new at archery.start with CrossBow?

[cashville]

Ok guys.
im new at bow hunting and i was thinking of learning archery but it might take few months before i am confident enough to hunt.

But with the archery season coming up i thought ill get started with crossbow hunting.

Is it as easy as aiming and shooting or do you need months of practice with crossbows?
also
Whats more popular and fun?crossbow,compound or recurve bow hunting?

any suggestions?

 

[TheLBLman]

Is it as easy as aiming and shooting or do you need months of practice with crossbows?
also
Whats more popular and fun?crossbow,compound or recurve bow hunting?

To each his own, as to what's more popular and fun.

I started archery deer hunting with a recurve (that's how I killed my first arrowed deer).

A couple years later, I went to a compound bow.

Many years later, I went back to a recurve, simply thinking I would more greatly enjoy the challenge, and the simplicity.
Although I did greatly enjoy, I also came to realize I am more a deer hunter than a weapon enthusiast.
I ended up either not having or not willing to put enough practice time into maintaining my shooting skills,
so decided to then try the crossbow.

However, my reason for going to a crossbow was more about eyesight than anything else.
I simply wanted a "scope" optical sight. No, more a "need" than a want.
Otherwise, I probably would be happier overall with a vertical compound bow.

I went with a recurve crossbow.
Very simple, but effective weapon.

Regardless of crossbow, you will not gain much range advantage over a compound bow.
They only "shoot like a rifle" out to about 30 yards.

IMO, most potential archery shots on TN deer become low probability somewhere past 35 yards.
For me, that was reduced to 25 yards with a recurve.

Keep in mind it's totally different shooting a target at an exact known range
compared to shooting at a deer at an exact unknown range,
especially when the deer is likely to move before the arrow arrives.

Shooting skills and hunting skills are not one of the same.

 

[fairchaser]

I love the crossbow because I feel deadly with it. I never felt deadly with the compound although I killed plenty of deer including some nice bucks. Crossbows do take some practice. They aren't guns. Getting comfortable with the trigger is the key. My eyesight in low light is just not that good and I was wounding deer. It's not worth it. If you aren't going to spend lots of time practicing, get a crossbow.

 

[Mag]

Practice practice practice. Know your weapon and know your comfort level with distances. Oh, and keep your thumb down !

 

[Orion6]

There is a little less of a learning curve with crossbows, but you still have to sight it in at various ranges and practice quite a bit.
I'm not going to pretend they aren't "easier" than becoming skilled with a vertical bow, but at the same time they're still relatively short range weapons, and you can still miss with them just like anything else.

 

[cashville]

Thank you all for the expert opinion.
ill get my new crossbow soon.