Crossbows are becoming more widely used weapons for hunting. Before you decide to buy one, you need to know what the pros and cons of them are.

Pros

More Accurate – Accuracy is the big attraction of crossbows for most people. Unless you’re a really skilled user of the vertical bow, you probably won’t ever be able to match the accuracy offered by the crossbow. All you have to do is line it up correctly and then fire the bow at the animal. This means you’re much more likely to kill the animal first time round, removing the likelihood of injuring it before it dies.

Less Physical Exertion – Most types of crossbows are really easy to use. All you have to do is fire them in the same way as you’d fire a gun. In fact, using a crossbow is a lot more similar to using a gun than using a vertical bow. But there are lots of different types of crossbows, and they all handle slightly differently.

They’re Legal – One of the big problems about crossbows used to be that you couldn’t use them in many places. They were largely illegal. But this is no longer the case. Nowadays, it’s legal to fire a crossbow for hunting in most parts of the world. So, you won’t need to worry about breaking any laws. This is one of the main reasons why different types of crossbows are becoming more popular among hunters.

Cons

Not as Much Skill Involved – There’s not a great deal of skill involved in firing a crossbow. This is not a big concern for a lot of people. If you just want to get the job done swiftly and accurately with minimal fuss, they’re a good option. But if you take pride in your hunting skills, you might prefer to use a vertical bow. You have to know what you’re doing and possess the required skills to use it properly. But pretty much anyone can fire a crossbow.

Slow to Use – You can reload a vertical bow pretty quickly, meaning that if you need a second shot, you can do so fast. But crossbows take a much longer time to reload after you take a shot. You have to put the arrow in place and get it all set up before it’s ready to be fired again. So, if the second shot needs to be taken quickly, the crossbow is not the best weapon to have with you. You should keep this mind when buying.

They’re Loud – When you’re hunting deer, you need to stay as quiet as possible. Every hunter knows this. If you make a loud noise, you’ll scare off the deer, and they’ll go running in the opposite direction. The great thing about vertical bows is that they’re very quiet. But you can’t say the same about crossbows. When you fire them, they make a pretty loud noise. If the deer reacts quickly enough, they could avoid the arrow. For this reason, many people actually prefer to use a gun with the right ammunition, such as .300 Blackout and 5.56. Although the bows might be more ‘traditional’, there’s nothing like the right ammo and firearm for a good, clean shot.