What kind of hunting is it?

If someone hunts with a crossbow, do you think they can call themselves bowhunters?

NOPE

Let's see, no bullets, no powder, no primer so not rifle hunting; but there are strings and a short arrow (bolt) with fletchings and either a fixed broadhead or mechanical on end. Therefore, I consider it what TPWD does, archery hunting with a crossbow as opposed to compound or recurve bows.

I predict at least 5 pages and two weeks until this one dies.

This is how it goes as we near the season’s end, every single year.

Do you consider it bow hunting if you are using a compound bow? What is the functional difference between a crossbow and a compound bow with regard to the traditional recurve or simple bow?

I know what the bow purists will say, but isn't a cross bow simply a horizontal compound bow?

The rifle stock on a crossbow is the difference. it's not just a horizontal compound bow.



However, it is a form of Archery by definition.

yes. But I don't use one, to heavy to hike with

I could care less what label you put on it as long as it’s legal.

If you don't cut a piece of bois de arc, shape it, kill your own ducks, fletch your own homemade arrows, make a string with sinew from last year's kill, wax it with bee's wax that you collected yourself from wild bees, and knap your own broadheads, can you really call yourself a bowhunter?

I know.....I was just poking the thread a little...

This is my take on all things hunting....and said so multiple times on the HF thread recently.

If its legal, who cares. Just don't do illegal.

Anything beyond that is nothing more than virtue signaling

Absolutely. Same hunting rules apply as someone with a vertical bow. Bought my first bow over 45 years ago. It was a Bear Kodiak. Modern bows are no comparison to those bows we used back then. I had a friend that used a long bow years ago and acted like he was superior to other hunters using a compound. It`s just an ego thing. BTW, he never killed anything with his long bow and gave up bow hunting all together.

I’ll play. Until a crossbow is developed that’s both quiet and fast, it’s not a very effective way to shoot Texas deer.

I would argue that my 80 pound speed bow IS quiet, nearly as fast and powerful (moreso than some), more steady i the hand and far quicker to load and reload compared to most crossbows.

They are bowhunters.....but......

There are those that hunt with "stick & string" (longbow) - the hardest to hunt with

Then there are those that hunt with a compound bow - the next hardest to hunt with


And there are those that hunt with crossbows - the easiest to hunt with. Three groups, three different levels of convenience. I'm in my 50's, I like the crossbow. I did the first two types years ago.

who cares???

I mostly hunt with a 50 pound long bow because it’s the funnest not because it is the hardest. And i would rather tote the longbow than the compound on a long walk. But this time of year i take the compound, and all the advantage i can get. If i can get out at all

only real bowhunters do this.

Perfect answer

I'm a hunter. Period.

I own a longbow, a compound vertical bow, and a crossbow.

I own a percussion and an inline muzzleloader that has a scope and shoots smokeless powder.

I own semi-automatic pistols and six-shot revolvers.

I own bolt-action rifles, shotguns, and ARs.

All of which are capable of quickly killing deer and require a level of skill to do so. Who cares? I hunt.


P.S. I also own an electric, stick-burner, and a pellet smoker.

^You just might have more hunting crap than I do. (I'm strictly a rifle guy, but I sure have a lot of junk I carry to my box blind to sit and watch a corn feeder. I'm starting to re-discover the joys of a Thermos. )

i have the opinion that no one likes'

ALL hunting methods start and end on the same dates.

There you have it.

I ain't punching that Dogie...
Adios,
Gary

I hope you never have a shoulder injury that prevents you from drawing a vertical bow. I would gladly go back to my stick and string if I could still pull it. Heck, I had to have someone else pull back my crossbow for 2 years after my last shoulder surgery.
Edit: By the way, I haven't shot a deer with a firearm but once since 1995. I have taken a few with a recurve, many with a compound and a few with a crossbow. I still hunt the same stands/feeders at the same distance that I did with my compound. Like others have said, I would much rather hike in with a recurve or compound than carry in a heavy crossbow.
Also with a compound, I have been able to take 2 deer within 3 minutes of each other as all I had to do was get another arrow strung and wait for a shot. With a crossbow, there is way more movement and noise to get it ready to shoot again, especially from an elevated stand. Just my point of view.

Crossbow.

Apperently a bunch of whiny batches who feel they're superior because of their methods. Smells like insecurity to me. Childish.

Using a long bow and or a compound bow is the essence of primitive hunting. The flight of the arrow is an extension of the shooters ability to draw, hold with precision and perfectly release the arrow. Any defect in this process will cause a miss or even worse a wounded animal.

Unfortunately as we age our ability to maintain this precision is diminished. When I reached my 60's I saw a marked reduction in my consistency.

Rather then give up the opportunity to pursue my passion of hunting I have opted to use the crossbow. There is no question that a cross bow markedly increases my accuracy and minimizes the risk of wounding my prey.

I couldn't care less about your definition of the type hunting hunting the use of the crossbow is. I'm just thankful technology gave us compounds over long bows, bow sights rather then instinctive shooting, releases rather then finger tabs, glass arrows rather then cedar shafts, and expandables over over fixed blade points.

What's your opinion on the question your raise?

I guess it depends if they are hunting with it over a feeder or not, maybe behind a high fence too?
Yes they are bowhunters.
Crossbows have been around long before compounds.
Yes I have one, don't hunt with it currently- I use a longbow.

Now that's one I can do.

Can you even call yourself a hunter at all? The real hunters chase herds with their buddies until they either turn and fight or collapse from exhaustion, then dispatch them with sharp sticks.

A lot of people forget the crossbow was invented in Europe in the 1100’s

I'm still interested in HunterGuy's thoughts on the question he raised.

Im fine with crossbows for archery, I don’t think I’ll ever use one as long as I can shoot a vertical bow. If I ever a an injury the makes me unable to shoot a vertical bow, I would buy a crossbow and hunt with it.

Can you call yourself a real hunter if you have to use a sharp stick? Anything above buck-naked and bare-handed is an advantage. Use whatever legal advantage you want, just don't judge others for their legal choices.

I always though running the whole herd of a cliff was a little excessive

They're actually a bit older than that, 500 BC or so. The Chinese and the Greeks came up with them around the same time. They've been used in hunting that far back too based on artwork.

Highly unsportsmanlike. What will we eat when they spoil?

And it is far too cruel to dispatch them bare handed. A sharp stick is more ethical.

jerkey.

Sorry i was not quick on the draw when i edited that. Sharp sticks are far more humane than bare hands.

I would rather kill them fresh than live on dried meat. And i am not a huge fan of bruised and battered bony meat. Lets use the sharp sticks. This i s the path.

Live and let live.

The state of Texas says it's legal.

I don't care how anyone hunts, or their weapon of choice. You do you.

Some of the best hours in camp, are when everyone comes in after the sun goes down, and we've got a fire going. Everyone standing around the fire, holding their drink of choice. I'm just glad everyone made it back to camp safe. I don't care what weapon they were hunting with.

I would rather to stick with virtue signaling and thinking i am better than you because I wear a loin cloth and use a fire-hardened sharp stick.

I will say, I do care about the weapon of choice, if they are not proficient with it and prone to taking unethical shots. But that's more on the person than the weapon, I guess.

My issue isn’t with a crossbow, it’s the optics the majority of them wear.

Shooting a crossbow with a 4x32 scope isn’t the same as me shooting a compound bow with pins. I feel the same way about scoped muzzleloader in special seasons.

A few weeks back it was, "are you even a man if you don't own a 30-06". Now this crap. Some seriously shallow judgmental folks here. Glad I'm not on trial with these guys as jurors.

This one liked the crossbow.

Nice Buck Angus, would love to the shot or at least entrance on that guy. Looks like you got him in the butt with that pic.

Nice Buck Angus, would love to the shot or at least entrance on that guy. Looks like you got him in the butt with that pic.

Someone sitting in a blacked-out cube with a compound with pins isn't the same as a person stalking with a trad bow, by that reasoning.

What do you call a guy that hunts with an AR vs bolt action or single shot? What about a guy that hunts wearing camo vs one in a white t shirt and Bahama shorts on? Or one using cover scent vs one that just covers his scent by "passing gas". I have two words for it, "who cares".....

True story. Would rather to hear about a clean kill with a crossbow than to hear about the deer wounded by a novice with a bow, that did not put in the hours

Ok I will play along:
txtrophy, Where does it stop? Isn’t your compound with pins the same to my recurves shot instinctively? I’m not the archery Nazi and don’t want to be but, Buzz was on point. If the seasons for all legal means started and stopped on the same dates, I believe crossbow usage would dwindle significantly. My opinion only but with the exception of physical disability, the vast majority of crossbow hunters would be rifle hunting if the seasons ran concurrently and firearms are legal in their hunting area. On MLD properties where they do run concurrently, I still see numerous hunters that choose to deer hunt with bows instead of firearms. I do not see the same with crossbows. As long as both are legal, I say scratch your itch the way that feels best. My perception is one of a fundamental difference in the two groups motivation for participating.

My honest opinion is that crossbow hunting is not the same as bow hunting. Whether it is archery or not i don’t really care, if “they” deem it acceptable to hunters with crossbows during bow season I think it is fan freaking tastic and I hope it extends your season and puts venison on your table.

I really don’t feel like I give anything up to a crossbow with my compound. It pushes a 454-455 grain arrow 329 feet per second and my broadheads hit with my field points at 60 yards. I can easily shoot 50 yards without a ton of effort or even a LRF.

So what is the difference between that and a crossbow? To me, the main difference is my kid can shoot a crossbow. Or anyone else not blessed with almost 31” of draw, or ability to shoot 90+ pounds. I bet there are a lot of dudes using a cross bow that are way better hunters than I am for that matter. I am happy for them

From a bow hunting perspective, I hunt with my crossbow the same way my son hunts with his compound. We have the same range cut offs for distances shot, we both need strict scent and movement discipline, we both need to be slow to move and have other deer in "danger close" range in order to get the shot done. We also both deal with dink bucks chasing doe around and not giving a good clean shot opportunity most of october, november and december, and we both have the opportunity to make good hits or bad hits of which either can lead to long tracking jobs.

So aside from the draw cycle, how is a crossbow not bow hunting? I always say if the deer know where the shot came from, i didn't do my job right as a hunter. So if I am doing my job, whether I raise a crossbow or pull back on a string, the deer shouldn't know I am there until too late...

My

I have always admired that good archers developed and maintained the strength and muscle control to draw and hold the draw while accurately shooting. The archer has to posses the horsepower to smoothly draw the poundage he shoots at the right time. The archer also at times needs to be able to hold the bow at full draw until the shot materializes. Crossbow, none of that is required. Omitting the draw cycle and hold is a rather large advantage that removes the aspect of physicality. To overlook that is comparing the two through rose colored glasses. There in lies the reasoning behind many, including myself as viewing the two as being vastly different. In today’s world that admiration of physicality is referred to as toxic masculinity by soft people.
I’m not anti crossbow. I just don’t view hunting with them as requiring nearly the skill level or strength required to hunt with a bow.

I might use a crossbow next year. I still won’t call it archery. You can, it doesn’t bother me what you choose or what you call it within the limits of the law

I respect the physicality of true bowhunters also, although I am not one. I also think the guys that really try the old, traditional stuff, long bows, etcetera, are exploring a really cool history.

That being said...I have a neighbor that, according to his ranch's Facebook page, is "strictly" a bowhunter. He's not too much younger than me. But man, he sure loves posting a lot of pictures of himself in a tshirt. (There's one or two like that on here. ) I occasionally check to see if I've seen any of his buck kills on my place. I consider myself a "sponsor", since some of his kills have eaten my protein.

Yes he was walking at 40 yards quarting away. Was aiming for shoulder shot but 2 steps it went in front of the hip and came out just behind the offside shoulder. The bolt hit everything vital for a dead deer. Was the first one I've shot with an arrorw/bolt and it's not over until you can put your hands on them.

with todays let off and softer draw cycles, compounds arent that intrusive. I held this year for over 3 mins, squared off with a big bull. Now grant it 8-20lbs isnt zero, but pulling 75 and holding 11lbs isnt a miracle feat either.

With that said hat tip to anyone wanting to carry one of those crossbows in mountains… thats new level of dedication. I say that if thats only way i could hunt buggling bulls i guess I would

Unfortunately the loud crossbow causes a lot of jumping the string with Texas whitetails resulting in bad hits.

Why not? Crossbows go clear back to the days of King Henry V which is a whole lot longer than the modern compound bow with a 75% let off.

Great question!

As to where it stops, I'm not sure. The states actually created this debacle themselves by calling it an "archery" season. By definition, a crossbow is a form of archery. When many states initiated an archery only season, Compounds didn't exist or had only existed for a short time, as did modern crossbows. Many crossbows of that era had recurve limbs.

And I agree, that many if not most crossbow hunters would be rifle hunters if we just went to a "one season for every weapon" system.


My solution would be this: If a state has a special weapons season, limit the use of optics. A modern inline muzzleloader and an old percussion cap Hawken have about the same effective range when both are wearing open sights, same with a compound and a crossbow both shooting pin sights. I like that Colorado has an open sight only rule for Muzzleloaders.....some of the rifles I see shooting now are nothing more than a single shot centerfire that you have to push a bullet down the barrel.


I'm not the archery Nazi either, but there is a point where there is a Distinct advantage between weapon types and when it comes to the Compound vs. Crossbow debate, the distinct advantage is the optics that most modern crossbows are topped with.


I don't want to get into sitting in a blind vs. stalking as the two fall under the method category. When archery seasons started it was considered very unsportsmanlike in many northern states to sit in a tree to hunt deer, it was only sportsmanlike to hunt from the ground. Now everyone and their brothers are using climbing stands and saddles in places that actually have trees.


I have no issues with anyone using a crossbow, but I think the barrier to entry in terms of skill needed to be able to proficiently kill an animal with a scoped crossbow is significantly lower than that of even a compound bow. An archer using a recurve or longbow is handicapped even further compared to a compound bow, due to the weapons limited range, even by archery standards.



I went to hunt this past spring in Argentina during a "bow only" week they ran prior to the general rifle season. In our two groups there was a mix of Compound shooters and Crossbow shooters. Two of the Crossbow shooters were shooting Raven Crossbows, supported by bog pods wearing 4x scopes. Although our effective range was about the same ( I can shoot a compound bow pretty dang far ) there was no question it was much, much easier to execute an accurate shot with the crossbow than a vertical bow. So much easier, I would have been fine with them using a rifle.

Interesting to read people's opinions but it doesn't really matter "what kind of hunting" we all think it is. Call it what you like. The only thing that really matters is what it is by law so that you know when the season is open for hunting with a crossbow.

I hunted with a crossbow for one season after shoulder surgery prevented me from using my compound. The scope, gunstock, weight and fact that there was no need to draw at the last second (often got busted drawing my compound when a shot presented itself) made it feel very different to the type of archery I was used to even if the distance at which I was prepared to take a shot with either was the same and so, at the same time, I also found it similar to hunting with a compound. Archery or not? Certainly propels an arrow using a string but not sure. Whatever the law says in this case.

Exactly right, in this day and age when the anti's are trying to end hunting all together who cares how you hunt as long as it is legal. If you are one of those people who say xyz isnt abc, then you are part of the problem....not the solution!

Go pick up your participation trophy. That knife cuts both ways.

Archery hunting? Yes.
Bow hunting? No.
Crossbow hunting? Yes