I like the idea of using a crowwbow for getting food: cheap, easy to use, re-usable ammo, etc.

Has anyone used one for target or huntriing practice? Do you have a reccomended model?

TRO

TeacheRo:

I would rather have a slingshot with a rest system that could accept an arrow.

Crossbows are a pain in the butt to haul around, and not conducive to safe snap shooting.

Bountyhunter

Check your local game laws before you practice on anything alive or even take it onto public property. Same goes for the slingshot, but you could carry the slingshot in places you could not hunt, do that with a crossbow and the LEOs will assume you are a poacher.

In the great state of Illinois, it looks like crossbow hunting is limited to those who are physically handicapped, and follows the same regulations/seasons as bow hunting.

Here is an interesting related web site:

http://www.worldcrossbow.com/FAQ.html

TeacherRo:

A long time ago before compound bows became so common place and preferred, I saw a program about a bow hunter that went to Africa. In one of the scenes they showed him shooting at a compressed thatch target. He was using a laminated recurve bow whose draw weight was like a "gazillion" pounds or so. His arrows went through the target like it wasn't even there. The local natives had bows taller than they were and arrows that approached the length of spears that just barely stuck into the target. They may not have been able to shoot elephants or other thick skinned game, but they still brought home the bacon.

In Wisconsin, you have to use a minimum draw weight bow of 30 lbs for hunting deer. Most people use more, and a 50 lb. draw seems to be the most popular hereabouts. The last time I looked, Wisconsin does not allow smaller than .30 caliber firearms for hunting deer and I do not know if they have minimum barrel lengths for handgun hunting.

My friends and I are old timers whose hunting dates before the popularity of tree stands and we grew up with recurve bows. I preferred ground hunting back when I was still able to move around in the woods as sitting in a tree stand is boring as hell and you don't learn much about animal movements.

I own a Sheakspear & Bear laminated recurves, a solid fiberglas backup, and a Bear compound bow. The Shakespear has sights on it as does the Bear compound. I prefer recurves in general, which, along with straight bows, and solid figerglas bows offer me one advantage I feel is lacking in a compound. "Snap shooting" a compound bow the way I learned to "snap shoot" a "regular" bow is asking for a dislocated shoulder. Compounds are easier to hold back for the long aimed shot, and crossbows are just short of being firearms, but given the choice of owning just one bow, it would be a laminated fiberglas recurve.

You don't need 150 lbs of draw weight to kill anything in North America if you have sharp, well designed arrows.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

That is correct, your doctor has to fill out a form (similar to the one for a handicapped parking permit), which is sent into the state, and you're issued a special crossbow permit. Without the permit, you're just another poacher.

Troy

Well said bounty,
the only thing I'd beg to differ on is the glass bow, my taste runs more toward laminated wood...holds up better with just a little T.L.C., and a whole lot prettier to look at.

Troy

BountytHunter,

That sounds like an old Fred Bear hunting film. I believe that I have seen that one, too. He was a remarkable archer.

The general prohibitions aginst crossbows stem from medieval times when they got catagorized with cannons and such. In reality, they aren't any more powerful than a conventional bow of the same draw weight, just easier for less-trained foot soliders to employ.

Wildcard163:

You will notice I said the solid fiberglas bow was a "backup" bow. The thought of breaking a bow during the hunt and either ending the hunt or having to buy something in a hurry was not a desired option. If my primary bow broke, the backup bow of solid figerglas was not beautiful or as smooth as my primary bow, but it was always ready and available just in case.

Back when I still wandered the woods in the winter, we constantly flexed our fiberglas laminated wood bows to reduce the chances of delamination and/or breakage from the cold. I still have that Shakespear that I used and the limbs are straight and the fiberglas laminated wood is still intact

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />