Isnt it our right to hunt? Why/how could anybody tell us we cant? Hunting has been on this earth for a long time hasnt it? Its how humans made it, sure now we dont need to hunt to survive, but that gives no right to any person or gov't to take hunting away from us and make it a privilege even at that.
The Constitution does not give you rights. The founders considered your rights to be "God-given" or "natural rights" — you are born with all your rights. The Bill of Rights also says that, even though a particular right is not listed in the Bill of Rights, you still retain that right. Any powers not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government are retained by the states and the people (you).
I thought we already paid are political system off with filling there pockets, this quote is going to go a long way thanks justin.
In WI. We have what they call the Spring Conservation Congress Hearings. It's where sportsmen can go and vote on outdoor rules, regulations, and seasons and submit resolutions to ask for changes to them. The vote has come up for full inclusion of the crossbow into the Archery Deer Season at least three times that I know of. It could be more? Every time the Sportsmen of the state have voted it down. The people in WI. clearly do not want them in their archery deer season. That would be "We The People"
True, but we can't arbitrarily decide what our rights our based solely on what we want to do. EG - I can't just make things up on the fly and say it's my god-given right. But alas, we digress from the topic at hand.
Of the 280,000+ licensed archers in Wisconsin, how many of them come out to vote this legislation down?
All the ones that care. And one can try to make things up on the fly.... but in some situations I wouldn't recommend it....
I don't care if they categorize them or not. High fence hunting isn't hunting to me and I'm a firm believer it does more harm then good to the non hunters. Like any organization it's their right to set their rules. The P&Y club isn't against xbows in general. They just don't believe they should be put in with the archery season. I'm right there with them on that stance unless a Dr note says so. The P&Y club is kind of old school compared to some of the liberal clubs of today in which I'm happy they are. I never knocked the SCI club. I just said I was surprised at what they let in for entries (fence hunting). Shame on Fred Bear, Glen St. Charles, Art Young, Saxton Pope and many others for starting such a terrible club as the P&Y club.
I have a thought...what if someone developed a Rage broadhead that flew like a field point, was ninja sharp, and expanded to 3 feet in diameter when deployed. Hey, it would be legal, right? So I guess noone could talk about that 3 foot broadhead because we would be "hurting the hunting community" with our vocalized opinions.
Come on Shultzy, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Saying they're not against crossbows is absurd. Just becuase they are only against them during archery seasons doesn't mean that they are in any way for them in another season. Spare us the melodrama. That was a different time and a different world. P&Y fought tooth and nail against the inclusion of compounds in archery seasons, sighting many of the same fears they now use against crossbows. They lost that fight and now look at archery and bowhunting - it's bigger than ever. P&Y as a whole is a great organization that does a lot of good for the sport that we all love, but their unwillingness to change and adapt to new times is ridiculous. Those founding members did more to save and grow the sport of bowhunting than any of us will probably do in our lifetimes, and for that they will be forever respected. However, that doesn't mean that every single belief and ideal they held is still applicable in today's world.
I doubt everyone will ever see eye to eye on this crossbow debate. For me at least, I don't really care if they're allowed or not. I also seriously doubt that by not allowing them, it would jeopardize hunting as a whole. I've shot crossbows before. Not hunting with them, but playing around with them. My father had back surgery one year and couldn't hunt with his recurve. So, we got him setup with an xbow, got the required permits he needed and he went hunting that fall. He took two deer that season with it, a buck and doe. After the season closed, he sold that crossbow and said, and these are his exact words as I recall them, "There is no place in the archery season for something like them. Honestly, it wasn't much different than shooting them with a gun, except you had to let them get a lot closer. Once they're inside of 30, it was point and shoot." Dan, not singling him out, has mentioned a word quite often in his replies here, "modern". While I'm all for adjusting laws to keep up with the times, at some point, you have to stop and wonder if maybe, just maybe, we need to make sure the traditions of bowhunting are kept in tact. I realize the same could be said for the compound bow vs. traditional gear, but my opinion is that those two forms of bowhunting are closer in relation than that of traditional/compound vs crossbow. Again, this whole thing really doesn't affect me. I hunt private ground, we don't have anyone hunting with a crossbow here. But in my opinion, if you're an able bodied hunter and can use a compound or traditional gear, you're really selling yourself short of experiencing the best parts of archery by using a crossbow. But, to each their own. I would never look down my nose at any fellow hunter for his choice of weapon. I realize we're all hunters in the end and we have bigger, more important battles with the anti's to concern ourselves with.
BS. Here Is a quote from them "the use of crossbows for hunting be restricted to firearms seasons". Show me where the P&Y clud said this. I'm not saying it isn't true but I've never found this anywhere written by them. Why should they? Go over to tradgang and join and start a thread pertaining to compounds. Post pictures of your compound kills. You will get congratulated but you will probably get your thread removed. Not because people are against compounds but rather cause it's a traditional only forum and they have their rules. Just like any organization, there's guidelines. Big deal if you ask me. Agree, times have changed. Not everyone in this world is in favor of all this massive change either. It really is each to their own. Kind of like a hunting forum. If you don't like the place you move on, no different then a club. I'm one of very few traditional bow hunters on this forum. It's hard to sometimes reply to threads knowing each of our beliefs are total opposite. There's nothing wrong with that either. It is what it is.
We have to hold onto our Heritage as hunters, it is what made us what we are today. The Icons of our sport Like Fred Bear, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. have to be admired and respected for what the gave to this country and our sport. I love the primitive way of using a trad bow to take game, you can't get any closer to the game other than using a spear or knife. So i have respect for the guys that keep these traditions alive, I hope to one day kill a deer with a trad bow. But I also respect the icons of my fathers generation like, Will Primos, Bill Jordan, Jackie Bushman, etc. what I am saying is we have to keep the traditions of where we came from but don't get to short sighted of what the future of hunting will go. As it was said before hunters had this debate about compounds when they came out, we are having this debate again, and we will have it again in the future, when something new comes out that changes the norm. If it takes using a xbow to get people invested into hunting I have no problem with it, as long as we keep doing what our fathers laid down, that is enjoy the outdoors, respect the animals we hunt and continue to pass this heritage down to the next generation. My son just had his 1st birthday sat. and I don't care what I have to do to get him in the woods, I'm going to do it. that's my .02
I'd also like to add that life is to fricking short to argue about such things. Hunting will continue regardless. Opinions are opinions, nothing more. I very much so respect everyone's opinion on this thread. It would be pretty boring in life if we all agreed on the same thing.
The meetings are held on a Monday night at 7pm? And 4600 people attended? That sounds like an excellent representation of the hunting population... And in 2011 when the vote came up, it was basically a 3 to 2 vote... not much of a landslide.
