Ok! Let me use my Dads situation. My Dad is 72 years old. He has arthitus in hands and suffers from diabetic neuropathy. He can no longer pull back a bow string because of the arthitus and he has very limited use of of his legs. His condition is weaker than us because he cannot get the exercise that a he should. He lives every single day in pain. Now you mention the draw loc. First the draw still requires you to put your foot in a stirrup and pull back the string with your hands. There is no way that my Dad can do that with his nueropathy. However with a crossbow he can use the hand crank to cock his crossbow. Second my dad is living off social security because of his illness, he lost his part time job. A draw Loc that is properly outfitted (bow, sights and foot stirrup) costs over $900. That is nuts! My Dad has to take all kinds of pills everyday. There is no way he could afford this. Now I can get new Barnett Crossbow package that shoots over 300fps with a hand crank for under $500 at the Auburn BPS. Someday you will be old. We will see how you feel when you are in your 70's and a medical condition will keep you out of the woods. As my co-worker says, "Someday these young bowhunters will be old" Now Mr. BuckAlley, you don't have to sign the petition if you don't want to. That's fine. It's your choice and your right. But you and the archers who feel like you do better get ready for change. Pete Grannis is VERY pro crossbow and I have read the letter he and the DEC has written to the people who penned the disabled crossbow bill. The DEC and Grannis are looking hard at getting more disabled hunters in the woods. After reading the letter I believe you will see this bill finally pass in the next year or two. I'll you a candy bar. As for bowhunter groups speaking out on this subject. They are going about it all wrong and it has severly damaged their reputation. I spoke with a Region 6 DEC employee after the big fight for an early muzzleloader season. He told me that the DEC was not happy with shout and hollar bullying tactics that were used at many of the meetings. His own words were. "They (bowhunters) will get theirs in a few years".
Good post, StHubert! I hope you are right that the crossbow will become legal in the next year or two. You are so right when you say that "someday these young bowhunters will get old". It really seems like bowhunting is a young guys game from what I see. I am not even too old yet, but somehow find it more and more tiring going out bowhunting. I have seen and shot my share of deer already, eventhough most were taken with a gun I have less and less desire to go out during bow season to only LOOK at deer just beyond bowrange. Don't have that kind of time to waste anymore. Since the bowhunting lobby is doing a good job in p---ing off Grannis, maybe he will also throw in a few days for an early muzzleloader season for us guys in the southern zone. Now if Grannis can manage these things he would already have done MORE for hunting in NY than most of his predecesors.