subject: Cross Bow Hunting Style,thegood,the Bad, The Ugly? [print this page] Traditional bow hunters claim that there is an unfair advantage that cross bow hunters have over them. This claim by traditional bow hunters have given those that hunt with a cross bow a bad reputation.
The debate had continued to fire heated debates throughout the hunting cross bow and traditional bow enthusiasts.
When the statistics concerning specific hunting cross bow and hunting traditional bow users have been checked, the results have some hunting cross bow enthusiasts singing a victory song.
Obviously, there is a very small advantage for crossbow users and that advantage may very well be negligible. Hunting cross bow users were evaluated over traditional bow hunters in the state of Ohio, where crossbow hunters, to the chagrin of traditional hunters, have been somewhat vindicated. In spite of the cries of 'foul' within the bow hunting community's traditional bow users, the most current research, done by impartial parties, shows a 23% success rate for hunting cross bow users and a 21% success rate for bow hunters, leaving traditional bow users with just a bit of egg on their faces.
While this research will do little to stop the controversy between the two opposing parties, it is interesting that most people would note that: * 155,000 registered hunters participated in bow season hunting. * 70,000 of them practiced crossbow hunting exclusively. * 55,000 registered hunters used a vertical bow *30,000 registered hunters who practiced cross bow hunting also used a vertical bow.
Of the Senior Citizen Hunters who received free hunting licenses: * 4,000 used a cross bow * 1,000 used a vertical bow * 1,000 used both
From these statistics, it is clear that out of the 55,000 registered hunters who participated in vertical bow hunting, a whopping 30,000 used both bow and crossbow. Out of 6,000 registered senior citizen bow hunters, it was found 1,000 used both a crossbow and traditional bow, but that 4000 used just a cross bow. It is clear this is a preferred method for seniors.
As far as kill rates go in the state of Ohio, which has the most available statistics over a significant time frame, there is little difference between traditional bow style and cross bow style kills. Thus during bow season there is no conclusive evidence to support the traditionalists viewpoint on the positive effects of prohibiting the use of a crossbow.
