Gov. hochul signs crossbow legislation
- Thread starter RSBH44
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Stumpkiller
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- Jun 29, 2025
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- 33
Rather see some folks with a crossbow than struggling and wounding deer with a compound. I still hunt with 1960's recurves and wood arrows I fletch myself at age 65; but I get in close and pass on a LOT of iffy shots and practice all year. You can't just pick up a bow on opening day and then mothball it for 11 months.
I tried a crossbow about 12 yrs ago. I didn't like it. Big and clumsy in a treestand. I also wasn't overly impressed with the range. I just hope people don't over estimate the range and power of a crossbow. It should allow people to be more accurate at typical bow ranges. Out to say 40 yds. But it's not a rifle and requires PRACTICE like anything else. I'm kinda neutral on the new law. But if it helps someone get in the woods who otherwise couldn't. It's probably a good thing.
Yup Traditional stick and string is its own animal and requires daily practice as it is a highly perishable skill and requires the highest of ethical standards. I enjoy hunting with one of my recurves or longbows very much. Theres just something about it that is almost unexplainable.
I do however also switch to a compound later on in the season before firearms season starts.
I'm fairly satisfied with the tools that I currently use to take game so I don't really have the desire for a crossbow, maybe when I get older I'll see it differently but I'm only 63 and healthy so that will be a while coming yet.
UpstateNYer
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- Jul 13, 2025
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- 9
Agreed. Just because a crossbow scope shows hash mark up to a 100 doesn't mean you should shoot that far. Today's crossbows are a different animal than 12 years ago. Speed being the major improvement. With that speed comes the noise. At 60 yds, a deer has time to jump the string on even the fastest crossbow. I am sure more than a few people leaned that with a stick bow and a compound. It's the same as it was back in the day as compounds increased their speed. Guys thought they could shoot a deer at 50 yds. Myself, never shot over 32yds and the majority are under 20 yds with the closest being 8ft.
We took a deer two years ago with a crossbow that had been hit by an arrow ( we found ravin fletching). Someone had taken a high quartering shot. It appears that the broadhead had never opened up This deer was a mess but it was visiting a scrape , and doing it's thing. Trail cam pics showed this deer with a wound two days prior to the day we took the deer. He was gangrenous inside, so we did him a favor. By rights , he should have been dead with a shot through the rib cage but he wasn't.
So, the moral of the story is , even with a high tec crossbow and speed, it comes down to the guy pulling the trigger. No different than it was 200 years ago with a muzzleloader. I believe more damage is done with the long range rifle shooting than anything else. Ringing a steel plate at 500 yds does not mean you should try to shoot a deer at that distance. You tube is full of long distance shoots but no one ever shows the wounded ones never found.
