Bow for hunting survival only?

[troy_mclure]

+1 on the crossbow. Unless you have the time/location to practice often.
I used to now hunt in Washington. When I moved down here I lost all my practice time and couldn't hit crap.
And it's not just about familiarization it's muscle tone/muscle memory that gets you to be accurate with a bow.
A crossbow is as simple as a gun to shoot, especially with a 1-4x scope on it.

 

[eradicater]

dont want to hijack thread but what type of crossbow would be good for same scenario.

 

[Splat]

dont want to hijack thread but what type of crossbow would be good for same scenario.

I have a Tenpoint Turbo. I bought that particular one because it is very compact. I think it is only 13 inches wide. I can hunt out of a 4X4 box stand with it. I would LOVE to be able to use a bow but i cant because of my shoulder. I can shoot a 50-60 lb compound bow but I cannot practice enough to become proficient with it. So I bought a crossbow. You can get a good crossbow for around $400-$500. At that price range I would recommend the Wicked Ridge crossbows. Same company makes Tenpoint crossbows. They are top of the line.

 

[CrkdLtr]

+1 on the crossbow. Unless you have the time/location to practice often.
I used to now hunt in Washington. When I moved down here I lost all my practice time and couldn't hit crap.
And it's not just about familiarization it's muscle tone/muscle memory that gets you to be accurate with a bow.
A crossbow is as simple as a gun to shoot, especially with a 1-4x scope on it.

This is not a bashing comment and I respond with all due respect. I'd take my compound over a crossbow any day and any condition, and if I knew how to shoot a traditional bow I'd take it over everything. Crossbows are heavy, cumbersome and have a heavy trigger pull. Not to doubt your skill with them but I haven't seen anyone shoot one with any great accuracy and since they are glorified compound bows, you're still limited to the same range as a bow in terms of ethical shot. Also let's not forget the weight of the draw which may require some to use tools or pulley systems to draw. Even though you can put a scope on one that can see out to 100 and 200 yards, you still wouldn't be able to make an ethical shot at that distance.

This is not to say that a recurve or compound bow is not without equal or greater faults, I just wouldn't feel a crossbow would be of any use in a survival setting.

However, if I owned an AR-15 this would be the only crossbow I would own...

 

[Ben Segrest]

I decided to make a video. This is what it sounds like when you get shot with a Mathews SQ2 from 45 yards, 35 yards and 20 yards. My arrows are in dire need of refletching, so I'd imagine there would be less noise with good arrows. The hits are at :05, :25, and :042

 

[returningliberty]

Honestly I would Never take a compound or crossbow in a survival situation. I know some are very rugged, but everything breaks.

Also, recovering a missed shot from a compound bow is way more difficult than tracking down a 32"+, fat, big ass traditional arrow. I've seen more light carbon fiber arrows crack than I have heavy traditional arrows. Aluminum holds up the best but I don't know any serious compound bow hunters that use them.

I have no idea if you can make a wood arrow for the speeds of a compound bow.

 

[bayoupirate]

Bear Kodiak or Grizzly 45# and you're good to go.

 

[Splat]

This is not a bashing comment and I respond with all due respect. I'd take my compound over a crossbow any day and any condition, and if I knew how to shoot a traditional bow I'd take it over everything. Crossbows are heavy, cumbersome and have a heavy trigger pull. Not to doubt your skill with them but I haven't seen anyone shoot one with any great accuracy and since they are glorified compound bows, you're still limited to the same range as a bow in terms of ethical shot. Also let's not forget the weight of the draw which may require some to use tools or pulley systems to draw. Even though you can put a scope on one that can see out to 100 and 200 yards, you still wouldn't be able to make an ethical shot at that distance.

This is not to say that a recurve or compound bow is not without equal or greater faults, I just wouldn't feel a crossbow would be of any use in a survival

No offense taken. I shoot a crossbow because of my shoulder. I CAN draw a compound bow but due to my shoulder I cannot practice enough to be proficient and if I cannot make an ethical shot, I will not take any shot at all. You are correct about the weight of the cross ow being cumbersome. That's why I laugh about the anti crossbow people saying they should be outlawed because they are easy to shoot and require no practice. It's not that easy to hold a 7.5-9 lb crossbow steady. I still haven't harvested a deer with my Xbow but I'm dying too. Depending on the situation; I probably wouldn't take a shot past 40-45 yards and no one else should with an Xbow. Compound bows you can shoot out to 50-60 yards but you can't do that with a Xbow because of the noise. But I can shoot as good if not better than anyone I know with a compound... I've been shooting it for 2 years. And the trigger depends on what you get. On Tenpoints you have a 3.5 crisp trigger.

 

[Russo]

i don't know about you guys, but deer aren't very plentiful around here... cows on the other hand....

 

[Splat]

Yep. The deer around most of Louisiana are scarce. I hear it's better up in N Louisiana. I saw a total of 11 deer last year and 6 of them were at once. Killed two. I wish Louisiana had better laws to build our herd instead of letting people kill anything so they can sell licenses.

 

[southernz]

Best practice with a long/recurve bow is a tennis ball and a arrow with a blunt tip...... traditional shooting is so addicting. I will have mine when/if the shtf. One major advantage the traditional bows have over compound is weight. Plus they are simple, quieter shooting, and its easier to find and reuse arrows.

 

[derek_street]

Hoyt makes a nice takedown recurve that is fairly inexpensive and it shoots nice. Anyone that hunts and shoots a traditional bow will tell you there is no such thing as owning just one. I think I have 11. They are addictive. Fun to shoot.