Are crossbow hunters in PA frowned upon by compound bow hunters?

[iamtommyboy]

Sorry but if someone buys this than they never shot archery. I shot competitive archery at a high level for a long time and I was pretty good at it, and I can tell you it takes more than 10 minutes and I don't care what pro shop set your bow up. A good archer sets his own bow up while a good pro shop can only assist in getting you the right equipment that properly fits, help with the basic setup and give you some good instruction, the rest is up to you.

No one else can set your bow up and sight it in for you, they can help you but this is something that is user specific that must be done by the person that shoots it, it's not a gun that once sighted in anyone can use.

+1 !!!!! As soon as they made it legal for anyone, the Wally worlds and such were invaded by all the guys who simply wanted to be able to hunt more. I heard a buch of these yoyos talking about shooting 50+ yds at deer cause they had a scope. Crossguns are NOT bows. I don't care what let off your compound has, you cant draw it & hold it all day long waiting for a deer! At least with any vertical bow, the physical mechanics are the same.

The picture he sent me had two arrows that sure looked like they were touching each other...no other arrows in the target. Unless the guy who set up his bow did this and he lied. I know what time he left to go pick up his bow and I know what time he sent me the picture, so he couldn't have had a lot of time to practice before hand. Not to mention, he brought his bow over here last night and tonight and was getting pretty good groups on my 3d target. I saw it happen. Sorry if you don't believe it, but it really can be that easy.

[johnydavid]

I second that.

[Willie D]

It sounds like the process for getting a disabled permit was difficult: that should have been fixed. Putting all crossbows in with vertical bows is like like letting some players hit of tees in MLB. Hell, with the hunting distances in PA maybe they should have let crossbows join the rifle or black powder hunting season.

[Yellowfin]

Ya know what makes hunting a challenge?

A. Working a full work week plus looking for better work,

B. keeping up with housework with a full time working wife,

C. having money leftover after paying bills and everything else you do,

D. finding out where to hunt in an area you've just moved to and know no one within 50-60+ miles of (or further) and after said work week have few daylight hours to explore,

E. figuring out PA's absurdly complicated licensing system and mangled gerrymandered seasons,

F. figuring out the labyrinth of back roads then remembering it all,

G. avoiding spots taken by other hunters who have already beat you to them because they didn't have to contend with any of the above,

H. remembering all your gear...and putting up with all of this after items A & B.

You have time to split hairs about crossbows versus bows? F*** you. Must be really nice having life that easy. Those of us in reality don't.

[mike231]

I can't use a regular bow due a motorcycle accident injury. I'm glad that I can use a crossbow. There is in my opinion no doubt that a crossbow is way easier to use compared to a standard bow. I don't see an issue with using the crossbow for any season. People will always bitch and moan no matter what.

[arjohnson]

The picture he sent me had two arrows that sure looked like they were touching each other...no other arrows in the target. Unless the guy who set up his bow did this and he lied. I know what time he left to go pick up his bow and I know what time he sent me the picture, so he couldn't have had a lot of time to practice before hand. Not to mention, he brought his bow over here last night and tonight and was getting pretty good groups on my 3d target. I saw it happen. Sorry if you don't believe it, but it really can be that easy.

The key is being able to shoot good groups every time and know your limits when shooting at a live animal. I would limit my shots to 30yds or less on a deer and when practicing I wouldn't shoot at the same spot on a target out to 50yds, if I did there was a very good chance I would break arrows.

I have seen many new comers enter the archery game over the years and yes some have shot decent from the start but they are not consistent at all, it takes a lot more than 10 minutes to build the required muscle memory to be even a decent consistent shooter. Sure anyone may shoot a good group, but do it every time, not once in a while.

The good thing is hopefully he enjoys it and puts in the necessary time to be proficient enough to make a clean shot. Best way to help get good is shoot with good archers, ask questions, watch and learn.

Tell him don't forget to practice from a treestand, and with heavy clothes on like when it's cold out, it can be a game changer even for the skilled archers.

[arjohnson]

Ya know what makes hunting a challenge?

A. Working a full work week plus looking for better work,

B. keeping up with housework with a full time working wife,

C. having money leftover after paying bills and everything else you do,

D. finding out where to hunt in an area you've just moved to and know no one within 50-60+ miles of (or further) and after said work week have few daylight hours to explore,

E. figuring out PA's absurdly complicated licensing system and mangled gerrymandered seasons,

F. figuring out the labyrinth of back roads then remembering it all,

G. avoiding spots taken by other hunters who have already beat you to them because they didn't have to contend with any of the above,

H. remembering all your gear...and putting up with all of this after items A & B.

You have time to split hairs about crossbows versus bows? F*** you. Must be really nice having life that easy. Those of us in reality don't.

I'm not against crossbows and I was an avid archery hunter, as I said earlier I would much rather see someone use a crossbow versus someone with a traditional/compound bow that doesn't have the time it takes to get good enough with it to make a good shot. The hardest part of archery hunting is putting yourself in the right spot to be able to get good shot, the shot IMO is the easy part, and this would also apply with a crossbow.

[Yellowfin]

Amen to that, if it's to be done it should be done right as a matter of ethical treatment of the game animal. Bear are more difficult to place a shot on correctly with an arrow than some people realize.

[Clark Kent]

Yellowfin, well put and I'd give you rep for that post but I already rep'd you for something else and need to spread the love before I can rep you again.

I got in maybe 3 hours of hunting last season, but within those 3 hours I was able to at least put one doe in the freezer.

[iamtommyboy]

The key is being able to shoot good groups every time and know your limits when shooting at a live animal. I would limit my shots to 30yds or less on a deer and when practicing I wouldn't shoot at the same spot on a target out to 50yds, if I did there was a very good chance I would break arrows.

I have seen many new comers enter the archery game over the years and yes some have shot decent from the start but they are not consistent at all, it takes a lot more than 10 minutes to build the required muscle memory to be even a decent consistent shooter. Sure anyone may shoot a good group, but do it every time, not once in a while.

The good thing is hopefully he enjoys it and puts in the necessary time to be proficient enough to make a clean shot. Best way to help get good is shoot with good archers, ask questions, watch and learn.

Tell him don't forget to practice from a treestand, and with heavy clothes on like when it's cold out, it can be a game changer even for the skilled archers.

I wasn't suggesting he was an expert by any means...only that one could pick up a bow for the first time and get great groups. No, not every single shot is dead on, but I have seen people who have been trained to shoot rifles (USMC) that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn after an entire week of trying.

He is planning to practice each day (has been over both days so far since purchasing) and he will be putting a tree stand up in my back yard. I have already told him I have concerns about taking him out for opening day on Saturday (don't want him to scare my deer off with a bad shot!) But he has been doing well so far and will continue to practice. Thank you for the advice.