First of all, let me state that what I am about to say is just my opinion not necessarily fact.
IMO, hunting with a stickbow is not really that much harder than hunting with a compound, especially if you have the advantage of a treestand. Both style bows have their advantages as well as disadvantages.
As for whether a stickbow is "adequate" well that is all relevant.
Remember, bowhunting is meant to be a close range sport. You are supposed to be good enough at setting up your ambush so close to the animal that pinpoint accuracy shouldn't be a huge concern. When you have set up correctly, and done everything right then when it comes time to shoot, the deer will be "right there" close enough to hit with a rock.
If you feel that you can't shoot a bow past a certain yardage, then don't shoot past that yardage. Just compensate for your range limitations by setting up your ambush for close shots.
I don't think that if game and fish thought that a bow and arrow was not adequate for deer hunting that they would allow us to legally hunt with a 35 pound minimum longbow here in Alabama.
When you start thinking along the lines of what's adequate and what's not, then it can start to look like only 300 magnums are adequate to make clean humane kills, and that can become a slippery slope.
I've been shooting stickbows for close to 20 years and have hung around my share of traditional shooters, and for a large majority it is just a passing fad. Somewhere along the line a lot of traditional shooters get it in their heads that they are "elite."
Where I come from, Navy Seals, Rangers, fighter pilots, and SWAT team members are elite.
Bowhunters, whether they shoot compounds or stickbows are just that "bowhunters." After all, it's just a hobby, and in a lot of cases just a fashion statement of wool shirts, leather quivers, and Fedora hats.
