Datamax, tell me xbows don't lead to more evils against bow season!!!!!!!
The biggest loser of the day had to be the Bowhunters of Alabama. The 1,500-member organization has always been a trusted ally of the board and the board's most trusted adviser on bow-hunting issues.
On record as passionately opposing crossbows, the board did not inform the group that legalizing crossbows was even in the works. The quick motion and unanimous vote left BHA President Randy Yeargin in stunned disbelief.
"We knew absolutely nothing about this," he said.
To rub salt in the wounds, the board went against BHA pleas to not back up a special muzzleloader season any further in the bow-hunting only season that runs Oct. 15 through the first three weeks of November. The board, which gave muzzleloaders its first three-day season during bow season last year, added two more days to create a special muzzleloader season from Nov. 15 to Nov. 19.
Also,
What can be expected if crossbows are legal for use during archery-only hunting seasons? The answer to this question can be found in the state of Ohio where crossbows were made legal for use during the entire archery-only hunting season in the early 1980's. The harvest trend is outlined below (statistics from Ohio DNR publication #166):
Yearly Harvest by Weapon Type
Weapon 1982 1985 1988 1991 1993
Hand-Held Bow 3782 3339 5322 7708 10,155
Crossbow 446 1689 4716 9401 13,055
The Ohio statistics clearly show that bowhunters have become a minority in their own hunting season. The gap worsens with each hunting season.