Hi KT, Petey...
I don't shoot a crossbow so I'm not able to answer your questions with any facts, but lets say that you can shoot a crossbow out of the box, or even your compound out of the box, in either case if all bows could be shot out of the box on deer, the fact still remains, the advantages of 80-85% letoff versus the stick bow is of huge magnitude. That a crossbow is a few % more is really sort of irrelevant in overall scheme of things.
However, 12 deer and 5 hunters comes down to one of two things only.. the shooters were prepared, and or you found a lot of deer... or actually maybe both.
Hunting is still hunting, even with Petey's 700 yard rig... it's still hunting.
If you got more hunters in the season due to crossbows, how can that hurt? Hunter numbers are declining daily so this is a good thing I think, to be able to recruit. One thing though, for groups like the PBS and the New York Bowhunters to cry out that a crossbow is the greatest single threat to "traditional archer" in existence today is a ludicrous statement. Crossbows are in fact VERY traditional....
I'd love to go hunting with a crossbow no matter just to try it out. And if I shoot something of real bragging rights, why in the world wouldn't I be braggin the huge whatever I shot just because I shot it with a crossbow? If I snagged a world record by its tail... am I going to not claim it? Heck no... there is nothing about a crossbow that should allow anyone not to proud of their accomplishments. It doesn't shoot further, faster, or with any advantage over a compound and their 6 power optics and all either, so to me... an accomplishment is worthy... even with a crossbow.
Aloha...
