crossbow debate


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Guest Jeremiah_Johnson

Re: crossbow debate

My good friend and hunting buddy couldn't hunt in archery season if it weren't for the legalization of crossbows for the disabled in Indiana. He came to the same realization as those presented - definitely no slam dunk.

One more that I didn't see listed. The crossbow lays in the horizontal, where all other bows stand in the vertical. My buddy tells me deer and turkey see the "wider" weapon moving much more easily than a "thin" (vertical) standard bow. Therefore, it's much more difficult to move onto the target with a cross bow.

My buddy is disabled and must hunt with a crossbow to get into the woods in archery season. He loves the opportunity but really misses hunting with his compound bow. He'd go back to it in a heartbeat if it were possible.

I can shoot rings around him with my Mathews Switchback. I'm glad he's still out there. We still get to swap hunting stories around the water cooler during archery season. I'd sure miss it if he couldn't hunt.

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Re: crossbow debate

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Not a fan of "the healthy" using a cross-bow in Archery season. The biggest challenge of Archery hunting besides being in the right place at the right time is getting your bow pulled back without spooking the game.

By all means, I do support the use of one for those who are handicapped or disabled.

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I have to side with James here. I am 100% for it for disabled, injured, or special needs. I am against crossbows, for the same reason I am against draw locks. The key moment in taking a deer with the bow, is having the deer in range, and being able to draw.

I don't agree with a lot of out DEP's laws in Connecticut, but the crossbow only for special needs cases is one I fully support.

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Re: crossbow debate

Here's a article I believe you all will find interesting.....

Crossbows don't make hunting deer any easier

Editors note: This is part one of a two-part series on the use of crossbows for deer hunting.

The use of crossbows for hunting is a hot issue for sportsmen, not only in New York but also across the nation.

There appears to be no middle ground, with a canyon of difference of opinion between those who would welcome and those who would oppose the use of crossbows. My position is clear: There is no rational reason for not allowing the use of crossbows during hunting season, especially bow season.

However, there are many emotional reasons from those who spend time and money convincing others that crossbows should never be used. I use the word emotional because there is little fact behind any argument on this issue. Let's examine a few of their claims.

- The crossbow doesn't meet the definition of a bow. Folks who use this argument say that it doesn't fit the longbow, recurve or compound bow definition. But a longbow doesn't exactly look like the popular compound bow. The traditional longbow doesn't have the many technical advantages of the compound bow.

Each year, compound bows take advantage of new technology, materials, accuracy, speed and power to provide hunters with maximum advantage. Sure, the crossbow has a stock that looks like a rifle stock. Beyond that, the dynamics are very similar. Being opposed to the crossbow because it doesn't look traditional is not a logical reason for opposing it.

Crossbow hunters will kill more deer than bowhunters. Really? Does owning a rifle mean that you will shoot more deer than someone armed with a shotgun?

No.

The only advantage a hunter has is his skill in the woods. I could have the finest crossbow, but that doesn't guarantee me anything – no more than hunting with the most advanced compound.

The woods will be crowded and filled with crossbow and bowhunters. The argument here is that the crossbow and its ease of use will recruit more hunters into the woods during the bow season. This is more conjecture than anything else. Find any state that allows full use of crossbows – Ohio, for instance – and show us where that has become a problem. Here's a wake-up call: We're losing hunters faster than we can replace them.

Crossbows are not "primitive" enough. It all depends on the definition of "primitive."

This resembles the old conflict: flintlocks and percussions vs. in-line black powder. Put a scope on an in-line blackpowder rifle and chickens start falling from the sky.

The success rate of any hunter depends only on his or her skill and ability.

Next week, we'll discuss more emotional factors from those opposed to crossbow use.

David Dirks' outdoors column appears Tuesday in the Times Herald-Record. Write to him at P.O. Box 87, Westtown 10998, or [email protected].

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Re: crossbow debate

Yep, it just doesn't look like my 243 Remington. grin.gif

Serious,The big difference with the bow and crossbow is that it is already cocked and ready to go when a deer appears.The hardest part of archery hunting which in my mind will always keep the two miles apart.I've archery hunted for 16 yrs. and could easily doubled my kill percentage if it was a crossbow and not the compound.

I could go on all day with missed opportunities from being busted drawing back or no chance of drawing with out being busted.

Anyone that's done any serious archery hunting can tell you the same thing.

Assuming all things are equal between the bow and the crossbow,the moment of the shot is not.

Allow crossbows to anyone and everyone,just don't call them bows or say the two are the same.

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Re: crossbow debate

I think that if it were to be introduced in NYS that the disabled or physically challenged or temp disabled should be able to take part in hunting. If it was introduced to everyone then I believe it should be a different season (couple of days) just like our muzzleloader season which takes place right after

gun season.

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