. Whatever gets someone in the woods and is legal is A-O-K with me. Good hunting all!!

Kill a whitetail with a long bow and you ARE a bow hunter! I don't think I could ever get close enough to make the kill shot.

Hunting with non-wood arrows, peep sight + pins, 70% let off, mechanical release, expanding broadheads, synthetic strings, rangefinder and 350 fps compound bow is REAL archery. 1 more thing, crossbows outdate compounds by hundreds of years.

I hunted with a guy in CO that was using a crossbow....he got a nice little bull, then missed three studs in NM the next week.

Hunting is hunting period regardless of weapon.

Like saying everyone who uses a scope and not a open sighted 30-30 is cheating

I have killed 171" deer with my bow....never even considered a crossbow (need medical reason in Iowa), then this year rolls around I go on my bear hunt and I can barely draw my bow due to joint issues. Some to me it's not a option.....I will use a crossbow this year and we will see what next season brings!

I shot a crossbow now because I've had surgery on both my elbows and can't pull back and hold a regular bow. I'm very glad they are legal now. I deer hunt a lot with my younger sister. I showed her how to shot my crossbow and this is our second bow season to hunt with a crossbow. She shot a doe last year and said it was way more exciting than with a gun. If it gets you in the field, make you happy, and is legal I say shot whatever you like.

extremely well said txtrophy85.

Crossbows are more like guns and i feel should be limited to gun season (barring disability) for the following reasons:
1.) The positioning required for a shot is almost nill
2.) correct form not required
3.) anticipation of the animal's first reaction before impact due to their level of alertness not required.

But I realize the state won't renig on this and it's here to stay. It's just that the chasm from compound to crossbow is FAR bigger than the step from recurve to compound. Not against crossbows, just believe that sharing the same season strips away much of the rewards that the original archery season was implemented to give to bowhunters.

Simple question...but from the passionate responses still hotly debated. There is nothing more rewarding than hunting with a bow (whatever flavor)....factoring the wind, special attention to scent and travel, where to setup a stand to be close enough without being detected, exposed to the elements (wind, rain).

With that said...if you don't have any physical limitations go with a compound bow...its not limited to hunting (3D). When you get your bulleye robin hood, you'll be hooked. :-)

I think Crossbows are awesome and they have there place, dissability or not, its called rifle season

Did the "original" bow hunters use compound bows when archery season was fist opened?

Oh just let them strut around believing they are real archers. Picked up mine today for the first time in 1.5 years and sent 3 arrows into a group that beats most rifles. Real hard to do.

Getting the deer into the right spot is the challenge. Both weapons have the same range.

Again,

Everyone is getting their panties in a wad.

No one is saying that people who hunt with a crossbow are unethical, poachers, etc.

But it's a fact that there is a huge difference in shooting a deer with a compound bow and shooting one with a crossbow

Just like hunting with an inline muzzleloader that Wears a 3x9 leupold and can kill a deer at 250 yards.....it has more in common with a 7mm mag than it does a hawkens rifle

That comparison doesn't equal crossbow to compound as they are very similar. That's the point. Traditional bow to crossbow is the big leap. Compound bow is every bit as easy to shoot as crossbow. Want xbows out of archery season? Take compounds with them. That would rustle some jimmies.

I would rather shoot a good compound bow, but am not able to any more. I had an accident a couple of years ago that broke 16 bones and left me paralysed from my chest down and unable to bend my wrists backwards. I used to love shooting my Matthews, and would make fun of a couple of my friends who got cheap, loud, vibrating x-bows. Since I can't draw a bow anymore I had to get a x-bow myself, and must say I have fallen in love with it. Like my compound bow, I wanted to get a nice one since I will use it for years to come, so I spent the extra money on a Ten Point. It has a crank system on it so I can [censored] it, and if it weren't for this my archery season would be no more. It is a little different, but it is still comparable to a compound. I hunt the same spots from the same distances, and have equal confidence in both weapons. I would have never used a x-bow before, and would have agreed more that it was like cheating. All I can say now is don't knock it till you've tried it. If I were miraculously healed tomorrow, I would keep the x-bow and shoot both compound and x-bow.

Wow, they censored the word I used for "drawing" a x-bow. Guess it's an auto censor thing. haha.

Why does anyone even care what someone else uses to hunt with when it's legal?

Because they want or more likely need to feel special.

I hunt with both. Enjoy both. Some stands work best for the crossbow. But I will say if I really want to take a couple doe out, the crossbow is what I use. It is easier to not get busted vs. my compound. IMO.

Heard about cheating alot
But first gotta look into one circumstances.
Some people dont have upper body strength to pull AND HOLD STEADY the hunting bow.
Some cannot do due to other reasons.
I.e. I tried compound bow several times, I can pull and hold it, but my shoulder and elbow joints dont agree with me. No bueno.
So the choice was : enjoy bow for a day and be in pain for two weeks after OR enjoyc crossbow.
My solution is crossbow.
Everybody entitled to own opinion, no problem. Just gotta see deeper and understand everybody's choice.
I will cheat in eyes of "real bow hunters", I am fine with that

No, just pointing out the fact that they claim a crossbow isn't the same as a compound bow they use now days. Now, if they were using a recurve, their arguement would be valid.... however, using a hype up compound bow isn't much different than a crossbow

Bingo!

I guess I'll be cheating tomorrow morning as I'll have my Barnett Hellcat x-bow with me. Funny thing, before x-bows I never even considered hunting with any kind of bow.

Heaven forbid if I start to think of anyone that hunts with a caliber above .270 or .30-.06 as being a cheater.

The archery logic being applied makes little sense to me.

I prefer my recurve.

Definitely the Barta Way.

Well tell us,

Why had you not considered hunting with a bow before your crossbow?