I HUNT IN VA AND THEY RECENTLY CHANGED THE LAW TO ALLOW CROSSBOW HUNTING DURING THE ARCHERY SEASON. WHILE IM NOT INTO CROSSBOWS AND DEFINITELY DONT CONSIDER IT BOWHUNTING I AM CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF HARVEST STATS SOME OTHER STATES HAVE WITH CROSSBOWS. I KNOW THAT IN VA IT WAS A HUGE DEAL WHEN THIS LAW CHANGED AND LOTS OF FOLKS IN THE LOCAL HUNUTING COMMUNITY ANTICIPATED LARGE HARVEST STATS. HOWEVER WHEN I LOOKED IT UP FROM LAST SEASON THE # OF DEER TAKEN WITH CROSSBOWS WAS APPROX 5600, COMPARED TO APPROX 17,500 WITH BOW. THAT # WAS A LITTLE LOWER THAN I HAD EXPECTED BUT IT WAS THE FIRST SEASON AND I IMAGINE IT WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE. I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT SOME OTHER STATES THAT HAVE HAD CROSSBOW SEASONS FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME IF THE HARVEST #'sARE CLOSER TO THE ARCHERY HARVEST #'s. I KNOW SEVERAL GUN HUNTERS THAT RAN OUT AND BOUGHT CROSSBOWS BECAUSE THEY LIKED THE IDEA OF "SHOOTING" AN ARROW LIKE THEIR GUNS BUT THE MAJORITY OF THEM DIDN'T TAKE THE TIME TO MASTER THEIR EQUIPMENT OR EVEN GET PROFICIENT FOR THAT MATTER ANDDIDN'T HAVE MUCH SUCCESS. WHEN I ASKED, A LOT OF THEMWOULD SAY"OH YEAH, I CAN HIT A SODA CAN AT 70 YARDS" OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES, BUT WHEN I ASKED THE WEIGHT OF THEIR BOLTS, BROADHEADS, OR QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH ENERGY THEIR EQUIPMENT CARRIED DOWNRANGE AND HOW THEY THOUGHT A DEER MAY REACT AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES TO THE SOUND THEY WERE LIKE "HUH". NOW I KNOW THAT IS NOT INDICITIVE OF HOW EVERY CROSSBOW HUNTER IS BUTI FEEL A LOT OF PEOPLE BOUGHT CROSSBOWS WITH THE WRONG IDEA.EVERY HUNTER I KNOW THAT BOWHUNTS UNDERSTANDS THE HUGE DIFFERENCE IN APPROACHTHAT IS REQUIRED TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH ARCHERY EQUIPMENT ANDOUT OF RESPECT FOR THE GAME I BELIEVE CROSSBOW HUNTERS SHOULD TOO. BUT THEN AGAIN, WHAT DO I KNOW??