Curious

[OkXbowHunter]

I still shoot compounds and recurves. The problem is, I can't shoot a recurve enough to stay accurate or my shoulder and elbow start hurting after a couple days (shooting a 55lb Bear Kodiak).

If I shoot more than a dozen times a day with my compound (set at 64 pounds), then I get the same pains after about a week.

I mainly switched to a Crossbow because it was another form of Weapon to hunt with and it was fun to shoot. There are aspects of it that are easier than a Compound or Recurve, but then again, they're trade offs. There are things with Compounds and Recurves that are easier than a Crossbow.

So I guess it was a 50/50 decision for me. Half because if I shot too long with a vertical bow, pain would visit after a few days or a week. The other 50 because I wanted a new adventure!

[MarkMarine]

In Missouri, unless it has changed, you have to have a permit to use crossbows other than firearm season. I have one functional hand and a debilitating illness. I got my permit years ago. Have not shot a verticle bow in over 30 years.

[j.krug]

I hunt with crossbow partly because I no longer have the time to practice enough with my compound to stay sharp and mostly because my eyesight is in the sh!tter. I need the scope to see what the heck I'm shooting at.

[deerhunter0430]

i hunt with the crossbow because in 1998 i got hit my a tractor trailer and have severe neck and back problems .i had to get a special permit from the Pennsylvania game commission to hunt with it but now it legal for everyone to hunt with the crossbow in Pa.......

[wabi]

My problem, when I switched to a crossbow was bone spurs in my left shoulder.
No Idea what caused them but the problem appeared very suddenly and surfaced when I was shooting my longbow. I had been shooting 5 to 7 days a week for years, and probably a minimum of 30 arrows a day with no problems at all. One evening I strung the bow and when I hit full draw it felt like someone stabbed me in the shoulder with an ice pick!
I put the bow away and gave my shoulder a few days rest in case I had pulled/strained something. When I tried again - same result! Too much pain to shoot!
A few months and a few medical tests later my doctor found I had bone spurs. The position of my left arm in shooting was/is perfect to cause the spurs to dig into a large tendon which causes swelling, which compounds the problem.
I can shoot a very few times with a few days rest between without pain, but much shooting and the pain is right back.
I finally decided to retire the longbow(s) and recurve(s) and stick with the Excalibur.

Now I've also developed a case of bursitis in my right shoulder, so I'm not even going to try a vert bow again.

[rayman]

I hunt with crossbow partly because I no longer have the time to practice enough with my compound to stay sharp and mostly because my eyesight is in the sh!tter. I need the scope to see what the heck I'm shooting at.

Second that.

I also feel like my recovery rate is higher with an Xbow than what it was with a V-bow. Mostly due to shot accuracy and better penetration.

I still bow-fish with a 25 year old browning, though not very often.

[jeshoffstall]

Shoulder problems were one of the reasons I chose to start hunting with a crossbow this year. I have a partial torn rotater cuff, and even though I can still shoot my Hoyt Vectrix set at 62#, I can only do so a couple of arrows at at time, a couple of times a week. Any more than that and my shoulder is toast. I was getting frustrated as i did not have any confidence to ethically shoot at a deer beyond 20 yards with a compound set up that I had over $1200 invested in.

After getting the Vortex sighted in, I am extremely confident to 30 yards on a live animal and 50 yards on paper. In effect, I have increased my killing radius by 50%. Is the xbow perfect - nope, it is clunk and heavy, hard to hold in most stands, the bolts are wicked expensive and after a dozen shots at the range I am ready to put on earmuffs - but, when the time to shoot a deer comes, I have as much confidence in the Excal as I do a rifle!!

[MADMAX2]

Combination of shoulder injury from a bike accident and lack of practice time for my compound is why I went to crossbows glad I went to the best first.

[OkXbowHunter]

So....Do you think your injuries or affliction is vert bow related?
Hank

Well, since the pain arrives a few days after I start shooting with vertical bows, I'd say, yeah, it's the cause. I loved shooting vertical bows and would shoot probably 60 or more times a day in the past. Those days are long gone!

[VixChix]

I hunt with a xbow because I feel I'm responsible for making the most ethical kill possible under the circumstances.

After one season of carrying my PSE Nova, I realized that a few hours of sitting in the cold, bundled up in a bulky jacket wasn't conducive to good shooting. So now I hunt with my Vixen. (Or maybe I should say: I experience the outdoors during hunting season with my Vixen )

[strum]

i have no shoulder injurys to stop me ..i just got tired of all the v bow maintanance..seemed i was always readjusting this or tighting that ..and they loose value so fast. im amazed at how well my excal stays consistant..
and to be honest ..i did better last year and expect to do the same this year mainly because im more confidant with the cross bow.

[Rufus]

Shoulder is bad from 40 years of shooting a 70# recurve , but it was fun.And ido love my Excals.