Post by Woody Williams on May 2, 2006 9:40:11 GMT -5
Tennesssee Outdoor Writers Association Award winning article...
Outdoors with John L. Sloan
Nov. 30, 2005
The Sky Didn’t Fall When I Used A Crossbow.
I first picked up a bow in about 1973. It was an old Bear recurve. I started hunting with it in 1974. I killed my first deer that same year. It was the first one I ever shot at with a bow. I have been addicted to bowhunting since that time.
As it is with many old-time bowhunters, I resisted change. When I switched to a compound, I was a minimalist-one sight pin, no stabilizer, finger shooter, no peep, aluminum arrows. And rest assured I was opposed to crossbows. I was certain they would be the end of the world, as far as bowhunting went. I believed most of the rumors and misinformation being tossed around.
Then I matured and took a good look at just how things really were.
I found most of the bad press was, if not misinformation, an out and out lie. And about this time, due to old and serious injuries my right shoulder and left wrist began to disintegrate. The pain was such I could only shoot my compound a few times every other day or so. That was sufficient to keep hunting and I did.
Then TN made crossbows legal during the regular archery season for anyone.
I got a Horton Hunter Max 150. I added a quiver and sight and a steady-rest I took off one of my rifles. I started shooting and finally got it shooting great, zeroed at 22 yards. I started tuning broadheads and arrows and got them shooting to my satisfaction. The crossbow was loud and clumsy but it was still a short range piece of equipment and nothing like shooting a rifle.
My maximum distance was 35 yards-the same as my compound. I was yet to see any advantage over my compound other than the absence of pain. Holding one in my lap reminded me a bit of trying to hold a mad cat. I quickly got a screw-in folding hanger.
Then I got a call from Ottie Snyder at Horton. “Would I like to join five other outdoor writers on a crossbow hunt for press only?” The hunt would be put on by Horton, Realtree and Tink’s products. None of the other hunters had ever hunted or even shot a crossbow. It was a bit of a test. I quickly accepted.
But first, I went hunting. With two deer in the freezer via my compound, I climbed a tree on a foggy morning on the lakeshore near my home. She came from behind my right shoulder. Maybe 90 pounds and perfect.
I won’t go into all the contortions I had to go through to get the shot. I suspect I looked like the proverbial monkey with the football. You see you can’t shoot a horizontal limbed bow tight against the tree as you can a compound. So I had to wait through a series of slam-dunk shots for a compound to finally take a broadside shot at 28 yards. She went less than 60 yards and fell right at the edge of the lake.
Was I ashamed or embarrassed because I used a crossbow? Not in the least. I was tickled to death. Right up until the moment of the shot, from scouting to stand hanging to movement in the tree, I had done everything exactly as I would have with my compound. The only difference was I pulled a trigger instead of opening my fingers. The fact that I didn’t have to draw was overshadowed, by all the moving around required. After the shot, there was no difference.
It was still bowhunting. The exact same challenges and then some.
But I wondered how I would feel if I shot a buck. After all, she was “just a doe”. I met the five other writers at White and the hunt began.
I had arrived early and placed three superb Summit ladder stands with camera stands above them so Ottie could video my hunt. I scouted and placed stands just as I would for my compound.
Sweat dripping days turned to a morning of light frost and we watched as six does passed in varying distances from the stand. I judged one to be 25 yards, took the shot and just as it would have been with a compound, shot low. She was 37 yards away.
Just like bowhunting. I should have used the range finder before the shot.
The cool breeze was from the west and the sun was sinking. We were nestled between three trunks of a sweetgum, just 18 yards from a red oak that was getting hammered. The shadows lengthened and they began to come. Spike...spike...button buck...4X1...nine point. That’s the one I’m looking for.
We watched for 20 minutes as every deer but the nine-point offered me shots from 10-35 yards. And slowly, as light slipped away, he came. At 35 yards, I steadied and squeezed the trigger. He was dead on his feet with perfect heart shot and on the ground inside 125 yards. Eight points and a kicker, aged at 3-1/2 and weighing 160 pounds.
No regrets. I was elated. I had done everything right. I waited until I had a good, makeable shot, I made it, I had my stands placed perfectly and it was still bowhunting. The sky didn’t fall.
The six of us on that hunt killed three deer and missed three deer. There was no wounding loss. All misses were the result of yardage mistakes-same as with vertical bows. We were all experienced hunters. We employed the same skills and experienced the same results we would have with vertical bows.
Will I now totally forsake my compound for the crossbow? No. But I’ll certainly have no hesitation to pick the crossbow up on those days when I hurt or just want to do something different. And I can see how they will probably get more bowhunters in the woods. Personally, I think that’s a good thing.
No question in my mind. It is still bowhunting.
Outdoors with John L. Sloan
Nov. 30, 2005
The Sky Didn’t Fall When I Used A Crossbow.
I first picked up a bow in about 1973. It was an old Bear recurve. I started hunting with it in 1974. I killed my first deer that same year. It was the first one I ever shot at with a bow. I have been addicted to bowhunting since that time.
As it is with many old-time bowhunters, I resisted change. When I switched to a compound, I was a minimalist-one sight pin, no stabilizer, finger shooter, no peep, aluminum arrows. And rest assured I was opposed to crossbows. I was certain they would be the end of the world, as far as bowhunting went. I believed most of the rumors and misinformation being tossed around.
Then I matured and took a good look at just how things really were.
I found most of the bad press was, if not misinformation, an out and out lie. And about this time, due to old and serious injuries my right shoulder and left wrist began to disintegrate. The pain was such I could only shoot my compound a few times every other day or so. That was sufficient to keep hunting and I did.
Then TN made crossbows legal during the regular archery season for anyone.
I got a Horton Hunter Max 150. I added a quiver and sight and a steady-rest I took off one of my rifles. I started shooting and finally got it shooting great, zeroed at 22 yards. I started tuning broadheads and arrows and got them shooting to my satisfaction. The crossbow was loud and clumsy but it was still a short range piece of equipment and nothing like shooting a rifle.
My maximum distance was 35 yards-the same as my compound. I was yet to see any advantage over my compound other than the absence of pain. Holding one in my lap reminded me a bit of trying to hold a mad cat. I quickly got a screw-in folding hanger.
Then I got a call from Ottie Snyder at Horton. “Would I like to join five other outdoor writers on a crossbow hunt for press only?” The hunt would be put on by Horton, Realtree and Tink’s products. None of the other hunters had ever hunted or even shot a crossbow. It was a bit of a test. I quickly accepted.
But first, I went hunting. With two deer in the freezer via my compound, I climbed a tree on a foggy morning on the lakeshore near my home. She came from behind my right shoulder. Maybe 90 pounds and perfect.
I won’t go into all the contortions I had to go through to get the shot. I suspect I looked like the proverbial monkey with the football. You see you can’t shoot a horizontal limbed bow tight against the tree as you can a compound. So I had to wait through a series of slam-dunk shots for a compound to finally take a broadside shot at 28 yards. She went less than 60 yards and fell right at the edge of the lake.
Was I ashamed or embarrassed because I used a crossbow? Not in the least. I was tickled to death. Right up until the moment of the shot, from scouting to stand hanging to movement in the tree, I had done everything exactly as I would have with my compound. The only difference was I pulled a trigger instead of opening my fingers. The fact that I didn’t have to draw was overshadowed, by all the moving around required. After the shot, there was no difference.
It was still bowhunting. The exact same challenges and then some.
But I wondered how I would feel if I shot a buck. After all, she was “just a doe”. I met the five other writers at White and the hunt began.
I had arrived early and placed three superb Summit ladder stands with camera stands above them so Ottie could video my hunt. I scouted and placed stands just as I would for my compound.
Sweat dripping days turned to a morning of light frost and we watched as six does passed in varying distances from the stand. I judged one to be 25 yards, took the shot and just as it would have been with a compound, shot low. She was 37 yards away.
Just like bowhunting. I should have used the range finder before the shot.
The cool breeze was from the west and the sun was sinking. We were nestled between three trunks of a sweetgum, just 18 yards from a red oak that was getting hammered. The shadows lengthened and they began to come. Spike...spike...button buck...4X1...nine point. That’s the one I’m looking for.
We watched for 20 minutes as every deer but the nine-point offered me shots from 10-35 yards. And slowly, as light slipped away, he came. At 35 yards, I steadied and squeezed the trigger. He was dead on his feet with perfect heart shot and on the ground inside 125 yards. Eight points and a kicker, aged at 3-1/2 and weighing 160 pounds.
No regrets. I was elated. I had done everything right. I waited until I had a good, makeable shot, I made it, I had my stands placed perfectly and it was still bowhunting. The sky didn’t fall.
The six of us on that hunt killed three deer and missed three deer. There was no wounding loss. All misses were the result of yardage mistakes-same as with vertical bows. We were all experienced hunters. We employed the same skills and experienced the same results we would have with vertical bows.
Will I now totally forsake my compound for the crossbow? No. But I’ll certainly have no hesitation to pick the crossbow up on those days when I hurt or just want to do something different. And I can see how they will probably get more bowhunters in the woods. Personally, I think that’s a good thing.
No question in my mind. It is still bowhunting.
