Bow season is back, but the future isn't so certain

Sunday, September 29, 2002

By Ben Moyer

Hunting deer with bow and arrow is on trial in Pennsylvania, and the next six weeks could well determine the verdict, and the sentence. Oddly, the accusers in the case are not those we call anti-hunters or animal rightists. They are from within hunting's own ranks, and they are resolved to eventual victory.

There are members of the Game Commission who have openly expressed the opinion that the archery season is too long. Some deer hunters who have chosen to pass on the opportunities that bowhunting offers us all whine that they get the "second pick" at the deer herd. And at least one organized sportsman's group has continually worked to undermine bowhunting in the state.

There are only two factors that counter the offensive against bowhunting. First, the Game Commission -- even the members who would like to see a shorter season--remains just reasonable enough to acknowledge that bowhunting offers huge rewards in recreational opportunity and quality experience compared to its impact on the deer herd. Secondly, The United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania have been a constant positive influence on bowhunting's behalf, presenting reasonable testimony, offering workable suggestions, mobilizing manpower for habitat work and education, and demonstrating a willingness to share the October woods with muzzleloader hunters in the interest of better deer management.

Starting with the bow season opener on Saturday, it is time for all who hunt with bow and arrow to join their own defense. They can do this, not by demonstration and dissent, but by simply hunting responsibly and complying with the regulations that are now in place.

Bowhunters will be the first to hunt under antler restrictions, and everyone will be watching. Any blunders that bowhunters make will be ammunition for those who would slash the season and would even set up a permit system for bowhunting bucks.

It is tiresome to hear those who hunt with the rifle say that they cannot be troubled to count antler points. Still, it will be admittedly difficult.

That is not the case in bowhunting. Bowhunters see their bucks at close range, they watch them for long periods before the shot, and often they are looking down on the deer instead of through a maze of brush. Bowhunters will have no excuse for killing bucks that do not meet the standard, and they doubly deserve prosecution if they do so.

Any responsible bowhunter who knows of an archer who shoots a sub-legal buck and "leaves it lay" will help the future of bowhunting by reporting the offender to authorities. The discovery of that wasted deer by non-bowhunters will do archery more harm than exposing the offense to the public.

Bowhunters must remember also that each of us is entitled to only one antlered deer. There are bad actors within every group of society, and bowhunting is no exception.

Any bowhunter who kills more than one buck is a thief and a thug, practically begging the Game Commission to convict all 330,000 Pennsylvania bowhunters as game hogs.

Besides just obeying the rules, bowhunters can take a pro-active approach to protecting their chosen way of hunting. After long years of debate, there is finally a kernel of consensus in Pennsylvania that our high ratio of does to bucks is unhealthy. Bowhunters can improve their standing by taking antlerless deer and then reporting their kills. It is disappointing that bowhunters have failed to set a higher deer kill reporting rate than the overall hunting population.

By taking antlerless deer in numbers, and by reporting each and every one, archers can establish bowhunting as a keystone of the deer management program that dare not be sacrificed. There is much competition for today's outdoor resources, be it an antlered buck or an hour in the woods.

Bowhunters can disregard the rules and suffer the long-term consequences. Or, they can show that their way of hunting meshes well with today's wildlife challenges, and that it should be nurtured and expanded by those entrusted with setting wildlife policy.



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