CROSSBOWS ARE COMING
My Crossbow Introduction – A Note From the Author
 Editor’s
note: I was introduced to the crossbow about 2 years
ago. I had an accident on a 4-wheeler and my rotator
cuff was completely torn up. After surgery and six months
of rehabilitation, my arm still wasn’t strong
enough to pull a vertical bow. And, to be honest, I
was concerned that I might further damage my arm by
trying to draw the bow. The same year as my accident,
my home state of Alabama, legalized the use of crossbows.
This legalization provided me with an alternative way
to hunt deer during bow season without having to harm
my damaged shoulder. During this time, I learned about
many misconceptions about the crossbow that I too, once
held, along with other opponents of crossbows. Here
are some of the things I’ve learned about the
crossbow:
* The crossbow does not increase the range of an archer.
As a matter of fact, many vertical bowhunters can shoot
much further and more accurately than the crossbow hunters
can shoot.
* The crossbow shoots a bolt much faster and harder
than the vertical bow. For this reason, it shouldn’t
be compared to the vertical bow. The crossbow does shoot
the bolt much faster than most compound bows shoot,
however, what you gain in speed, you lose in silence.
The deer has more time to react once he hears the sound
of the bow’s firing. Too, a hunter’s accuracy
begins to drop off once the arrow passes the 35-yard
mark.
* You have all the features of a rifle - a trigger,
a scope and even a stock with the crossbow. This gives
some hunters the impression that the crossbow is no
longer a bow. However, we fail to remember that the
longbow has a sighting system that’s every bit
if not more accurate than a riflescope, and some hunters
use the mechanical releases that have a trigger.
I think if we boil the crossbow controversy down to
its basic  elements,
we will see an argument similar to what two little kids
may have standing on a street corner arguing over a
baseball bat. One child may say, “If you don’t
use a wooden bat, then you’re not really playing
baseball. An aluminum bat is not really a bat; it’s
an artificial imitation of what a bat ought to be, therefore,
you can’t play baseball if you want to use an
aluminum bat. You can only play baseball if you use
a wooden bat.”
Many times, we believe that if someone doesn’t
hunt the same way we hunt, then they can’t be
considered as good a hunter as we are and therefore,
shouldn’t be granted the same rights and privileges
as other “better” hunters. To be honest,
does that really make any sense? During deer season,
if a hunter can harvest X amount of deer, why does it
matter what type of weapon he uses to harvest those
deer? Especially, if the weapon is an archery implement.
 The
problem many states are having, especially in the Southeast,
has to do with reducing the number of deer taken within
the state’s borders. If crossbows can encourage
more hunters to take more deer, bring more young people
and women into the sport, provide opportunities for
a bowhunter who doesn’t have time to practice
and be proficient with a longbow and allow older bowhunters
to stay in the sport of archery longer, then why shouldn’t
we embrace the crossbow? The crossbow is a great revision
of an old bow that’s found a new place in our
modern world of archery.
To learn more about Horton Crossbows, go to www.crossbow.com
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