Crossbow topic impeding ‘traditional’ archers’ | Centre Daily
October 2, 2008 · Print This Article
Mark Nale
Pennsylvania’s statewide archery deer season begins on Saturday. Serious bowhunters are spending hours afield on last minute scouting, practicing regularly and locating stands that they hope to use during the opening week.
Wes Waldron, president of the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, is anxious for the upcoming season. However, he is also troubled about proposed legislation that he feels is hanging over his favorite sport like a dark cloud.
Waldron, who lives in northern Lycoming County, is upset about House Bill 2653, introduced by Cambria County Rep. Gary Haluska. If passed, this bill would change the definition of a hunting bow to include the more efficient crossbow.
“Our archery seasons in Pennsylvania are, once again, quite possibly in serious jeopardy,” Waldron said.
For those not familiar with medieval warfare, a crossbow looks like a small bow mounted horizontally on a rifle stock. The powerful mechanism is cocked and loaded with a short arrow and can be kept in the ready-to- fire position all day. A crossbow drawing 125-200 pounds could be used effectively by almost anyone with a very minimum of training and practice. Anyone able to accurately shoot a gun could aim a crossbow and hit a deer’s vital area at 30 yards.
Today’s compound bows are a far cry from the sticks-and- strings that were used to fling flint-tipped arrows in the Old West. Proponents of the crossbow are quick to point out that today’s “traditional” bows are about as primitive as an iPhone. Modern compound bows are equipped with cables, pulleys and cams, and made from alloys and space-age materials. The pulleys and cables enable an archer to draw a stronger, more-efficient, hunting bow, and the cams provide a pressure let-off at full draw. This allows the archer to hold his or her bow in a ready-to-shoot position for a longer period of time, but not indefinitely.
Most bowhunters, including Waldron, say that the biggest difference between the compound bow and a crossbow is drawing the bow. With a compound or a more primitive recurve bow, the hunter must use judgment and stealth to carefully draw a bow while in close proximity to their quarry. Move too quickly or at the wrong time and the animal is alerted to your presence and flees. Come to full draw too soon and your muscles will tire before the opportunity for a good shot arrives. Skill developed through practice and a certain amount of upper arm and shoulder strength are necessary to effectively shoot a compound bow.
Permitting the crossbow’s use during the regular season would make archery hunting much easier and more people would participate, but easy is not necessarily good for the sport. More hunters, using a more efficient weapon, could raise the “archery” deer kill, and the seasons might need to be shortened to compensate for the increased harvest. Fewer deer would also be available for gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season.
Waldron has a long history of teaching archery to men, women and youngsters — introducing many to the sport. He has no problem with crossbows being utilized by those with physical limitations that truly prevent them from drawing and holding a bow. He does take issue with system abuses and the political and industry pressure to have crossbows included in the regular archery season. He recently vented his frustrations to this writer and readers of the Pennsylvania bowhunting forum on BOWSITE.com. As food for thought, here are portions of Waldron’s opinions on the crossbow issue: Full Story
In reference to “Permitting the crossbow’s use during the regular season would make archery hunting much easier and more people would participate, but easy is not necessarily good for the sport. More hunters, using a more efficient weapon, could raise the “archery” deer kill, and the seasons might need to be shortened to compensate for the increased harvest. Fewer deer would also be available for gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season.”
In 1991 with a four week season bow hunters harvested 14,947 antlered deer and 7,801 antlerless deer, with the Six week this increase to a record harvest 38,453 antlered deer and 40,069 antlerless deer in 2000. And in 2001 harvested a record 40,753 buck, the season was not shorten and Waldron was not concerned about fewer deer gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season.
So why is it OK for vertical bowhunter increased the deer harvest causing fewer deer gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season?
And lets not forget, they vertical bowhunters keep asking for more time to hunt which would increase the archery deer harvest causing fewer deer gun hunters during the post-Thanksgiving season.
Fewer deer gun hunters just a tactic to get Rifle hunters again crossbow use during the archery season. It worked against the early muzzleloader season for years.
Next.”Permitting the crossbow’s use during the regular season would make archery hunting much easier and more people would participate, .” Was that not used when the compoundbow first came into the archery season.
More people ? Total Archery license sale in 1998 were 328,451, the total archery license sale in 2007 were 266,841, down 61,610 in license sale. There is an unknown number of Junior combination license holder who are bow hunters, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000, still there is a lot of room before hitting the record high license sales.
The resident archery license sale down ward trend is another reason to support crossbow use during the fall archery season. In 2003 sales were 271,162, in 2004 sales were 270,584, in 2005 sales were 257,159, in 2006 sales were 256,662, in 2007 sales were 255,188.
The declining Junior combination license sale is a reason as well, in 2004 sales were 53,689, in 2005 sales were 52,991,in 2006 sales were 52,345, in 2007 sales were 51,553. Junior bow hunters are dropping a will not fall the lost of the adult ranks.
More hunters is not an issue.
Next, “Anyone able to accurately shoot a gun could aim a crossbow and hit a deer’s vital area at 30 yards.” that is just good hunting ethices, I hear too many vertical bow hunters losing deer because of not hit a deer’s vital area at 30 yards.
Next, “This allows the archer to hold his or her bow in a ready-to-shoot position for a longer period of time, but not indefinitely.”
A crossbow hunter can not hold a crossbow up indefinitely ether.
ED