Who is into bowhunting. Been looking at bows because the seasons are much longer here. What is your favorite bow, and target species ? Compound or crossbow ?

Crossbow is easy and you don't really have to practice. Compound is more difficult because you have to draw in the presence of an animal and potentially hold the bow back for an extended period. I like compounds because it feels like bow hunting to me, I find it rewarding and enjoy the practice.

All of the top end compounds are more less on par, I like Matthew's and Hoyt both.

Been bowing hunting 29 years. 20 year old compound and crossbows. My favorite is spot and stalk muleys on the high plains. Just doesn't get any better.

Love it. My favorite way to hunt. Whitetails and feral hogs. Mathews Triax..68 lbs.

Black Eagle arrows...Wasp Jak-Hammer broadheads.

Killed first deer (doe) with a bow in mid 80s. Have been dozens since......including...

This past Friday morning.....

Nice !

These make great archery targets...

I enjoy bow hunting . I shoot a Mathews

You can spend 2 grand on a complete set up pretty fast , and the value drops by the minute

This^^^^yes it does.....

I've done it on and off since I was 20. Used to use an old Jennings shooting star. Tried the crossbow thing and didn't like it at all. So treated myself this year to new recurve. Going back to traditional for me.

I dinged up a shoulder and put away my trad bows. Sure did like shooting them when it didn't hurt.

So even though crossbows are considered archery, they arent even in the same category as compounds in my opinion. That being said I have an Elite Energy 32, it had 70lb limbs, I took those off for custom Barnsdale 48lb limbs. EZ V sight, Beman ICS hunter arrows, 200 grain double bevel broadhead, lumenok. Ive had it since jeez 2014 I think, no plans to get rid of it anytime soon. I didnt have any problems with the 70lbs, just was thinking long term probably better for me to have 48lbs. Its legal in all 50 states for hunting. I did hit an awesome buck that I am quite sure died, we just could not find him at all.

Crossbow I got a barnett 350 from walmart, and man. With just a little bit heavier bolt, I would have no problems shooting out to 100 yards with it. It has so much power, like I think this crossbow could send a little bit heavier bolt through any animal on the planet. This year I killed 2 deer and 1 hog with it, definitely pumped to do some work as far as adding limbsavers and what not.

I love it. Just bought a compound bow after shooting nothing but recurves for decades. A bit of a learning curve tuning one (at least for me) but I really like it.

Compound, deer/turkey. All bows are good these days. Pic your poison.

I have bow hunted for over 40 years. I have shot nothing but PSE. I have taken whitetails , bear and turkey. Really enjoy hunting bear with archery equipment.

Buy a good bow and it will last for years. I bought what I considered one of the best at the time in 2000. It was a Mathews Q2 and she still kills like she did the first year I bought her, lol. I know guys that buy and trade in every two years to have the latest and greatest.
My advice is to buy the best bow YOU can afford. It doesn’t have to be top of the line, just what you can afford. Where you want to spend the money is in the accessories. Buy the best sight, arrow rest, arrows, and broadheads. Accessories can transfer to a better bow one day, or you could be like me and just learn the bow you get and shoot it until the wheels fall off, lol. I will say I’ve had strings (3) and even cables (once) replaced over the last 22 years. We have multiple opportunities here during our archery season, deer and hogs.

Still shooting the same bow I purchased new in 2008....elite gto. Went to the local shop to get something done a few days ago and top end bows were crazy high.....$1700 or so.....that is nuts.

I love bowhunting. I target whitetail deer and turkeys. But, want to target elk, moose and bear in the near future. I shoot a compound bow currently and plan to hunt with more traditional gear eventually. Shoot what you are comfortable with and have time to practice with.

I would recommend stopping into a local bow shop and talk to them about your options. They will help you and will maybe let you shoot a few different types of bows.

Good luck, bowhunting can be a great opportunity to get out into the woods more and will teach you to be a better hunter.

Don’t fall into the trap of what type of archery is best, or let others tell you that you are not a real bowhunter because you don’t hunt how they do.

Also, take a bowhunting education course, it is helpful.

My Wife bought me a Mission Archery Switch for Christmas to replace my old Golden Eagle, Misson is a division of Matthews, it has a lifetime warranty. I absolutely love it, the technology has came so far, it is not a really expensive bow but I have no complaints with it at all. I am trying to kill my first deer with it this week, our season has been open about a month but, I can’t hardly bring myself to hunt when it’s 85 degrees.

The Mission line is a great bow with a great price IMO

If I were just starting I would buy a top end bow... from 10 years ago. A used hoyt or Matthew's fully setup will probably be 2-400 and will serve you very well. If you want to replace it with something fancy in the future you'll have a better understanding of what you like. I would get one of the main brands though, parts are easy to source and they are typically easier to tune and work on.