Excellent article JZ! If people would worry more about themselves then what their neighbor is doing, they would enjoy life and the outdoors a lot more. The vertical bow will always be my weapon of choice, but if crossbows do become legal in WI I would welcome anyone who wants to use one. If it gets them outdoors and makes them happy, more power to them. I would most likely even try to shoot something with a crossbow at least once, just to say I did it.
I have no problem with a crossbow or a gun to hunt with. My preference is now a bow, but it doesn't bother me what people use to hunt. Usually what bothers me is how people hunt. Several different examples of that, but I won't get into that. Good article.
It is my experience that the people who know what they are doing will kill a decent buck consistently through the years no matter what you put in their hands because of the time they spend in preparation and scouting, and the people who don't know what they are doing can't find a buck to shoot at if you gave them a rocket launcher. So whats it matter?
Cross bows are fine as long as they arent in the archery season in my eyes. My state beleives they should be in the archery season so they can sell more licenses. If people had to use them in the gun season, they wouldnt sell as many archery licenses, and the cross bow companies wouldnt be selling as many cross bows, so good work cross bow companies! A bow needs to be drawn while the target is in sight. If that makes me a cry baby ***** so be it Im a bowhunter, I dont gun hunt, that is my right, and its my right to hate crossbows in the archery season too. Cross bows would still be illegal in all the states that now allow them if it wasnt for the crossbow companies lobbying the states, to make more money.
I'm with Dan. I don't care what anyone chooses to use. If you're doing it legally and killing animals cleanly, who should be the judge over what weapon you use? I know there are quite a few traditional folks out there that look down there nose at us compound guys so its not surprise that there are those looking down at the crossbow guys now. My ONLY reservation with crossbows is this. And this could be pure speculation on my part and I hope it doesn't turn out to be true. I fear that a lot of guys getting into archery for the first time will automatically go after a crossbow and not give a compound a single thought. I know several people personally who wouldn't hunt with a bow (because of the challenge and work involved in shooting a normal bow), but since they legalized them here in PA, went out and bought a crossbow and are hunting. It's sort of disheartening in some respects.
Dan I read the article, doesnt change my mind. I dont get into these arguments much and I dont write my congressman over them, I just like bow hunting for what it is to me. Im allowed to express that if I want, this is a bowhunting website. Im not saying to take hunting away from anyone or arguing with fellow hunters.
this article brings to light something i have been saying for a long time. our greatest enemy as hunters is each other. we need to remember we are all on the same side here...fighting among ourselves does nothing but hurt our hunting tradition and give the anti-hunters fuel. every hunter indeed has a right to make their own choices regarding what weapon they take into the woods; that isnt a bad thing, that is a GREAT thing. it means we are americans who have free will. Having more choices may open the door to more people taking up the sport. in addition to having the right to choose to use (or not use) whatever weapon we want, we also have a responsibility to fellow hunters to support each other. That being said I myself am not a crossbow hunter. I dont see the point personally, however if someone else wants to go out and hunt with a crossbow, i fully support their right to do so. Anything that is legal that gets people out there enjoying the outdoors is fine by me. we all need to be on a unified front, not divided amongst ourselves. the anti-hunters dont have to do much if we destroy ourselves.
If you like bowhunting for what it is to you, then why would you try take that away from someone who wants to hunt with a crossbow? Obviously they like it for what is is to them, but since you don't agree with that you want to limit their abilities to spend time doing something they enjoy? Um, actually that's exactly what you're doing. Limiting a person's ability to hunt in a manner in which they want is effectively stopping people from hunting. Arguing that you don't like crossbows and they shouldn't allowed is at it's very nature arguing with fellow hunters. Sometimes the misconceptions we have about ourselves and our behaviors are our biggest flaws.
So never saying your opinion with fellow hunters is what we should do? Im not going on a local newspaper and saying my opinion im saying it with my fellow hunters, just because someone says something that you dont like doesnt make him trying to take something from you. I dont like baiting either! Is that a bad thing? These two things go hand and hand on the public land I hunt. So it was a well writen atricle Justin, with some good facts, I guess we are just either suposed to agree with everything, or never give your opinion on anything. Again if you think im arguing thats fine, im not though. If I was trying to take it away from someone I would probably be going fish and game meetings.
Who is taking anything away from anyone? In WI. there are regulations in place that allow's anyone that want's to hunt in the Archery Deer season can. If you want to use a cross bow you have to be 65 or older. Or get a dissabled permit from a DR. Other wise anyone can bow hunt with a virtical bow. Who's left out? Ok then I want to use my Rifle for 115 days and durring the Rut. It's the way I want to hunt. Why are you stopping me? I'll bet there isn't a bow hunter that would support that! I don't really, but it's what I came up with for the sake of the debate. There are rules and limits we all have to put up with in all seasons. WI. now let's Inline Muzzle Stuffers with high powered scopes in the Muzzle Loader season and that just created another Rifle season with them being able to shoot 250 yards accurately and screwed that season up. I won't let it happen to the Archery season without a fight!
When you start comparing rifles to bows (vertical or cross) you are now comparing apples to oranges. At the end of the day, hunters are tools that are used by the government to manage wildlife populations and generate revenue for the state. That's all. There are two different methods for harvesting the number of animals the DNR deems necessary to sustain populations while proving ample opportunities for people to hunt. The long, slow method with lower success rates (archery) or the quick method with high success rates and harvest numbers (firearms). The combined harvest of those two seasons need to fall within a number deemed acceptable by the govenerment, or they haven't done their job. Obviously, allowing firearms to be used for 100+ days per year would result in a much greater number of animals harvested considering average success rates. This would adversley effect populations, which in turn effects the amount of future licenses the government can sell and revenue they can make. However, allowing crossbows to be used during that same time period has been PROVEN to not have that effect, and therefore I believe it should be legalized. Define "screwed that season all up" for me.
Did jz just call all of us tools lol Personally I could care less as long as out gets people out of the house. As far as rifles go they need to keep them put of the mix here there are way to many people that would take completely unsafe shots thinking no big deal if they miss. Sent from my LG-E739 using Tapatalk 2
Anyone who doesn't have the time to learn how to use or shoot a compound. Why should they not be able to use another type of bow that has the EXACT same limitations as a compound? Sure it doesn't take as much practice, but who cares? Again, it has the EXACT same limitations. I would much rather someone who has little time to shoot be out there with a crossbow than with a compound. I have a brother that doesn't have much time to shoot and I pray every time he goes out that he doesn't get a shot. I would much rather see him out there with a crossbow in his hands. I would have a lot more confidence in him. Why should he not be afforded the same opportunities to hunt the same season? That's an apples to oranges comparison. Again, a crossbow has the EXACT same capabilities and limitations as a compound does. The one and only reason anyone from this great state doesn't want crossbows in the bow season is selfishness, pure selfishness.
By all means, you're entitled to have your opinion just as much as anyone else. I just prefer to base mine on actual facts. Make no mistake - those who seek to put an end to any type of hunting, crossbow or otherwise, aren't searching their local newspapers for information to support their cause. Your support for anti-crossbow legislation, on the Internet or otherwise, gives fuel to those people who are writing their representatives and actively trying to stop people from hunting with crossbows. Again, I believe you're entitled to any opinion you want and I'm not disputing that. If I was, I'd just delete your posts. I'm just trying to point out some of the flaws in your way of thinking. If I can't or don't change your mind, that's okay too. We're all friends here, even if we disagree on things.
Justin, im bullheaded, I still hate Japan, I wont drive anything thats not american, I hate all middle eastern coutries, I dont forget anything. I fear change, and think that we should be doing things that our granfathers did, they had things good. My wife has been on me for years to liten up on my bullheadedness but shes got it wrong. The world needs a few people like me to remember the past. My sons will be like me, and that is that! I disagree with you on this subject for sure! Good day sir im joking.
How many other states sell 280,000 archery licenses besides WI.? You have proven the point. More hunters = greater harvest. Greater harvest will equal shorter seasons by creating smaller quotas. How many states have a 1buck only regulation that don't sell anywhere near the number of Licenses that WI. does? We here in WI. are losing our ability to shoot doe's in quota areas of the state. Something we have been able to do since I started bow hunting in 1971. Why are we losing it. Because gun hunters are saying we kill to many deer and we need to go into the draw for quota doe tags like they have to. The WI. muzzle loader season was ment to be a Primitive Arms season. Technology has surpassed the established season and has become just an extention of the 9 day gun season. Easy isn't always better!
