Do Crossbows "ruin" archery seasons?

TheCoachZed

TheCoachZed

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So I have a crossbow. They have only been legal to use in NB's deer season for two or three years, and even that took years of lobbying. And here, we're only allowed to use them during the four-week firearms stretch of the deer season, not during the extra three weeks of bow season. The reasoning is that they'll "ruin" archery season, too many bucks will be killed early, every guy with $350 in his pocket will go buy a crossbow and clean the deer herd out in a couple years.

I call BS, but since I don't live in an area where crossbows and compounds/recurves/other bows run concurrently, I don't know for sure, I'm just going on suspicion.

Can anyone who has seen crossbows invade archery season tell me, was there an outbreak of hooliganism and massive deer mortality? Or is our local bowhunting association protecting their own interests at the expense of non-members?
 
I don't like em and I don't agree with them however recurve and trad guys say the same about us compound guys. I think xbows should be reserved for guys that cannot physically draw a bow anymore.
 
Cross bow or compound bow you still have to beat there nose and you still have to get in range .So I am not sure how there is that much difference. Haters hate no matter what ..just look at the od school muzzle loaders and the guys shooting the new in lines with modern powders .Or the shotgun gits using rifled barrels and Sabot ..change will happen but some folks just cannot accept it....Dutch
 
Yes they magically make deer appear and fall over dead just knowing you are holding a crossbow.
The object of deer hunting is to kill a deer if that requires you to use a cross bow for a clean kill what does it matter.
The compound guys are using releases , over draws and sites that rival the best money can buy. Shoot what you like, complain about something else.
Just another case of I am perfect and you are not. We will never get things right as we like to fragment our group into smaller groups so that we feel good about what we do.
Last time I looked it was legal so one tag one deer who cares how you get it as long as it was legal.
 
I haven't really seen them take off in popularity, even in places where they're legal during archery, and I don't think that'll change. There's a pretty limited interest from what I've seen due to both archery hunters and rifle hunters having largely negative feelings toward them.
 
We have had crossbow hunting in Ontario for a good number of years now (more than I can remember).

Our Early Bow runs from the 1st of October (regardless of what day that falls on every year) until the Gun Hunt. You can use any bow, traditional, compound or crossbow.

You can also use any bow during the gun hunt (generally the first two weeks of November) and then the late bow starts right after the gun season and save one week of blackpowder in December, you can bow hunt until New Years Eve.

Myth - a crossbow gives you some great advantage over other bows.

While it takes "less time" to get "huntable" with a crossbow it doesn't extend your range or killing power etc. It is no more effective than compound bows with their peep sights, fiber optic pins, overdraws, stablizers, carbon fiber limbs and risers some with range finder attachments.

The jump from a modern compound to a crossbow is "far less of any perceived advantage" than going from instinctively shooting a longbow or a recurve to a compound.

I shoot a recurve and a crossbow, I skipped over the compounds all together.

If you can't shoot your crossbow in the "bow season" then it has "no advantage" unless you are hunting maybe in urban areas where firearms would not be permitted.

So I do have an issue when the "high-tech" compound shooters have a problem with crossbow hunters. If they think crossbows are "unfair" then maybe the season should be made for "primitive bow only" - no sights etc.

And at least here in Ontario, contrary to what some might believe, very few guys with 350 bucks went out and bought crossbows and flooded the woods shooting everything in sight. It still takes practice - it's still only effective at "normal" bow range (35 yards is still a long shot - yes, some guys will shoot 50 or more, but the "guy" who buys a bargain basement bow and equips it with accessories from Walmart will have trouble consistently hitting a target at 30 much less taking down a deer).

I spent more on my crossbow, getting it kitted out, than I did for most of my rifles and took thousands of shots trying different bolts with different broadheads getting it tweaked right in.

The myth that you go to Wally World, spend $299 on a bargain basement Barnett - buy a pack of $10 broadheads and with "no work or practice" go out and shoot a deer is just non-sense.

The only thing it has in common with a "gun" is the trigger - other than that it's "just a bow".
 
Long story, short... no they don't ruin bow season...

However, I am not a fan of crossbows in archery season, for a few reasons.

A note first... the following does not apply to everyone using a crossbow... many crossbow hunters are dedicated, ethical hunters.

Unfortunately, a higher proportion of crossbow hunters start using them simply to extend their hunting season... they try it the easy way, and are less committed to archery and the practice necessary to make precise ethical shots on game... often, in their lack of understanding they think of the crossbow as a shorter range rifle... IMO many attempt shots well beyond their effect range.

I personally know of a number of gun hunters who have had their crossbows set-up in an outdoor store and have gone hunting without ever having actually released a bolt from one.

In the areas I hunt there have been a number of incidents of livestock being shot, and stray arrows striking buildings and vehicles... a disproportionate amount of these have been crossbow bolts.

My father hunts with a crossbow, as a recurve or compound is physically impossible... but I make sure that his crossbow is tuned and properly sighted, and he is practiced with it... and knows the ranges to various objects around his stand, for precise shot placement... these things are as essential with a crossbow as they are with a compound.

I have and do, happily share camps with crossbow shooters... but dedicated, ethical hunters.

Some locals relegate crossbows to regular firearms seasons... which will prove a hunters dedication to the sport... some regions lump crossbows into muzzleloader seasons, and still other areas have a specific crossbow only season.
 
About the same as muzzle loader/ shotgun season. The muzzle loaders and sabot slugs these days are far above what were originaly intended. Both are faster than an average 45-70 theae days.

I have no problem with crossbows they really arent any easier or harder to use than a compound bow.
 
dutchhunter said:
Cross bow or compound bow you still have to beat there nose and you still have to get in range .So I am not sure how there is that much difference. Haters hate no matter what ..just look at the od school muzzle loaders and the guys shooting the new in lines with modern powders .Or the shotgun gits using rifled barrels and Sabot ..change will happen but some folks just cannot accept it....Dutch
Click to expand...

Except crossbows are hundreds of years old. Nothing new about them - at least nothing new that isn't also present on a high-end compound bow.

If people wanna be all elitist about bow season, then you shouldn't be allowed to use compound bows, fancy sights, or any of that stuff. You should be allowed a longbow or recurve bow, and some arrows. Thats it. If you can't get the job done with what Robin Hood woulda used, then GTFO.

Besides, its generally not very safe to be walking around with a loaded crossbow, so you are largely restricted to hunting from a stand where you have to sit and hope a deer comes close enough to shoot.
 
the question is kinda like asking, do semi autos ruin rifle season LOL
A crossbow is an archery weapon, accepted as a hunting tool under current laws.
Any perception that it "ruins" archery season would be all in the minds of some very close minded folks. LOL
 
I took my first deer with a cross bow. I used to shoot recurve and compounds for fun. When shooting for food. Getting an advantage by a longer season to fill the freezer, utilizing a crossbow is a great idea. I know a few guys who don't hunt just for food. So they use compound bows because they don't care if they get a deer. Being out in the woods is just as important and getting food. So they welcome the challenge of having to draw and shoot.

Quick google search...

http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/miltech/crossbow.htm
 
Thanks for the insight guys. Most comments on here seem to echo what I have seen and thought myself.

FWIW, I have used buckshot to kill several deer, and it's my weapon of choice. I see buckshot having most of the disadvantages when stand hunting that bows do - scent control, etc., and a lot of people don't realize that.

I took my first deer with a crossbow last year and frankly, I prefer buckshot's DRT lethality, and I prefer the portability of a shotgun over a crossbow, but it was fun to use and I will probably use it again this season if my other planned spots don't work out.
 
Aries- said:
I have no problem with crossbows they really arent any easier or harder to use than a compound bow.
Click to expand...

Ha, exactly. The guys I know who use compounds go buy 'em in the spring and take bears with them a few weeks later. To me, that doesn't make you an "archer," it means you bought a bow that was compatible with peep sights, whisker biscuit, etc., and what's the difference between that and a crossbow? Not much. In fact, I suspect a vertical bow is a lot easier to use outside of a stand.

I have thought about buying a compound but I hate gimmicks, and the guys I know who use them tend to get overwhelmed with gimmicks. But maybe I'll succumb.

I have an old Browning Wasp recurve that's much more appealing to me, if I ever find the time.
 
Ill put my two bits in.

No, they don't ruin anything, or cause the ruination of the herds either.

Of course guys buy them to increase their hunting opportunities. That is precisely why I have bow hunted, hunted with shotguns, as well as Muzzle Loaders. And Rifles, and shot rimfire all through as much of the year as I can...

Each method has both advantages and disadvantages, and none of them have ruined anything for anyone else, despite the whingeing of the guys that were too lazy to get out in the field early or late.

Carry a crossbow around in the bush for a while. PITA, bulky and awkward to carry. Slow to reload if you cannot pull the string manually, too. So. One shot. If hunting from a tree fort is your thing, these might be too. Not mine, but not gonna stop ANYONE from giving it a go if that's what they figure they need to get them out into the bush.

I can see the objection to smokeless muzzle loaders on the performance aspect, as they are certainly not 'primitive', but that is a stroke of the rule-maker's pen to sort out. If they want Primitive, write the regs for primitive, and accurately define that. And I wont advocate for that to happen either. Just saying.

As far as I see it, anything that legally gets folks out to hunt, is pretty bloody cool, and should be supported and encouraged.

Cheers
Trev
 
Crossbows get a lot of guys out hunting that otherwise couldnt. Older guys, guys with injuries and/or disabilities and guys that just dont have the time to practice with compound or recurve. They still keep your shots to 40-50 yards and most guys still like to keep 30 yards as their max distance. Our archery season is great in ON, thats one of the things the MNR got right. Who cares if its a stringed gun, in my view it keeps guys away from regular bows that would have no business shooting them otherwise. Last time I checked, our deer population is doing fine

Patrick
 
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