If there’s a wad of Christmas cash burning a hole in your camouflaged pants and you’re considering buying a crossbow, here are 10 straight answers from the folks at TenPoint crossbows. Everyone knows that a .30-06 is a great caliber for deer hunting, yet crossbows are so new to the hunting world that misinformation abounds. Here’s a solid summary of key information.
Myth: A crossbow is not really a bow.
Fact: When comparing a crossbow to a compound bow, shot with a release, the differences between them are:
• The crossbow trigger mechanism holds the draw for the shooter.
• The bow assembly is positioned horizontally.
• The crossbow is aimed like a rifle.
Both weapons fire an arrow equipped with a broadhead designed to penetrate an animal, causing it to hemorrhage to death. The arrow coming from both weapons travels approximately the same distance, at approximately the same speed and energy, with approximately the same trajectory.
Myth: Crossbows make deer hunting too easy.
Fact: The advantage a crossbow has over a conventional bow is that it holds the bow in the drawn, or ready to fire, position for the shooter. While shooting a crossbow is generally easier to master than shooting a vertical bow, it cannot be argued that it is just plain easy. The crossbow hunter must have the same woodsmanship ability and nearly all of the same shooting skills as the vertical bowhunter.
Myth: Anyone can pick up a crossbow, practice for an hour, and be ready to head to the woods..
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