A real bow is a recurve like the ones I grew up shooting like Ben Pearson. No sights, cedar shaft arrows and finger for a rest, broadheads you had to sharpen by hand and practice shooting a bale of hay in the backyard. I use a compound bow now with fiber optics, peep rear sight, string dampeners, whisker biscuit rest and 80% let off. I also keep a crossbow to invite friends and family who may not have a bow to have something to use that they can hunt me when oppourtunity arises. The "purest" bowhunting associations just want to put on airs of superiority which does nothing to promote hunting. Look ya'll hunting is becoming a lost art. People are pulled in many directions and don't have time to devote to the practice it takes to become proficient to hunt. Every state will tell you license sales are down. We need more people to purchase hunting licenses. If you tell them to be a "real" hunting you must do this must do that newcomers will not be there in the next generation. I am for anything that promotes new hunters and extends the season for everyone.

I can certainly see why some “traditional” bow hunters may react adversely to crossbows. Being neither a compound nor crossbow hunter, I have no real standing to compare the relative advantages of both. I will say that while crossbows may be easier to aim, featuring rifle like sights and a traditional trigger setup, compounds have their own advantages as well, lighter draws perhaps allowing for multiple shots in some (not most) situations. At the end of the day, it’s just apples and oranges.
What I can say is this; I don’t believe that any one of us has any moral standing to which to pass judgment on the hunting methods of others. At the end of the day, we are all just harvesting Deer. Perhaps I like to use my rifle instead of my shotgun, or some scoff at the idea of inline muzzleloaders, favoring flintlocks instead. Does that mean shotgun hunting and modern muzzleloaders should be banned? Here’s the other question, does it make any difference to the deer? There are many who say that hunting itself is wrong, does that suddenly give them the right to ban it? Of course not. What would the compound guys say if long bow hunters suddenly decried modern bows? What if that one kid who killed a Deer with an atlatl suddenly demanded special privileges?
I guess what I am trying to say is that none of us has moral superiority over another. We all pursue game in our own ways, and as long as such actions are sustainable, none of us has the right to look down upon the other. Do you like the extra challenge of a longbow? Great! Are you looking to put meat on the table? Also great! In the end, it’s all just hunting. Perhaps I find it more honest to hunt one way over the other, but it’s not my place to call it “better” than another way. I’m not the big man upstairs after all.

this is such BS, able bodied hunters should not be using a crossbow, it's not even a bow, it's a gun that shoot arrows

Why is it that every state's Bow Hunter Association is oppossed to crossbows? It would be much akin to Rifle Associations against shotguns. Each has its place, WTH.

It's good to see Wisconsin has made progress with regard to crossbows...hopefully NY will be next!