445, the direct answer to your question is no. You can shoot a crossbow off a rest, just like a firearm. I prefer to shoot my crossbow off a rest as a matter of fact. Even though it doesn't go 'bang', the crossbow is more akin to hunting with an iron sighted handgun rather than a bow.

Nitro, I've spent a lot of time studying the harvest data on the ODNR website. In Ohio, you are confined to hunting with bow and crossbow, with a few days of hunting with a shotgun and another few days of muzzleloader. Thank God I live in Texas, where I can hunt deer with a whole varitey of weapons. Handguns, rifles, shotguns, muzzleoaders or bows. As well as crossbows. And I can hunt with any of them, at my whim, for 11 months of the year, taking spring turkey season, small game, varmints and feral hogs into account. Bows just give me an average of an extra 29 days. And even then, those 29 days are pre-rut. The rut doesn't get into full swing until the gun opener in November.

With the political structure and big money interests in gun hunting here, I have grave concerns about crossbows being allowed in our bow season. In Ohio, crossbow harvest has exceeded bow harvest each year since 1989. In other words, take out the crossbow figures and the harvest would be less than half of what it is now. If crossbows more than doubled the bow harvest here, like the numbers in Ohio shows is very possible, then our bow season would be cut, or eliminated.

Perhaps you question that? Deer hunting has a $2.2 billion dollar impact, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, on the Texas economy. The biggest part of that money comes from gun hunting. The big game ranches are already trying to get bow season consolidated into the general season. It would mean an extra $500 million, give or take a few 10's of millions, to the linings of their pockets. The game commission here is heavily influenced by the ranches and I guarantee that they will not allow the gun season to be negatively impacted by an increased bow harvest. Money talks.

Hunter success rates in Ohio run about 33%. Ten year average hunter success rate in Texas is 75%. Ohio has a 4 month bow season and a 6 day gun season. Texas has a 29 day bow season and a 3 month gun season. What works in Ohio won't work everywhere.

Also, how can you draw and shoot a bow without more movement than you can shoot a crossbow? The arm and shoulder are rather large body parts that are in motion for a good 20" (for a short armed shooter) compared to squeezing your index finger a half inch.



Edited by - Arthur P on 01/29/2002 09:42:44