Bow season is back, but the future isn't so certain

Sunday, September 29, 2002

By Ben Moyer

Hunting deer with bow and arrow is on trial in Pennsylvania, and the next six weeks could well determine the verdict, and the sentence. Oddly, the accusers in the case are not those we call anti-hunters or animal rightists. They are from within hunting's own ranks, and they are resolved to eventual victory.

There are members of the Game Commission who have openly expressed the opinion that the archery season is too long. Some deer hunters who have chosen to pass on the opportunities that bowhunting offers us all whine that they get the "second pick" at the deer herd. And at least one organized sportsman's group has continually worked to undermine bowhunting in the state.

There are only two factors that counter the offensive against bowhunting. First, the Game Commission -- even the members who would like to see a shorter season--remains just reasonable enough to acknowledge that bowhunting offers huge rewards in recreational opportunity and quality experience compared to its impact on the deer herd. Secondly, The United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania have been a constant positive influence on bowhunting's behalf, presenting reasonable testimony, offering workable suggestions, mobilizing manpower for habitat work and education, and demonstrating a willingness to share the October woods with muzzleloader hunters in the interest of better deer management.

Starting with the bow season opener on Saturday, it is time for all who hunt with bow and arrow to join their own defense. They can do this, not by demonstration and dissent, but by simply hunting responsibly and complying with the regulations that are now in place.

Bowhunters will be the first to hunt under antler restrictions, and everyone will be watching. Any blunders that bowhunters make will be ammunition for those who would slash the season and would even set up a permit system for bowhunting bucks.

It is tiresome to hear those who hunt with the rifle say that they cannot be troubled to count antler points. Still, it will be admittedly difficult.

That is not the case in bowhunting. Bowhunters see their bucks at close range, they watch them for long periods before the shot, and often they are looking down on the deer instead of through a maze of brush. Bowhunters will have no excuse for killing bucks that do not meet the standard, and they doubly deserve prosecution if they do so.

Any responsible bowhunter who knows of an archer who shoots a sub-legal buck and "leaves it lay" will help the future of bowhunting by reporting the offender to authorities. The discovery of that wasted deer by non-bowhunters will do archery more harm than exposing the offense to the public.

Bowhunters must remember also that each of us is entitled to only one antlered deer. There are bad actors within every group of society, and bowhunting is no exception.

Any bowhunter who kills more than one buck is a thief and a thug, practically begging the Game Commission to convict all 330,000 Pennsylvania bowhunters as game hogs.

Besides just obeying the rules, bowhunters can take a pro-active approach to protecting their chosen way of hunting. After long years of debate, there is finally a kernel of consensus in Pennsylvania that our high ratio of does to bucks is unhealthy. Bowhunters can improve their standing by taking antlerless deer and then reporting their kills. It is disappointing that bowhunters have failed to set a higher deer kill reporting rate than the overall hunting population.

By taking antlerless deer in numbers, and by reporting each and every one, archers can establish bowhunting as a keystone of the deer management program that dare not be sacrificed. There is much competition for today's outdoor resources, be it an antlered buck or an hour in the woods.

Bowhunters can disregard the rules and suffer the long-term consequences. Or, they can show that their way of hunting meshes well with today's wildlife challenges, and that it should be nurtured and expanded by those entrusted with setting wildlife policy.



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Great post, orginal or not, great post.

<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>

<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>

This is true! We do need to follow the game laws to the ltter of the law. I imagine that most on this site already do that, but do we report violations? We must!
We also need todo our share in harvesting does!
And we need to join the United Bowhunters of PA. They are our best defense for our sport.
There is another group in PA that has been trying to shorten bow season in PA for years, and they have the ear of the game commision.
We really need to urge ALL of our hunting buddies to join the UBP, and follow all of the game laws.

NRA,UBP,BASS Member
New Stanton,PA

That's a somewhat negative article! It seems as though the author is telling the public that bowhunters don't generally follow the rules. I don't like that at all....I should be looking into joing the UBP.

Very good article and a great idea to post it here. I am determined to fill at least 2 of my doe tags during the regular archery season (and hopefully the buck if it the opportunity presents itself). We can be our own worst enemy as well as our biggest asset. It is all up to us now. Time to walk the walk.

Hey, Jason, you said the author seems to be telling the public that bowhunters generally don't follow the rules. &quot;There are bad actors within every group of society, and bowhunting is no exception.&quot; To me that statement seems to say just the opposite. To me that part of the article was saying we can't turn a blind eye when we see people poaching and breaking other game laws. Take to mind the infamous adage, &quot;If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.&quot; If we don't say anything about people taking more deer than they should, we only hurt ourselves by letting them go and do it again. I recall seeing quite a few statements about some of the board memebers feeling that unethical, poaching, slob hunters aren't really hunters at all. So if we see someone break a game law, we're not persecuting &quot;hunters,&quot; we're persecuting criminals. If someone steals your car you'd want something done about it, why not want something done about your deer herd, and your childrens' deer herd. I'm not trying to say you do such things, or accuse you of anything. I'm just trying to point out how there's a positive message in this article. The public of PA seems to be accepting bowhunting, so don't mess it up by breaking the game laws.

God bless,
Brandan

mike I bow hunt and this year I am representing Va. bowhunters to a gun hunter who is not really a fan of bow hunters. We talked at length before he gave me permission to hunt his property. He said he was no fan of bow hunting because he had found a lot of deer on his place that had died due to being gut shot and not recovered by either unethical or bad bow hunters. It took a good bit of convincing on my part that I only took ethical shots and practiced alot to ensure a good clean kill. Don't get me wrong, he is not against bow hunting as a whole, but he is upset that some bowhunters take bad shots and do not follow up on a wounded deer. I have really commited myself to strictly shots of 20 yards or less, strictly broadside or quartering away and practicing my rearend off to make sure I don't screw up.

We as bow hunters need to make sure that we only take good clean ethical shots and if we get a bad hit to make sure we follow up, to cut down on the number of lost deer, and we need to turn in poachers!

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

this really lights a fire under my ##@ ill tell you what all the bowhunters i hunt with have looked for wounded deer way beyond what a lot of hunters would even put for the effort to do. I have heard rifle hunters say at times about shooting at a deer and not even going up to look to see if they hit the deer, now whos to say that its all bowhunters i would bet that there are more wounded deer in \rifle season than bowseason. Im sick of bowhunters getting a bad rap...
Now dont get me wrong i rifle hunt to, and know a lot of great guys that rifle hunt, but if they take away our bowhunting i know a lot of hunters that will give up the sport alltogether, heck ill spend my money on some other sport/hobby...............

Hunting with a bow brings about a different challenge on every hunt!!!

Tazman

Rather than confirming the &quot;gun hunter's&quot; belief that gut-shot and unrecovered deer is a result of unethical and bad bowhunters by telling him that you are an ethical hunter and practice &quot;a lot,&quot; you should be telling him that such hits can occur (even) when shot by the best of shooters, and that unrecovered deer does not factually indicate that the shooter did not give his or her best to try and find the deer.

If he is truly an avid gun hunter, than he knows and is ignoring that there are many gun hunters who make bad shots, who shoot deer just for the hell of it, who make long shots when he or she, or the shooting gear, is not qualified to do so, and also do not recover the deer.

Taz, imo, you have compromised yourself. You have presented the person a guarantee that your shot will be precise and you will recover the deer. Although I have been hunting for many years and I consider myself to be a very good bow shooter, I cannot and will not guarantee that my hits will always be precise and that I will always find the deer. I am a good tracker, but over the years I have been unable to recover 3 deer after days of tracking.

After all, it is deer hunting with a bow we are talking about.

I am relativly new to bowhunting(3 years). I took it up because the opportunity was offered to me and to extend my hunting season. In my area, where I have to hunt the deer #'s are low. Most of the hunters who bowhunt here, also gun hunt. Our bow season is 5 months, which is much longer than rifle or muzzle loader. To me, there is much more skill involved in bowhunting and more exhilerating to be up close and personal with the deer. I have yet to take a good buck with the bow yet, but I'll just keep on practicing on placing my shots and tracking my kills. One day that big buck will show.
There is no excuse for not knowing what you are shooting!! I have known of several poachers in my area, one of them is in prison, one was hunting to put meat on the table while out of work, and the other has yet to be caught, but his day will come. (He is the one who shot the Tiger that was running loose in my area several years ago)

The best of luck in all your hunting endeavors!!!

God Bless,
Dave