BOWFANATIC - Lets make a handgun season, seperate fromrifle hunters. Yeah, yeah, thats it, and we'll also make an inline muzzleloader season seperate from caplocks, and shotguns seperate from everything else ....... we'll have like 15 different weapons season. Aint that a grand idea ? Its what ya'll are suggesting - create another archery season for bows - right ?
How about we lop off 2/3's of the archery season and give to crossbows - good idea ?
Can anyone here shoot their compound lying on their belly like a snyper and hit what their aiming at? Didn't think so!
How many people here bowhunt out of their gun box blinds? How many could with a crossbow?
How many here can draw on a deer with their compound and have the deer stop before the opening , let down , and draw again without being detected? Not a problem with a crossbow is it?
I can shoot my recurve lying down, out of a box blind and don't even start on drawing before the deer gets inposition to shoot compared to a recurve !
So because I can do those things, and your bow doesn't, we should create a compound only season ? Or a recurve season ? What was your point ?
Now since your so gung ho on pointing out that a compound isn't archery gear either maybe you'd like to throw some scenarios my way that totally seperates the compound from traditional gear?
Uh........... have you LOOKED at your compound lately ? They don't even function like a recurve does anymore in the way they produce energy, they way they're drawn or their performance. But techically, they're still bows. Compounds most certainly ARE archery gear - just vastly different than recurves and crossbows ? Just another different bow.
Because I just happen to find compound shooting just as FUN and ENJOYABLE as I do trad gear!! Is that so hard to understand?
You might ........... but your compound also allows you to shoot farther, faster, more accurately and with less practice. You can draw and hold, you got the trigger, the sights, the gizmo's and gadgets .......... I've been there, I might be there again, I KNOW how easy compounds are. You forgot to mention all those qualities.
HUH? Rifle hunters count as bowhunters? Not sure where you're going here, guy.
My new gif image is what I did to you on the coffee thread vc
But absolutely, if you're a rifle hunter, go out in September and buy a bow, and kill a deer the first day of archery season you've just been tagged a bowhunter and have entered the statistics as a bowhunter. Itd be nice if, since you're bowhunting, you'd join a bowhunting club. You'll likely love it, and shoot 3D maybe, and certainly you'll be sucked into buying a bunch of bowhunting stuff. Come rifle season, you'll likely try and fill another tag or two with your trusty .270 but still, you've added to the ranks of bowhunting by participating in archery season.
Why would you consider it a good thing for rifle hunters to also bowhunt? Are you (again) trying to make the argument that it is because hunting is on the decline that we should allow more liberal seasons and a wider variety of weapons?
Fred Bear coined the two season hunter idea 4 decades ago VC - and he was right in doing so. Until you can show me where increase in bowhunting numbers has a negative effect, than yes, I think increasing bowhunter numbers is a good thing. The anti-hunting forces of this world increase their numbers and someone has already mentioned that hunting participation is on the decline.
And I don't think I ever made the argument that " because hunting is on the decline that we should allow more liberal seasons and a wider variety of weapons? ". I may have referenced that but thats not my argument. Its an added bonus sure but not my core argument.
My core argument is that crossbows are seen to be bad because they are easy to shoot, they don't require a lot of effort to master, they have a different design but are still bows shooting arrows. Yet that is EXACTLY what compound are and in fact, the accuracy, mass weight, maneuverability etc etc of the compound makes them arguably a BETTER hunting weapon. Tack on that in AR, OH etc etc theres never been a single negative come from them being legal and you just gotta ask yourself ........... why NOT allow crossbows ?