I don't understand the logic behind anti-crossbow regulations

[35 Whelen]

My honest opinion is that crossbows have no place in the normal archery season. I'd go for them in the muzzleloader season, though. Fact is, archery hunting is an art form. Archers have to be absolute ghosts. And it's hard enough for them as it is. Get a bunch of idiots in the woods with crossbows, spooking all the game, and the real archers are going to have a much tougher time.

This mentality is what I don't understand. Archery hunters nowadays have every imaginable gimmick and tweak on their bows EXCEPT a stock, yet they think people who hunt with a crossbow aren't quite as "primitive" as they.

35W

 

[ZeroJunk]

If you have ever bow hunted you know that the hardest part is getting the bow drawn without being detected and if necessary holding it for some period of time.

Long bows take a lot more work and practice.

So, I can see why some long bow hunters would be dismayed by cross bow hunters who get the benefits of the season without having put the work in to it.

But, get used to it.

 

[Kachok]

The greatest skill in bow hunting is getting within bow range, crossbows do not change that. The only downside is that it does not require the skill of shooting a conventional bow since it is more like firing a rifle. The upside to crossbows is they level the playing field for small hunter like myself, which I am all for. I would love to get 330fps but I could never get that with a compound.

 

[whetrock]

This mentality is what I don't understand. Archery hunters nowadays have every imaginable gimmick and tweak on their bows EXCEPT a stock, yet they think people who hunt with a crossbow aren't quite as "primitive" as they.

That is exactly how I feel about it as well all of these so-called "archers" with every latest gadget and gizmo bolted on their compound bow they really aren't too traditonal themselves.

 

[ZeroJunk]

The greatest skill in bow hunting is getting within bow range

I disagree. How much skill does it take to sit in a tree.

I have stalked a couple of deer over the years and killed them with a bow, but I'll bet you 95% are killed from a tree stand, around here anyway.

Don't think that drawing a bow with a couple or three deer twenty yards from you is a piece of cake.

 

[41]

If you have ever bow hunted you know that the hardest part is getting the bow drawn without being detected and if necessary holding it for some period of time.

I agree, I love the challenge of bow hunting, but If someone wants to hunt with a crossbow(which is still challenging), I'm all for it.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I guess Bullfrog can be forgiven for is lack of knowledge, since he is not a hunter. In 1900 there were 500,000 whitetails in the U.S. Today there are 32 million. We are not running out of deer. Here in VA they are crying for more hunters to take more deer because of yard damage and auto accidents that the deer cause.

I agree, the herd in America is much better shape than it was 100 years ago.


But my state's Game Management agency doesn't manage based on the deer herd all across America. It sets seasons and bag limits based on regions. And we have very wide disparities in the size and density of the deer herd across the state.

In the populated areas, where little hunting ground exists, or what exists is private land that won't allow hunting, the herd is extremely dense and supports long seasons and bigger bag limits.

In the rural areas where more people tend to hunt and where more land tends to be opened to hunting, the herd is quite dimished.

Pennsylvania just completed a very controversial deer management study for the state. The size and density of the herd is not uniform, and where hunters hunt, it's quite poorly mismanaged.


As I said earlier, the advantage of a crossbow is it eliminates the need to draw in the presence of game. That's truly a huge advantage.