Good question, probably no "real good" answer for you other than to tell you that prior to 25 years ago, there was very little bow hunting being done in deep South Texas where I grew up rifle hunting around Laredo. My sense is that the hunting shows brought a renewed emphasis on bow hunting in the early - mid 90s. I am strictly speaking of "true" South Texas of which I have hunted since the mid 70s.

With all respect, I think you're missing the point. You're focusing on the similarities between the weapon.
I am talking about the differences between SHOOTING the weapon. The movement required to shoot a Xbow is nothing compared to having the correct form and motion of drawing the bow. Being able to rest your Xbow on a shooting rail sitting down without having hardly moved at all is a huge advantage over recurve/compound. And you don't have to consider how much that deer is going to squat when that bolt is released. To me, this makes all the differenc.

Heck I'd like to get a Xbow and hunt with one, they look like a lot of fun.

a crossbow and a compound bow use wheels and pullys to store more energy than can be stored by limbs alone.

this is where the similaraties end.

a cross bow is shoulder fired. a compound is not.

most crossbows wear scopes. Compounds do not.

cross bows are effectively "pre-drawn" , compounds are not, so there is one less step in the shooting procees when in range of an animal.

While there are very fast bows out there, they do not approch the speed of a crossbow.

Not one person has stated that compound bows are immoral or unethical. No one has stated that they should be illegal.

but, to call them the same as a compound bow is not comparing apples to apples.

it takes less skill to put a bolt thru a deers lungs at 40 yards with a scoped crossbow than it does to put an arrow thru a deer at the same range using a compound. Plain and simple

The biggest issue not mentioned yet is that a crossbow is much noisier than a compound. It can and will limit shot distances effectively. You still have to be a good hunter to get within bow range of an animal, even if it a crossbow. Crossbow might be predrawn but you still have movement to get into position. Compounds have evolved into now they have such a great let off, so you can be "pre-drawn" when a deer walk into your shooting lane. I am for hunting with what ever weapon one chooses and how they want to hunt with it as long as it is legal. Crossbows are not any faster than compounds for the most part.

more than 150 fps in some cases.

You can find an exception in any case for any weapon. I look more at the normal or average not the *. But even with speed ther is still noise.

When you go and shoot a crossbow come back and tell us just how easy it is to move around in order to get a shot on an animal...the compound is more manageable. Not having to draw is a slight advantage but it is nearly moot if you are using a bow that you can draw without looking like you are going to blow a gasket. I can have my Guardian up and drawn in 5 secs max. Using a rest is an advantage? How long do you hold your bow back and how much does it weigh? Last thing, you still have to move the crossbow to your shoulder and get it on target. It isn't sitting there pre-aimed.

You are grossly overstating the difficulty of shooting a compound and you are misinformed on the abilities and drawbacks of a crossbow. You should really go shoot one or better yet, hunt with one. You'll have new found respect for people that hunt trad/recurve. The real bow hunters.

PS: I don't hunt with trad gear because I suck at it.

Real bow hunters? The real original bow hunters stalked in loin clothes on foot or horseback, no showers or scent eliminators, no trail cams or feeders, with hickory limbs and horsehair, stones for arrow points... Anybody here hunt that way? Get real dude, there is no such thing as real bow hunters anymore if you wanna keep throwing all these standards of what a real bow hunter is around

A compound hunter's jimmies have been rustled. I am real and using a compound is so easy a caveman can do it. I use one because it's so much easier than a stick bow...point and shoot.

Point and shoot? That simple?

I shoot a recurve and a compound, the only difference to me between them is range. I limit my shots to 20 yards with the recurve and I have killed stuff out to 60 yards with a compound. I dont intend to ruffle anyones feathers but until reading this thread I didnt even know it was legal to shoot a crossbow during archery season. Where I have bowhunted a crossbow is illegal during archery season, and IMO unless its an inury supported permit I dont consider a crossbow a fair option for an archery hunt, it really does take the sport out of it IMO.

Ha! I shot at a deer this morning with my dad's crossbow. I held it up FOREVER before it got into range. My arms were killing me. I was on the ground and had 4 sets of eyes looking at me. Took the shot at 30 yards and shot over her back. Turns out my dad was wrong about the yardages on the reticles. Also, try finding a crossbow arrow after you've shot. More likely to find a bullet. I think the whole point of archery season is to get the animal close, so the likelihood of you harvesting them is lower. Otherwise there wouldn't be an archery season and a gun season, just a deer season.

Yes, it is that simple.

Well damn, you're one bad dude... It took me countless hours and arrows down range before I was even close to being ready to take a deer and I still have to gain composure and control adrenalin when I'm ready to take a shot... I wish I was as good as you

When I dropped off my hog at the Taxi, he showed me his new PSE Vendetta and WOW! He can hit a target at 100 yards with almost zero noise. At 330 FPS, he is shooting a lot faster than my Barnett Crossbow and with a ton less noise.

I have to get the deer within 30 yards to take a shot with mine due to the noise.

The skill in taking a deer with a bow or crossbow is getting them in range, not pulling or releasing a trigger.

I don't understand all the fuss?

I use a crossbow after years of using a recurve then a compound and now in my old age (65) a crossbow. I've killed deer every season but one with all the above.
I've taken 2 does aready the last one yesterday and both this year with one at 20 yards and the other at 10 yards.
I still had to keep my mind on what the wind direction was and limit my movement to when their head was down feeding or turned away.
The doe I shot yesterday was jittery and at 10 yards she almost ducked the arrow and I caught her high in the spine and dropped her on the spot and she only kicked a few times as I cut the main artery plus broke her back.
None of my crossbow shots have been further than 25 yards and I guess what my point is you still have to be a hunter and get close for clean kills whatever type of archery equipment you use.
And by the way, you only get so many tags, so the deer don't know what or care what you use.

That doesn't make me "one bad dude" , it only means I am capable of putting a pin in the center of a circle and squeezing the trigger. Sights and a trigger are not complicated.

Double Bingo .....

Exacty. And why would anyone care what others think about how they hunt as long as it's legal and ethical.

Hunting with a crossbow allowed my son to lenghten his hunting season and hunt during bow season. He has killed a buck with it at 9, 10, 11, and this year at 12. He's getting old enough to handle the draw weight now so he can switch to a compound if he wants to.

Those pictures say it all, and anyone that wants to argue that it's cheating just hasn't been hunting long enough to know what the word hunting means.
Congratualtions to your son, that first one is a brute!

I don't think anyone has said using a crossbow is cheating

The loudness factor is irrelevant. Sound travels at the same speed regardless of amplitude. Both Xbow and compound create sound at the same moment, so 100+ FPS trumps loudness. Plus you have a great advantage if you can shoulder your weapon sitting or in the prone position. Period.

But why the straw man arguments about cheating? Most folks here including myself aren't against Xbows anyway. As a strictly public land bowhunter, I'm just saying that the incentive to put forth the effort is greatly decreased as long as these weapons share the same season. Should I bend over and let the state force me to buy new equipment just to remain competitive with Xbowers?

It is my opinion that the state needs to draw the line here, else the purpose in separate seasons is that much more diminished. No attacking anyone, just stating my opinion. The main thing is that we all love to chase these dadgum deer!!

either will work, me personaly think cross bow is to much like a deer rifle just doesent go as far. more challenging with a cross bow. I know i will ruffle some feathers on this but hey its my opnion

X2