Posted 8:55 pm Thursday, December 27, 2012
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The First Season With A Crossbow Will Not Be The Last Season
Without some unforeseen change in plans, it looks like the crossbow chronicles have come to an end this year.
An unsuccessful end at that.
Earlier this season I pulled an old crossbow out of storage and got it up to speed, so to speak. The impetus was an invitation to hunt a Stonewall County ranch, but only with something using a string and arrows. I didn’t want to go the traditional or vertical bow route, so I got out an old Horton crossbow that has been sitting around for years.
OK, I get it. There is a difference between a crossbow and vertical bow to the purist, but honestly I don’t care. It was fun dialing it in, and with only weeks to get ready I didn’t have the time to ready a traditional bow or the money to spend on one.
So I took a shortcut.
The lessons came quickly. Although a crossbow is easier to master, it really doesn’t come cheaper. I think I had about $16 invested in each bolt (the crossbow term for an arrow) and broad head. That is a about a $7 discount over the typical arrow and point price, but a might higher than the $2 or $3 cost of a rifle shell.
Then there are all the extras like a case, tools, target, string, scope and even a tripod. I am pretty sure the re-investment came to about as much or more as the original cost of the bow.
And in the end I shot a practice target, multiple time, and into the Hill Country rocks twice. A friend said I was mastering the art of Air Archery.
Part of the problem was that when opportunity arrived, the preparation wasn’t there. In other words, when I had my best chance at getting a shot at a deer, I really wasn’t ready. It was the first hunt and to be honest the bow wasn’t exactly a fined tuned machine. Nor was I.
On the second go-round the preparation was what it needed to be, but the opportunity never occurred. They call that hunting.
An unsuccessful end at that.
Earlier this season I pulled an old crossbow out of storage and got it up to speed, so to speak. The impetus was an invitation to hunt a Stonewall County ranch, but only with something using a string and arrows. I didn’t want to go the traditional or vertical bow route, so I got out an old Horton crossbow that has been sitting around for years.
OK, I get it. There is a difference between a crossbow and vertical bow to the purist, but honestly I don’t care. It was fun dialing it in, and with only weeks to get ready I didn’t have the time to ready a traditional bow or the money to spend on one.
So I took a shortcut.
The lessons came quickly. Although a crossbow is easier to master, it really doesn’t come cheaper. I think I had about $16 invested in each bolt (the crossbow term for an arrow) and broad head. That is a about a $7 discount over the typical arrow and point price, but a might higher than the $2 or $3 cost of a rifle shell.
Then there are all the extras like a case, tools, target, string, scope and even a tripod. I am pretty sure the re-investment came to about as much or more as the original cost of the bow.
And in the end I shot a practice target, multiple time, and into the Hill Country rocks twice. A friend said I was mastering the art of Air Archery.
Part of the problem was that when opportunity arrived, the preparation wasn’t there. In other words, when I had my best chance at getting a shot at a deer, I really wasn’t ready. It was the first hunt and to be honest the bow wasn’t exactly a fined tuned machine. Nor was I.
On the second go-round the preparation was what it needed to be, but the opportunity never occurred. They call that hunting.
Round three ended in a draw. I was ready to take the shot and a nice blackbuck antelope came easily into range, but before presenting a shot the extra eyeballs of a pair of doe with it spotted me and chased him out of a potentially dangerous situation.
It was a good hunting story, even without a happy ending.
I have grown as a crossbow hunter during my freshman year of archery (we can call crossbows archery equipment can’t we?) hunting. I have learned that even though my bow is turned sideways from a real bow, I am impacted by the same restrictions, the most important of which is distance. Easier to shoot, but incapable of shooting effectively at distances any greater than a compound bow, crossbow hunters are also prone to seeing a lot more game than they realistically are able to shoot.
I also learned that crossbow hunting is not a silent sport. Not as loud as a rifle, crossbows still make a pretty good twang when the trigger goes off. And even with an arrow traveling 300-feet or so per second, that sound at the slightest difference gives the four-legged target time to move.
After telling a friend of my exploits, he told me he once guided a hunter who took a blackbuck, but by the time the arrow hit the target 22 yards away it had turned 180 degrees and he shot it in the opposite shoulder than he had originally aimed.
I often accuse bow hunters of not shooting more because they are too cheap to pay the processing fee, but the truth is it is hard to sling an arrow.
I have also learned there is something to be said for sitting unable to move in a tree stand a short 45 feet away from a white-tailed deer or any other game animal. Sitting so close you can hear them crunching corn, but knowing you aren’t going to take a shot allows you to watch the interaction of the animals you wouldn’t normally get.
More importantly I found I was much more relaxed than when hunting with a gun, possibly because the expectations aren’t as great.
So it is not bowhunting to most. It works for me. I shall return.
Have a comment or opinion on this story? Contact outdoor writer Steve Knight by email at outdoor@tylerpaper.com. Follow Steve Knight on Facebook at TylerPaper Outdoors and on Twitter @tyleroutdoor.
It was a good hunting story, even without a happy ending.
I have grown as a crossbow hunter during my freshman year of archery (we can call crossbows archery equipment can’t we?) hunting. I have learned that even though my bow is turned sideways from a real bow, I am impacted by the same restrictions, the most important of which is distance. Easier to shoot, but incapable of shooting effectively at distances any greater than a compound bow, crossbow hunters are also prone to seeing a lot more game than they realistically are able to shoot.
I also learned that crossbow hunting is not a silent sport. Not as loud as a rifle, crossbows still make a pretty good twang when the trigger goes off. And even with an arrow traveling 300-feet or so per second, that sound at the slightest difference gives the four-legged target time to move.
After telling a friend of my exploits, he told me he once guided a hunter who took a blackbuck, but by the time the arrow hit the target 22 yards away it had turned 180 degrees and he shot it in the opposite shoulder than he had originally aimed.
I often accuse bow hunters of not shooting more because they are too cheap to pay the processing fee, but the truth is it is hard to sling an arrow.
I have also learned there is something to be said for sitting unable to move in a tree stand a short 45 feet away from a white-tailed deer or any other game animal. Sitting so close you can hear them crunching corn, but knowing you aren’t going to take a shot allows you to watch the interaction of the animals you wouldn’t normally get.
More importantly I found I was much more relaxed than when hunting with a gun, possibly because the expectations aren’t as great.
So it is not bowhunting to most. It works for me. I shall return.
Have a comment or opinion on this story? Contact outdoor writer Steve Knight by email at outdoor@tylerpaper.com. Follow Steve Knight on Facebook at TylerPaper Outdoors and on Twitter @tyleroutdoor.
