I’m not one of those guys who’s always been “anti crossbow”, but I’ve never been a big fan of them either….at least not until now.

When the Michigan Natural Resources Commission opened the door for more hunters to use crossbows, I was in favor of that move. I figured anything that could encourage folks to spend more time hunting, would be a good thing.

At the time I didn’t plan on hunting with one. In fact, I was concentrating on the other end of the archery spectrum…a recurve. I spent twelve straight days in the spring chasing gobblers with a Predator recurve bow.

Recurve Turkey

I hunted hard and missed several birds before finally taking a nice tom on the final day of my season. If I was hunting with a shotgun, or even a compound bow, I probably could have ended my season a lot sooner, but I wanted the challenge offered by traditional tackle.

I still had my recurve in hand when I headed to Ontario in August after black bear. There, I passed up a very big boar, in part because of the limitations of my weapon. You can read more about that hunt here.

The beginning of the Michigan bow season found me with the recurve still in hand, but the right deer wouldn’t give me the right shot. After a few weeks, I put down the Predator and picked up a Darton Pro 2500 compound.

I hunted with that bow in Michigan, Ohio and Kansas. I passed up a few nice animals, but never did shoot a buck.

These examples should help point out the fact I’m not looking for the easy way out when it comes to bowhunting. In fact, I really enjoy the challenge archery offers.

It’s because of that love for bowhunting that late in the season I picked up a Darton Lightning crossbow. As a bowhunter and outdoor journalist, I need to be knowledgeable about today’s crossbows and what it’s like to hunt with one.

First, I had to sight the bow in. Since I’d never used a crossbow before, I called in Ted Harpham of Darton. Ted is an expert crossbow shooter and he had my Lightning dialed in with just a few shots.

Then it was my turn to shoot the Lightning. My first impression was that the bow was heavy, bulky and awkward. I’ve since become more comfortable handling the weapon, but it was a definite change from the recurve and compound I was used to.

Ted showed me how to use the monopod to brace against my body. That technique allowed me to hold the bow steady, and my first shot at thirty yards was right on the mark. Next, we moved back to forty yards and I made another nice shot.

Later, I spent a couple hours shooting the bow on my own, and I got a better feel for what it’s capable of. I was able to shoot well at seventy yards before dropping my rangefinder and breaking it, but at that point I knew I was ready to go hunting.

I should point out, even though the Lightning is capable of longer shots, I wanted to limit myself to forty yards or less for now. That’s about my effective range on a compound too.

My first hunt was interesting. Everything about the experience seemed foreign to me. The process of cocking the crossbow, learning the best way to carry it and how to position myself and the bow in a blind were all a learning process.

Once I got settled in though I was glad to have the crossbow in front of me. It was very cold that night and I had on lots of heavy clothes. It would have been pretty tough to draw a compound with those extra layers. Plus, my cold muscles were glad they didn’t have to do much work in those conditions too. It was also nice to know that any deer inside forty yards to give me a shot would more than likely be going down.

I didn’t get a shot though. I saw lots of deer, but none within range. It was the same story on the next few nights. That’s when I started thinking that hunting with a crossbow is a lot like any other bow. You are still limited by range, and the number of shots you can quickly get off.

Eventually I moved to a treestand on the south side of the property. From there I had a great view of the terrain….a woodlot to the east of me, and an orchard at my back. Before long deer started heading out to feed on the apples. I let several fawns and small does pass by me, and eventually settled the crosshair of the four power scope just behind the shoulder of a very big doe.

I pulled the trigger and dropped the animal in her tracks. The Carbon Express F-15 expandable broadhead was very impressive. In fact, the exit hole is so big I can’t even post a picture of it here.

Beautiful, late season Michigan doe

I got down, walked over to the doe and realized I was smiling. Not because I had killed a beautiful animal, but because I had to work for the reward of the hunt. Harvesting that animal with a crossbow was a challenge, just like using any other archery gear.

I don’t expect to put away my Pro 2500 compound, but I will certainly be looking for more opportunities to hunt with the Lightning crossbow again. In fact, I think the spring turkey season would be a good chance to do that.