John's Journal...

CROSSBOWS ARE COMING

More Crossbows Past & Future

Click to enlargeEditor’s note: The fastest-growing sport in archery today is crossbow hunting. This old method of archery has suddenly caught fire for many reasons. To learn why crossbows are making such a strong impact on the archery scene, we talked with Ottie Snyder, the media specialist for Horton Manufacturing Company.

QUESTION: What are some other factors that cause more hunters to turn to the crossbow?
SNYDER: We are an aging society. Older hunters are beginning to hurt a little when they start to turn over the wheels and cams of a horizontal bow. Click to enlargeBut with a crossbow, that doesn’t require as much strength or manual dexterity, these hunters can stay in the woods longer than if they’re restricted to only hunting with a vertical bow.

QUESTION: Why do you think there’s so much resistance to the crossbow?
SNYDER: It’s not so much that there’s a resistance to the crossbow, it’s just that the people who are opposed to crossbow hunting are very vocal and happen to be a very-organized minority. They lobby state legislatures and say, “Everyone who shoots a bow is against crossbow hunting,” and that’s just not true. We’re seeing the same phenomenon with the crossbow that we saw when the compound bow was introduced. There Click to enlargewas an outcry from the established archery community who only shot longbows and recurves. This group complained that the compound bow was not really a bow at all, but that it was just a mechanical arrow launcher and should be banned. The first time I saw a compound bow, I said, “I’ll never go hunting with something that looks like that,” but now, I can’t tell you how many I’ve owned since that time. The compound bow has helped increase the number of bowhunters, increase the season for bowhunters nationwide and even has helped to increase bag limits. The compound bow has become the standard, and the recurve and longbow are now in the minority, although they still have their places in hunting. Because the crossbow is new, the vertical bowhunters are offering the same resistance they did when the archery industry went from recurves and longbows to compound bows.

Click to enlargeQUESTION: We’re seeing more longbow companies beginning to make crossbows now. Do you think this is a trend we can continue to expect to see in the future?
SNYDER: Absolutely. Archery companies are in the archery business, and as new and different ways to bow hunt evolve, they’re going to begin to make more crossbows. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that Horton will only produce crossbows. Our company never will make a vertical bow.

To learn more about Horton Crossbows, go to www.crossbow.com

TOMORROW: MY CROSSBOW INTRODUCTION – A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR


 


Contents...

Day 1: Rise in the Sport of Crossbows
Day 2: How Horton’s Crossbows Came About
Day 3: Crossbows Past & Future
Day 4: More Crossbows Past & Future
Day 5: My Crossbow Introduction – A Note From the Author

 

Entry 326, Day 4