ranger56528 if you want to discuss the purity of the sport of bowhunting and archery, we can do that too. I think the core of this thread is the debate surrounding legalizing crossbows for everyone to use in general PA archery season.

To decide how you feel about that, ask yourself two questions (you in a general term)

(A) what are the positives to allowing them for everyone
(B) what are the negatives to allowing them for everyone


I can tell you that in the (A) column we can say it will bolser revenues, it will add more numbers to PA hunter numbers which have been on the decline, it can be used as an additional management tool, it will allow people who cannot pull the min bow weight or cannot shoot well the opportunity to enjoy bowhunting season (women, smaller kids etc) crossbows can be an alternate when someone gets injured right before archery season. I can say to (A) that in every state they've been legalized, I can't find one negative to having them, no reduction in season length because of them, no loss of bag limits because of them, no hordes of crossbow hunters in the woods.


In fact, everything I come up with is under (A)

Under (B) would be factual evidence like overcrowding, loss of season, loss of bag limits, significant increases in poaching with crossbows or wounded game etc. No facts exist to support that.



You can argue they are not bows, but the basic definition of a bow excluded compounds already, so that point is moot unless you want compounds banned from archery season too.

You can argue they're too "easy" but again, that argument exists for compounds, you'll have to get them out of archery season too them.

You can argue heritage, or the purity of bowhunting ..... but do you really want to compare a recurve and hunting with it to a Mathews Switchback with a mechnical release, drop away rest, and mechanical heads ?

You can argue that its "drawing in the presence of game" .... let me tell you that has been something of the past for a decade now. Rarely do compounds draw in the presence of game, you draw BEFORE they get into your presence, or when they're head is behind a tree etc. I compound hunted for a long time, you try and NEVER draw when the animal is RIGHT THERE - they'll see you if you do ! Draw before, hold, wait THEN pull the trigger.

I know, crossbows are evil, they've been what "we" as bowhunters hate for a long time. Its wrong too, and those who've pushed that division are wrong.



I'll say this too - when season limit reductions are being discussed, when season length reductions are being discussed because bowhunters are killing too many animals, its time to put restraints on technology and I mean crossbows and compounds alike. Until that day comes, allow it all, it won't affect my bowhunting at all if the guy on the 5000 acre lease next to me uses a crossbows to fill his tags or a compound, and it won't matter if the same guy is sharing public land with me and is 300 yards away on the same scrape line either.