Help for a new archery hunter

[Dad and Son]

I am looking for some suggestions as I am a new archery hunter. I am an experienced rifle hunter but have not hunted with bow before. I hunt with my 2 kids age 11 and 13 who have shot deer and bear before with a rifle. I recently bought a crossbow- a Ten Point Elite Qx4. I am very impressed with this crossbow as my 11 year old is hitting the bulls eye at 25 yards after his 3rd shot.
1)hunting arrrows - the crossbow came with 10 point HEA-610.6 pro elite premium hunter carbon 22/64 20" sb CAP with 100gr broadheads. These numbers mean nothing to me but that is what is on the package. My 2 questions. Are these good quality arrows suitable for hunting and if so on what animals. I plan to bow hunt deer, elk and moose this fall? Second, as I only have 6 arrows, I plan to buy some more arrows, what arrows would you recomend I buy?

2) my second question is more of a personal question: I think I plan to buy another bow or crossbow because there will be 3 hunters and only one weapon this fall. Do you think I should buy a bow or a crossbow? 5 years from now will I regret having 2 crossbows? Do people find the bow more of a challenge hunting? I bought the crossbow because I wanted something the kids could be accurate with fairly easily. If I bought another crossbow, what would you suggest I buy? If I bought a bow, what would you suggest? Also keep in mind that my kids would be the primary users of these weapons and I tend to prefer to buy the better quality equipment because it lasts longer and performs better.
Thanks for your help
Glenn

[toxic111]

I would say go with a bow, but I am biased, I am a bowhunter, not a crossbow hunter (a completly different weapon)

You would be amazed how kids can be with a bow, if they get really intrested in it, they can be more acurate than a rifle.

One thing with either weapon, youhave to practice with them, they are not as forgiving as a rifle. You just can't pick them up and be ready to go.

[Canuck2]

Dad and son, welcome to the forum. You describe a very complex situation with no easy answer.

First of all, as for the equipment numbers you describe, I'm not familiar with crossbow specs in general. However, the arrows (or bolts) you get will necessarily be matched to the specific bow and its poundage rather than described as being better for one animal or another. Yes, you do need more arrows because it probably won't take long to lose or damage those 6 through practice sessions. As for any bow, yours will need to be properly tuned so flight with broadheads attached is true.

Crossbows are often thought of as being much easier to use than compound or even traditional bows. In some ways this is true but consider the following pros and cons (I'll simply use 'compound' comments to include both compound & traditional bows):

-crossbows are much noisier and can cause game to 'jump the string' more readily.

-crossbows are used as a convenient way to avoid long hours of practice and therefore inappropriate shots are taken because the archer doesn't have a good familiarity with its capabilities

-compound bows are very 'person specific' and one that fits you probably won't fit your boys

-a compound that fits either of your boys now probably won't for long, since they will be growing and the draw length, etc will soon be too short. This can be solved to some degree by obtaining models that have significant adjustment to accomodate archer growth

As for hunting this fall, I assume your are meaning that your sons will hunt the same game as you. My own opinion is that there aren't very many 11 and 13 year olds that are ready for such a step. This is especially true with archery equipment. Don't forget, also, that any game they harvest will be on your tag.

If I were you, I'd jump into the archery arena with compound or traditional equipment and enjoy the 3D scene (and other targets) for a couple years before going for live animals. It's a great sport and develops a variety of archery skills. This is the way my sons and I got involved and it prepared us well for hunting. I'm sure you'll enjoy it every bit as much as we do.

PM on the way.

[The 'Hummer']

I got involved in archery a couple of years ago and my preference is the compound. I now have two, one I use for target shooting and the other for hunting & 3D. Probably the best thing to do is go to a good club and try out a few different set-ups before you buy anything. Also, stop in to a good archery shop and ask lots of questions. In addition, they may let you try out a few different pieces.

[Bucky]

Dad and Son,
Canuck2 has my vote on every thing he has said, I myself have shot Bow for more than 30 years and have loved the time I have spent on 3D courses in practice to get to the point of being proficient in harvesting animals, and I have shot a number of them. To me the crossbow is not a bow and I hope it will never be classified as one. But use it if you must, or take the challenge and pick up good bows and practice for a year or so you will find it more rewarding.

[Dad and Son]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am not sure my kids will have the discipline necessary at this stage in their life to become proficient bow hunters. I gave the crossbow to my son as his grade 7 grad gift in the last week. He is a proficient rifle hunter and shot. At 40 yards he hit the bulls eye on his 5th or 6th shot. My 11 year old had 2 bolts hit within 3-4 inches of the bull on his 5th and 6th shots as well also at 40 yards. Because I plan to do some archery hunting this fall in region 4 I will stick with the crossbow. Canuck 2 Thank you for your comment about the noise of a crossbow and the idea of my kids growing out of the size of the crossbow. I had not noticed or thot about the noise until you mentioned it. My crossbow has several noise dampening features but it is still noisy. You might be interested to know both my kids passed their CORE. Last year my 11/12 year old got a spring bear on Vancouver Island, (bear was running at an angle away at 75-100 yards) a youth season mulie in region 3, (shot from a rest with one shot at about 200-225 yards) a first time hunter white tail in 8-23 and a black tail on Texada (head shot free hand at 75 yards). This year he got another Island spring blackie at about 150 yards. Both kids went with me last year up to the Queen Charlottes. We had a great time and all 3 of us limited out with 5 deer each. My 10 year old at that time shot his first ever animal plus 4 more. For anyone who wants to give a new hunter a great introduction to hunting, the Queen Charlottes is certainly the place to do it.