Seems like most people just wanna grab a weapon a day before season, blow the dust off and hunt. I don't get all this crap about the xbow guys calling archers selfish when all they are looking for is more more more. Next all the rifle hunters are gonna cry because they feel left out and wanna come play in the archery zones. They will say that a cross bow is not much different than a rifle so why aren't they allowed in.
Absolutely nothing wrong with the way things are now. Everyone has an opportunity to hunt so stop whining. The people with dissabilities have a need for xbows others just have a want for them

Thanks for the reminder swiffer! "Seems like most people just wanna grab a weapon a day before season, blow the dust off and hunt."

Guess I better go blow the dust off mine if I decide I want to use it on Monday (can't get out tomorrow), ya think maybe I should check my broadheads too, or just go with the old dull ones I last used for target practice last season?

:fighting0074: :fighting0030: :angry3: :scared0018:

Honestly, I sure don't understand the vociferous hate on for crossbows here in Alberta :rolleye2: It certainly isn't the same issue in Ontario.

THANKS !!! You just made my post's sound like I'm a brain surgeon !!! :bad_boys_20:

Get an xbow permit, send it out by itself, it will kill a mule doe, three grannys, and sixty seven school children before being subdued by the ninjas at the ABA.:sHa_sarcasticlol:

Curious why you tried the xbow, in the first place?[/QUOTE]

Sorry Potty. Been a little busy today. Nephew bought one excalibur i think.So to anwser some questions and shooting it for mounth, Gave her a week in november.Like carrying a peice of plywood around lol.just plain awkward.Did try and shoot a doe but damm safety. Got safety off missed at 30 yards. No idea what i did.Then try reloading in tree stand WOW. I guess if it is all you could hunt with a person would learn. Stick with my hoyt for now.Actually just winding things down and heading to my place 2 hours N.E. of edmonton.Chase some muleys.But neighbour just called said about 5000 snows sitting my Barley feild Sooooo what to do tomorrow a.m.

Personally, I am not into crossbows, and they never have appealed to me.
My shoulder was messed up bad enough that i was not able to draw a hunting bow for more than two or three arrows, so didn't for years.
tried a bit in the last few years and buggered my shoulder again.
i now can draw a minimum weight bow, and can shoot it decently enought to kill a deer at about 20 yards.
the thought of shooting a crossbow in either the archery season , speical weapons season or a regular season never entered my mind, even if I became totally disabled, as I have enough fun with BP rifles and modern rifles....
Cat

Buddy got his X-bow permit this year finally. He has a bad back and had trouble drawing his bow. Got his new X-bow last week and we fired it at some targets. Awesome accuracy! Adjusted the scope and the was hitting the 10 and 10X everytime from 30 yards. I think the new rules have made it easier for some to get their permits, definitely worked for him. When shot, they are pretty loud though.

:rolleye2:ya ya we know crossbows are bad and so on and so on ....


AND REMEMBER , IF YOU DARE DISAGREE WITH ME THEN YOUR JUST A UNETHICAL SO AND SO!

I only ever shot a crossbow once, my friend had one. I think I' m an OK bow shot and pretty decent rifle shot and I couldn't shoot that thing worth squat. I think they're brutal. Probably better ones on the market now but I digress because the question is should you use one to hunt, yep, if you're legit and can't pull a bow there's nothing wrong with you using one. Good luck!

To the OP, what poundage is your bow currently set at? Make and Model? How old is the bow?

Modern archery equipment is getting more powerful year after year, and the lure of shooting the biggest baddest mamba jama is certainly powerful, you can do alot more with alot less with modern equipment. More speed, more let off, more energy, less noise, less vibration,

There will always be shooters who claim that 70# is better, better speed, better energy, yada yada yada... however you can reach similiar speeds with substancial energy in 60# and 50# models. Heck even the 40# models have stellar preformance and believe it or not can and have shoot faster than some older 70# and 80# models. Modern archery equipment is definitely become more efficient and a 40#-50# model will throw pointy sticks with more than enough energy to cleanly take game without the ouch in your shoulder.

As for the crossbows, they are definitly not what people make them out to be, but they aren't always what they appear to be. Honestly, if your considering it and can get a permit, buy one and try it...

If it were me, I would try the lower poundage modern bows first...

Hey guys. Sorry, I just sat down tonight and read through your comments and I appreciate them all. It's still going to be a bit of a struggle deciding what to do because I do think it has advantages over conventional archery. There's definately not the skill required to hunt with a X bow as opposed to a compound or recurve. Thanks everyone.

for that reason alone i encourage you to give it a go. then come back and tell us what you learned.

Crossbows in archery zones/seasons
 

The last time I bowhunted with my dad was in 1993. He's older and has never been able to pull a bow back since we last went out together. This year, he finally got his crossbow permit due to arthritis that he has. He started hunting with me this year AGAIN in the bowzone. I am so excited he finally got it so we can share those memories again in the field. He's excited again to be out and I can see his outlook on life changing as he's picked up an old past time again with his son. I think the debate on crossbows and archery seasons is a joke. If it gets people into the field who normally could not go during archery season it's a great thing!!

I wish you and your Dad the greatest success.

Agree:)

That is why the rule exists. Good use of it. I would do the same thing if I had to.

For the people who just want to use crossbows, why? Why don't you use one of the choices available? Part of an archery season is it is for people who have practiced enough to become proficient. Those that don't practice can still get out there but much less chance to harvest game.
IMO there are some advantages to the crossbow but overall not a better tool than a good compound bow in the right hands. We just want to have our fun with less preassure on the game.

If you hunt with a crossbow it seems you are presumed guilty of the crime of laziness or taking advantage of some loophole unless you can prove to the hunting community that you have a legitimate reason.

You're right about that. The sad thing is that the negativity spewed forth about crossbow is based on nothing more than myth. For those old enough to remember, it's the same nonsense that was spread when the first compound bows hit the stores.

I feel strongly that crossbows should be permitted everywhere as a legal archery hunting weapon for all hunters. Where this has happened, including here in British Columbia, we have not seen any negative results because of that.

How many bowzones do you have in b.c?

Other than disability permits, I have yet to hear a valid reason to include a weapon that is dubbed by pro xbow supports as a inferior weapon.

A season for it should be made, but NOT to be included in the archery season......they are Not the same.

I will do whatever I can to keep that weapon out of the archery season.

Comparing Bc or any other place to Alberta, is not a similar comparison. We are a unique province, with different draws, and seasons . What may work well somewhere, might not do well here.

BC does not have bow zones. We have a ten day bow season open on any legal hunting land. That is followed by the general open season with any legal weapon, including bows, anywhere were hunting is permitted.

I know of other jurisdictions that have bow zones or bowhunting in urban areas were crossbows have been included in the archery season and none of the "problems" so often imagined by bowhunters has occurred because of it.

Take Tennessee as an example were crossbows have been included with the archery season under huge and very vocal protest from the bowhunters. Two years later everybody agrees, even the most militant bowhunters, that the decision has had none of the negative impacts feared. You're right about Alberta being different and so is every other jurisdiction in North America, they are all unique, yet most see a way to make crossbows legal for ALL hunters and given time it will come in Alberta too. Like it or not to guarantee a future for bowhunting the growing popularity of the crossbow will do what the invention of compound bow did.

Huntwriter, Alberta is not Tennessee, think about that. Also,,, archery does not need xguns to assure that there is a future for archery. It would appear to be the other way around. I might speculate and say that its xguns and the people driving them that understand that they DESPERATELY need inclusion into mainstream archery to provide any long term marketing value. This baby has been argued to death. I also will do what able to assure that archery hunts remain ARCHERY. Least a guy can do for being able to enjoy the fruits of so many peoples labour. Thanks ABA and Alberta hunters that wanted hard work and challenge included in thier time spent outdoors. Your hard work establishing archery here was the creation of many people's joy today, and a more than viable management tool.

Not entirely true. BC does not have the number of Bow only zones that Alberta does, but there are some in BC. There is the Conuma River Bow Only Zone in MU 1-12, where I hopefully will be in a month. :)
I envy the Albertans and their 2 month bow season. I spent a week last month chasing Mulies and WT in the Drumheller area with my brother and nephew. Had an absolute blast and will be back next year. It is worth paying the extra archery license. IMO
I know of at least 2 people that sell X-bows, recurves and compound bows. Both have stated that X-bows are for those that can't pull the minimum draw weight for hunting, ie. the young, the handicapped, and then those that don't have time to practice! lol

I really can't understand why things aren't good the way they are. It just really seams that people are never satisfied and always being greedy wanting more for them. Seems that bow hunters don't seem to be whining wanting more so why are the xbow users???

Crossbow (crossgun) hunters are greedy ? Wow , didn't see that coming. I for one am shocked.:sHa_sarcasticlol:

You guys are funny. You're just like they lame ass lefties calling the Oilsands the "Tar sands " . Find a term that has a negative connotation and use that to try to sway the un informed to your way of thinking.

The Crossbow has been around since about 350 AD , while the Compound (gun:)) has been with us since the 70s? maybe? and yet the Crossbow is touted as some new fangled futuristic weapon of mass detruction.

#3 Alberta is unique in the bow hunting world? really , how is it that Alberta is so unique? Are our deer less intelligent than those Tennessee deer? Or arre their Senses not as developed? Just wondering

Admit that you just don't like the Idea of more hunters possibly intruding on your precious season .

Pro xbow hunters all say the xbow is inferior to the bow, my question to you is why include a weapon that will probably do more harm to the animal populations than good???

Ironic, bowhunters all agree that if you want to hunt in the archery season pick up a bow and go hunt. The more the merrier, don't know a single bowhunter that says nope, no more bowhunters.

So admitting that bowhunters don't want more guys, is just an illusion of the truth.....Pick Up a Bow and GO!

We voted here in Alberta, and NO was the answer !

http://www.tn.gov/twra/deerseasons.html

From the Tennessee Regs,

For better wildlife management, Tennessee is divided into three deer units.

The statewide bag limit for antlered bucks is three (3).

No more than one (1) antlered deer may be taken per day.

The only way the bag limit of three (3) antlered bucks may be exceeded is: if bucks are taken on TWRA or NWR managed hunts where bucks are noted as bonus deer (see WMA listings). Deer taken on Ft. Campbell are also bonus deer.

If we had those kind of numbers and no Sheep, Moose and Muleys I wouldn't have a problem either !!!

Bad example.......Alberta is not like that !!!

I am old enough to remember the exact same arguments when the compound bows were invented. Back then bowhunting was a dying sport. The few bowhunters left got very upset when US state after US state and Canadian Province after Canadian Province legalized compound bows as a legitimate hunting weapon. Like the crossbow today, the compound was made out to be an "evil" contraption that would lead to "unethical" hunting, "unsportsmanlike", "to easy" to learn and on and on. The Pope & Young Club refused to accept compound bow kills. Then the bowhunting community realized that in order for the sport to survive they had to accept the compound bows.

Today we're faced with a similar situation. According to the latest news from the Archery Trade Association bowhunter numbers are stagnant. In the next five to ten years numbers will drop significantly due to babyboomers "retiring". You and some others may not like crossbows, just as our fathers hated the compound bows, but you better get used to it because in very near future the crossbow WILL become the accepted norm in bowhunting just like the compound bow did.

Just for information, the crossbow is NOT modeled after the gun. If anything firearms are modeled after the crossbow. Crossbows are in use for over 3,000 years, long before the first gun was invented. That makes crossbows more traditional then compound bows. ;)

You said that Alberta is not Tennessee which of course is true, but bowhunting is bowhunting no matter where in the world. If other jurisdictions across North America made crossbows legal without experiencing any of the predicted negativity why would Alberta be different in that regard?

I am neutral to crossbows. What I can't understand for the life of me is what the big deal is with the opposition to crossbows. Going my what I hear from the opposition the main reasons seems to be that crossbows are to easy to become proficient with it. I ask myself since when has the degree of difficulty become the measure of what a true bowhunter is. I am a bowhunter and I take the same care and use the same skills when I hunt with a crossbow or the rifle.

Hunting to me is about providing opportunity and not about limiting others in favour of a few. This to me has never been more important then now. Right now hunting as a sport keeps loosing more people then we gain, in addition hunters face a myriad of problems thrown at us from a misguided society and political forces pushing an anti-hunting agenda. The ONLY way we can overcome these problems is with numbers and as a united front. As it is stands now hunters are on the loosing end because we're to busy trying to figure out what separates us rather than realizing what unties us all. ;)

I don't believe the crossbow is inferior nor is it superior. The Crossbow has advantages and disadvantages ,just like a recurve vs compound or for that matter a 30 30 vs a 270 .

For the record I used to bowhunt but can't do it anymore . I own an old 150# barnet recurve crossbow ,that I have never hunted with and really not sure I would if I could . I do know that the crossbow I have does not shoot further than my old browning compound ,nor is it any more accurate. It is what it is , a bow that you hold a different way with a built in trigger as opposed to a hand hel trigger that most compound bow users have.

with a capability to hold loaded for an infinite time ( a major advantage, especially in open ground stalking ) and thats makes draw movement a zero, which is another big advantage......

I am not talking about game numbers. I am talking about the fears bowhunters voice of including crossbows. Fears like; more hunters during bowhunting season or in bow zones, degrading the bowhunting experience, limiting the quality of the hunt, crossbows lead to unethical behaviour and all the other myths. It is these things that have been found time and again untrue. But since you mentioned game kill numbers I can set your mind at ease. The numbers of game killed remain about the same where crossbows are included and contrary to popular crossbow myth not more game is wounded because of crossbows. These are the facts every US state and Canadian Province came up where crossbows are legal for all hunters.