A goal of Next Generation Hunting is to encourage people to become hunters and inspire their life-long passion for the sport. We believe that hunters are a special group of people that love the outdoors and an activity that has ensured our existence as humans on this planet. Therefore, we believe no hunter should try to intimidate other hunters or discourage their enjoyment and participation in the sport.
Whenever there is debate on a topic, offering your opinion carries the risk of needlessly extending the conversation and potentially making the situation worse. So, we tread lightly into the discussion of crossbow hunting. There are hunters that oppose crossbow hunting for several reasons such as…
Crossbow hunting requires little to no skill and makes it easy to harvest big game.
Crossbow hunters harvest too many deer that otherwise could be harvested by traditional archers.
Crossbow hunting is more akin to shooting a rifle, and therefore should occur during rifle season or have a season of its own.
Before addressing these issues, let me be clear that I am a crossbow hunter and support crossbow hunting. There are friends of mine who are compound bow hunters and constantly needle me into “coming over to their side.” While I don’t get upset, I do refrain from persuading other hunters to hunt one way or another, and instead choose to allow them to enjoy the sport in the manner most fun and meaningful to them. Basically, I’m thrilled people are hunting regardless of whether they use a traditional bow, crossbow, rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, or whatever. That said, let me briefly comment on the above issues.
Crossbow hunters harvest too many deer that otherwise would be harvested by traditional archers.
Some can certainly look at data on game harvested with a crossbow and conclude that this reduces opportunities for traditional hunters. However, this is more of an assumption to fit an argument rather than a conclusion supported by significant data.
First, it is entirely possible that there were no traditional archery hunters in the vicinity of the crossbow kill or even hunting at all that day or at that time. Secondly, even if that game wasn’t harvested and still alive, there is no guarantee that harvesting opportunities would have increased for traditional archers. In fact, those animals could have easily survived though the end of archery season only to be taken by a rifle hunter. Thus, I guess we should now eliminate rifle season, too. The fact is, just because they would be alive doesn’t mean you would have seen them. All methods of hunting still require research, scouting, preparation, and a bit of luck.
Crossbow hunting is more akin to shooting a rifle, and therefore should occur during rifle season or have a season of its own.
Crossbow hunting IS like shooting a rifle and, as such, requires learning how to site a scope, adjust for distance, maintain your equipment, and of course practice. As to whether crossbow hunting should occur during rifle season or have its own season, I don’t know. Maybe. This is something that I will leave to state regulatory authorities and offer my opinion if asked which is…NO. Crossbows shoot an arrow, and thus is archery hunting.
Enjoy Each Other’s Success
I’ll state again that hunters should feel comfortable and supported in hunting with their preferred method. So whether it is a compound bow, crossbow, rifle, pump action shotgun, semi-automatic shotgun, muzzleloader, please try and fight the urge to belittle, intimidate, and ruin the sport for others. It’s a big country and there is a lot of game. Personally, I try to enjoy the hunting success of others.
Interested in Crossbow Hunting
If you are considering becoming a crossbow hunter, check-out our videos related to the topic. And when ready to purchase a crossbow, please consider an American-made TenPoint crossbow. For the new crossbow hunter, we recommend their cost-effective Wicked Ridge series – especially the Blackhawk XT model.
Learn more about crossbows, broadheads, and other hunting topics on the HUNT page.