There was a time when people barely ever thought about crossbow hunting. However, with individual states putting into place regulations that make it easier and better to hunt with a crossbow, this form of hunting is gaining popularity. Through the course of this article, we will look at the reasons for hunting with a crossbow as well as the reasons why you should reconsider. One thing that will be covered is that there are individual states that limit when a hunter can use a crossbow for hunting. Let’s take a look at a few of the things you will want to consider before making your final decision about using a crossbow or not.
Some hunters are not thrilled about the use of crossbows as they think it has an advantage over recurve bows as well as compound bows. This is right to a point, and that will be discussed a little more in detail. We will start with the advantages of using a crossbow. The first of these from the beginning is that unlike a regular bow once you have used the needed energy to cock the crossbow, you do not have to exert any more energy to keep the bow cocked. This will help you to better concentrate on the actual target. This added being able to concentrate will allow a hunter to focus more on the prey instead of having to bother with holding the bow in place. This is also a welcome advantage to a hunter that is either disabled or even a younger hunter that does not have the energy to hold a bow in the drawn position.
Let’s take a moment to discuss the position in which a person will be in when they fire their weapon. A lot like that of a rifle, the aiming of a crossbow is the same. This helps to make a person kneeling or laying have a better aim at their target and allow them to have an increased chance to hit their intended target.
If you like to use a telescopic sight, then the use of a crossbow will be your best bet as they really work well with these types of sights and can give you the same results as if you were using a rifle. This can also help a person that has never used a crossbow to be able to learn a lot quicker as it will be the same as shooting their shotgun.
If you know anything about draw weights, then you know a compound bow has a draw weight of about 80 pounds at most. When you use a crossbow, you can get up to 200 pounds of draw weight. This can be a very important factor as this will shoot the bow a much further distance than with many other types of bows. It is important to know that there are other factors that go into this equation beyond draw weight. One thing to remember is that crossbows can usually shoot a bolt around 350 to 450 feet per second. This can be a great advantage to a hunter when they are tracking an animal and go to kill the animal. With all of this, you do need to remember that at best you are going to get only about 50 yards when you are using a crossbow.
Now that we have looked at the advantages, we need to take a serious look at the drawbacks that come from the use of a crossbow. The first and most obvious of these is the fact that they are heavier and bulkier than that of a compound bow. This can be a disadvantage that will greatly slow a hunter down. On average these bows can weigh around 7 pounds, and when you have to walk a long distance, this can really wear you out in a hurry. If you don’t have a rest to use with your bow, then this can make it harder to shoot. On the other side of things, if you use a rest, this can lead to a series of obstructions that will hinder your shot.
You will oftentimes find that these are harder to reload than traditional bows that are used in hunting. This can be connected to their excessive draw weight as well as their being bulky. This is bad to a hunter as the rate of success of a follow-up shot is lowered. This can be, at times, quite frustrating for a hunter and lead to a lot of missed opportunities for them to bag a big game.
As you can see, there are a lot of advantages and disadvantages that can come from the use of a crossbow for your
hunting. It will come down to a matter of what is and is not important to you in regards to your hunting. Considering all of these elements will help you to make an informed decision as to if you will use a crossbow or a compound bow. If you are disabled, then this can be a tough decision as this type of bow will have an advantage and disadvantage to you. One last thing that you will want to look at is the fact that the price for these can differ from compound bows. You will need to sit back and ask y6ourself if it is worth the increased price for the few advantages that you will get with a crossbow. If these advantages are not that important to you, then you can always go with a compound bow.
No matter which of these types of bows that you go with, you need to make the decision that is right for you and your hunting needs. The use of a crossbow will help you in a lot of ways and in a few ways, it will hinder your hunting and could lead to a big catch getting away, and you have a story that you will not want to share with your friends and family.