First... I have never seen anyone hunting in the woods with an xbow... ever.

Second... There are still too many deer in our state.

Thirdly... The revenue for our DGIF (DNR) has gone up.. and our state government is taking more of it away thanks to Jim Gilmore and his stupid no-car-tax ploy he used to win the gubernatorial election a few years ago. That has left a hole in our budget big enough to drive a truck through (no pun intended), and many state programs are getting cut and agencies budgets getting squeezed to make up for it. Not cool. But the added revenue the xbow license has created has no doubt helped.

Additionally... there are very few younger folks or even middle aged folks who have taken up xbow hunting as their first step into archery. 90% of the folks who by crossbows went to them from a compound, or used to shoot a compound or trad gear, but through a life of hard work do not have the shoulders they used to have. They are not handicapped per the former requirements, but not really fit to use vertical archery tackle either...




My personal opinion..... shooting/hunting with a crossbow is no different than being gay. Its not contagious. It will not come running into your woods or home and get you or infect you. It will not ruin all of your hunting opportunities. Personally, I do not really care for it... or see the attraction of such a thing... but if you choose to do so or partake in that activity than good for you, I hope you enjoy yourself. How you hunt and how you live are completely up to you, and hunting is really a quite private activity, and it doesn't affect or bother me one way or another.