Should Crossbows be Allowed During Archery Season?

They have only become part of crossbowing. (in some states) They are not part of bowhunting. The crossbowers have their own record book keeping site. Bowhunters have their record keeping. Pope and young and the professional Bowhunters Society do not count them as bowhunters. IBO does not include crossbowers with bowhunters and as such does not allow them to compete against bowhunters. No actual bowhunters are confused by crossbowers or having identity conflicts. That confusion rests with crossbowers. Some of them want to pose as bowhunters with actually being bowhunters. You wont find a bowhunter trying to pass himself off as a crossbower. If they were one in the same, it should go both ways.

 

You've made your point man, just let the thread die, a new one will start up in a few months anyways.

 

The season limit in OH is 6 deer?!!!!!

 

It's the NC 'limit' too, 2 can be antlered.

 

I do not think that crossgunners should be able to have their crossguns cocked at all times. for me that is a safety issue. they should have to draw the crossgun when preparing to fire. heck what if a branch caught the trigger while stalking through the woods like elmer fudd? makes a 35# compound much easier to draw then a 200# crossgun.

 

So when I started reading this thread I was a HELL YES I don't mind crossbows at all. I even own one. Now I'm not a lazy hunter at all. I work my land and spend time up in a tree. I have never actually killed anything with my crossbow. I used it a couple of times and hated how heavy and awkward it was in the tree stand. But it has give me the opportunity to spend time hunting with my son. For the past two years he has been using it during archery season and has been very successful. We hunt out of a blind where we can sit together and talk about what it means to be a hunter and the importance of only taking ethical shots. He is now stating to show interest in compound bows and that makes me very happy.

So after taking some time to actually think about it.. I like the idea of crossbows for youth, disabled or senior hunters. A required education course would be nice as well.

It's easy to generalize people into categories it's much harder to take a step back and understand where they are coming from and walking a mile in their shoes. So remember when you see someone you don't know using a crossbow you don't know their story. You only know the story you have made up in your own mind about that person.

 

Glad that your son is enjoying the new crossbow season. When he can handle the rigors of bowhunting, I expect he will find that more enjoyable, rewarding and satisfying but I agree, the crossbow is a viable weapon for the little kids, elderly and disabled.

 

I really hope we can talk broadheads when this thread has served it's purpose.

 

Is there a limit on the number of threads that can be started? Fire up a broadhead thread, I'm all for it. Broadheads are used by both actual bowhunters and their slower, goofy cousin (crossbowers)

 

Innovative Outdoorsman is fired up this morning!

 

Yup.

 

And some think out of state hunters and crossbows are the biggest problem facing the Ohio deer herd?

 

It's the same logic in Wisconsin. About 7 years ago there were unlimited bonus tags for 2 dollars a piece. A couple years later every Tom, ****, and Harry blamed the low deer population on the wolves entirely. I mean it couldn't have anything to do with a bow season that is over 4 months long, a youth hunt weekend, 9 day rifle season, a muzzleloader season, and an additional doe only weekend.

 

I will admit I took advantage of that back in the early 90's. This is back in the day when you could call Madison and order an out of state license and the DNR would mail the back tag in the mail. I will never forget when they asked how many doe permits I wanted. I was used to the MN drawing only for doe tags. It was fun going over sitting over corn piles and brown it's down. The great decline in Northern WI is from taking too many deer, a bad winter here and there and the wolves, lot's of compitition for the deer available.

 

I would trade crossbows included in archery for moving the gun season out of the rut here in Minnesota.

 

IMHO I believe the deer population in Northern Wisconsin is because of this:

• Too many deer seasons for hunters as I mentioned above
• Harsh Winters
• Occasional car accidents
• Predators including (Wolves, Coyotes, Bobcats, Bears, Cougar, and Eagles)
• Diseases probably take a few here and there

I also think that the population is on the rise slowly which is good. The DNR have done a few things right with taking away the Doe tags in some northern counties. Also with some mild winters and the declining number of hunters, I think the deer population is bouncing back in Northern Wisco. Now when Wisco gets it's way to manage the wolves, we will be right on track! BTW, the deer population has most likely not been affected by crossbow hunters

 

That's why I believe their cannot be a black and white yes or no answer to this question, each state has its own set of challenges and issues to deal with, and managing deer herds and seasons is far too complex to just have a zero sum opinion on this issue. what might be a negative thing for one state could be a huge plus for a different state.

 

Ax, nail on the head, Kansas is doing fine last we heard and it is a crossbow state that encourages out of state hunters. I don't get 2 buck states considering the pressure of bigger bucks wanted thru either desire or antler restrictions seems like every state wants more bigger bucks and 1 buck per year seems like it would foster that in any state or region.

 

Wasn't just the number of tags and seasons, it was a combination that we had been through the early 2000's with a string of pretty mild winters, the herd was really booming, with buck harvest staying steady and the doe numbers increasing yearly. So it would be expected to keep increasing the tags as long as that trend continued. Problem started when the over 100" of snow hit in 2007. I don't think the DNR realized how hard that winter was on the herd and they over issued tags for the 2008 season which was followed by another well above average winter in 2008, and again in both 2010, 2012. With the increased wolf populations, and above average harsh winters, the herd wasn't able to recover like we all would want.

 

I definitely agree with you. I guess my point is that many pointed the low numbers of deer to certain things such as the wolves without realizing that it was a combination of factors that contributed to low numbers.

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