Bowhunters group decries crossbow ruling – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
February 11, 2009 · Print This Article
By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
The leaders of the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania did not immediately make an official statement after Pennsylvania Game Commissioners approved crossbows for use in the statewide six-week archery season.
They have now.
It’s clear that the group’s positions have not changed: they disagree that crossbows are a primitive weapon and want the commission to track their use somehow.
“The United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania remain steadfast that the crossbow is a superior weapon to a bow and should not be permitted in archery seasons other than by those hunters who qualify as physically unable to draw and hold a bow,” reads the statement, released by the group’s president, Wes Waldron.
The statement goes on to say that allowing an unknown number of crossbows into the archery season, with no way to track participation or impact on the deer harvest, “represents a departure from the limited and incremental approach historically utilized when providing new or expanded hunting opportunity.” It further “depicts an overall deviation from the scientific, biological and social concerns of conscientious wildlife management.
“Therefore, we feel that any hunting license increase package must include a crossbow license to accurately track harvest and participation,” it concludes. Click link bel0w for full story
via Bowhunters group decries crossbow ruling – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
It is amazing to me that the die hard bowhunters criticize the crossbow. The bottom line is that the crossbow is not much different than the modern compound bow. With the increased technology and 90% let offs you could hold a compound bow at full draw for several minutes without difficulty. The effective range of a crossbow is about the same as a compound bow. Having said all that the main issue to consider is what is our role as hunters. We are a tool the wildlife departments use to control deer populations. The most effective method to control these populations is with a firearm. As our numbers decline and deer populations explode you will begin to see expanded firearm seasons in most states across the US. So I ask the United Bowhunters, Would you rather share the woods with a few extra crossbow hunters or a lot of hunters using a firearm?
Kentucky had a similar situation a couple of years back when the commission proposed lengthening the crossbow season. Up until that point, the season for crossbow was only a week or so and took place right after the modern gun season. Many, many bowhunters spoke out about the change including respected outdoorsman Harold Knight. The proposed change would have made the crossbow season usable during the entire archery season. Because of political pressure, the season was only expanded to the first few week of October and from modern gun season in November until the end of December. I cannot pretend to summarize the arguments put forth, but one particular argument I found interesting was that the crossbow was too easy to use on turkey. They felt that since you didn’t have to draw the bow, it gave the crossbow hunter an unfair advantage and therefore there might be an over-harvest of birds. I think there is some truth to this argument at least. I have been a bowhunter for many years myself and have also owned a crossbow in the past. While I respect the opinions of the United Bowhunters, I think they might be wrong on this issue. I grew up in Ohio which has always had a concurrent crossbow season and they have some of the best deer and turkey hunting in the country now. I honestly don’t think adding the crossbow will do anything but expand the sport, which we sorely need. It might be strong to say, but I think there might be a little greed out there among the bowhunting crowd that wants to keep the bow season all to themselves. That is no doubt the case in Kentucky where the season for crossbow is closed during the first stages of the rut. I know bowhunting is a cherished sport of the few and I get how it takes discipline and practice to be an effective bowhunter–I am a bowhunter myself. But how can it be bad to get more people an opportunity to be in the woods who normally wouldn’t be able to. With the advances in modern compound bows it is no wonder a number of traditional archers look down on the compound bow fellows like myself. At least I am being honest when I say I don’t want to put the extra time in to be good with with a longbow. How much different are the two arguments really? What can’t be denied is that a crossbow has a similar range or slightly less than a high poundage compound bow. If they want to argue that there is too much advantage in not having to draw then I respectfully suggest that maybe they shouldn’t use a blind either which hides their draw? Just my 2 cents.