New York Sportsmen
Hunting- In The New York Area => New York Crossbow & Muzzleloader hunting => Topic started by: coyotekiller on December 15, 2019, 03:10:02 PM
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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.
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I think we will soon see the bow season shared with the crossbow.
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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.
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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
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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.
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+1
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Great point killercrow I find them way harder to get into position compared to a compound and definitely not an advantage in the woods
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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.
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They already added 2 week to archery season and they still cry more
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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.
(https://twangnbang.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SUB1Crossbow-650x366.jpg)
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.
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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
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p.s my carbon icon when picked up from NDA, was so spot on that any fool who could pull it back could never practice walk out and harvest game so whats the difference from a x-bow that was already sighted in
the only thing that may be beneficial is if the state added a fee for cross bow usage IE additional licence not tag
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I agree with the pro-xbow guys. You still need to scout, you still need to get close, you still need to take an ethical shot. I do not think it would even add that many people to the woods before "pre-rut" end of Oct timeframe. Fact is in early October you need to put the work in the get a buck regardless of weapon. Bucks are mainly moving bed to feed and not far during daylight. Whether you get it done with a crossbow or a compound you put the work in. Lots of folks these days are not going to put the work in so its not going to attract a large crowd on public land.
Not to mention if it gets more people in the woods that is GOOD for the sport. Not bad. The stateland near me is empty during Oct.
With all that said, we need to stop arguing about this and separating into groups. We should all be in this together.
Overland, using examples of shooting deer at night and "100yd crossbows" is not progressing the argument. There are rules for xbows. And there will continue to be restrictions.
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I would like to add this my wife is finally showing an interest in hunting she will not go out in cold weather nor will she get a bow and practice because she has physical health issues and couldn’t do it but she likes shooting the crossbow so why shouldn’t she br allowed to hunt all bow season with it and no ny will ne give her a handicap permit
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lets be more like pennsylvania 1 legal buck regardless of weapon used. thats not the case with most bowhunters they bowhunt and the gun hunt as well.if they dont shoot that big buck with the bow they try to kill him with a rifle. i highly doubt they still try with the bow during gun season.
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I understand we need more hunters. But how many new hunters have started because of cross bow inclusion? Not many I suspect. And I common thing I hear from guys that have purchased cross bows is "Oh I don't have time to practice." Truth is you should be practicing with whatever weapon your hunting with. And as far as 2 weeks added to the beginning of archery season(which I saw no need for)was to add the 2 weeks at the end for cross bow. And my other question would be how many hunt with crossbow during regular season?
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Actually i read somewhere recently that hunter participation is up because of crossbow use so full inclusion would definitely increase it more and get older hunters back in the woods
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agreed 100%
1 buck and multiple does like other states would def help out the buck to doe ratio
But that said before its called out i am guilty of harvesting two bucks if i have a valid tag in my name i will be out after the next one until all tags are gone, off to the woods now with the ole smoke pole still got a doe tag in the pocket
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Would be interesting to see #s at the end of the season to see if that is true. I don't really care what guys hunt with as long as its legal. And I actually know more older guys that hunt with bow. See more younger guys hunting with crossbow. Guess I shouldn't be surprised by that.
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Well, I definitely hope it is expanded, because I enjoy the two weeks we crosbowers have out there now.
The quiet time in the woods before rifle starts is a treasure. Don't think it matters whether the bow is horizontal or vertical.
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In a tree stand I prefer compound from ground blind xbow. Xbow does afford some better opportunity if you want to spot and stalk for a bit more range and just simply to pop a squat at a base of a tree. I feel there is about a 10-15y range benefit with a crossbow but feel guys that aren't bow hunters will take a shot 60-75 yards where a archer may be a bit more self disciplined limiting effective ranges.
As for dates give youth and over 60 whole bow season and maybe go to Nov 1st or even last week of October so guys get a little more of the pre rut seeking phase before bucks lock down.
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I understand we need more hunters. But how many new hunters have started because of cross bow inclusion? Not many I suspect.
Actually quite the opposite. A lot of the new hunter programs across the country utilize crossbows due to the less time needed to be effective. Worth a google.
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I understand we need more hunters. But how many new hunters have started because of cross bow inclusion? Not many I suspect.
Actually quite the opposite. A lot of the new hunter programs across the country utilize crossbows due to the less time needed to be effective. Worth a google.
New hunters with a crossbow???? I beg to differ Louie, but in NY you can bow hunt when you are 12 years old.....BUT you cant use a crossbow until 14 years old....what a crock..., that makes no sense to me.
Why is the NY law this way...???
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how many bowhunters use there bow in the late season.not many i suspect.if they have a buck tag from archery left there not grabbing there bow they grab that modern inline muzzleloader with a variable power scope 1in groups at 100yrds.why so they can kill that big buck that gave them the slip all season and with trailcam picts now has returned to home range.they have 11 days and they want to increase there kill range,so bow stays home.let be honest. now your the same person you dislike for wanting to use a crossbow.by taking a muzzleloader and leaving you bow home.
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I think it’s a little crazy to think that having crossbows makes young people want to jump into hunting. I don’t know many guys under say 21 years old that’s going to run out and spend 100s on a crossbow to go hunting. Pretty sure the majority of us started out with one of dads rifles. Dad doesn’t have multiple crossbows to lend out. Chances are dad doesn’t have one at all.
Another problem with hunting is the license cost. To get your bow, muzzleloading and regular season is around like 60 bucks and then you pay another 10 for doe tags that you might or might not get. If you weren’t already into hunting young guys don’t want to pay that.
The $10 for doe tags is stupid. Some people pay $10 and get none. I own 30 acres of land and got one doe tag this year. 2 of my hunting buddies (neither own any land at all) got 2 tags each and then were both mailed a 3rd in October without even requesting it. This was all for the same areas. How does that make sense?
I guess my point is if you aren’t already into hunting it might not sound too intriguing to get into.
JMO
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Make sure you get you muzzy stamp when you buy your license that way you always get that bonus dmp for all units to use early and late Bow/muzzy. At least if gives you options if not drawn for gun dmp. Plus your regular tag converts to either sex if no buck for late season.
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Does anyone know how many deer were taken with a crossbow last year in NY?
It was 10,829 - a drop in the bucket to what is taken annually in NY of a five year average of 220,000. The thought that the woods will become filled with crossbow hunters if the season is extended more is ridiculous. Crossbow hunters in the southern zone already have the ability to hunt the heart of the rut yet only kill 10,000 to 12,000 deer annually. Allowing them to hunt starting October 1st I doubt will substantially increase that number. Even if it doubled, it would still be less than/half of the 40,000 deer bowhunters harvest annually. Our mission as hunters is Conservation. The DEC using science (whether we agree with it or not) sets take objectives and uses hunters as the tool to harvest the resource (deer to us) for the people of NY so both can live in harmony. If any effects from increasing/decreasing any season length/use of implements/etc, would be lowering or increasing the amount of DMPs to achieve total harvest goal.
When I first started out with archery tackle, I was chided for using a bow with training wheels. A group of local sportsman prided themselves in using just a stick and string - they nicknamed themselves the WOFW club (Without F'ing Wheels). Now having grown older, some of them have turned/forced to use the advanced vertical bow while I myself am working towards using my father's recurve to hunt with. Their effective range grew and mine is shrinking.
To me, a crossbow has more in common with a bow than does a firearm. Both a crossbow and bow propel a stick with a sharp head on it to cause a death due to a low-energy impact that kills by cutting vital tissues while bullets kill by high-energy impact that crushes tissue and bone. Yes, you can shoulder an already loaded crossbow and use a scope but the fact of the matter is you can't take shots at animals with a sharpen stick like you can with an object propelled with gun powder. Like someone pointed out, archers now have the ability to incorporate a range finder into their sight and hold 80% of the draw weight - I'm sure that isn't anymore effective than instinctive shooting with three fingers under a nocked arrow pulling back a full 50 pounds. Your effective range and shots you can take (regardless of weapon) is a personal one based on your practice regimen and experience and not that of someone else. At the end of the day, you endure the successes or consequences and how you handle each is more on how you are raised than what is said in a manual. In my mind, most people are good but yes some people exist that never shoot their weapon before hunting with it.
Generalizing that only bowhunters are the ones who spend time scouting, practicing, taking ethical shots or any other malarkey is just down right near sighted, ignorant and presumptuous. Many gun hunters exist that have great woodsmanship and hunting skill - they spend time hiking the mountains/woods looking for sign and food, running trail cameras and understanding the lay of the land just as any hunter would/should. The best ones (hunters that is) understand more finer details like thermals, how they shift morning and afternoon and how that interacts with the prevailing wind of the day and topography. All these things make a good/great hunter - not just an archer, gun hunter, muzzle load hunter or cross bow hunter.
Yes, the gun season is long in NY and I agree it could be shortened. However, I'm really not sure if shortening will have any effect as for the most part only opening weekend/week is the busiest time of the year. I was out the last Saturday of the gun season - saw 0 hunters and 9 deer on state land that opening day had many hunters. I hunted the last Sunday of the season on pressured private land - saw 10 deer and no hunters. Both days, the deer were on their feeding/bedding pattern and looking to survive the winter. One of my favorite methods of hunting I like to do is cutting a fresh buck track in the snow and running it down. Shortening the gun season would lessen the possible days of this endeavor.
My concern as a hunter/fisherman is not changes of implements/season lengths that cause minor fluctuations/adjustments, but habitat and access and recruitment/retention of hunters and fishermen. More than 90% of my hunting partners/camp/gun club members are older than me (I'm 40) and I'm not talking about a few years either. We are nearing a point where our conversation model funded by dollars from hunters and fishermen (as our demographic shrinks) won't be sustainable meaning we'll lose our voice and possibly our privilege to hunt (it isn't a right). Government bodies will turn more and more to sharp shooters and the ridiculous methods of deer sterilization to manage the herds. Given the choice between these methods or allowing some more hunters in the woods - I choose the latter.
Care less what weapon someone has in the woods as long as it is legal and they use it ethically both of which are more about their upbringing than laws governing us. The pursuit of fur/fin/feather should be an individual endeavor. As my grandfather told me, Comparison is the thief of all Happiness.
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Well reasoned, and said Goose, thanks for posting it.
Comparison is the thief of all Happiness
<---- That's gold right there!
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I think eventually crossbows will be allowed in the regular archery season. I dont understand why an organization like New York Bowhunters is so adamantly opposed to this happening. They claim that they dont want anything ruining "THEIR SEASON" ! Well its not "THEIR SEASON" its archery season ! I would think if they wanted such control over it, they would've taken the crossbow users into their organization and Incresed their membership and voice in the state ! We are loosing more and more hunters every year, and it does'nt help if one group opposes another. WE ARE ALL HUNTERS !! BOW, GUN, BLACK POWDER, CROSSBOW whatever ! I recomend joining the New York Crossbow Coalition ! Its only $20 to join , and if you go to their website there is a bunch of information on crossbows and getting them allowed in archery season. Again, we are ALL HUNTERS ! Lets not divide from within !
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One thing I haven’t seen mentioned about xbows is how loud they can be compared to a regular bow. Longer shots and that deer can jump the string. Seen it happen at 50 yd. I think that anything that gets hunters in the woods is a good thing . I remember a certain ny bowhunters group crying like bunch of babies over the youth gun season yrs ago. They’re going to shoot/disturb our deer!!! What a bunch of AHoles. We’re talking about kids here!!!! Hunt they way you want, do it ethically, do it safely. Enjoy it
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I can’t wait till my daughter can hunt the youth rifle, although I’ll prob watch her shoot a bigger deer than I ever have being I will take her to the fields in stuben where I hunt archery normally that weekend and see many large deer in the field and maybe in the last four years I truely think I have only heard three shots, again humans by habit are selfish and that will not help our cause in the long run
We should be glad that there are avenues to get the older, younger, and not as proficient with certain methods of harvest into the woods
The only issue and I have voiced in past is a/r should be age specific under 18 and over 65 should be excluded from a/r
if were worried about the loss of deer population
This will get a great responce NO season should be open for November, archery October rifle December 1-15 muzzle 15 till end which would allow mature deer to bread in a less pressured environment as well as giving a better chance for the sneaky larger deer that only show up during daylight in rut to survive
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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.
NYS only agrees with this because of pressure/lobbying from bow hunting groups which happen to have huge power in this state...... im glad they have that power but they should not be using it against fellow hunters.......
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Lets get this going again.WILL IT HAPPEN OR ARE WE DEAD IN THE WATER
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I wonder how many negative responses towards crossbows here were given by people who are members of nyb
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I have been hunting for almost 20 years now....... I started crossbow hunting 2 years ago when i realized i wanted to expand my opportunities more than just rifle season and small game hunting. It amazes me how many bow hunters i have known for years had negative things to say about crossbows. I feel like they all have the same incorrect talking points as well. It amazes me how far they think a hunter can/should shoot a deer in the woods with a crossbow. Im a big fan of hunting channels on Youtube. I watch some of the more prominent bowhunters shoot 75 yards with a compound bow all day long while practicing in a wide open area. those hunters would never shoot anywhere near that distance at a live deer for obvious ethical reasons. the same goes for crossbows...... just because i can hit a target at 60 yards doesn't mean i will shoot a deer at that distance.
it really frustrates me when they compare a crossbow to a muzzle loader or even a rifle. i practice a ton with a crossbow (contrary to what bow hunters think) from an elevated position at different angles......and honestly, where i hunt, i would have reservations shooting a deer with a rifle at 75 yards..... its a very selfish point of view they have taken......
reminds me of a time about 15 years ago i was goose hunting in a corn field. had a bow hunter who was apparently several hundred yards away in a wood lot (unbeknownst to me) get out of his stand and walk up to me in the corn field questioning what i was doing....... i explained to him i was goose hunting and he arrogantly asked if it was possible to wait until bow season was finished before i come back out again. i angrily explained to him that goose season that year started after bow began and ended before bow ended..... i also explained to him that waterfowl hunters look forward to our season the same as bow hunters look forward to theirs...... he didn't care for my answers and walked away........ so began my experience with bow hunters....... and honestly nothing has seemed to change......
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I feel your pain i was harassed on the river this past weekend by an elite fly fisherman. He diddnt like me centerpin fishing and told me to go fish the salmon river and that i kill the fish i catch using bait.
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I feel your pain i was harassed on the river this past weekend by an elite fly fisherman. He diddnt like me centerpin fishing and told me to go fish the salmon river and that i kill the fish i catch using bait.
I'm sure you told him wear he could take his opinion!! ;)
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I highly agree on sharing the woods but some folks need to learn better woods etiquette and I agree with cross bow but I still want my early bow unaffected
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That’s the problem it’s not your early season it’s all of ours
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I haven't been active on this forum for a couple of years. Between business commitments and family commitments I had gotten away from things like participation here. A mistake on my part because Hunting and Fishing and all the things related to them are the things that kind of ground me.
As a formerly avid archer I was against cross bows. I still love archery but I haven't practiced nearly as much as I used to or archery hunted nearly as much as I used to. Fortunately my comfort level and skills are sufficient enough to bring me back to form reasonably quickly.
I now have no issues with crossbows, I own one and hunt with it when our crossbow season opens. I would have no issue with crossbow season being included in the entire archery season. It is still a close range endeavor regardless of the capacity of some of the super duper crossbows that are now available. my crossbow is maybe 125 feet per second faster than my bow. My ethical additional range for my crossbow is 10 to 15 yards beyond my maximum archery distance. You still have arc, you still need the right set of circumstances with a non alert non moving animal.
If it increases hunter participation that is a good thing, if it decreases wounded or lost deer that is a good thing. I don't know what influence it would have on hunter recruitment, I would think all things considered it would be positive.
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+1
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Well said Scott! Great buck by the way. Congratulations!
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Well said Scott! Great buck by the way. Congratulations!
Thank you Don,
I hope everything is good with you and your family!
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All is well. Same to you. Hunting season has been slow, Been incredibly busy, and haven't been able to put in the time, but we'll see, it's not over.
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Ive always been open for anything to get more of us out into the woods. I had an opportunity to hunt with a friends xbow for a couple sits this year and i got to say its a bit clumsy but i can see me picking one up in the near future.
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All is well. Same to you. Hunting season has been slow, Been incredibly busy, and haven't been able to put in the time, but we'll see, it's not over.
Wishing you good luck Don. It is definitely not easy balancing everything.
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Ive always been open for anything to get more of us out into the woods. I had an opportunity to hunt with a friends xbow for a couple sits this year and i got to say its a bit clumsy but i can see me picking one up in the near future.
They are definitely clumsy and awkward. I would much rather carry my bow than my crossbow. Drawing it and getting it up and down the tree takes a lot more planning and safety precautions.
I want to see if I can find a back pack style sling for it, I think that would be the ticket as far as walking in and out with it.
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I agree , clumsy is the word. Shot one deer with it and I choose the compound. I enjoy target practicing with it to be honest.
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Be careful backpacking it the string will get very worn rubbing on your back
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Be careful backpacking it the string will get very worn rubbing on your back
Thank you, With the way I am intending to do it the trigger housing and bottom of the crossbow would be against my back. The string would be protected. What I am hoping to do is again have a back pack strap style sling that I can put both my arms through and have the crossbow centered on my back with my arms free. Walking through the woods with it would be a lot more comfortable. It wouldn't be as good if you walked up on something and wanted to shoot. In this case I would be okay with that trade off. I could always carry it if I was still hunting or walking in the daylight versus the dark.
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I understand that as hunters we should all stand together. But I agree with Overland that crossbows are nothing like compounds. And I’m sure that traditional archers felt the same way with the advent of compounds. My wife who has never shot a crossbow shot one for the first time. Nailed the bullseye at 50 yards first shot. My brother has a $1,600.00 Raven that shots 3” groups at a 100 yards. Again without practice. I practice every day and this year was fortunate to take the buck of my lifetime with my compound. I’m 61 and have been hunting since 18. I live on Long Island which is mainly bow, with a late season for shotgun. I’m sure other hunters saw my buck and could not connect with bow. If crossbows were legal I most likely would not have gotten my chance, and he would never have gotten so big. Am I being selfish?, maybe. But just telling you how I feel.
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Your beginning statement is true about traditional archers but i bet most went to compounds within a couple years as most compound users would go to crossbows but feel free to do a survey here and see how many traditional archery hunters never switched
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Greensider, good point and interesting question. On another note, and again being honest. As I said in my original reply, maybe I am being selfish. We all choose our weapons for different reasons. Most times, archers choose a bow instead of gun because of the challenge. And thus take pride in a hard earned kill. Whether it be a doe or buck of a lifetime. My question is, would crossbow users mind a gun hunter sharing the woods with them ? And if not, why don't crossbow users just hunt during gun season then ?
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we better take everything we can get these days guys. if us hunters cant keep the population down im sure they will implement other methods. Who cares who's in the woods with what lets all enjoy what we have now and take everything they offer . Share the woods introduce a kid to hunting. https://www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/article/Hudson-Valley-takes-on-biggest-forest-killer-deer-16033616.php
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I would like one season choose your weapon just like the early bear season
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Big difference between Long Island and upstate. And that’s why xbows aren’t allowed down there. You’re buck is beautiful Oneshot but there’s a lot of giants on the island in small parcels that are much easier to narrow down. I know some guys that shoot monster bucks down there that don’t see crap when they come upstate. Give a novice hunter a $1,500 compound, throw them in a 5-10 acre parcel on Long Island and it’s really not that difficult.
I’m all for opening up everything for everyone. 1,000’s of acres still available to hunt and less people are doing it these days. I’m hoping they expand the hunting age for 12yr olds now so my son can join me next year. And I’ll be just as happy if he shoots his first buck with a bow, xbow, shotgun or rifle. Who cares.
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Take em , yes big difference between LI and upstate. And I did mention that I did not have luck upstate this year. Note that the parcel I hunt on Long Island is over 5,000 acres of public land. Land I hunt upstate is 100 acres DEP. My friends on LI don’t hunt the big parcels I do because of what you mentioned e.g., inability to narrow down. Most of their honey holes are private newly opened areas.
And yes, I’m all for junior hunters having more access. I also believe that handicapped individuals be granted more privileges. Enjoy the time in the woods with your son, they grow up quickly!
Stay well.....
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once a outlaw always a outlaw. if there going out at 3am to shoot a deer.Gun bow or crossbow it dont matter they are not hunters and have no regard for the law.We all know people like this in our areas that we hunt.But to put people who choose to crossbow hunt in that group is wrong.all we want is to be in the woods and enjoy or time there.we all buy licenses to hunt.alot of other states bow crossbow at same time its your choice.We shouldnt be so narrow minded to other wanting to hunt
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it was about 4yrs or so ago 2 people we arrested for hunting on park property in scotchtown ny at around midnight 1 driving a truck the other in the bed with his compound bow both were arrested and it was in the middletown record. outlaws who poach deer turkeys and other game animals hurt our hunting community. Believe me it is a sickness they do it time and time again. Even after being caught.