Crossbow or compound bow

Looking to get in on the archery season. Curious or if I should go crossbow or compound... Thoughts?

It really depends on if you think you will practice. Free hand bows, compounds included, take practice to develop the muscle groups and memory to shoot consistently.

Cleric compounds take much more practice. Crossbow you can practice a few times after your sight it in and your done. Compounds take much more time and dedication.

I had the same question and have decided the best way to resolve it, before spending serious green, is to visit a local archery range/shop that offers both. They also have a nice intro course for beginners that includes basic instruction, fitting, full day use of rental bow/arrows etc. I want to try the compound first, without donating parts...and see if it is something I could invest time in and develop into a useable weapon.

The reasons I lean towards the compound are:
My personal preference in staying closer to a traditional bow format
(From arm chair research) they can be quieter than a crossbow
They require skill development in both the stalking and shooting

Now, if my old bones/joints and eyesight don't agree with the above I will have no problem in keeping the animals and general population safer by learning to hunt with a crossbow.

I am leaning towards cross. I am not looking for another addiction just something to pop a deer or two

Compound until I can't pull one back.

Missed 2 seasons when I could not shoot a vertical bow from shoulder issues, bought a crossbow.

I am again hunting with vertical bows and will be using a recurve some this ear. But there are times the Xbow will see some usage also.

My take on the different bow types.

Xbow very effective hunting tool, louder than the others but does not require as much movement for getting the shot and can be shot from either shoulder. Also like shooting a gun, not difficult to hit a deer in the vitals out to 40 yards or more for someone used to shooting a gun.

Compound also very effective and not difficult to get reasonable accuracy with a little practice and instruction.

recurve/long bow, much more practice to shoot well but by far the most enjoyable bow to get out and shoot.

This was kind of my reasoning also.

Crossbow cut 3 fingers off 5 years ago can't pull my compound any more.

Compound, unless I am physically unable to do it. Anything else in October is cheating.

Thats almost sounds like the IA sergeant interviewing me about an arrest one of my patrol officers made, and he wanted me to say it was a bad arrest. I finally told him, after many times of telling him no, that any legal arrest IS NOT a bad arrest.

If its legal, use it. If you aint't cheating, you aint't trying. Been a bowhunter since 1976 and now own 2 crossbows. I can still shoot a compound, just choose to hunt with crossbow now. All my kills last year were still 18 yards or less.

Compound is what I like.

I did just get an oldschool recurve crossbow with iron sights.. just couldn't help it

Go recurve or longbow with cedar arrows, if it has wheels/cams and a trigger or sights it is cheating in October.

Martin Cougar Magnum and a Stryker 380.

I agree with everyone that says compound it is morr challenging thats why I rarely rifle hunt anymore.i guess ill use my bare hands next when I get bored of bow hunting lol

Love giving Crossbow guys a hard time, even the ones on my lease. Unless they have a physical reason for shooting one.

They get all blown up like I am coming to take their man card. Sorry I just bow hunted for 20 years, where the only way you could use a crossbow is if your have a medically excused reason. I hate change.

So if I wanted a cross bow. Where should I get one in north texas?

The challenge is not shooting a crossbow or a compound....the challenge is getting a whitetail within 30 yards for the shot.

Anyone with practice can hit a quarter at 30 yards with any bow or any crossbow....with enough practice like I said. Again, it is all about getting them in close. If you don't like getting them in close, then get your bang stick out.

Both methods of archery have their pro's and con's. Use what you like and don't let anyone tell you that you are cheating.

I own and hunt with both. When hunting out of my bowhunting stands, I find the crossbow creates more noticeable movement and is front heavy to hold for very long. I would rather hold a high let off compound at full draw than hold a crossbow up for a long time. Raising the crossbow perhaps because it is horizontal gets noticed by game a lot worse than me just pulling my bow. If your hunting from popup blinds it does not matter so much. For taking advantage of rifle stands with horizontal windows for game within 30 yards, the crossbow shines over the long bow.
With the compound I can get off a 2nd shot without as much movement and much faster than a crossbow. Both have their place. If I could only have one I would have a long bow. But I can have both, so I do. During bow season I may have in camp any or all of compound bow, recurve crossbow, and or rifle for hogs. To keep it fun, my future plans are to retire the modern compound forever for a primitive long bow or recurve as that is what I started with many years ago, drop the crossbow for a better more modern crossbow than the primitive recurve crossbow I have now, and use my smokeless muzzleloader or black powder cartridge loads in a rolling block for october hogs instead of my modern centerfires. It does not matter what you shoot just as long as you get out there. My recommendation is to get both and choose what to carry out of camp each morning based on the stand you plan to hunt that morning and just what you feel like hunting with that morning.

If you are physically able...compound. If not then a xgun.

Cabelas or Bass Pro would be good places to start a crossbow search. Try a lot of different ones to see what feels/fits you best. Just like a rifle or vertical bow, they are all different.

I wouldn't let either even cut an arrow for me. You need to find someone who really knows about the products, not just what the catalog or their 1 hour of training says. Crossbows are dangerous and temperamental.

Agreed for the most.

As far as temperamental goes I would agree if it is a compound crossbow, recurve crossbows on the other hand are pretty simple and not fussy at all - that's why the 3D crossbow competitors all use them. Dangerous - for sure, especially to thumbs.

Durn, I bought both my crossbows from Cabelas.....

Thank goodness though I have a little common sense and know more than the average bear, and thoae Cabela Bucks sure add up quick for spending on other items.

I wouldn't be surprised if crossbows surpass compound bows as the major weapon to use during archery season.

I used to be hardcore compound but went the crossbow route and won't go back!

Go into your local big box outdoor retailer...Cabela's or Basspro and count how many crossbows and compound bows you see for sale....both number of models and total number. You will find the answer to your statement!

Like my experience I think you will find a lot of long time compound shooters that tried a crossbow after it became legal for hunting in TX and other States, found that their compounds have more benefits than the crossbow.

Much louder than a compound, the horizontal shape raised to a shooting position creating more noticeable movement than drawing a compound. Heavy and unbalanced or front heavy creating more strain and more shaky on long holds than holding a light weight high let off compound. More cumbersome carrying long distances through brush and thick woods than a compound. And with some of the new higher end faster crossbows, drawing them is really not that much easier than drawing a compound bow unless you are using devices that help make them easier such as a crank.

I feel most crossbows to be more primitive technology wise than modern compound bows. As someone experienced with bowhunting for many years... With the compound bow packages that come with everything needed to hunt, my opinion is that I can pick up most any compound bow package off the rack, sight it in, and master it as fast or faster than most crossbows off the rack.

The ever improving technology with modern compounds, widespread use of releases, much lighter bows, the trend to light fast flatter shooting arrows over heavy rainbow trajectory slow arrows, expanding broadheads that actually work, better designed fixed blade broadheads that do not have the tuning issues of the old traditional broadheads, and game departments now allowing bows with extreme let offs. All that combined as well as other improvements has made most compound bows very easy to master for anyone with any kind of prior bowhunting experience IMHO.

There are exceptions I am sure. Of course those with upper body injurys, First time archery season hunters familiar with rifles that are naturally going to be more comfortable with the feel of a crossbow. Especially if they prefer to continue hunting from rifle stands such as box blinds with horizontal windows, anything with bench rests, and pop up blinds. Or perhaps first time archery season shooters with no prior knowledge of shooting or tuning a bow.

Crossbows are for girls and sissy men that can't pull back a bow at least that's what my dad told me when I first got into archery. Vertical bows are a blast to learn how to become proficient with, plus you can do 3D tournaments during the offseason ( but not with a crossbow).

The greatest advantage we have found with a crossbow is that anyone can use one. Draw length and pull eight are not an issue. My crossbow is also used by my brother and my daughter, we could never share the same bow.
No sissies here. I want a bow that I can shoot like a gun. Or does using a gun make you a pansy?

compound for sure.

Recurve bow hunters say compound bows are for hunters who need training wheels.

Compounds are for girly men who have lost their man card....

Wait, I use to hunt with a recurve, the made the switch to compound and then to crossbow. Why you might ask. Because I can......

Where is a good place in north texas to go for compound and or crossbows?

Where you at would be easier question...

LOL.

I switched to a cross bow a few years back - just wasn't putting in the practice with my compound. As mentioned before, you still have to get the animal within 30 yards (and that's the hard part).

JR

They also shoot their animals from 7yrds...

Dfw airport

Well although I despise BassPro for an incident years ago, I did stop there a couple of days ago looking for something. They had several Excaliburs on clearance, as well as some other bows. I'm not sure if they will allow you to shoot them, but I know Cabelas will let you. Smithfield Archery has the Mission Crossbow that you can shoot, and CCR has some crossbows I believe.

So I was at bass pro looking at bows. Mainly killing time. They guy said that cross bow bolts lose three velocity faster than arrows? Is this a big deal? Is it true?

Due to smaller length and overall lighter weights, they do lose speed and kinetic energy faster than traditional arrows. That's why they tend to launch faster off the rail to account for that quicker velocity/energy loss. Physics at play.

I probably would come cloaer believing a person on a street corner than somebody at Bass Pro.

I would come closer to believing a high school kid at academy, before anyone at bass pro.

X2

All I know is at a 20 yard shot with my Mathews z7 eXtreme, I could watch the arrow in flight to the target. With either one of my crossbows, Exclaibur Matrix 380 and TenPoint Stealth SS, I see my arrow only after it comes to a stop in the target. And as all of my hunting set ups are 18 yards or less, well, don't think I am going to have any problems at all with the arrow slowing down.

I guess he was caught up with speed and didn't think of the 180 fps traditional bow shots LoL.

Xbow had 2 shoulder surgerys couldnt hold my bow back. Would still hunt with bow if my shoulder would let me. Xbow is bad medicine on turkeys when we had a fall season.

So to not be cheating wouldn't a recurve be needed?

or LONG BOW

along with handmade arrows and flint arrow heads....... Native Americans are the one's that didn't cheat

Well, having spent some time at CCR shooting, the compound won me over quickly. The crossbow just seemed heavy and pretty much a rifle that shoots a bolt. I know the crossbow has a much shorter learning curve and can see where that platform would appeal to rifle hunters or people who have physical limitations.

A modern compound bow is amazing! I was pleasantly surprised how quick it was to bring the groups in tight with just a few adjustments on grip, anchor point and release adjustments. Light, quiet, lethal and accurate. That pretty much fills my wish list. I really can't wait to be shooting my own rig!

y'all remind me of the time I went duck hunting with my bare hands. Boy did we eat well that night! Steaks on an open fire

Ok guys...I retired at 60 in June 2013...started hunting for the first time in Oct (never hunted before). I have a Titan Extreme Ten Point Xbow and I love it ... Killed 4 deer with it (including a 12pt) I also have a Matthews Jewel compound that I'm finally getting comfortable with (doing some 3-D shoots). I plan to use both next season depending on where I shoot. I also have a hunt scheduled the last w'end in May in TX (I'm from MS). Will be hunting Nilgai Bull with my crossbow (with a backup rifle). Most of the time I shot off a tripod, but I have a new respect for the Xbow now. At the 3-D shoots some have crossbow classes, but you cannot use a hunting stick or kneel and shoot. Have to stand and shoot....the Xbow is very heavy and by the time I finished all 30 3-D targets, I was sooo tired. So, that being said...yes, shooting off a tripod is easier, but there's a lot of practice and skill needed to shoot standing without any aid. I shot a recurve in college, we won't say how long ago that was...lol. But I may try it again also. I say, shoot what you want to and good hunting.

I would guess 42-46 years ago