Having fallen in with a group of very serious hunters lately, I intend to take up bowhunting as this is the most popular kind of hunting where I am in Southern Indiana. My friends have been helping me get an idea of the best kind of equipment to get and I’m going to consult at a local archery shop for some more information and to help get a feel for a bow.
Most of my friends use compound bows. These appeal to me because they’re convoluted, badass-looking and apparently extremely effective. They’re highly customizable which I like; they can be used with sights, and trigger releases. And far more people use them so there would be more support from the other users.
One guy uses a recurve exclusively and these also intrigue me because of their simplicity and classic look. I have shot recurves before; I don’t remember doing particularly well, but this was many years ago. I’m sure I could get the hang of it. But the learning curve does seem to be greater. One benefit is that they tend to be less expensive.
Finally, crossbows. They are only allowed during the second part of archery season here, the late winter months. I think crossbows are also quite interesting; they can be used with scopes and I assume there is far less of a learning curve when coming from rifle shooting. But the big disadvantage is the limit on their season.
Any tips? I’m lucky to have lots of great friends to show me the ropes so I’m confident that I’ll be able to eventually pick up any of them. But, since I want to learn in the coming months before deer season starts, ease of learning is a concern.
The biggest difference between compound and recurves, in my admittedly limited experience, is aim time. You can hold a compound bow at full draw fairly easily and adjust your aim. Holding a powerful recurve bow will generally result in your aim wavering, and it will tend to grow worse the longer you hold it. As I understand it, this is the whole point of compound bows–once they break over, it requires much less effort to hold them at full draw.
I’ve even less experience with crossbows, having never even done any real target shooting with one, but for what it’s worth, I suspect that the transition from rifle to crossbow would be more intuitive than to either of the other bows. The trajectories are flatter, for one thing.
Holy shit. I grew up around that stuff. All I can say is that if you can be an accomplished bowhunter, hats off to you. As far as archery into a red circle was concerned, I was pretty good with a barebow!. A crossbow required a kind of coordination that wasn’t in me.
Not that I’d shoot Bambi, anyway.
Anyway, my nine year old brother has a bunch of trophies and medals from the Bowhunter’s Club. He’s been doing this since he was five (apparently letting him skirt the rules) and hasn’t been beat in a few years. So…maybe my stepdad’s bow was too much for me to handle. Anywho, he has graduated from pee wee to boys and has a barebow for competition (because he’s obviously not hunting at nine) and he seriously impresses me. He’s like a skinny doe-eyed blonde-haired ballerina with a weapon.
I think that you should pick what is comfortable to you and then if you really like it, try to expand your skills. No one I know that bowhunts doesn’t have experience with all of them (but again, I kind of spent half of my time in backwards, Iowa, growing up, so that could be an exception: re: video games & cable don’t dominate).
I know a 100 lb girl shouldn’t be playing with her 280 lb man of muscle dad’s crossbow, but :eek: you could shoot someone in the ass. And you’re not Dick Cheney, so, yeah. Please don’t shoot Bambi until you’re really good. Bowhunting is (or should be) a humane sport.
If you’re wanting to do serious hunting, the compound bow is the way to go. Recurves and the like are fun, and I have one for target shooting. Balance is right, with 100 lb draw compound bows you can hold them at full draw a really long time, whereas with a recurve you strain to hold even a 40 lb draw.
Why would you want to hold a bow at full draw for a long time? You see your target, you aim, you shoot. Whole thing shouldn’t take more than a few seconds.
I’ve been using a recurve since I was around seven years of age, and while I have shot compounds and crossbows (and long bows!), I find recurves to be the most satisfying. A lot of it has to do with the aesthetics of shooting the different bows - I don’t like the pulleys, the sights, the obvious machinery of compound bows.
Honestly Argent, shooting a compound is going to be the easiest in terms of learning curve - but it comes with some drawbacks. With the compound, it’s a sighted shot; most shooters rely on a set of sights zeroed in on certain distances (10, 20, 30 yards) in order to accurately shoot. This requires one to be a good judge of distances - usually not a problem, but it somewhat constricts the shooter. The level of ambient light can also be an issue, as at dusk accurately identifying your target and applying the sights of the compound bow can be challenging.
A recurve is all about instinctual shooting. IMHO, it evokes a similar feeling as golf in terms of equipment and focus - using a simple tool and your instinctual feel for the shot. It also affords you much more flexibility than a compound bow. I can put accurate shots down range from a multitude of positions - such as crouching or twisting my torso - that would be much more difficult if not impossible with a compound.
But mostly, I like the instinctual shot. In my experience, it becomes much more about a focusing of the mind and body. There are no sights, no “aiming”. You simply focus on your target, pull back the bow, and fire.
I’ve never hunted, but I used to shoot a lot at archery targets when I was younger. I didn’t have a preference. I could shoot recurve or compound, and owned one of each. They both shoot a little differently, but once you get used to them you can go back and forth with no problem.
If I were hunting, I would use a compound bow. Unless you are incredibly strong, you’re just not going to get as much force on the arrow with a recurve bow.
I understand A.Selene’s point about not liking the mechanics of a compound bow. The pulleys and all that never bothered me, but I don’t like sights and my bow didn’t have any. Shooting a compound bow without sights is a lot like shooting a recurve, at least with respect to aiming. It’s still an instinctual shot.
I don’t like crossbows for the same reason I don’t like sights. You just point and shoot. a crossbow. There’s not much skill behind it. Sure, there won’t be much of a learning curve if coming from a rifle, but then what’s the point?
I say get yourself a nice compound bow, but that’s just my opinion. I’m not going to be the one shooting it.
I’ve hunted with (and owned) both recurves and compounds. If you are going to restrict your hunting to deer or large game the compound might be your best bet. As mentioned the are are easier to hold for longer periods of time. But to me that is more about harvesting meat. The sights make it seem more mechanical. I eventually sold my compounds and still own 3 Bear recurves.
If you are also going to also hunt rabbits or squirrels for example I strongly suggest a recurve. Snap shooting is almost impossible with a compound as the ‘break over’, done in a rapid motion, results in a shaking that causes target acquisition to be quite difficult.
There is also the purity and aesthetic aspect of the recurve. Like A.Selene, I enjoy instinctive shooting much more than aiming with a sight.
When hunting deer, you are frequently in thick brush and the deer are often walking. It is not uncommon at all to have to draw on the animal and hold on it while waiting for it to get to a clearing so you have an unimpeded shot.
Most bow hunters use a compound bow, and they ***hate ***hunters who use crossbows with a passion. You will be ostracized if you show up to a hunt with a crossbow when the other hunters have compound bows.
A recurve bow is only for the purist and very experienced hunter.
The bow humters I know use bows to hunt deer exclusively, and use compound bows exclusively. I’ll ask them why out of my own curiosity, but I expect their answers to match the posts here.
Personally, I’d use a crossbow. Anything banned by the Pope is just fine in my book. The ban only applied to Christian deer, but I’ll assume that’s their religious preference.
Crossbows are not considered to be real bow hunting in many areas. In my area they are illegal. They are not a serious hunting weapon. More of a ghetto bow.
Modern compound bows are approaching or have surpassed rifles in sophistication and cost. It is like the old saying about cars; “Speed is money, how fast do you want to go?” You can spend thousands of dollars on the equipment.
Recurves are for the purists. You really need to learn the art before you would be able to hunt with a recurve. It’s pull and shoot, no holding time. A compound allows a big weight let-off so you can actually aim. If you succeed with a compound then you can get back to your roots, so to speak, and try recurve.
I have to emphasize that the most important part of bow hunting, is the hunting. The stalking skills, game tracking, are much more involved than with a rifle. You need to really dedicate yourself to this form of hunting or you will be viewed as just another ‘stick-flicker’ who give the sport a bad name.
Ohio law does not differentiate between compound bows and crossbows, so both share the same season. Around these parts, a person using a crossbow is shunned by the compound bow hunters; they treat them with utter contempt and disgust. But I disagree with your assessment of crossbows; I have one, have hunted with it, and I love it! But I’m careful who I show it to, else I will be subjected to the wrath from the compound elite.
Well, every deer I’ve killed I’ve ambushed; I just sat there in my tree stand for hours on end and waited. That’s how most of the deer hunters do it around here. I guess some might say it is unsportsmanlike, but that’s just the way it’s done. To be honest, I have never met anyone who has can stalk and kill whitetail deer on a routine basis. I often wonder if it can actually be done.
I don’t understand what is so bad about crossbows. All the guys I know use slug guns to hunt deer in the short shotgun season, and high powered rifles out of season with “ag tags.” How is that OK, but crossbows not OK. It’s bullshit.
I’m not too familiar with modern crossbows but the ones they had back in the 80s had several drawbacks. Because the arrows were much shorter and the draw of the bow shorter than a conventional bow they had very limited range and were largely inaccurate past a certain distance. Nice if you can get 10-15 yards away from a deer but awful for more realistic distances.
This year in Ohio, archery season for white-tailed deer (which includes compound bow and crossbow) is from September 24th to February 5th. Gun season is from November 28th to December 4th. So as you can see, the archers get a season “all to themselves” from September 24th to November 27th, and from December 5th to February 5th. During this time, the compound bow hunters and crossbow hunters have exactly the same privileges as far as the law is concerned. The compound bow hunters spend many many hours practicing their skills, so many have contempt for the crossbow hunters who don’t need to practice nearly as much. Furthermore, a typical crossbow has more accuracy and greater range than a compound bow, which makes the compound bow hunters envious.
Many compound bow hunters believe the crossbow hunters are simply gun hunters who are intruding on their season. And there’s a lot of truth in that. I know, because I am a hunter who uses a crossbow during archery season.
Our household is also in Indiana and we also own a crossbow. Last time we checked the ONLY time it is legal to hunt with a crossbow in Indiana is when you have lost partial or full use of one arm. Granted things might have changed in the ensuing years, but you might want to double-check the laws on that. It could factor into your decision.
Anywho, he has graduated from pee wee to boys and has a barebow for competition (because he’s obviously not hunting at nine) and he seriously impresses me. He’s like a skinny doe-eyed blonde-haired ballerina with a weapon.