crossbow during archery season

[coyotekiller]

i took some time to catch up on checking posts from gun to archery and crossbow. just wondering why so many are not will to share the woods.i read alot of posts no hunters left no one in the wood no shots heard.maybe if we would unite ans share the woods.with all legal hunting weapons. weather bow crossbow gun muzzleloader. more people might hunt. maybe that guy thats thinking buying  a crossbow cant justify the money spent to hunt 2 weeks but if the chance to hunt from oct 1st he may hunt.to me we are all in this together.so what if someone else shoots a big buck that you may have seen.we need to unite all hunters and share the time in the woods or soon hunting will be something of the past.

[walkabout]

I think we will soon see the bow season shared with the crossbow.

[Overland]

I am not a proponent of crossbows during archery season. If the goal is simply to get more people into the woods then by that logic just open the entire season to firearms.

Bow season has traditionally been the quiet, unpressured time in the woods. Bow hunters spend significant time throughout the entire year practicing, becoming proficient with their equipment, extensively scouting, and working toward that one close encounter. They pay attention to scent control, how they get to their stands to minimize impact, and usually take very close shots.

Crossbows are not bows. They do not require practice, they require sighting in. They have scopes. One does not need to draw them, so there is no movement. Each year the technology gets better and better, with at least one manufacturer now touting a 100-yard crossbow. This all adds up to your average Joe purchasing a crossbow and treating it like a gun.  All of a sudden, as a bow hunter, I now am sharing the woods with those who do not think or act like bow hunters.

Yes, I am generalizing all bow hunters and all crossbow hunters. Of course there are outliers in each group. In NY our firearms season is extremely long compared to many other states. Anyone interested in pursuing a deer certainly has the opportunity.

I am absolutely a proponent of allowing anyone with a disability, either temporary or long-term to hunt during bow season with a crossbow. This has been the way it has been for a long time and I would never disparage someone for it. For all others, either accept that spending time in the unpressured deer woods has a barrier to entry, or wait for the general firearms season.

[greensider]

Selfishness crossbows will not change how peaceful the woods are and I practiced with my crossbow as much as my compound and I still won’t take shots any farther than my compound

[coyotekiller]

i have been bow hunting since 1978 now at 56 i see all this resentment at crossbow hunting our first NY hunting season was in 1900 it took place in the  adirondacks  archery was not allowed till 1948 after 48yrs of gun only i wonder if whey were against archery hunting and being so selfish not wanting to share the woods. i now there was no compound bows back then. look at the new bows of today. 80% letoff  much shorter 31in in lenght .compared to 60 in longbow or recurve and if it is a 60lb recurve your shooting 60lbs at 28in draw compound 60lb your holding 12lbs big difference .now add bow scopes with built in rangefinders overdraws to shoot smaller arrows .whos really being selfish.

[greensider]

 

[jdbbowhunter]

I have to agree with Overland. Crossbows are not bows. As for reasons stated to add to those, a crossbow can beooooed and loaded at vehicle and is in that position until target animal shows up. then shot. Ive always found toughest part of bowhunting is to draw on an animal in range. Not required with crossbow. And there are numerous other reasons that crossbows are not bows. Even NY State agrees they are not bows as they require an individual to purchase a muzzleloader tag to hunt with one. Greensider you are the exception to the rule as far as practicing with a crossbow, from guys I have talked too. The truth is it boils down to $$$, and people can no longer be told no in todays day and age.

[Chris1389]

The only advantage of a crossbow over a compound is accuracy and KE.  Which is more ethical in my opinion. I wounded many deer with a compound when i was younger. It would of happened much less with a crossbow especially with older hunters that cant hold a compound steady. With most ny legal crossbows your getting the same speed an distance as a compound except a compound you can get more then one shot on a deer. Crossbow its one shot.

[KillerCrow]

i have a cross bow and have not hunted with it because it,

on the contrary to what was mentioned prior, actually requires more movement than a compound bow, in order to get up/set up and shoot, unless you have it perfectly placed on a rest, it also requires you to sit in different locations where you do not have to worry about the limbs hitting a near by tree. it is bulky, and colder to handle in extreme weather conditions. All in all i find my compound bow much easier, quieter, and more pleasurable to shoot

as for accuracy, ok at 20 yards it may be a lil more accurate than my bowtech due to the consistence of breaking bolts, but between 30-50 yards i would hands down any day prefer my compound, the scopes on cross bows are not as nice as ones you would, have on your rifle unless you upgrade, most i have shot after the 20 yard mark unless rested well seem to be very touchy with just a lil bit of movement you could be off quite a ways
best of luck all less than 48hrs left

but i do not see the reason as an avid archer to feel that the x-bow should not be allowed, just as A/R should not be imposed to those hunters under the age of 18 or over the age of 60, any one who thinks you can roll down the window and shoot a NY State legal x-bow out the window have never tried to shoot a cross bow, the limbs open up making that compact weapon much larger than they are in theooooed  position. 
 

[greensider]

If we don’t get more people involved you won’t have to worry about this if ny can’t make money from hunting there will be none then you will have your selves to blame for crying about crossbows I wish it was full inclusion like early bear use what you want and shut up about it

[greensider]

Great point killercrow I find them way harder to get into position compared to a compound and definitely not an advantage in the woods

[docbob]

I am sure that my response will anger some members, but after reading the comments I would like to add my two cents.
I will begin by stating that I have been exclusively a rifle hunter for more than fifty years.  Those that use a bow or any other hunting implement do so because they choose to, not because they are mandated.  Though some implements may require more skill or practice than others, I still don't understand why those hunters feel they are entitled to more consideration than rifle hunters (shorter rifle season, etc.)  The reality is that over the years I have seen more deer shot during rifle season that have broadheads still in them than deer with previous bullet wounds.  Is that because the hunter did not practice enough, because the shot was out of range, or for some other reason?
I am certainly not trying to belittle bowhunters because I realize that a significant level of skill is required to get the job done with a compound or long bow, but to say that a crossbow or rifle hunter needs "only to sight-in" does not mean that they are less ethical or skilled hunters.
Let's just all enjoy our time in the woods and allow our fellow sportsmen and women to do the same.

[coyotekiller]

They already added 2 week to archery season and they still cry more

[Overland]

Look at the image below. This is not a bow. This is a long-range single-shot weapon, not all that different from a rifle. Guys on here who are saying that their crossbows are only good to 50 yards or whatnot, that's just because you didn't fork over the big bucks for one of the newer crossbows. That's like saying my grandfather's old open-sight rifle is only good to 50 yards - it is my choice to use an inferior weapon. Others will not make the same decision when purchasing a crossbow.



Yes, NY presently has restrictions on what crossbows are legal. This will almost certainly change in the near future. Crossbow companies are pushing for these regulations to be overturned, and by your same logic of getting more guys in the woods, then you too should agree with overturning the regulations. Don't tell me that crossbow scopes are not very good. That's just because you bought a cheap one, not a top of the line optic. The scope that came on your Savage package rifle is also crap when compared to a Swarovski.

Regarding practice, that's also not a fair comparison. It's fine if you enjoy shooting your crossbow and do practice with it. However, any average Joe can go buy a crossbow, have it sighted in for him, and go into the woods and shoot a deer at a distance I would never feel comfortable shooting with my bow. Heck, the very top post on the Archery & Bowhunting forum on here is of a guy who took a beautiful buck with his new crossbow who did just that - buy it and hunt with it.

I am not a fan of infighting among hunters. We are all on the same team and our rights diminish more and more every year. However, we do need to respect our differences. Just as most would agree that allowing rifles during bow season would not be wise, and hunting at night with night vision should remain illegal (except for predators), there should be certain rules pertaining to bow season.

If you truly are pushing for everything being legal all the time, ask yourself how you would feel if I purchase a number of cellular trail cams that send the pictures right to my phone, then purchase a long-range rifle and equip it with a thermal scope (makes night vision seem low-tech), and get notified in the middle of the night that my target buck is at the scrape on my upper field so I get out of bed and go shoot him at 3am from 400 yards. My point is that there have to be limitations. Calling bows and crossbows equal is ridiculous. If they are, then just hunt with a bow and stop arguing for crossbows.

[KillerCrow]

overland, yes the xbow i purchased  came with a cheap scope but has been upgraded, to a tru glow scope that was 129.99 correction, and it made very little difference in shooting but did add some clarity and a larger field of view,

 like I have said i am an avid archer love using my compound and do not see why you or any one would be scared of a person infringing on their hunting.
  the only issue is again I LOVE MY COMPOUND, that the x bow should be allowed all season because there is no way to differentiate between a traditional archery kill and an x bow kill.  i Also hate the guy down the road that goes out and kills one with an x bow during the reg archery season, but what can you do.  if you feel that the implementation of the x-bow is gonna affect your hunting i would say, that you are not worried about the cross bow its self, but a hunter who would not have been out to take your targeted buck if they were restricted to a compound or traditional bow

An argument against is just pure jealousy.  This sight is for hunters helping hunters not haters wanting their way