Before 2016, if you saw an Illinois bowhunter carrying a crossbow, you could safely assume two things: they were either over the age of 62, or they had a doctor’s note in their wallet verifying a physical disability.
For most of my life, vertical bows dominated the woods. Choosing to hunt with a compound, recurve, or longbow was more than just a preference; it was a statement of effort, physical proficiency, and tradition. Quite simply, it’s what made you a bowhunter.
Then came 2017. With the signing of House Bill 2893, Illinois opened crossbow use to all licensed archers, regardless of age or physical capability.
What followed wasn’t necessarily unexpected. Years of declining license sales and harvest numbers reversed almost immediately.
Love it or hate it, the shift is here.
By the 2022 season, crossbows officially crossed the threshold, claiming 53.4% of the statewide archery harvest. Today, that number still sits around 54%, while compound bows have slipped to under 45%.
And we aren’t alone. Crossbows now account for more than 50% of the deer harvest during archery season in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.
Love it or hate it, the shift is here. But to understand how these states with deep-rooted vertical traditions flipped in less than a decade, you have to look past the sales numbers and directly at who is buying these weapons and why.
Early Exposure: Introducing Kids to Crossbows
Growing up in Illinois, the state mandated a minimum hunting age of 12, and crossbows weren’t even on the radar.
I spent years sitting on the sidelines, watching my dad leave to go hunting without me, working my butt off, and waiting for the day I could reach the required 40-pound draw weight. Earning the right to carry a bow in the woods was a rite of passage.
Today, with minimum age limits removed, parents are understandably eager to get their kids into the field the moment they show interest. For me, that journey started when my boys were 8 and 9 years old.
At that age, my sons simply didn’t have the physical frame or strength to pull a lethal hunting weight on a compound bow. A compact crossbow paired with a sturdy rest was the perfect way to introduce them to hunting.
Because of that technology, both my sons shot their first deer with a crossbow, creating unforgettable experiences they wouldn’t have had and priceless memories I wouldn’t have been able to share if crossbows hadn’t been legalized for our archery season.
When my oldest turned 12, he switched to a compound bow, following the same path I took as a kid. But looking across the broader hunting landscape, his transition is becoming the exception rather than the rule.
Kids are busier than ever, with school and sports leaving little time for the woods. To keep them engaged in the long term, we need their early experiences to be positive and successful, and crossbows make that possible.
For many young hunters starting out today, the crossbow isn’t a temporary training ground; it’s the destination.
And can we really blame them? As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The Mentor-Less Generation
Thirty years ago, most people learned to bowhunt because a dad, uncle, or neighbor mentored them. Our parents taught us how to draw a bow, sharpen a broadhead, adjust our pins, and estimate range based on landmarks.
Today, a massive wave of adult-onset hunters are entering into the sport completely self-taught.
For someone with zero archery background, the compound bow learning curve is intimidating and can be incredibly expensive.
Paper tuning, broadhead tuning, FOC, anchor points, grip angle, and other complexities of archery can feel like an overwhelming barrier to entry.
Buying a crossbow off the shelf removes that fear. It allows a beginner to shoot tight groups at 30 yards in an afternoon without worrying about their form collapsing under pressure.
The Convenience Trade-Off
Let’s call a spade a spade: shooting a crossbow is simply easier than shooting a compound.
Building and maintaining proficiency in vertical archery requires muscle memory, physical strength, and consistent practice. Heck, shooting a bow accurately can still be a challenge for people who have been doing it for decades.
In a culture driven by demanding work hours and packed schedules, many modern hunters decide they don’t have the time, patience, or desire to maintain that edge.
Crossbows offer instant, high-level accuracy with little physical investment, a trade-off many are more than willing to make to fill a tag.
I’ve been shooting a compound bow for over 35 years; it’s part of who I am, and I’ll never give it up.
Yet, as a forty-five-year-old father of three balancing a full-time career with coaching youth baseball and football, I understand the appeal. For many in my position, the accessibility of a crossbow often outweighs the commitment required to master a compound bow.
Using a crossbow gets those people in the woods instead of the golf course or the couch. It’s tough to argue against that.
Keeping Our Old-Heads in the Game
If there is one area where almost all bowhunters find common ground, it’s supporting our elders. Watching a hunter who spent 40 years drawing a compound reach the point where their body simply won’t cooperate is tough.
For the older generation, crossbows are a blessing. It allows the men and women who built our hunting heritage to stay active, sit in their favorite treestands, and pass down camp traditions for another decade.
Keeping those veterans in the woods is an absolute win for the hunting community, and I’ll gladly join them when my day comes.
The Long-Range Snipers & The Ethics Issues
Finally, there is a growing demographic drawn strictly to the performance of modern crossbows.
These folks tend to fall into one of two camps: lifelong bowhunters who elected to pick up a crossbow to be more lethal, and firearms hunters looking to extend their season.
Most modern crossbows shoot at speeds exceeding 400 feet per second, with a few even touching 500 fps. They are equipped with integrated rangefinding optics and cocking mechanisms that make them hyper-accurate at long distances.
Manufacturers have capitalized on this, often marketing these weapons as 80- to 100-yard hunting tools. Naturally, this irritates bowhunting purists because it removes the core challenge of bowhunting: closing the distance and defeating an animal’s senses without being detected.
To be fair, vertical bowhunters aren’t entirely innocent here, either. Driven by social media validation and long-range setups, compound shooters are also stretching their ethical limits further than ever before.
Yet, high-speed crossbows have undeniably fostered a “long-range sniper” mentality, often among hunters who either lack foundational woodsmanship or hold different values than the bowhunters who came before them.
As they say, different strokes for different folks.
Like It Or Not - Crossbows Are Here To Stay
Look, I understand and empathize with the feelings of many bowhunters. For decades, our perceived identity as a hunter has been tied to our weapon of choice. You were either a bow hunter or a gun hunter. That was it. Black and white.
Achieving success with archery equipment was, and still is, something to be proud of. It’s something that sets you apart from the crowd. It requires hard work and dedication to your craft. And nobody can ever change that.
Crossbows have shifted that paradigm. But so have cellular trail cameras, food plots, box blinds, and a host of other technologies. Times change.
It is entirely possible to cherish the tradition and the unique accomplishment of bowhunting with vertical equipment while simultaneously respecting those who choose a different path.
If a crossbow gets a new hunter into the woods, keeps an old-timer in their favorite tree stand for another season, or helps someone bag the biggest buck of their life, that’s a win for all of us.
