Bow vs Crossbow hunting

[Borngeechee]

I really want to extend my hunting season so im thinking of getting a crossbow or a bow. Whats the pluses and negatives of each? Like whats the learning curve for each and whats the average range of each?... And whatever else you can tell me or suggest.

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[nycredneck]

Buy a new crossbow and be an expert in an hour. 

Buy a new compound and be an expert in a week.

Buy a recurve or stick bow and be an expert ...? years?

I shoot compound and have for 35 years but wish I had picked up a stick or recurve, I'm too old now. Will not shoot a crossbow unless I'm unable to shoot my compound... even then I may not want to.

Edited June 28, 2017 by nycredneck

[Swamp_bucks]

I agree with nycredneck, just depends on the challenge you want to have.  I give a lot of credit to those that can shoot traitional equipment.  But go shoot a little of everything you'll find what you like.   I'll tell you i prefer bowhunting over gun.

[Jeremy K]

Crossbows can make a good shot with very little practice , any type of bow is gonna take forever to get good .The term good is relatively speaking though . It all depends how good you wanna get ,some guys are ok with a 6 inch group at 20 yards and some guys want to hold a 2 inch group at 50 or 60 yards or even farther

[grampy]

You get the full bow season using a bow. 

Crossbow, only the last two weeks of bow season. Can be used all of firearms season if desired. 

Learning a bow will take some time and plenty of practice. If you started with a bow now, and practiced at minimum, three days a week, you could probably be proficient enough to hunt this year.

Anyone could buy a crossbow, sight it in and be ready to hunt almost immediately. 

Effective range for both is about 30 yards. Good archers can extend that a bit. As well as crossbow. But for myself I keep my shots at deer, 30 yards and under for both. But it's definitely fun to stretch it as far as you can during PRACTICE!

Cost for both are about the same. No need to start with the most expensive.  But you generally get what you pay for quality wise. Some very good used bows out there, at a decent price. But find one that fits YOU and is comfortable. 

It is a wonderful time to be in the woods during archery season. Deer are for the most part less pressured, and the weather tends to be nicer, compared to later in the firearms season.

I use, and have killed deer with both.

The bow will always be my first love.

But the crossbow is easy and fun to use.

Try going to an archery shop that stocks both and ask for a demonstration or better yet, shoot them both!  See what will fit your needs and choose what makes you happy. You are the only one you have to please. 

Good luck!  Hope to see you in the early season deer woods!

[Borngeechee]

You get the full bow season using a bow. 
Crossbow, only the last two weeks of bow season. Can be used all of firearms season if desired. 
Learning a bow will take some time and plenty of practice. If you started with a bow now, and practiced at minimum, three days a week, you could probably be proficient enough to hunt this year.
Anyone could buy a crossbow, sight it in and be ready to hunt almost immediately. 
Effective range for both is about 30 yards. Good archers can extend that a bit. As well as crossbow. But for myself I keep my shots at deer, 30 yards and under for both. But it's definitely fun to stretch it as far as you can during PRACTICE!
Cost for both are about the same. No need to start with the most expensive.  But you generally get what you pay for quality wise. Some very good used bows out there, at a decent price. But find one that fits YOU and is comfortable. 
It is a wonderful time to be in the woods during archery season. Deer are for the most part less pressured, and the weather tends to be nicer, compared to later in the firearms season.
I use, and have killed deer with both.
The bow will always be my first love.
But the crossbow is easy and fun to use.
Try going to an archery shop that stocks both and ask for a demonstration or better yet, shoot them both!  See what will fit your needs and choose what makes you happy. You are the only one you have to please. 
Good luck!  Hope to see you in the early season deer woods!

Im going to look and see if any shops are in my area. I do like the idea if the bow, the learning curve is the only thing that had me looking at the crossbow. Thanks.

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[Chef]

Im going to look and see if any shops are in my area. I do like the idea if the bow, the learning curve is the only thing that had me looking at the crossbow. Thanks.

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I own both and love my bow, the x bow is ok I take it out one or two times a year if I have a deer that has been giving me trouble not coming into bow range or has busted me drawing but I truly prefer the bow


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[nyslowhand]

Interesting question I actually had asked of me while shopping for footwear at Dick's Sporting Goods. I did have a BowTech hat on, so a guy came over and asked the same thing as OP of this topic is inquiring about.

First thing I asked was his age and if he had any physical limitations. Next was what his expectations were for taking up archery hunting, with any type of bow.

Initially getting into shooting a compound bow has a lengthy and steep learning curve to become at least semi-proficient! Many hours &/or days of practice are required each follow-up year to keep proper form and consistency. Obviously having a knowledgeable mentor will be really helpful and reduce the learning curve somewhat. BTW - Needing any corrective vision (glasses!) can be an issue using a compound bow, esp if you wear trifocals.

With a Xbow, after the initial couple of hours of familiarizing yourself with the Xbow & sighting in using the scope, there's probably less than an hour of practice needed each follow-up year. Major benefit of using a Xbow is there is NO holding the bow at full draw waiting for a shot opportunity. Contrary to any mis-beliefs, you only add ~10yrds to your max effective range over a compound bow's range.

As of now, there's a fairly long bow season when using a compound bow and during a time of year when the weather is much nicer than any gun season. Xbow season is only 2 weeks long in the SZ, but that may change in the next couple of years...!?!

Once you get confident with shooting either type of bow, the real learning experience begins. How to hunt the fall woods and getting up close & personal with the deer. Pretty sure any of the gun hunters that have jump on the Xbow bandwagon will tell you, they are completely different types of hunting and skill-sets required.

Best advice is to look around and if you can shoot each type of bow. FYI - Do NOT believe most of the BS spewed by the clerks in the big box sporting goods stores. Best advice comes from the privately owned bow shops whose owners & workers are hunters also.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

 

[Doc]

The real choice depends on what your motives and goals are in hunting. It is an individual choice that involves a bit of an inward look to determine what you personally want to get out of your hunting. Do you need more or less challenge in your hunting? For you, is there some personal attraction to the experience of using one weapon over the other? What level of dedication do you have to become expert at your weapon of choice? Some people don't give a damn what weapon they use as long as they can harvest some meat. For others, it is all about the weapon. Your choice will have to be your choice and based on your own personal approach to hunting.

[nyslowhand]

^^^ All good! Clearly the question about prior hunting experience has to be asked also. If they have never hunted before, a lot more background info needs to be supplied and further questions asked. Transitioning from deer hunting with one weapon to another is a little more straight forward.

Lots of questions and even more soul searching needed!!!

[growalot]

If your thinking about a cross bow you should be asking recurve or compound...there is a big difference on 2 levels, ability of draw weight and ease of fix. you will need to have a press or go to a shop to replace strings and they wear out faster than a traditional compound bow. As with a recurve all you need do is replace it by hand and it can be done in the field if necessary.

 I went with the compound and can draw the 170 #'s  with just some effort... though do it wrong and you've seriously messed up your back.  So that needs to be on your mind... drawing your bow in a regular trees stand? I'm not sure I could in my commercial ones but not a problem in my build ones...definitely easier to spot and stalk. Though using a sling and walking in REMEMBER you are now wider and can hit trees, always need to be mindful of where your fingers are...many a thumb have been shaved of width by not minding where it was during the shot...even with the guards.  They are front heavy and less expensive ones and recurves are wide,this needs getting use to. My kills have all been very close so I can't speak to distance and bolt penetration...I do know if you don't have lighted nocs and shoot a deer...look a good distance away from the deer if you don't find the bolt right away...Even from an elevated position and close, the distance that bolt goes after passing through the deer is surprising!

[rob-c]

Everyone has given solid advice, I am going to give you some things that I personally think are reasons why a bow is better than a cross bow. My biggest thing I dislike about crossbows is how unbalanced they feel very heavy in the front, second is follow up shots one can get a follow up shot much quicker on a compound than a crossbow. Pull arrow from quiver , nock arrow   draw bow ready to go,  crossbow - pull bolt from quiver lower crossbow , stick  foot in foothold   grab string with both hands pull back string , load  arrow and shoot. Plus shooting a bow is just cooler 

[Borngeechee]

The real choice depends on what your motives and goals are in hunting. It is an individual choice that involves a bit of an inward look to determine what you personally want to get out of your hunting. Do you need more or less challenge in your hunting? For you, is there some personal attraction to the experience of using one weapon over the other? What level of dedication do you have to become expert at your weapon of choice? Some people don't give a damn what weapon they use as long as they can harvest some meat. For others, it is all about the weapon. Your choice will have to be your choice and based on your own personal approach to hunting.

Its more about extending my hunting time and chances and filling my freezer. The tool used doesnt matter as long as its the most effective for a given season.

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[Buckmaster7600]

Its more about extending my hunting time and chances and filling my freezer. The tool used doesnt matter as long as its the most "EFFECTIVE "for a given season.

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The "effective" word in your response makes this an easy answer in my opinion, XBOW! If efficiently putting meat in the freezer is your #1 draw to archery the without a doubt the Xbow is what you want. Even with the shorter season it's the best part of the season.



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[stoneam2006]

I really want to extend my hunting season so im thinking of getting a crossbow or a bow. Whats the pluses and negatives of each? Like whats the learning curve for each and whats the average range of each?... And whatever else you can tell me or suggest.
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If you want to extend season bow gives you 6 more weeks min. But learning curve is longer and would need to start shooting ASAP. 0 to 30 yard range for average new shooter.

If you want to make simple and easy and fill freezer xbow is where it's at. Simple to use easy to get good with and accurate as all get out. Best 2 weeks of archery season. 0 to 30 yards for new shooter. Don't let anyone tell you a xbow will out reach a compound not gonna happen when it comes to 40 plus shots and having energy left to penetrate IMO compound wins that battle every time.

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[wolc123]

A compound bow will get you all of archery season, but is a far less effective weapon for killing deer in the hands of an inexperienced shooter than a crossbow.    The crossbow does give you the best two weeks of archery season in the southern zone, which includes all of the rut.   You also get 3 days a month earlier, up in the northern zone, before ML season opens up.  They call it a 10 day crossbow season up there, but a ML has a big range advantage so why would anyone use a crossbow over the last 7 days if they also have a ML ?  

When it comes to range, 30 yards is about the max range of a compound bow for an average hunter.  I used an entry level. 300 fps crossbow to put an a bolt 8" into a buck on my first year using it, from a 59 yard range.   I was not satisfied with that penetration so have imposed a 50 yard limit on that one.  I now use a laser rangefinder to make sure it is not exceeded.  Fortunately that 8" took the 125 gr mechanical broadhead all the way thru the heart and the buck died quickly.  A higher speed crossbow, such as the Centerpoint sniper 370, should be a legit 60 yard weapon on deer, with enough energy for full penetration at that range.   If NY would have passed full inclusion of the crossbow this season, I would have purchased one of those.  

The three biggest advantages of the crossbow, in order of importance are: not needing to draw with deer in close, the ability to shoot from a rest, and the use of telescopic sights.  All that adds up to make it a far more effective deer-killing weapon in the hands of less experienced hunters.  The smaller,  entry-level one that I use is very compact and right at the state minimum width, so the unwieldy, front-heavy drawbacks are minimized.  

Some folks like the challenge of archery season.  I am not part of that group.  I think it shows some disrespect for the animal.  I always seek to kill those deer cleanly using the best, legal and affordable means to do it.  Some are willing to accept a little "collateral damage" which includes the occasional wounded deer.   It has been more than 10 years since I failed to cleanly kill one cleanly that I shot at with any weapon, and the crossbow has played a big part in that since it was legalized three years ago.  

Some of the "challenge seeking" bowhunters always ask, why not use a gun?  The huge advantage of the crossbow over that is it's silence.  A gun may be less of a challenge for the first deer, but it will broadcast your intent to the others for miles around, making them harder to kill. One deer won't fill a freezer.        

   

Edited June 29, 2017 by wolc123

[grampy]

28 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

A compound bow will get you all of archery season, but is a far less effective weapon for killing deer in the hands of an inexperienced shooter than a crossbow.    The crossbow does give you the best two weeks of archery season in the southern zone, which includes all of the rut.   You also get 3 days a month earlier, up in the northern zone before ML season opens up.  They call it a 10 day crossbow season up there, but a ML has a big range advantage so why would anyone use a crossbow over the last 7 days if they also have a ML.   

When it comes to range, 30 yards is about the max range of a compound bow for an average hunter.  I used an entry level. 300 fps crossbow to put an a bolt 8" into a buck on my first year using it, from a 59 yard range.   I was not satisfied with that penetration so have imposed a 50 yard limit on that one.  I now use a laser rangefinder to make sure it is not exceeded.  Fortunately that 8" took the mechanical braodhead all the way thru the heart and the buck died quickly anyhow.  A higher speed crossbow, such as the popular Centerpoint sniper 370, should be a legit 60 yard weapon on deer, with enough enrgy for full penetration at that range.   If NY would have passed full inclusion of the crossbow this season, I would have purchased on of those.  

   

I respect your opinion. That being said, I think you are wrong to advise someone, just getting into shooting crossbow, or bow for that matter. To take 60 yard shots or even 50 yard shots at deer. We have all heard your story, many times, of the 59 yard heart shot. Thats all well and good for you. But for a young hunter, or one just getting started, this is not an advisable shot, under any circumstances! Long range shooting is for the experts. Not too many of us qualify.  Too much can go wrong when shooting ANY crossbow or bow beyond 30 yards, unless you have years of dedicated experience.  Deer are not stationary targets! I've been a blood tracker for many years. This is what "MY" experience has proven many times over.

[moog5050]

6 more weeks of season is a huge bonus and a compound is not that difficult to learn.  You can get proficient to 25yds within a month of reasonable practice.  Plus it's easier to handle in the stand and WAY MORE FUN!  And you can then be a qualified elitist.  Lol

[wolc123]

25 minutes ago, grampy said:

I respect your opinion. That being said, I think you are wrong to advise someone, just getting into shooting crossbow, or bow for that matter. To take 60 yard shots or even 50 yard shots at deer. We have all heard your story, many times, of the 59 yard heart shot. Thats all well and good for you. But for a young hunter, or one just getting started, this is not an advisable shot, under any circumstances! Long range shooting is for the experts. Not too many of us qualify.  Too much can go wrong when shooting ANY crossbow or bow beyond 30 yards, unless you have years of dedicated experience.  Deer are not stationary targets! I've been a blood tracker for many years. This is what "MY" experience has proven many times over.

I also respect your opinion.  A man has to know his limitations.   I know mine pretty well and I don't exceed them. That has resulted in all the deer that I have shot at, over the last 10 years, being killed and recovered cleanly.  I am not perfect  though and I try and learn a little bit from every "less than perfect" shot.  I had to take a second finishing shot on a doe last year, with my slug gun, and I have made corrections already due to that.    The fact that you won't take some shots that I do is ok, and shows that you also know your limitations.   That is definitely a good thing.  The target range is a good place to start establishing the upper limit on your range limitations but we all know that shooting at "live" targets is a lot different.  

In the case of that 59 yard crossbow shot, I have admitted that was beyond the effective range of that crossbow.  I did not have a range-finder at the time, and I underestimated the range.  That resulted in the bolt striking low (thru the heart), rather that high-lung where it would have struck at the 50 yard range I estimated.   Range is but one of many variables when it comes to killing a "live" target.  All of the other variables were stacked strongly in my favor on that shot.  The buck was standing still, broadside, and distracted by a couple hot does.  There was no wind, I had a good rest, and a telescopic sight.   I am an experienced rifle shooter.  It sounds like the OP is an experienced rifle shooter also.   As long as those other variables are in his favor, then I have no problem recommending a 50 yard shot with a 300 fps minimum crossbow.      

[Elmo]

Also keep in mind, crossbows are not allowed in Westchester.

I too got a bow to extend my season.  But once I started practicing with it, I enjoy just shooting it just like I would shoot a gun at the range.  Now...if they told me I could never hunt with a bow again, I would still find myself going to the archery range every once in a while just to shoot for fun.  I don't think crossbows would do that for me.

[rob-c]

On 6/29/2017 at 5:46 PM, wolc123 said:

A compound bow will get you all of archery season, but is a far less effective weapon for killing deer in the hands of an inexperienced shooter than a crossbow.    The crossbow does give you the best two weeks of archery season in the southern zone, which includes all of the rut.   You also get 3 days a month earlier, up in the northern zone, before ML season opens up.  They call it a 10 day crossbow season up there, but a ML has a big range advantage so why would anyone use a crossbow over the last 7 days if they also have a ML ?  

When it comes to range, 30 yards is about the max range of a compound bow for an average hunter.  I used an entry level. 300 fps crossbow to put an a bolt 8" into a buck on my first year using it, from a 59 yard range.   I was not satisfied with that penetration so have imposed a 50 yard limit on that one.  I now use a laser rangefinder to make sure it is not exceeded.  Fortunately that 8" took the 125 gr mechanical broadhead all the way thru the heart and the buck died quickly.  A higher speed crossbow, such as the Centerpoint sniper 370, should be a legit 60 yard weapon on deer, with enough energy for full penetration at that range.   If NY would have passed full inclusion of the crossbow this season, I would have purchased one of those.  

The three biggest advantages of the crossbow, in order of importance are: not needing to draw with deer in close, the ability to shoot from a rest, and the use of telescopic sights.  All that adds up to make it a far more effective deer-killing weapon in the hands of less experienced hunters.  The smaller,  entry-level one that I use is very compact and right at the state minimum width, so the unwieldy, front-heavy drawbacks are minimized.  

Some folks like the challenge of archery season.  I am not part of that group.  I think it shows some disrespect for the animal.  I always seek to kill those deer cleanly using the best, legal and affordable means to do it.  Some are willing to accept a little "collateral damage" which includes the occasional wounded deer.   It has been more than 10 years since I failed to cleanly kill one cleanly that I shot at with any weapon, and the crossbow has played a big part in that since it was legalized three years ago.  

Some of the "challenge seeking" bowhunters always ask, why not use a gun?  The huge advantage of the crossbow over that is it's silence.  A gun may be less of a challenge for the first deer, but it will broadcast your intent to the others for miles around, making them harder to kill. One deer won't fill a freezer.        

   

You state archery hunters have disrespect for deer , but then you say you have no problem shooting a 300 fps bolt 50 yards at a deer . you may  not have wounded a deer yet   but it will happen. Your  eletist attituide is going to catch up with you.