crossbow question

J

junoir

Joined
Oct 5, 2006
Messages
247
I hunt with a Martin custom bushmaster longbow, I outgrew the training wheels of my compound. The question I have is it heresy to let my 10 yr old son to hunt with a crossbow untill he can shoot well with a recurve/longbow ?? I know this may be opening a can of worms here but I want to teach him about the joy, and responsibility of hunting at an earley age. He already hunts small game such as squrriel, and does well for his age.
What do you guys think??
 
If he's interested in shooting a bow and hunting with it, get him shooting! :)

My son will be 8 y.o. next month and I hope to have him ready with a 35# recurve for bow season next year! 35# is the minimum in ND currently.

Crossbows are not legal unless you are disabled here.

If your son isn't able to get a 35# bow back by that time or be able to shoot it well enough by then and crossbows are legal...I would say go for the crossbow!

I say do whatever it takes to get the young ones out shooting and hunting and most importantly, ENJOYING IT!! It's in everyone's best interests!! :)

Good luck!
 
He can pull the weight but the standard we set is a pie plate at 20 yds for hunting with the bow. He does good at 10,fair at 15 but not yet at 20 yrds. He is very responsible for his age, and loves to be outdoors hunting and fishing. Some people hate crossbows, but I agree with you, get them hunting, and enjoying the outdoors first.
 
Hey Guys..

Junoir....

I'm not sure what the hatred about Crossbows is all about,,, well I do,, but I won't get into it..
Anyway I'm a crossbow shooter...

I'd say, Don't get him a crossbow, and let him go through the learning curve just like everyone else..If he's doing well at 10 yards and so so at 15,, then it's just simply a matter of more practice.

If you get him a crossbow now, all that work you and he has put into it will be lost...

Don't artificially try to accelerate his learning curve... Let him bow hunt with you when his accuracy with the bow increases... Sounds like he's got 10 yards to go...

Let him master one thing at a time...Theres lots of time for a crossbow

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I'm kinda on the fence but it comes down to your son. If you think he will continue to practice with a bow but you want to hunt together this year....life is short. (I just lost permission to hunt where I have been hunting for 20 years, I don't know if I will hunt with my dad again, he will not travel far to do so.) I think he should learn like you did but I also think any time hunting together will make fine memories. I do NOT think it is heresay. You know your son and his desire, I expect he will continue to want to shoot what you do regardless of the one year or so with a crossbow. Good luck and let us know the outcome of your decision and how he does!
 
Hey Guys..

Junoir..

One other thing I wanted to say...

I re-read my last post, and it kind of sounded discouraging, not the way I meant it at all..

I think it's Great that you and your boy are getting outdoors and doing things together you both love... Don't Ever stop doing that...

Keep encouraging him to practice with his bow...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I think you have a very special 10 year old if he has the attention span and patience to deer hunt with anything. I don't think crossbows are heresy any more than a 30-06 is heresy, we deer hunt in this day and age to control the herd and for fun. As long as the deer are killed as humanely as possible in my mind it makes no difference what so ever the legal tool used to do so. Can your son cock a crossbow, even if he is very strong I can't imagine him being tall enough.

I know my son was not ready to deer hunt with archery gear when he was 10, we did small game hunt with rimfires though. Chris
 
I'm not partial to crossbows, but hey, If it brings one more hunter into the fold by all means go for it.

TS
 
Since he's good at 10 yards, keep him working on the goal you have set AND get the crossbow ready!

Once the two of you go out, take BOTH! If things work out for a 10 yard shot and he's ready with the bow GREAT! If you end up with a 15 yard shot and he's too 'nervous' for the bow, you have the crossbow for the shot! :)

It's a win-win situation! Keep encouraging him and he'll find what is comfortable.

I'm in a similar situation with my son and his .22's. He likes to HIT more than anything with the .22's. Accordingly, he talked me into a 4x scope for his Davey Crickett single shot. He also likes the 10/22 I cut down for him. BUT, he wasn't hitting with it on Sunday when we went to the range (open sights.) So he ended shooting his single shot most of the afternoon. When we discussed the sighting problem later that evening, I found he was using the wrong part of the rear sight! :) So on our next trip out, the 10/22 will still have open sights only, but the scoped Davey Crickett will be along to keep him at it! I let him guide his advancement by keeping his enthusiasm high! :)

Good luck and let us know how it develops!
 
Good idea plainsman. We decided that this year we would use the crossbow basically like you said, but next year if he wants to bow hunt it will be the recurve. My son also has a crickett, and loves it, but now wants a 10/22.
 
I never understood how game laws came about in the last 30 years when it comes to Crossbows. If you have a Compound Bow with peep sights and a mechanical release and that is legal where you live but the Crossbow is still illegal...well, that's rather stupid.

I think regular recurve and long bows along with compounds and crossbows, I think all of them should be taught if you have the time and money, same with slingshots which are awesome game-getters and a natural for the skilled but non-snotnose/snobby archer.
 
Well, first of all, check your local laws. Crossbows are only legal in the states I live during general gun season. It's illegal here to use them in archery season. So make sure it's ok.

Second crossbow hunting will more get him used to gun hunting than bowhunting. As you know, the mechanics are entirely different.

Maybe do what my parents did and get him a cheap fiberglass bow, say 25# draw to practice with and get his accuracy up. I found it was easier to get the mechanics down with a light draw weight than with a full power bow.
 
You refer to compound bows as "training wheels" yet are considering letting your son hunt with a crossbow?!? You might want to start setting aside some money for his therapy now. . .

RANDY QUAID'S VOICE: "That's a nice buck there, son. 'Course, you took 'im with one of them Rifle-rows, so it don't really count now, does it?" :)

:D -- FLIX
 
Crossbows are legal in GA during archery, primitive weapons, and the gun season. Crossbows are bows and live within the same limits of range and lethality, the only similarity to firearms is that they both have a stock.

Get into the woods and hunt with whatever method is legal and that you enjoy. This in fighting amongst ourselves is not going to do anything but hurt us. There are enough deer in GA for the traditional, compound, crossbow, muzzleloader, CF rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooter to enjoy some fresh venison this fall. Chris
 
Hey Guys...

Don..

Not to change the subject or anything..

The sentiment towards the crossbow dates back to the 11th century when they were banned as a weapon of war by the Pope of the time...

In fact the crossbow is a device that is some 2000 years old.

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
runningboar said:
Crossbows are legal in GA during archery, primitive weapons, and the gun season. Crossbows are bows and live within the same limits of range and lethality, the only similarity to firearms is that they both have a stock.

Get into the woods and hunt with whatever method is legal and that you enjoy. This in fighting amongst ourselves is not going to do anything but hurt us. There are enough deer in GA for the traditional, compound, crossbow, muzzleloader, CF rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooter to enjoy some fresh venison this fall. Chris
Click to expand...

+1, Legal in Ohio for all too.
 
Change the subject a bit, Junior are you sure your son is ready to deer hunt. Sitting a 10 year old in a deer stand for hours seems to me to be a sure way of turning him away from hunting. Maybe let him sit with you a until he gets tired, lots of small game hunting and target shooting.

Of course you know your son and I don't, there are ten year olds that are ready but IMO not many. BTW I love to see fathers introducing there children to the out of doors and especially hunting. :thumbup: Chris

EDIT: If crossbows get more people into hunting then I am all for them, and I really don't see how they could hurt at all. The whitetail population goes up all across the country every year and the number of hunters goes down. When large mammals overpopulate famine and disease usually follow, I would much rather a 10 year old get his first deer and a family enjoy some fresh meat as the result of a crossbow. Chris
 
runningboar said:
Crossbows are legal in GA during archery, primitive weapons, and the gun season. Crossbows are bows and live within the same limits of range and lethality, the only similarity to firearms is that they both have a stock.

Get into the woods and hunt with whatever method is legal and that you enjoy. This in fighting amongst ourselves is not going to do anything but hurt us. There are enough deer in GA for the traditional, compound, crossbow, muzzleloader, CF rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooter to enjoy some fresh venison this fall. Chris
Click to expand...

This from Anti-Busse Maximus?!? JK :D

Junoir, I think it's grat that you want to get your son out in the woods hunting with you. If a crossbow will help you capture/hold his interest, by all means use one. (Plus, they're just really cool!)

-- FLIX
 
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