XCAL1

Just a few thoughts..........you have to have a valid archery licence to use a crossbow. You don't let children hunt without training and supervison.....no matter what the weapon of choice. A gun is the most dangerous of hunting weapons due to the extreme range in my opinion. Children hunt at early ages and lack experience, you let them hunt because you give them extensive training and supervision. The crossbow is a one shot deal unless the game is deaf.....most sound like 22 rifles going off. They can be hard to cock and many have to be shot to uncock at the end of the day. The xbow is not new, they date back hundreds of years and were not the choice in battle, by the time you re cocked the crossbow the archer had three arrows in you. I repeat..the only advantage of the crossbow is that is held in a drawn position until fired. The disadvantages are: loud when fired. arrow dropes faster at the same rated speed, very hard to shoot behind you in a tree stand, most have to be discharged to uncock, they are hard to carry afield, Scopes? they have them for verticle bows. The crossbow should be another option for hunters. I have lost sight sight in my right eye forcing me to shoot left handed during archery season. A lot of people young and old have arm strength issues and can't pull back a verticle bow with enough poundage to cleanly kill a big game animal. After putting in 45 years pulling back a bow, I would relish hunting with a xbow during archery season, I use to think I would never get old either.

To use a crossbow you have to have an archery licence. There are different safety issues, such as keeping your fingers away from the rail and to treat a crossbow as a loaded gun when cocked. And yes you do have to practice with the xbows, they drop faster than a compound verticle bow with the same speed rating. I respect your opinions but alot of people have varied ideas that xbows are the same as a gun to be picked up, shoot without practice and then put away until next season......wrong.

As posted before, I used a crossbow this year during the gun season. My realistic range is 30 yards, I practised all summer and felt confident shooting a nice 10 point buck. The crossbow arrow trajectory is less than that a compound Vbow.....like throwing a rock. As far as requiring experience to use one like some else posted, I say yes, I spent most of the year on the Archery Talk forum and gained vast knowledge of xbows and their use in hunting and safe use. The experienced xbow hunters think shooting at a game animal over 40 yards is irresponsibal and uneithical. The xbow is a bow that doesn't require arm strength to hold back. And that's about all the difference. I also posted that I owned a camp in the Southern Tier. Probably, three people were afield during archery season in the surrounding woods. I had very poor success during this archery season. With all the gun hunters afield during the gun season my hunt was usually successful. The deer were few in that area because of nusance permits given to the farmers during May, the hunters took out three deer with one shot. ...The doe they shot and two fawns. If more deer were taken in that area there would be fewer farm permits and win win for hunters. Maybe there would be a few more people in the woods if crossbows were permited during archery season.

I really enjoyed hunting with a xbow this year, even if it was just the gun season. I missed a big doe when the limb of the x bow hit my bow hangar. The deer was in back of my ladder stand. Never had a problem with my vertical compound bow....hitting things. Also my arrows from my vbow didn't drop as fast as the crossbow. Why the xbow? couple of reasons.....where I hunt is 500 feet from any house, but I won't shoot,, a firearm, don't want to even chance a errent shot. I had a problem with my right eye and loss of sight, forcing me to shoot left handed and not very well with my vbow, could have ended my hunting if not for the new xbow legislation. I'm old, 65 and have strength issues but how many people have problems drawing back a vert bow to the relaxed position, with enough poundage to cleanly harvest a game animal? When I had a camp in the Southern Tier and was archery hunting, I would have loved others hunting with bows and crossbows ....to move some deer around. I just feel people who are against xbows have lame ideas about what hunting is.....for me no matter what the weapon, it's a personal feat and challange.

I hope xbows will be allowed in our archery season. The archery hunters with vertical bows really have the advantage compared to crossbows. With the same draw weight the compound vertical bow arrows drop less than xbows. Crossbows are harder to shoot from tree stands. Of course the vertical bows have triggers and lighted sights and drop a way rests. Nothing traditional about the modern bows most people shoot. Xbows are just another hunting impliment. Hope NY comes out of the dark ages and permits hunting with xbows. It would seem like hunters are against hunters when it comes to permitting xbows during archery season.