Fieldmouse - The question was on how crossbows in legal archery season are a negative to archery. The danger factor is no more with them than they are with recurve/longbows/compounds
Datamax, I seriously doubt allowing crossbows in archery season will bring in new hunters.
Prove that theory. I would hazard a guess that as many gun hunters shoot compounds as they would crossbows. Two season hunters are what Fred Bear created - and its not a bad thing either, is it ?
In addition, part of the reason I don't gun hunt for deer is the overcrowding and more dangerous situations created during this season. lf I have to endure the same kind of situation in archery season that takes place in firearms season............it sure isn't going to be as much fun.
Okay, lets say i agree with that. How then, do compounds affect archery season ? Can they not be credited with making up 90% or more of the archery hunters ? Can they not be credited with dominating the kill stats, and pushing the number of bowhunters as high as they are ?
Of course they can -
Double Creek - Let me be very clear on something - I DO NOT care what bow you choose to use. I shot a recurve and a longbow and a compound all last year. I also muzzleloader hunted. What you might percieve to be compound bashing is not. i am fully in favor of compounds - geeez man, just look at what they have done to the sport of archery ! They have led to a boom in archery participation, archery seasons and the gizmos/gadgets and all the stuff that came with them. Compound are hugely responsible for the popularity of archery, are they not ?
And they were fought hard 40 years ago because they were different in the way they worked. The archery of old fought the archery new because they feared compounds would lead to shorter seasons, killing all the deer, crowding the woods and they felt that compound just WASN'T archery equipment. Fancy that - its the same argument today except a whole 'nother generation of compound hunters are fighting the same battle that was fought then except they're on the other side ! Its like taking candy from someone, and feeling all good about it and then when someone does the same and takes candy from you you complain. Irony at its finest !
But once again, I can point to not a single negative thing that compounds bring to archery. They do not negatively affect herd numbers, they don't increase the dangers of archery hunting, they do not lead to shorter seasons ........ they actually INCREASE bowhunter participation and compared to recurfes/longbows they are arguably better hunting weapons. the same exact thing argument fellows, except compound can be replaced with the word crossbow.