RE: Crossbows In Kentucky
kevin1, very well. I'll spare you the emotionalism and present my fact based argument against the crossbow.
The whole premise of a special archery season is equipment limitations, which maximizes public recreation with minimal herd impact. Even the compound is an affront to that premise, but that battle was lost long ago.
In the days before the compound, bowhunter success rates were less than 10%. When the compound was legalized, hunter success rates jumped something like 10 points. You can track hunter success rates over the past 40 years and see a stairstep effect, a 5 point jump in success rates corresponding with each new advance in compound technology. Now that nationwide bowhunter success rates are over 30%, instead of being a minimal impact recreational hunting method the compound has made bowhunting part of the overall wildlife management scheme.
That puts our long and generous bow seasons in jeopady. Either we will wind up having the season shortened because of over harvest, or we'll have the season shortened and turned over to gunners because of under harvest. Or gun hunters will find their season shortened to just a couple of weeks, like it is in Ohio. I don't know about other states, but that would cause a huge backlash against bowhunting in Texas. In my opinion, the crossbow will only exacerbate the problem.
The same arguments you bring up now were used to get the compound legalized. "It's not that much different than a recurve." Now they say crossbows aren't that much different than a compound, and with the 'advances' made in compound technology over the past decade, I have to agree. At a game commission public input meeting a couple of years ago, I listened to a man put forth the same argument in an effort to legalize iron sighted revolvers for bow season - same effective range, bring in more hunters to the season, etc, etc, etc... It's total BS.
The arguments for the crossbow actually show how right we were to try and keep the compound out of bow seasons. I was there and I remember the derision and how soundly we were chastized by the pro-compound faction for 'trying to keep hunters out of our season and stop progress.' Same falsehoods and emotion based tactics the pro crossbow side is using now.
The pure fact of the matter is, NOBODY is excluded from participating in bow season without the crossbow. If they want to hunt, all they've got to do is buy a bow and practice. If someone is absolutely unable to shoot a bow because of disability, in most states they can apply for a permit to use a crossbow. In some states, all you gotta do to hunt with a crossbow in bow season is to reach a certain age. Your side says the crossbow isn't that much different from a modern compound, which I've already agreed with. So... accordingly a crossbow won't offer any advantage. Might as well quit trying to push something the majority of bowhunters don't want in bow season, and causing so much ill will and division between hunters. Forget the crossbow, buy a compound and participate!
Oh, but what of the women and children that can't draw a legal hunting wieght bow? Well, shooting a bow IS a physically demanding sport. Maybe those women and children wouldn't be so weak if they actually got some exercise. Working up to shooting a hunting weight bow would be great exercise for them. If they really want to participate in bowhunting, they'll have the motivation to do it. Using a crossbow would just let them stay fat and flabby. I don't see how anyone can argue that is a good thing.
What your side is really arguing for is a windfall of huge profits for a few crossbow manufacturers. That's the basic fact.