Should we relax crossbow hunting regs?

[J E Custom]

I'm fine with it, unless your using the PSE Tac-15, thats like cheating... I really like wisconsins stance on it, You can use one if your over 65 or have a doctors excuse. With the efficency of todays bows you dont need to draw 70# or even 60# to kill anything.

I fit into both of those categories But If I could draw a compound bow I would still be using
one because of there accuracy and effective range over the crossbow.

When I was shooting my compound (Before the shoulder surgery) I shot full length 2317s
@ 96 pounds and made good clean pass through kills beyond 70 yards with no problems.

The effective range for a crossbow is 50 yards and under because of the lighter/shorter
bolts. (425grains as compared to 700 to 1000 grains for the compound bow.

So if anything the cross bow limits the distance to effectively shoot and only make it easy
to shoot without much practice.

There is no accuracy advantage if the compound bow shooter has it properly tuned and
practices 2 or 3 times a week especially at longer distances.

I don't like giving up my bow but my love of bow hunting over rules my preference on the
type of equiptment I will use.

By the way I have ordered a TAC 15 because it is one of the crossbows that is nearest to
a good compound bow. and I am not willing to give up any more than I have to.

PS: There are several other crossbows that can shoot over 400 ft/sec but they still shoot
300 to 400grain arrows including the broad head. But the TAC 15 uses 26.5" arrows/bolts
and that helps in the accuracy department.

J E CUSTOM

 

[BountyHunter]

JE

When I was shooting my compound (Before the shoulder surgery) I shot full length 2317s @ 96 pounds and made good clean pass through kills beyond 70 yards with no problems.

I would hope so, as that is an African setup and not the norm. Maybe 1 out of 1000 bowhunters use 96 lb draws and 700-1000 grain arrows as they are way outside the norms for normal set ups.

Most compound arrows now weigh right in the 400-450 range with broadheads and have the same effective range normally. However all depends on the shooter and the broadhead.

BH

 

[J E Custom]

JE



I would hope so, as that is an African setup and not the norm. Maybe 1 out of 1000 bow hunters use 96 lb draws and 700-1000 grain arrows as they are way outside the norms for normal set ups.

Most compound arrows now weigh right in the 400-450 range with broad heads and have the same effective range normally. However all depends on the shooter and the broad head.

BH

Yes it is a little higher that "Normal" but most of the guys I hunted with shot over 80 Lbs
for the same reason. To move the big arrows fast.

We found that just like heaver bullets, heaver arrows performed better at extended distances
and even though they have more trajectory they had better penetration especially when bone is
involved.

On white tail I used 700+ grain arrows and 1.1/2 '' broad heads and my favorite shot is
through the shoulder. It not only kills quickly, it disables him where he can't run very far
(normally less than 10 yards).

The down side to this is that you must shoot 500+ arrows a week to stay in shape and pay
close attention to your equiptment.

Good Hunting

J E CUSTOM

 

[zuba]

Chas1, I met up with Len at a sports show and he took me to the PSE booth to shoot one. Then he said he had one on order

JECustom, The tac 15 was very impressive. I believe they had a 486 grain(and a 400) arrow when we were there and I heard they could group them at 100 yards in a ring the size of a skoal can!

 

[Chas1]

JE, 96 lb draw and +500 arrows a week...no wonder you had shoulder problems. You must of loved it. Too much work out for me.

 

[J E Custom]

JE, 96 lb draw and +500 arrows a week...no wonder you had shoulder problems. You must of loved it. Too much work out for me.

It wasn't the bow that hurt my shoulder or even the 60+foot fall off a mountain in Colorado
but the sudden stop on a rock that did it.

I'm not complaining though it could have been much worse, but I do miss the bow hunting.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Len Backus]

60+foot fall off a mountain in Colorado

I don't think you're supposed to do that. I read health study somewhere that it is bad for your health.

 

[BountyHunter]

Len

Bet that hurt, left a mark, and somehow he got in trouble for it.

BH

 

[Chas1]

Sorry to hear that JE. Sounds like you were pretty lucky to have only come away with a shoulder injury.

 

[Buffalobob]

BB's 340 fps bow and little time to practice is classic justification for crossbow IMO for many archers. Almost any bow that is 80% letoff and 340 fps, probably has extremely low brace height (under 7" and as low as 5.5"), which makes it super critical on release, highly subject to torque and is shooting superlight arrow with light head and low FOC and an archer with a long draw in order to get that speed. In perfect world, with perfect release and perfect side vitals shot, it will kill easily but it is not a forgiving setup without a high level of proficiancy, which BB has from what he has posted. If you have all those, then no issues, but that is hard for most bowhunters to maintain that level of proficiancy and to take only those type shots.

Not meaning to quibble over technical details when I agree with the overall content.

I would just mention that PSE asked bowhunters what they wanted in a bow and they said they wanted forgiveness so PSE built a 348 FPS bow with a 8.5 inch brace height and 80% letoff. Apparently, I was the only person who thought that it was a great bow and actually bought one. PSE discontinued it the next year due to poor sales.

 

[Chas1]

Don't mean to sound dumb but, what is FOC?

 

[Buffalobob]

FOC is why some bullets tumble on impact and some don't. It is also why a bullet is not like a drill bit.

FOC means "front of center". It means that center of mass is in front of the the geometric center. Typically an arrow should balance about 8-13% in front of the midpoint on the shaft. This is usually accomplished by selecting a broad head or point of the correct weight.

 

[Chas1]

BB, so when it was mentioned earlier "low FOC" would that mean the arrow would balance something less than the 8-13% in front of the midpoint on the shaft that you mentioned? Don't mind me I know zip about archery other than letting go of the string and watching the arrow fly a few times but the more I read this post the more I see this archery stuff's pretty scientific and is peaking my interest.

 

[moosekiller99]

Absolutely. Telling other hunters how to take game is purely a "Liberal" concept and at odds with my way of thinking.