With women quickly filling in the pie chart of new hunter demographics, there is a weapon they should be considering: the crossbow. Instagram influencer Kendall Jones shared her thoughts on crossbow hunting with Ten Point Crossbow Technologies, and her perspective gives great insight on its advantages, particularly for women hunters.
In reality, crossbow hunting is a lot like compound bow hunting but with a few tweaks. Unlike a compound bow, where a hunter has to hold the bow at full draw until a perfect shot appears, a crossbow holds it for you. In other words, once the crossbow is cocked, no energy or effort is required from the hunter to continue to hold the draw, making crossbow hunting a practical alternative for women. Another advantage of crossbow hunting is that with the bow already drawn, the hunter can be more still as deer approach. While holding a compound bow won't use as much energy as a traditional bow, there's still a certain amount of effort that goes into making sure the wheels stay rocked back. Crossbows require no such effort.
Kendall Jones explained it like this:
"The main difference for me between hunting with a compound versus a crossbow is that when hunting with a crossbow your weapon is ready to go when the animal comes into sight, where a compound bow requires you to maneuver to pull back to full draw and sometimes even hold your draw until an ethical shot presents itself. I love having my crossbow as another option when choosing a weapon to hunt with. I also love that it gives me a bit more of a challenge hunting than a rifle does."
One of the issues with compound bows is that the older models have been extremely difficult to draw back. Some women may have tried, in the past, to draw back a compound with limited success. That may have scared them away from using one. Crossbow cocking devices offer new possibilities for women who may have struggled before.
"One of the main reasons I can do it myself is because of the help from the ACUdraw and ACUslide which makes it 100% easier for me," Jones said. "If I had to pull it back myself like some of the older models of crossbows, I don't know that I would be able to do it. This new tech also allows me to shoot a heavier poundage."
Crossbow hunting offers some unique perks when compared with traditional compound or even recurve bowhunting. While once reserved for disabled hunters, crossbows provide women with a new hunting option.
"I would say an advantage that crossbows offer to lady hunters is the increased poundage and ease of use that opens up many more hunting opportunities," she said. "For example, I am able to have more poundage behind my crossbow than I am with a compound and I can shoot a further distance than I would be able to with a compound. It also doesn't have a hard kick like a gun would. So it is the best of both worlds."
