ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A CROSSBOW

Although crossbow hunting was once primarily reserved for disabled hunters, many states, such as New York, Wisconsin, and Texas, have recently changed their regulations to allow the general hunting population to use crossbows for large game hunting.

Some states currently allow crossbows to be used in certain locations or during a specific crossbow season, others only allow crossbows to be used during the general firearms season, while others allow crossbows hunting during the archery season.

Before you decide which weapon to use when you hit the forest for hunting season, make sure you're familiar with the pros and cons of crossbow hunting.

Advantages:

• The crossbow for hunting, when compared to a regular bow, is that, once the crossbow is cocked, keeping the crossbow in full swing does not require any energy or effort from the hunter.
• Young or disabled hunters who may have difficulty drawing a daily bow may have trouble using crossbows.
• Crossbows are designed in the same way as a rifle, which also makes it easier for them to shoot from sitting or kneeling positions than a compound bow.
• Crossbow greatly improves accuracy and precision in the right hands.
• Crossbows also work pretty well with telescopic sights. These factors make crossbows an easy platform for hunters to learn how to use rifles and shotguns.
• The crossbows have extremely heavyweights to draw. Most hunters use a draw weight of about 50-80 pounds with a compound bow; the crossbows usually have draw weights of more than 100 pounds and sometimes even 200 pounds.
• Drawing weight, velocity depends on multiple factors. In general, crossbows can still shoot projectiles significantly faster than a compound bow.
• Crossbows, on the other hand, usually shoot bolts at 350-450 feet per second. This additional velocity translates into slightly longer effective ranges, flatter trajectories, and hard-hitting bolts when they reach the animal.

Disadvantages:

• Crossbow hunting is that the incontrovertible fact that crossbows are significantly larger and heavier than compound bows.
• The compound and Recurve bows weigh about 3-4 pounds and the typical crossbow weighs 6-7 pounds. This extra weight of crossbow can make it difficult for them to shoot precisely without some sort of rest.
• Crossbow is much slower to reload than a compound bow. This is due in part to their heavy draw weights and in part to their overall size and bulk.
• Crossbows are often noticeably louder than recurved or compound bows when shooting. Short-range hunting game minimizing noise is of paramount importance
• Crossbows shoot at higher speed as compare to the compound bows, the increased velocity is not enough to prevent this from happening
• The crossbow is much slower to reload than the compound bow. This is due in part to their heavy draw weights and in part to their overall size and bulk.
• The crossbow is the fact that the crossbows are considerably larger and heavier than the compound bows.