Most of us don't like arguments and controversy, but I have known several individuals (maybe you have, too) who seem to thrive on such.
The outdoors world has its controversies and trials just like anything else - in recent years probably none more so than the great crossbow debate.
Although we talked about this not that long ago, I felt that this issue needed to be revisited for several reasons:
Larry Case1. For many hunters, the debate still is raging. A lot of bowhunters claim they still don't like the crossbow, but several states have adopted the crossbow for archery hunting and others are considering it.
2. A lot of hunters, whether from an archery background or not, are picking up the crossbow for the first time.
3. Your humble outdoors writer has taken the plunge into the crossbow pool himself and has much to tell you about.
To be perfectly honest, I do not understand some of the arguments of those who look down their noses at the crossbow, but here are some of the chief complaints that I hear.
' Hunting with a crossbow is not bowhunting. (Who says this? Well, bowhunters who do not like crossbows, of course, but they seem to throw this down as some form of indisputable fact; oddly enough, there are those who disagree.)
' Hunters who take up the crossbow simply do not want put in the time and work that it takes to become proficient with a standard bow or a compound. (Well, maybe, and not to be short about it, so what? If a hunter wants to use a weapon that is legal in his or her state to take a deer or any other animal, I say more power to that person. It is unclear to me who appointed some bowhunters as the judges on how much time and practice a person needs before he or she can bow-hunt. I must have missed that meeting.)
' The crossbow gives the user an unfair advantage. (Man, I could not believe I saw this one. Hunting never will be "fair." Maybe if we go back to carrying only a sharp stick or a big rock, maybe. Otherwise most of us always will have more gray matter and gadgets than the animals we pursue.)
' The use of the crossbow will inflate the archery kill in many states to the point where state agencies will reduce the length of the bow season. (This, like many of these points, probably could be argued till Bossy and all the cows come home. So far the numbers do not show us this; stay tuned.)
In the interest of diligent research - and so I could hunt more - I have been conducting some crossbow tests of my own. In the spirit of full disclosure, I do not consider myself a thoroughly experienced bow hunter, so I recruited some help from friends who are. These guys are longtime bowhunters who range in age from the late 20s to the late 40s. They have taken many deer and a few bear with bows and have seen archery equipment evolve over the years.
This team has tested, shot and hunted with two Horton Crossbows, the Legend Ultralite and the Storm RDX.
The Horton Storm RDX is a reverse limb model with an incredible 10-inch width from axle to axle on the cams of the bow. This means 10 inches wide in a ground blind or treestand with this bow - pretty nice in tight quarters.
In performance the Storm RDX is a screamer, delivering a 400 grain crossbow bolt at 370 feet per second, which is about 250 mph. This crossbow gives 122 foot pounds of kinetic energy with a draw weight of 165 pounds. In the past month two large bucks and a 300-plus-pound bear have been taken with this crossbow. All of the bolts (arrows) passed through the animals and none of them traveled very far after the shot: This was in part the work of the broadhead, a Grim Reaper, and good shot placement.
The Horton Storm RDX was very deadly, but the Horton Legend Ultralite may have been the darling of the test crew. The Legend Ultralite has a width of a tad over 18 inches when cocked but a weight of only 6.8 pounds, right at a pound lighter than the Storm. Crossbows are known to be heavy and difficult to carry, and the test crew picked up on the Legend Ultralite's weight advantage right away.
The Legend Ultralite model has a draw weight of 175 pounds and delivers 330 fps for speed and 97 foot pounds of kinetic energy. The first deer taken with the Legend Ultralite, a large doe, was shot with a Muzzy broadhead at 15 yards and ran 20 yards and dropped. The bolt traveled at least another 40 yards and passed through a large thicket of brush. These crossbows have tremendous power; we all agreed that knowing what is beyond your target is a definite consideration with these weapons.
Both of these crossbows come equipped with the Horton 4x32 Multi Line Scope, and out to 40 yards they are wickedly accurate. We have not shot beyond 40 yards in any test so far. The Legend Ultralite came equipped with the ACUdraw 50 cocking device, and this was a big hit with the test team.
If you have shot a crossbow much, you know that cocking this weapon is sometimes no fun. Most models can use a simple rope to cock the bow. This works, but I feel it is just a matter of time before I lose the rope or don't have it when I need it.
The ACUdraw system is an ingenious cocking device integrated into the stock of the crossbow. The handles and cord are pulled from the stock, hooks attach to the string, you pull back on the handles and the weapon is cocked. When the handles are released, everything retracts into the stock and out of the way. Pretty slick. The testing is still in progress, and I will be hunting with the Legend Ultralite model just as soon as I can get it away from the other team members. www. hortoncrossbows.com
Maybe you have wanted to try a crossbow; maybe you or someone you know has trouble drawing a conventional bow. Maybe you have a young or an older person whom you would like to equip with a crossbow to extend their hunting season. Maybe you just want to hunt with a crossbow.
My advice to you is this, if that is what you want, go for it. This trail we are on is too short to listen to the controversy of others. We are only given so many hunting days; get as many as you can before they blow the whistle.
Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va., has been a devoted outdoorsman all his life and is a contributing columnist. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.