Considering the switch

[Bo D]

You would probably change your mind if you were always hunting down The South Road. LOL

Don't think so Gilroy, don't hunt with the bow up at the camp, primarily down south in the Port Perry area... Congrats on filling your tag this year up at your camp... Nice...

[ninepointer]

Same as you, I made the switch after getting busted a couple of times and also after hitting a deer in the spine when it saw me draw and jumped the string when I released.

I just don't get enough chances at deer to wait for the next opportunity. I've logged around 100 man-hours on the deer stand this fall already and I've only seen the one deer that's in my freezer.

By far the best deals going are on the used Excalibur crossbows. They won't be a huge investment either if you decide to go back to mainly compound.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

Ride,

I echo what GW said. I started with a compound bow in 1986, but after various deer encounters that did not work out, I bought an Excalibur crossbow in 1994 and have never looked back. I probably hunt deer from the ground as much or more than I do from a tree stand, and a big plus for me is that a crossbow allows me to tuck on at the base of tree, bush or boulder much the same way that turkey hunter would. This affords me tremendous flexibility, especially if I'm in new spot or if I have to improvise because of a shift in wind direction.

I put in more hours than most hunters I know, and I spend a lot of time watching deer that I can't shoot with an arrow, so when an opportunity to get a deer finally presents itself (which is not often), I like to make it count.

[FishHog]

To me it came down to not enough time to practice enough to be comfortable taking a compound bow shot on a deer. Lots of people really enjoy the practice and make the time for it. That wasn't me. So I went with a crossbow.

Don't sell your bow, just get a crossbow and play with both for a while and you will decide all on your own. Whatever you could get for your used bow now, won't be much different in a year or two.

[Bowjob]

We use excaliburs,
From what I've seen the older models are better in my opinion.

You can find them online used for a couple hundred bucks. I got mine for 300 bucks, works like its new guy even gave me a bunch of bolts and tips with them all set up ready to go.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[MihajloSimsic]

If you plan on having an advantage over your compound. I would go for one of the faster models of xbow, if cost isn't too much of an issue. Scorpyd has the fastest crossbows in the market and (imho) the most reliable, never heard of a single complaint about them on any forums, no limb breaks, misfires, nothing. Some other good options are tenpoint (preferably) and ravin. Excal makes great crossbows but there are plenty of other xbows that are much cheaper, faster, and equally reliable. If you're insistant on getting an Excal, the micro series are great, because their fastest models are super expensive, have limb breaking/safety issues and are as wide as an umbrella.

[MihajloSimsic]

We use excaliburs,
From what I've seen the older models are better in my opinion.

You can find them online used for a couple hundred bucks. I got mine for 300 bucks, works like its new guy even gave me a bunch of bolts and tips with them all set up ready to go.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

I absolutely agree. Their older models are cult classics and what built their company. Ever since they broke that 400fps mark their limbs also started breaking coupled with safety issues. At the very least they were cumbersome, imagine walking in the woods holding a crossbow over 30" wide. However their micro series haven't missed a beat so far.

[Deer Wrastler]

not sure how most guys carry their xbow to make it akward but I have a homemade sling that I will tilt the xbox so the limbs are vertical and the stock faces forwards and carry over one shoulder so that it does not go outside of my body profile which makes it better for walking through vegetation and stalking corn fields.

I have a compound but Im a meat hunter and will take my xbow every time because I have a higher chance of coming home with dinner compared to a compound, also the xbow gets 400 fps compared to around 320 on my compound. More IS better IMO.

[LowbanksArcher]

Anyone else gone through these feelings?

[ride.lift.shoot]

Haha Classic
LBA - you went the other way didn't you? Compound to Re-Curve?

[fieldtrip]

After traipsing around the woods for 5 years now with a compound and having some success and some misses. I started doing the math on how many times the opportunity to draw back has presented itself, and it's overwhelmingly low. Where I hunt I journal about 1-2 deer every 10 sits. Some of those encounters vanished before ever materializing into an opportunity due to shot preparation, or swirling winds, and other times it's been an encounter where the chances of success would have been much greater with a crossbow, and thus I've started shopping.

When I started I was pretty adamant about using a compound, I love to shoot and practice. However with a growing family and time to be afield becoming exponentially harder to find I would like to be able to capitalize a little bit more frequently.

Anyone else gone through these feelings? Also what bows do you recommend? If anyone is looking to upgrade let me know what you have.

I feel pretty much the same. It's a little more gratifying with a compound let alone a traditional. Unfortunately my shoulders are telling me to go crossbow. I need an easy smooth drawing bow.