ORIGINAL: DougE
I forget the exact amount,but I think muzzleloader stamps doubled when inlines were legalized.It still didn't matter though because the allocations will determine the harvest.Crossbows are a different story because bucks will be legal.Without regulating the number of tags or hunters,that could potentially increase the pre-rut harvest,thus shortening the season.However,It won't impact the overall buck kill much because we're still killing the same percentage of bucks each year.Chances are,that buck that would be killed with acrossbow,would have been killed by someone with a rifle if it lived another month.It's all about preserving the intergrity of bow season and not jeopardizing it's length.
I had some perosnal issues this year with crossbows so I know where you're coming from on that front.I also share your disdain for roadhunters.
i sight in crossbows here in my area for friends and their friends,something i enjoy.
i have horton for longtime,i love to shoot it in yard..
i do it in my basement for hunters, so i get to talk to a lot about how they are hunting or going to hunt.
a lot think they are heavy, they are too.
a lot think because scope says 60 yds,it will shoot 60yds.
a lot get hurt using them, i had 3 senior hunters that hit themselves in mouth right in front of me in yard.their foot slipped out of the stirrup in front while pulling stringand butt him them in mouth.everyone had bloody tongue from biting.
1 young guy shot his unloaded right in front of me, i looked at limbs and there was split,unreal.that cost him 125 dollars.
2 others came in with tips of their finger missing, yes, they put their fingers on top of rail when they got excited in woods,shot, took tip of finger off.
cheap crossbows are junk.
barnetts are one that are at bottom but if not shot too much, they are fine.horton/excaliber/10 point are good.
btb said a correct thing, CLASSES SHOULD BE HELD BEFORE ANYONE USES A CROSSBOW.
trust me, there is and are a lot of injurys to us and too the deer by people that dont practice and learn with crossbow.
that has been my biggest complaint, wounding deer with long shots thinking bow is a gun.