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Talk me out of a crossbow. :-)

I am not sold on the hickory creek. It doesn’t look like I can decide to shoot it right or left hand when I am up in the tree. If I could, I would take a serious look at it.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I like hunting, but I like the killing part the most, and a crossbow helps me kill critters. I have admitted on many occasions that if Alabama would let me gun hunt during bow season and on bow-only WMAs, I would do so. And I worked in an archery shop for 5 years and have a press on my back porch!

After I've killed 100 deer or so, I may calm down and start shooting a strugglestick.

As far as challenging and the whole "rewarding" thing, I get my kicks killing deer that anybody else with $30 for a license could have killed. If I kill a buck after canoeing 2 miles, walking another, and hunting hard all season with minimal deer sightings, imma be pumped regardless of what puts a foreign object in the diaphragm cavity.

Shoot the deer. Shoot them with rifles. Shoot them with pistols. Shoot them with blowgun darts. Shoot them with arrows. Shoot 'em until they tell ya you can't shoot 'em no more, and then go bass fishing.;)
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I like the way you think.
 
slonstdy said:
To me it sounds like you are not truly passionate about bow hunting and that's ok. If the xbow keeps you in the field and frees up your time then it may be the right choice for you.
Bow hunting is by far my favorite type of hunting and I enjoy putting in the time/work needed to become proficient. That said, when the day comes that I physically cannot draw my bow or my state designates a xbow only season I will be a proud owner of one!
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I think bow hunting is REALLY cool and it speaks to me....but the problem (first world problem) is I live around a ton of public land and I'm passionate about a lot of things....hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, boating, vinyl, family (ok maybe that should have been first), etc.

I have my work cut out for me just getting on deer on the highly pressured public land I hunt.
 
Why would I want to talk you out of using one? Hunting is a personal choice as long as it is legal.

Personally I would find about as much satisfaction shooting a deer with a crossbow as I would a rifle - far more similar to gun hunting then using a bow IMO. Perhaps one day I will be too injury laden or too old to draw back a primitive bow and I will be forced to pick up a compound (I did it for a bit last season) dang I hope I never get to the point where I need to use a crossbow.... that would kill the excitement for me personally.

But that is me personally where bowhunting is all about the challenge not finding a weapon to make it easier. I don't understand why crossbows were ever allowed in archery season (EXCEPT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OR YOUTH HUNTERS THAT ARE JUST GETTING STARTED... MAYBE A FEW LADIES AS WELL). People really need to stop pushing the narrative about it is getting more people involved in hunting - I have met ZERO people that only crossbow hunt outside a few kiddos with dad at ages they really shouldn't be firing a deadly weapon (I met a 6 year old this year in a ground blind flying solo with a cocked crossbow - 6 year old - ridiculous I don't trust the judgment of a 6 year old to determine if something is a deer or man at dusk - ever). The overwhelming majority using crossbows are just wanting to extend the days they can hunt - they are already using another weapon..... they are NOT a new member brought into the hunting world. That was a bill of crap pushed by big money crossbow manufactures to sale a lot more crossbows. Hopefully someday States will go to a single pick your weapon tag to re-establish why a seperate archery season was created in the first time - it is Supposed to be more difficult.

But it is legal now in most states so use whatever you like.
 
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neonomad said:
IMO whitetail bowhunting is about 75% getting in the right place at the right time and 25% everything else... somebody that can execute on that consistently has mastered the most difficult skill (or dumps in massive amounts of time) whether the kill happens w crossbow or compound. I was pretty deadly at 15-20 yards within about a month of buying my first compound in the early 90s. The practice maintains this, and extends that range, but I’ve never even shot past 27 yards. Your rationale makes sense to me, or maybe you can dial back the time you’re dumping into practice and just limit your range... but an overall goal of hunting less and keeping life in balance, and considering hacks to make that happen, is worth brainstorming on.
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I agree 100%.

I saw ONE deer my first bow season after grinding it out in the woods for god knows how many days and hours. I live around a bunch of public land so I can be out there multiple days a week. I shot that one deer with a bow during the last 10 minutes of light on the last day of deer season (no exaggeration).

This last season (2018) I saw deer ~80% of my sits in the same area. I didn't get any of them with my bow but I was very proud that I was on them. I ended up getting 3 deer with my muzzle-loader on 2 random private invites but again I was more proud of getting on deer consistently on public.
 
Jeff F. said:
I have my work cut out for me just getting on deer on the highly pressured public land I hunt.
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This.

I hunt huge tracts of public with low deer densities. Getting on deer is hard. I may see 2 bucks each year if I'm lucky. If that deer walks out of my life...it ain't a good time for me or the people I have to interact with for the next few days. I'm an angry elf when it comes to deer.

I can't wait to pop some lungs with my mini.
 
DaveT1963 said:
Why would I want to talk you out of using one? Hunting is a personal choice as long as it is legal.

Personally I would find about as much satisfaction shooting a deer with a crossbow as I would a rifle - far more similar to gun hunting then using a bow IMO. Perhaps one day I will be too injury laden or too old to draw back a primitive bow and I will be forced to pick up a compound (I did it for a bit last season) dang I hope I never get to the point where I need to use a crossbow.... that would kill the excitement for me personally.

But that is me personally where bowhunting is all about the challenge not finding a weapon to make it easier. I don't understand why crossbows were ever allowed in archery season (EXCEPT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OR YOUTH HUNTERS THAT ARE JUST GETTING STARTED... MAYBE A FEW LADIES AS WELL). People really need to stop pushing the narrative about it is getting more people involved in hunting - I have met ZERO people that only crossbow hunt outside a few kiddos with dad at ages they really shouldn't be firing a deadly weapon (I met a 6 year old this year in a ground blind flying solo with a cocked crossbow - 6 year old - ridiculous I don't trust the judgment of a 6 year old to determine if something is a deer or man at dusk - ever). The overwhelming majority using crossbows are just wanting to extend the days they can hunt - they are already using another weapon..... they are NOT a new member brought into the hunting world. That was a bill of crap pushed by big money crossbow manufactures to sale a lot more crossbows. Hopefully someday States will go to a single pick your weapon tag to re-establish why a seperate archery season was created in the first time - it is Supposed to be more difficult.

But it is legal now in most states so use whatever you like.
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Well I don't LITERALLY want you to talk me out of it. I'm just trying to get the communities view points.
 
Jeff F. said:
Well I don't LITERALLY want you to talk me out of it. I'm just trying to get the communities view points.
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Got ya - why do you care what the community thinks? It is a personal decision (or should be) - you know what floats your boat, gets your excitement level - as long as it is legal go for it.
 
As long as you're killing deer ethically and legally who gives a hoot how you do it.

I tell you what as much as I love hunting with my compound when firearms season rolls around i'm just as excited to put something down with my slug shotgun as I would have been with my bow.
 
DaveT1963 said:
Got ya - why do you care what the community thinks? It is a personal decision (or should be) - you know what floats your boat, gets your excitement level - as long as it is legal go for it.
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I've never hunted with a crossbow. Not sure if it will float my boat. Also as I'm 100% saddle hunting now I want this community's input.
 
It’s been said already but weight and shape are the major negatives. I started archery hunting with a Xbow, but quickly realized it was not practical to carry where I was going. Switched to vertical compound bow (less than 4 lbs and 30 inches high) and sold the Barnett (officially 8 lbs but carried like 15, and 36 inches) and never looked back.
 
sojourner said:
I am not sold on the hickory creek. It doesn’t look like I can decide to shoot it right or left hand when I am up in the tree. If I could, I would take a serious look at it.
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My Hickory Creek Mini Vertical crossbow worked just fine 2 weeks ago. I made the shot at a 5 o'clock position by holding the right hand grip normally with my left hand holding the buttstock near my left shoulder and looking through the scope with my left eye. Almost like a crossbow pistol.
To all the people that think a crossbow gives them an unfair advantage over the deer, then they should hunt from the ground. Why would you want an unfair advantage by being in a tree?
 
You’ll need to get some pointers from the women in your life so you won’t be peeing on your feet.
 
bj139 said:
My Hickory Creek Mini Vertical crossbow worked just fine 2 weeks ago. I made the shot at a 5 o'clock position by holding the right hand grip normally with my left hand holding the buttstock near my left shoulder and looking through the scope with my left eye. Almost like a crossbow pistol.
To all the people that think a crossbow gives them an unfair advantage over the deer, then they should hunt from the ground. Why would you want an unfair advantage by being in a tree?
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You guys with the Hickory Creek Mini, what do you all use for a sling for that setup? Is it drilled for sling posts? Other thoughts?
 
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