The entire issue of crossbows being some big advantage over regular compound bows is largely false, at least assuming an experienced user of both. There are some relatively small advantages, but also some disadvantages more or less wiping out those advantages.
Extended range is one of those fallacies, since the range extension, again imo, is no more than 5 to 10 yds over a modern regular compound bow. The fastest crossbow remains of very slow velocity compared to even a mediocre rifle round. Deer are bad about simply moving before the arrow arrives, so maybe we move that practical (ethical) range distance from 35-40 yds to 45-50 yds with a crossbow, but more because of shooting accuracy consistency than anything else.
Heck, with most my bowhunting setups, I can't get a shot beyond 35 yds regardless of weapon, so even a rifle typically gives me little range advantage over a crossbow.
For me, the biggest crossbow advantage is the ease of using superior optical sights (like a low-power traditional rifle scope). THIS is from where most of that better accuracy comes (for me), allowing for that extra 5-10 yds. And yes, crossbows can be shot with more accuracy consistency with a lot less ongoing practice than can regular bows.
Of course, not having to draw a crossbow, shortly before sailing an arrow, is an advantage (more so for novices than experienced bowhunters).
Disadvantages of crossbows include their being more cumbersome to carry afield, and being much slower to "load" and/or get off a 2nd shot.
So overall, crossbows are an advantage over regular compound bows. But, imo, this advantage gain is not as much as the gain of going from a regular recurve bow to a regular compound bow, such as occurred with most bowhunters during the 1970's.
