Archery, will it ever be the same again?

AirBOW has the word "BOW" in its name. That is weak sauce. The words "Bowhunting" and "Bowhunter" were coined by Roy Case in the 1930's (Father of bowhunting) and mean a very specific things and are not subject to revision.

https://www.crosman.com/airbow

I’d be willing to say there were lots of Peoples, in this land and others, that were “bowhunting and bowhunters” long before 1930 that might have a disagreement with that.


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2 summers ago I was a vendor at a bowhunting event. Raven crossbows was there with their 200 yard challenge. I took the challenge and I videoed it (see attached video). I never touched or saw that stocked, bolt slinger prior to sitting down at the bench to shoot bolts at 200 yards. I hit both the 3 and 9 inch circle in my 6 bolts. so did man after man and woman after woman. Easy/peasy. Had they had just one 60 pound compound bow shared by all those same people and a target only 40 yards away and those same people try to hit the marks, the results would have been vastly different and for good reason.


I will say it again and do it slowly and clearly. I SUPPORT CROSSERS AND THEIR ACTIVITY EVEN IF I HAVE NO INTEREST IN IT BECAUSE I ENJOY BOWHUNTING TOO MUCH TO TAKE UP A DIFFERENT ACTIVITY. I SUPPORT ALL THE NON-BOWHUNTING WEAPONS LIKE LONG GUNS AND HANDGUNS AND CROSSBOWS.

Ravens used their distance to draw people in. If I wanted to I could set mine at that distance and you could hit there too. Not a big deal really.

I had not hunted with a bow for 5-10 years when I bought my next compound set up. I was hitting the bull center in the first 5 shots. Today’s compounds are easy to shoot.

Beyond that we’ll just disagree on what is bow hunting. I enjoy legal and ethical hunting and wish others the same.

If you choose to pigeonhole yourself as special, go for it. Means nothing to me.


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I’d be willing to say there were lots of Peoples, in this land and others, that were “bowhunting and bowhunters” long before 1930 that might have a disagreement with that.


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Nope! The words "Bowhunting" and "Bowhunter" did not exist prior to Roy Case coining those words. Today we can try to look back and apply those words to prior years but if you know the history of the sport you would understand your error.
 
This year of people I know personally there have been 2 deer shot with bow and unrecovered. There was 1 shot and unrecovered with a muzzleloader. There were 5 shot and unrecovered with a rifle. This is a group of 16 hunters and all hunted every season.

I did not recover a buck shot with my compound early in the season and another guy on our lease did not recover a deer he shot with a crossbow. 1 guy on the lease did not recover a buck shot with a muzzleloader. 1 deer on the lease shot with rifle and unrecovered and another 2 hunters hit 2 bucks each they did not recover.

I think unrecovered deer with a rifle is more than archery in our area because we have many that will not even go look if the deer doesn’t drop right there. Would have been easy recoveries if folks knew how to track...

How many total deer were taken? 8 unrecovered out of 16 hunters seems excessive regardless of means. Were these experienced hunters?
 
Im working on a special project with the WI bowhunters assoc and Roy Cases Water buffalo horn to craft a knife using the exact water buffalo horn Roy secured for his horn bows back in the early 1930's.
 

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This year of people I know personally there have been 2 deer shot with bow and unrecovered. There was 1 shot and unrecovered with a muzzleloader. There were 5 shot and unrecovered with a rifle. This is a group of 16 hunters and all hunted every season.

I did not recover a buck shot with my compound early in the season and another guy on our lease did not recover a deer he shot with a crossbow. 1 guy on the lease did not recover a buck shot with a muzzleloader. 1 deer on the lease shot with rifle and unrecovered and another 2 hunters hit 2 bucks each they did not recover.

I think unrecovered deer with a rifle is more than archery in our area because we have many that will not even go look if the deer doesn’t drop right there. Would have been easy recoveries if folks knew how to track...

In calendar year 2019, I shot at with a bow and arrow and recovered 13 deer, a bull elk and an alligator. (100% recovery rate) and I still have more bowhunting to do.

Last year it was 4 deer, a water buffalo, a red stag, a Eurasian boar, 2 Polynesian pigs, a Hawaiian Vancouver bull, a Russian boar and again enjoyed a 100% recovery rate. Every animal shot with my bow was recovered. Most went down in sight of me.

In 2016 and 2017 I killed multiple animals/species and again enjoyed a 100% recovery rate.
 
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Nope! The words "Bowhunting" and "Bowhunter" did not exist prior to Roy Case coining those words. Today we can try to look back and apply those words to prior years but if you know the history of the sport you would understand your error.

Regardless of the intended meaning or coining of the term, bowhunting and bowhunter are broadly used to describe any person hunting with any recurve, longbow, compound bow or crossbow. I'd never heard the term "crossers" nor is there a defined term that is distinct for someone using a crossbow. Crossers seems to be something you just made up to say "I'm not like them."

Arguing that something wasn't intended to mean something is ignorant and naive. All that really matters is how the term is applied now. There are thousands of examples throughout history where the original intention isn't what we associate with it today.
 
Regardless of the intended meaning or coining of the term, bowhunting and bowhunter are broadly used to describe any person hunting with any recurve, longbow, compound bow or crossbow.

I laughed. :D Im ok with you manufacturing any reality for yourself that helps you get through the day. Im good like that.

I will say it again. While I am a bowhunter, I fully support the crossers to enjoy that different activity and someday I will have to quit bowhunting and become a crosser. I will not pretend to be or pose as a bowhunter at that time. I support and stand with all hunters and all weapons types both bowhunters and non-bowhunters.
 
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I think we all have our druthers and what we consider to be a best way and I will tell you I have been guilty of it myself but whether you don’t like something because it is not what you do but it is legal in your state then let your own moral compass be your guide on that and do what you see fit within the rules. When they came out about legalizing crossbows for general archery in Oklahoma I had a fit. I went to the meetings and let my feelings be known but guess what...it happened and the sky didn’t fall. It didn’t change much of anything. I can tell you nobody here is going to change their position because you don’t like it and making up derogatory names for it and saying they can’t get it done with a bow will not win you any friends... I have killed deer with a self bow I made from Osage off my own property with a wood dowel arrow, head I knapped out and turkey fletching I made from a bird I killed with a Recurve to killing deer with a .300 Win Mag. I have taken 7 deer at the MCAAP hunt in McAlester, Oklahoma in 5 hunts...if you know what that is... 3 years ago I tore my rotator cuff and either had to sit out archery or hunt with a crossbow. I am not much of a sitter outer...I used it and did kill a coyote with it. It got me off the couch. When I healed up just this last summer I got my compound out and in a couple shots was back on. I killed 2 much better than P&Y bucks with it this fall off my own small property.

I will tell you there are 3 things I don’t much care for but others really enjoy them and it gets them off the couch so I will support them. Those 3 things are high fence, guided hunts, and dog hunting for deer. Crossbow doesn’t even make it into the conversation.
 
If that doesn't fit YOUR definition of a Bow Hunter, then Tough Sh!t I'm not trying to impress you anyway.

Same here ! I started “fooling around” with a hickory longbow at about 13/14 years old, got a Shakespeare fiberglass recurve at 15 or so. Bought my arrows at Western Auto. I didn’t have a clue, but it was fun. So Ron, you ain’t the only guy who has a history with bows and arrows. I bought a Bear Whitetail II in 1978 and killed two deer with it that fall. No peep, no release, brass pins for sights. I’ve done it the hard way, but that’s nothing to brag about. I’ve hunted with just about every legal weapon that you can use, from that Bear up to and including an AR15, (my go-to for coyotes and hogs). From Montana mule deer to S Texas javelina, antelope in WY, to whitetails in Kansas. I say this not to impress anybody, as many others have eclipsed my accomplishments. I say all this to explain that I’m a hunter, just a hunter. Not a gun hunter, not a bowhunter, not a crossbow hunter, simply a hunter. I’m no better or worse than the next guy who hunts legally and ethically.

I have my own foibles, but I do not try to force them on others and I won’t allow others to force theirs on me. With that I’m out of this particular thread.
 
They are not bowhunters. We hold these truths to be self evident. The term "Bowhunter" is not subject to revision. Have them take their crossbows to Oregon and try to take up the sport of Bowhunting (They cannot as it would be illegal) Try to take them to some Canadian territories. I support crossbowers to do their thing even if its not for me.
 
I laughed. :D Im ok with you manufacturing any reality for yourself that helps you get through the day. Im good like that.

I will say it again. While I am a bowhunter, I fully support the crossers to enjoy that different activity and someday I will have to quit bowhunting and become a crosser. I will not pretend to be or pose as a bowhunter at that time. I support and stand with all hunters and all weapons types both bowhunters and non-bowhunters.

Laugh all you would like, but I don't know a single person in my everyday life, which includes a ton of hunters that would bat an eye if someone said they were going bowhunting and got to camp and pulled out a crossbow. It's not legal here unless you meet certain criteria, but even so, I wouldn't flinch if those conditions were met.

This seems to be more on you than others. Like you are trying to prove a point. Which is fine I suppose, but it's not going to make you any friends.
 
They are not bowhunters. We hold these truths to be self evident. The term "Bowhunter" is not subject to revision. Have them take their crossbows to Oregon and try to take up the sport of Bowhunting (They cannot as it would be illegal) Try to take them to some Canadian territories. I support crossbowers to do their thing even if its not for me.

The term IS subject to revision. Every term is.

The term Nimrod is used to define an inept person, when it is actually the name of a skillful hunter from the bible.
The term Banquet is used to define an elaborate evening meal, when the origin of the word is used to describe something closer to a picnic.
The swastika is used to promote hate when it was originally a good luck charm.

Don't be so naive.
 
Humans are egocentric by nature. We tend to be self-centered and somewhat proud of our accomplishments. As a result we tend to feel belittled if someone diminishes an act that we are proud of.

To turn this around some I am proud to have ran many 100+ mile weeks and was at one time a decent marathoner/ultra-marathoner. I would feel diminished if someone asked about a certain marathon time that I ran then replied that they had beaten it, but later I found out he had actually done the distance on a bicycle and not on foot. I would feel happy that that person was in fact exercising, attaining better health, and enjoying competition... but he would have not done the same thing as I had. In turn I think most people who consider themselves "bowhunters" AND use a vertical bow take it somewhat personal when someone says they did the same thing as they did and it turns out to be a crossbow. I'm making some assumptions about human nature and painting with a broad brush here, but I feel like most of these debates return to the self wanting due credit for completing a difficult task and it not being diminished by a different task.
 
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