BH1

How would YOU assess the folowing information that has develpoed over the course of this thread?

in 2004 the crossbow was legalized in area 2B which is in southwest Pennsylvania

Over the next four hunting seasons the archery harvest (which includes the harvest from both weapons) increased by 70% where the harvest in the rest of the state remained relatively stable. That certainly seems to support the concern that unlimited use of crossbows in archery season will lead to a spike in the harvest that could lead to shorter seasons. The only variable apparent in these facts is the crossbow!



You can call it a sense of entitlement if you want. I for one worked hard for our current season.I was part of the grassroots effort toextend our archery season into Novemebr and was right there in Harrisburg ( got seated right next to Ted Nugent actually) with the contingent from UBP at the PGC meeting when it was approved. Entitled? Yes I'm entitled to want to defend that!

This IS pennsylvania not Ohio or any other state. Ever since the season was extended to it's present length, there has been repeated attempts by a jealous few devout rifle fans to cut the bow season.

BH1, you come from a state where the harvest is apparently not currently at risk of getting too high. The Ohio DNR webiste indicates that antlerlesss tags are, more or less, freely available. That indicates that hunting pressure does not need to be further restricted in your state. Our antlerless tags sell out well before demand is met in many management areas. That means that ANY changes that could have an effect on harvest must be considered very carefully.

Bluebird2, deaddeer, ddear beenthere is being especially dingenuous. He has consistent in his criticism of all PA harvests claiming the harvest goals are to large statewide yet he professes support for an additional weapon that clearly, by the numbers he provided, skewed the archery harvest. His motivations and agenda appear more and more seem to be simply to cause controversy and to agitate those who have the audacity to dispute his consistant deluge of statistical distortions.


Here's a thought! Statewide, over the last several years, the numbers show that the archery harvest makes up 15-18% of the total harvest.
Archers currently make up about a third of all Pa hunters so the archery harvest is well within it's "fair share" All curent information indicates that crosbow support comes mostly from the industry trying to create a new market. The majority of support from everyday hunters comes from those not currently involved with archery.

Now lets look at this objectively.....

1 Archery hunting takes 15-20% less than it's fair share of the available harvest based on hunter numbers

2 Gun hunting currently takes more than it's fair share of the harvest

3 Gun hunters make up most of the non commercial support for liberalizing crossbow opportunities.

If the crossbow has enough support from hunters and not the industry , a point yet to be proven, it seems like the fair and easy solution is to carve out part of the gun season and give the crossbow proponents their own season.