Yes, most hobbies are expensive. But if you want to try archery to see if you like it you can buy ten to twenty year old bow setups with all the accessories at yard sales all the time for a song. These might not be the latest gizmo's but they will kill deer all day long with well placed twenty yard broadside or quartering away shots.
Not so much anymore as I kill and process my own venison. Shocked you would compare a steer to a wild animal. Almost as shocked as I am at those "holier than thou" people who think I should care about their perceived level of skill when it comes to which weapon I should use when hunting. I don't hunt to impress anyone with my skill at using a bow, crossbow, muzzle-loader or high powered rifle-I hunt for food. And I prefer eating wild animals-not steers. I started plotting to provide deer and other wild animals with browse during the periods when natural browse is lacking not to shoot a deer eating under a feeder.Plotting and crossbows are legal here in Va, feeding deer or shooting them over bait is not.
I have 2 grand in my compound, 800 in my current crossbow, this winter/spring i will be buying a new crossbow and it will be around 1800, just depends what u get either way.
We do supplement feed our deer from a feeder about 9 months of the year. Normally February through the end of October. By then most of the protein feed finally runs out. From then on its just food plots. My property is sorely lacking in food plots. It has been suggested that you need at least 10% plots to acreage. I'm about 2%. It is in our master plan to eventually not have to supplement feed at all within the next 7 years. As the amount of my tillable ground increases the amount of feeders we run decreases. This is all part of my overall plan. Anyone that hunts mature deer know you're not going to kill them over a feeder or a food plot 95% of the time especially early season. I set my stands up anywhere from 50-300 yards away from food sources in hopes to catch a buck coming by during daylight. Last year (or maybe the year before) my state made it legal to have a feeder within your sight as long as it is 100 yards away. Before it had to be out of sight. I think they messed up but understand the pressure they get from insurance lobbyist about deer.
To just make a passive aggressive comment like this shows your true colors. Can't figure out why bow hunters think they are so superior to others that hunt by a different method. I'm not making excuses for xbow hunters but I'm one of them too. I've had arthritis since I was 26 and it sucks. My son in law convinced me to get an xbow so I could hunt with him. We only hunt with bow and xbows on my property because there are 6 of us that hunt it. It makes for a fun season for all of us to put in a lot of time and hang out together. As far as I'm concerned, if its legal in your state, enjoy what ever means of hunting you enjoy. Don't listen to crap like this guy puts out there.
Unless you use a crossbow with a crank your argument holds no water. Pulling a crossbow back even with the aid of ropes is at least 3 times harder (assuming you have a 50lb draw weight on your bow) than drawing a bow back. Call my colors what you may but like I said this is my opinion from my perspective. Seems to me you're the one who has a chip and is slightly protective of the subject.
You obviously haven't had any issues with pain in the hands, wrists, elbow and shoulders. A perspective without experience. You should probably just stop typing crap you know nothing about. I do have a chip with people like you that place themselves on a pedestal over other hunters. You know nothing about their choice or the conditions they made that choice.
Guys! We're all on the same side here, let's not shoot each other. Shake hands and make up, you're both saying about the same thing anyway, not sure what the argument is about even. The controversy between xbow vs vertical is never going away, we're just going to add airbows to it anyday now. Let's all go out and have an enjoyable day in the woods and get rid of our extra stress.
Well said...if it's a legal method of harvest in your state then to each their own...thread has run its course...
