If you rifle hunt, but have not gotten around to bowhunting, go buy a good crossbow RIGHT NOW.New news straight from Steve Lightfoot at Texas Parks & Wildlife confirm what I saw coming: Texas has approved of crossbows for general archery use in the state.
But crossbows are not voodoo, and they don't give their operators any major advantages over compound-bow shooters. Both crossbows and modern compound bows have the same effective range: about 40 yards.
I shot my first crossbow in my best friend's backyard as a teenager, and was impressed that the bolt penetrated 1.75-inch-thick lumber.
Previously, and I may add, arbitrarily, crossbows had been limited to hunters with various physical limitations, and were intended to be a way I guess for handicapped people to "bowhunt."
My info on crossbows comes straight from the expert's mouth, ie. W. Hovey Smith, who literally wrote the book on crossbow hunting.
Smith, whom I met at the OWAA conference, enlightened me on crossbows, and I can tell everybody that I am getting one for use in the early archery-only season. They are a breeze to cock with modern mechanisms, and you will have to practice plenty, but with a good red-dot scope mounted on the thing, you should be able to zero in your new crossbow for the early archery-only season hunt in Texas.
Then, put on your ghillie suit, set up your ground blind and hunt like a bow-hunter. You will need to use the same discipline and skill as bowhunters, but your major advantage is the notable lack of deer-spooking motion that bowhunters encounter when drawing back to shoot.
To be legal for crossbow hunting in the Lone Star state, you must have a valid Texas hunting license, hunt during the prescribed season, and buy an archery tag.
Just another means of getting food for the table, with a new, challenging twist. Get your crossbow and get practicing for September!
