Crossbow vs. Compound - Do Crossbows Make You LESS OF A HUNTER

All right, you guys let's dive in to the question of are you less of a hunter or hunting with a crossbow? versus a compound So first, I hope you guys don't mind. I'm gonna drink a beer while we tackle this one So cheers to tackling one of the most heatedly debated Topics honestly the topic that probably Right now is causing the most division within the hunting industry and in the archery community But I'm gonna give you guys my two cents. Okay, so cheers So I guess first off a couple things to start out one you guys can Disagree with me you can agree with me. You can disagree with each other. I Really, you know, I don't want to say I don't care But what I want is I want the comment section to be respectful on this. Okay, because of how Divided people are on this particular topic. It's totally okay. If you think I'm an idiot It's totally okay. If you have a different opinion, but please keep it respectful I will delete comments if things get crazy because the last thing that I want is This video topic to drive any more division than what there already is in the hunting and archery community Second I hunt with both of these things. These are you know, this is my compound This is one of my crossbows. You guys can see I've got some others hanging up behind me here in the garage I hunt with both of them. I am Not disabled. I have no injuries. I'm you know a Capable 37 year old adult male. So I just want to make that clear And I thought long and hard about how to do this video I Wanted to make some notes. I kind of wanted to like I don't know have like a list of things But honestly, I kind of want to just wing this one you guys and I apologize if this is kind of a word vomit I apologize if I bounce around a bunch or I repeat myself or all that kind of stuff But you know, I I want this to be genuine. I want this to be honest. I want I Want this to to not be just like a rehearse bullet point PowerPoint type of thing. So With that said Let's dive into this and I want to start with I don't really like the I don't want to say I don't like the wording but I don't want to approach this as like Crossbow hunter is less of a hunter than compound hunter because I don't think that's right at all I think the way to approach this and think about this is Maybe the question of who had the more challenging hunt the crossbow hunter the compound bow hunter Because let's be honest like that many of you out there are better hunters than I am and I Guarantee you there is somebody out there that is a better hunter than all of us and we probably don't even know that person's name Legitimately the best hunter in America the best hunter on the face of the earth I would be willing to bet we have no idea who that is. So just assume there's someone better than you out there Really I think that's that's true, but when we think about who had the more challenging hunt if everything literally everything every variable every element the shot distance the I Don't know the property the all the other gizmos and gadgets that you took out in the woods If literally all of that was equal who had the harder hunt the compound bow hunter the compound bow hard hunter had the harder hunt because it is Harder for me my opinion and I think many of you would agree It is harder to execute a shot with a compound bow than it is with a crossbow Simply because there is way more human element To hunting with a compound bow, I'm Connected to the bow. I am you know having to hold the draw. I have to pay attention to Facial pressure on my kisser button and making sure things are lined up. Make sure my grip is good I'm a big one where when I struggle with my compound, it's usually my grip Making sure I don't punch the trigger making sure I'm squeezing through the shot making sure I've got a good follow through like there's just a lot of elements and a lot more like Human connectivity to the compound versus that of the crossbow And I think that's where a lot of people get that, you know, the this person is better than this person But I will not disagree with anyone Executing a shot all things created equal the compound bows hunter is is harder now What I also think is Within a hunt. I'm gonna just break it down into two elements. There's the element of Putting yourself in the position to have a shot so like the shot opportunity section and all of the things and all of the elements that go into that and Then there's the shot execution portion of it and I really think they are They can be different skill sets now. I think you got to be good at both to consistently shoot big bucks but I think We can separate those things and we can see examples of where people are are better at one versus another An example, I can think right off the top of my head today. It's listening to the most recent hunter podcast I don't know if you guys have listened to them, but they they've got a really good podcast and they and they are for the most part I don't want to say they're anti crossbow, but most of what they Say is is fairly negative toward the crossbow aspect of things and that's fine But they had Cody DeQuisto on their most recent podcast and what he was talking about And I'm using my words and summary not exactly his but he talked about how he you know He a lot of time. He really didn't practice that much with his compound He a lot of times shot more instinctively than he did using sight pins, even though he had them and how he his skill set is Elite, I would say in my opinion at creating shot opportunities that figuring out a property at knowing how to read sign all that kind of stuff like his woodsmanship skills and his strategies to get a buck a big buck in the position to Execute a shot. He is Extremely good at that But I from what I gathered in that podcast he would probably tell you he's not the greatest Archer, he's not the greatest shot Versus let's take like the polar opposite. Let's take someone that is an Olympic archer. That is Elite at shot execution with a compound bow has very little hunting experience Who's gonna do better in the woods I guess is one of my questions like who do you think is going to kill a deer the absolute elite archer with no or maybe very minimal hunting skills woodsmanship skills or the you know, the Cody DeQuistos who are elite at figuring out properties elite at Breaking down sign and in getting themself in a shot opportunity But maybe not as good of an archer who you guys think is gonna shoot something I'd be willing to bet it's Cody and the reason I want to break things down like that is Because when we see posts on social media or even short video clips or anything like that what we see is usually a deer that's been harvested and The weapon that's been harvested with so you see a picture on Instagram of a guy with a big buck and he's got a crossbow Instantly thing. Ah, he's a crossbow. He's cheating. He's not nearly a good hunter as So-and-so and blah blah blah blah versus the the compound where you might have a person that you know Post that picture and you instantly think oh man, they're awesome. Wow. Look at that buck. They killed Oh, they did it with a compound. Yeah, he's a good hunter when we have zero context of the the woodsmanship element of that photo and So like let's we'll do an example here. Let's say that Someone is a crossbow hunter. They maybe they don't have a ton of money They don't have their own private land they hunt in my home state of Michigan Which is highly pressured similar to other states like, Pennsylvania. Yeah, you know states like that They've got a hunt public land. They don't have a ton of money. They don't they can't pay for cell cams They can't pay for fancy clothing They you know, they are a very good woodsman though they are able to Break down a property be able to figure out deer be able to figure out the other people all that kind of stuff and let's say they shoot a buck at 15 yards they got in close. They were in a cattail marsh, you know up to their waist almost in water and Crap just to just to get to the spot that they needed to get to that's a mile back and okay They shoot a buck at 15 yards of the crossbow most of you guys would see the crossbow and the and the buck that's been harvested and you would say ah Cheater bad hunter not nearly as good as the vertical bow guys Or that on the flip side. You might see a photo on Instagram where that person is a compound bow hunter. They've got a 2,000 acre property in Iowa, or maybe this person is even hunting with a outfitter. That's Really well managed. They've been you know, keeping hunting pressure low. They've got cell cameras everywhere They've got the best clothing the best scent elimination They've got redneck blinds Strategically placed throughout the property where not only does that seal in their scent but their motion all that other stuff who plots everywhere and They shoot a big buck at I don't know. We'll say 15 yards again Instagram would tell you that picture would say oh, yeah, man. He killed a huge one with a compound bow He's a better hunter, but in reality, I guess Who had the harder hunt? when I think about it, we would still think the compound bow hunter is The better hunter had the more challenging hunt just based off of that photo when in reality To me that is not the case and that's kind of the way I want I don't know people to think about this topic is how many different elements go into the difficulty level of a hunt and How many different tools we have to either make a hunt more difficult or? Less difficult and how I think oftentimes in You know, I should back up and say like I think there are plenty of times where the the crossbow person Did not have they had an easier hunt than the compound bow hunter definitely but we oftentimes we don't know and I kind of just want to paint the picture and separate the Elements that go into getting into The position to have a shot at a deer and actually executing the shot Because to me there's no debate on which is harder to execute the shot. The compound bow is harder but When you think about who had the harder hunt We don't know and there are a ton of elements and I think there are a lot of deer that are harvested with a crossbow or that person legitimately had a harder hunt than Someone with a compound so it's not black and white It it will never be because I don't think we will we will know unless Things are you know on on camera? And even at that point, I still don't think we know all of the elements that go into a hunt So I want you guys to consider that and hopefully what I'm saying makes sense there is a I think just a there's a lot more variables in the getting The opportunity at an animal to even be able to execute the shot that I think we overlook just a ton The the guys on the hunter podcast they're 100% right in that The the resource the deer herd and the health of it Really is the number one thing when it comes down to weapons use season lengths Number of tags given out all that type of stuff like we don't have hunting if we don't have deer But we I think we got to have each other too in that We also don't have hunting if we're just gonna constantly be at each other's throats so And I really do I truly do personally I enjoy hunting with both of these things sitting right here in front of me on the table It's a connectivity in intimacy with a vertical bow with a compound that you have that I Personally, I just don't have with a crossbow or with a firearm or with other weapons Like if I want that experience or if I want to pursue pursue a particular animal And have that Then that's what I'm gonna take there are other times where I want my crossbow If I'm pounding public land if I'm gonna be I don't know if I'm be elevated I don't know if I'm be ground pounding Maybe I am just hunting on the ground because this area is freaking thick and it's gnarly but it's where I gotta be and I might have a really close shot or One where I've really got a threaded needle That's literally my hunt last year on public land where I shot my best buck to date at 10 yards From the ground with a crossbow When it's really cold outside, I want my crossbow You know, honestly, I know the shot range thing is is a highly debated topic, but if I'm My effective range on them yes, the crossbow is is farther and if I you know have a spot where I really want to or I might have a Farther shot then yeah, I do I want the crossbow but both of them I enjoy hunting with both of them. I feel like have their advantages and disadvantages both of them I feel like I have challenging hunts that make me happy and that really you guys is You can make hunting as challenging or as easy as you want weapons aside you can do it with a lot of different elements and It really is up to you It really is up to you and to me personally you really shouldn't care what people on Facebook or Instagram think Your goal should be be a better hunter Today than you were yesterday Continue to improve day in day out. You don't have to be the best hunter you don't have to live up to the standards of the Cody DeQuistos or the I Don't know the Levi Morgans the Dan in faults the like if you think about some of these great bow hunters out there You don't have to Be just like them You can hunt your hunt and and you can make it as challenging or as easy as you want with a ton of different variables but what I want to I guess bring people together on a little bit is the actual the Work that was put into it the property that was being hunted all the other gizmos gadgets elements to Get to the shot opportunity is a huge unknown and that I think is more of a part of skill set of difficulty than the actual weapon that is going to be executing the shot at least when it comes to a compound and crossbow and at least for me, but there's just a ton of elements that go into a hunt and it's not just the weapon and I think we need to Just take a step back and remember that before we start Blasting people on social media or before we start crowning someone better than another it's your hunt on it the way you want on it legally and Just be happy with what you harvest and how you harvested it That if you are happy with how you took that animal how you went about it and you are proud of it man That is all that matters forget all the other noise outside You guys did like this video. Please do me a favor hit that like button down below. Also, don't forget to subscribe We'll see you guys soon on the next video. Take care. God bless and remember be a sportsman make a sportsman