Deer are also far easier to control than hogs because they only give birth once per year to 1-2 fawns whereas hogs do it 2-3 times and have as many as 12 at a time. I got no answer to the hog problem for you poor folks in the south and I am thankfull to live up north, and that hogs cant take the snow. Again, like the other fellow just mentioned, the crossbow is the answer because it is ideal for those suburban areas where folks dont like guns than go "bang". Regular bows are almost completely useless for doe killing for the reason mentioned in my earlier post. Crossbows can kill does very effectively, and we must kill all the does we can to get them under control. Let me into a typical suburb with a crossbow and I could get things under control in a single season by myself. Let everyone do it and our problem will be history and in short order folks will be complaining again about too few deer.
Deer are getting to be a pain
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wushaw
Elite Member
I find it strange that you say a bow is almost useless for killing does, all the places I have bow hunted was buck only except one, if they were both I could have easily filled a doe tag since does are always everywhere.
I dont have any trouble killing bucks with a bow since they nearly always travel alone and all I have to do is wait until they are behind a tree until I make the draw. The problem is, killing bucks will not put much of a dent in the overall deer population. I struggle a lot with does because, as I explained earlier, they are seldom alone, and at least one of the group nearly always busts me making the draw. I also see many more does than bucks on every hunt but that dont mean they are easier to kill. A crossbow would make all the difference. Deer are not spooked by slow motion such as positioning a crossbow for a shot, unlike the quick draw of a bow which puts them imediatly on high alert. Does can be killed more consistently with bows if you are willing to get real high in a tree. I am not comfortable hunting at such heights however, and falls from tree stands is another way that deer are responsible for lots of human deaths every year. You can easily wack them from the ground with a crossbow.
wolc, if you can't get a compound bow drawn back on a doe, you ain't hunting right. That being said, I would take on an accuracy contest with any crossbow, any distance, any time with my Hoyt Katera XL. Crossbows are not that accurate and they don't harvest deer, doe or buck, any better than a bow. I will admit that you can get busted drawing a bow, but that just means you aint hunting correctly....youre in the wrong spot, or need a ground blind, or need to be up in a tree. Can't help you if you're afraid of heights, lots of people are not, and lots of people actually think it's rather cool to use a safety strap and hoist rope while in a tree.
If you can't shoot a bow as good as a crossbow, you might just not be very good at archery.
If you can't shoot a bow as good as a crossbow, you might just not be very good at archery.
The problem is not accuracy, it is the ability to consistently get shots at unalert deer, which the crossbow gives you but a bow that must be drawn in close proximity does not. There aint much difference in accuracy between a compound and a crossbow, but there is a big difference in effectiveness on "live" targets. The biggest challenge in bowhunting is the need to draw the bow when the deer is in close. I prefere to eliminate that challenge and get on with the necessary killing. You can continue to challenge yourself if you wish and keep using traditional archery equipment. Are you one of the selfish bowhunters who wants to keep crossbows out of "your" season?
wushaw
Elite Member
Yes I am, not unless you have a legit handicap. Texas gets one month archery only and 2 - 2.5 mo of general season which is any legal means.
I do belive I/we undestand what is involved in bow hunting, there is no reason to explain what has to happen to take a "live" target, were not talking 3d target shooting.
Crossbows before they became legal means were considered the poachers weapon of choice just for the reasons you have stated.
With todays technology why not just install a silencer on a .22 semi automatic rifle, night scope and cull at night and forget about fair chase.
I thought you just lost Texas. Are not the crossbows going to be legal there this season?
I hope that tide spreads up to my state of NY. As a longtime bowhunter myself, I welcome the crossbow because, at least where I live, there are way too many deer and we hunters need every advantage we can get to help get things under control. When and if deer numbers get back down where they should be, I have no problem if they take the crossbow away until it is needed again. Sometimes you just got to put the greater good above your own personal self-interest. You will have to excuse me on this but I have absolutely no sympathy for you folks who want all the deer for yourselves. There are a lot of your kind up here in NY and they have successfully held the line against any and all crossbow use here. I hope they loose soon just like you did this year.
I hope that tide spreads up to my state of NY. As a longtime bowhunter myself, I welcome the crossbow because, at least where I live, there are way too many deer and we hunters need every advantage we can get to help get things under control. When and if deer numbers get back down where they should be, I have no problem if they take the crossbow away until it is needed again. Sometimes you just got to put the greater good above your own personal self-interest. You will have to excuse me on this but I have absolutely no sympathy for you folks who want all the deer for yourselves. There are a lot of your kind up here in NY and they have successfully held the line against any and all crossbow use here. I hope they loose soon just like you did this year.
wushaw
Elite Member
Crossbows are only legal during the general season and have been for many years Nov 1 - Jan 4, and some counties have a late general late season Jan 5th - 18.
Archery is still only long bows & compounds and only if you have a "upper limb disability" you may use a crossbow.
Nothing has changed TPWD: Means and Methods
JohnDeere4300
Veteran Member
Me and my wife both bow hunt, and i really enjoy it... I like it better than gun season.
Last year i killed 3 does with a bow... You can go back and buy a bonus doe tags.
In Kentucky, bow season starts in September and stays in until January.... I have been trying to kill a large buck for 3 years now.... It has rubbed a large cedarpine every year.
That buck will stay on my property at night, and then leave during the day.... Last year i was walking beside the deer path & found a shed from the last year... Its a chocolate rack and is very large.
The only times that I've seen it during the day it was chasing a doe... maybe this year I'll kill it.....(or my wife might also kill it)
Last year i killed 3 does with a bow... You can go back and buy a bonus doe tags.
In Kentucky, bow season starts in September and stays in until January.... I have been trying to kill a large buck for 3 years now.... It has rubbed a large cedarpine every year.
That buck will stay on my property at night, and then leave during the day.... Last year i was walking beside the deer path & found a shed from the last year... Its a chocolate rack and is very large.
The only times that I've seen it during the day it was chasing a doe... maybe this year I'll kill it.....(or my wife might also kill it)
Redneck in training
Elite Member
We live in south central Iowa. All our and kids cars had collisions with deer. Our older son also hit a deer on a motorcycle.
They ate new trees we planted but so far left our gardens alone. Since we planted new trees (about 1000 of them) I installed electrical fence in proximity of every small tree on our property. I put it about 3 ft high on fiberglass sticks and so far this approach worked with about 95% efficiency. I had to repair the line several times because when the deer got shocked they sometime pulled the line behind. Over time they learned that the place is dangerous and their visits are less frequent. The bad thing is it is a pain to mow the grass.
I never hunted back in Czech republic I came from, but if I remember it right, over there hunters had to shoot several does (don't remember if it was three, four or five) before they got a buck permit.
According to my brother wild pigs are near catastrophic problem in central Europe. They are responsible for disappearance of pheasants, quail, jackrabbits etc. My brother told me there are many of them but still they are hard to find and kill. Somebody in previous post said that they don't like snow but I read in local (Iowa) paper while ago that wild or feral pigs are becoming problem in Iowa too despite cold winters.
They ate new trees we planted but so far left our gardens alone. Since we planted new trees (about 1000 of them) I installed electrical fence in proximity of every small tree on our property. I put it about 3 ft high on fiberglass sticks and so far this approach worked with about 95% efficiency. I had to repair the line several times because when the deer got shocked they sometime pulled the line behind. Over time they learned that the place is dangerous and their visits are less frequent. The bad thing is it is a pain to mow the grass.
I never hunted back in Czech republic I came from, but if I remember it right, over there hunters had to shoot several does (don't remember if it was three, four or five) before they got a buck permit.
According to my brother wild pigs are near catastrophic problem in central Europe. They are responsible for disappearance of pheasants, quail, jackrabbits etc. My brother told me there are many of them but still they are hard to find and kill. Somebody in previous post said that they don't like snow but I read in local (Iowa) paper while ago that wild or feral pigs are becoming problem in Iowa too despite cold winters.
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