re: For the first time in my life, I'm tempted by a crossbow

quote:

---

Their patterns change in preparation for the rut and with them trying to stake their claim trying to breed. Without hunters hitting the woods this happens.

---

If you don't think 4-wheelers running through the woods affect their patterns this conversation isn't worth having, but I'm going to have it anyway.

quote:

---

Sitting over a pile of corn in a box stand with a crossbow can bag you a doe or even a small buck, but not a trophy. You still have to get in the woods the same as "bow" hunters.

---

While carrying a bow, during the first 2 weeks of October, I've seen more mature bucks in bachelor groups on a single hunt in a open field from a 25' high lock on during daylight, than I have the rest of the season combined, multiple times. This includes bow, rifle, or muzzleloader, hunting in climbers and lock ons 400 yards in the woods or on the edges of fields, box stands ground blinds and sitting on a bucket. Maybe it's just a fluke, but I doubt it.

quote:

---

Also with a crossbow, you don't have this unlimited range to speak of just confidence a little further than a bow. You just remove the task of drawing back.

---

Abbundantly clear you didn't read what I said now

quote:

---

It isn't all bad, it's good for those with shoulder injuries, young kids getting into hunting, and it also teaches discipline with insuring that you can actually watch an animal get into close range because it doesn't have the ability to shoot an unlimited distance

---

Should have just said TL;DR

You seem to be thinking about Caitlyn Jenner a lot. Let me guess- daddy beat the gay out of you, or sent you to a pray away the gay camp.

The gap from crossbow to compound is smaller than the gap from compound to traditional.

quote:

---

If this were the case then our deer would be nocturnal before bow season due to all our offseason work.

---

I'm not sure how your camp work days are, but everywhere I've hunted they start later, not at dark during peak moving times for deer, and one to two weekends with vehicles running from 8-3 discing and planting fields or a few people running to feeders isn't the same as 10-12 4-wheelers running 45 minutes before sunrise and after sunset 3 days in a row.

I've hunted places that allowed no vehicle traffic (truck, 4-wheeler, golf cart) and it makes a difference, opposed to other places where they park the 4-wheeler under the stand/within eyesight. You could always tell how the deer acted walking around when the neighbors who didn't bow hunt started riding 4-wheelers showed up during rifle season. We can agree to disagree I just don't think it's a coincidence.

quote:

---

I'll agree with you here as to seeing them in bachelor packs, but they leave bachelor groups not because of 4 wheelers in the woods. They wouldn't stay in these packs after that anyhow due to preparing for mating season.

---

I agree with this. My point on that was a rebuttal to you saying you can shoot a doe or small buck, but not being able to shoot a trophy buck in a field over corn during bow season, and needing to be in the woodsto shoot a mature trophy.

I've seen more bucks in bow season than rifle season, and more deer in general in bow season before legalizing crossbows increased the vehicle traffic on our lease, People that would never put in the time and effort to get into a climber or lock on would hunt in shorts and tennis shoes in a box stand. The same people who you see for work days, then opening weekend of rifle, then thanksgiving, then for the rut between Christmas and New Years. They got crossbows and started hunting the 2 weeks of October, but maybe that's not your experience.

quote:

---

I will admit I misread your crossbow comment

---

All good my man. It's legal, they/you/me have every right to do it. I was brought up hunting a certain way, learned more from bow hunting than anything else. I don't have near the amount of time to dedicate to bow hunting that I feel is necessary but can't bring myself to pick up a crossbow. I've become a shitty rifle hunter who will sit in a box stand over a food plot that hunts a few weekends a year, and I'm okay with that.

Here, it's still summer. Acorns haven't started to fall and the natural browse it either ate down or grown out. A sack of corn or rice bran brings it all in. But when you're trying to draw back a bow, who want 6-7 sets of eyes, ears and noses there to bust them. That's the problem with baiting. Hard to find a good trail because they are scattered and vegetation is so thick.

The biggest knock on X bow hunters is they can lounge back in a shoot house, blind, etc and shoot accurately through a scope at a deer 50 yards away without an issue. A bow hunter realistically is reaching at 35 yards ( at least I know I am). 9/10 times his back and arse hurts from hours in a lock on and has fought mosquitos and gnats for the opportunity. There is a sense of pride there you don't get from a rifle hunt. Not saying rifle hunting can't be exciting but I'll admit. It loses it luster after shooting one with a bow.

I'm 36 years old. Still young enough and able enough to do the work of hanging bow sets and beating summer heat. But I'm also a dad and husband with a demanding job and not much free time and the temptation of taking a slightly easier road and just chilling in my two man millennium within my son, a roof and shooting rail with a xbow its there.

All other things being equal, the range is what gets me.

You're right. 35 yds is a shot you're gonna take, but I'd rather be closer.

Crossbows are killing at 35 yds with no problem.

This year will be my first year hunting with a crossbow. I bought an Excalibur Micro 335 and love it. Most people that argue about a crossbow only do it because it allowed the people that don't like bow hunting an alternative taking one or two peoples free reign of the woods away. A crossbow is still categorized as archery equipment no matter what anyone says and being that I've bowhunted, and still have one bow, the differences are very small despite what others believe. I would highly recommend buying one if it's something you are thinking about.

This board helped me get not bow hunting - love it - may never pick up a deer rifle again.

I had no idea how challenging and rewarding bow hunting could be. It gets my heart pumping when the deer are within 30 yards of you.

It takes some skill to kill with a bow. The crossbow seems like the easy way out for the hunter to take.

quote:

---

The crossbow seems like the easy way out for the hunter to take.

---

Who gives a shite? I'm sure recurve hunters think compounds are the easy way out.

No one bats an eye when someone drops a deer from 200 yards at a feeder, but use a crossbow and now you're a huge pussy.

quote:

---

10-12 4-wheelers running 45 minutes before sunrise and after sunset 3 days in a row.

---

Ouch, yeah we don't have that, we never have more than 3-4 vehicles (atvs or trucks) with it being 2 more often than not. I could see that kind of traffic being problematic. We also have our roads set up to where riding has minimal impact and you walk in to your stand from the main road. This is on over 1500 acres as well so it's not just a few people hunting a hundred acres. Just have it set up so you drop people off like a school bus and the person at the end of the route drives. We also have what most would consider to be good neighbors so maybe there isn't as much impact seen.

quote:

---

I've seen more bucks in bow season than rifle season, and more deer in general in bow season before legalizing crossbows increased the vehicle traffic on our lease

---

We've seen this trend change over the last few years with our management program starting to pay dividends, got the doe to buck ratio down to a healthier ratio and now the bucks move more during the day during rifle season. The neighbors are the same as they been even before we bought the place so this is some affect and us buying out the only junk neighbor probably had some impact as well. Getting the ratio down from what was well over 10 does to 1 buck when we bought the place has drastically changed our buck sightings per hunt. Couple that with light traffic and good neighbors and our sightings don't change from bow to rifle season. More bucks were spotted per hunt during rifle season by our most committed hunters.

I guess more than agreeing to disagree, there may be more factors than just hunters hitting the woods. Probably more to the fact on how the hunters hit the woods and how the club has been laid out and managed along with how your neighbors are.