ranger56528

I respect everyone's views on here but I do not respect hearsay on something someone or somebody hasn'ttried,myself I like all bows weather it be Longbow,Recurve bow,Compound bow,compound Crossbow,Recurve Crossbow and Ihave my likes and dislikes with them all but I will not talk ill of them being how I own all of the above,however I beleave its up to all of us to keep Archery and Archery season open to all types of bows,also to educate others on the differant types of bows and the pros and cons of each.
The whole idea of being a Bowman/Archer is to educate and to learn as much as possible so we canpass itdown to the younger generation/s............
If you have tried a certain type of bow(be it whatever)please do give a honest opinion but if you havent then keep the opinions/hearsay to yourself.....

Big Duane

I can list more names if it makes you feel better? and someone like me ..... do you know me ? at all ?

and there it is .... ignore all the facts and just make silly willy nilly decisions and stances. just like the P&Y club huh ?

early in August issue - 2 articles, not 3, one is a big one on an Ontario buck then another on the Amish buck

Shultzy - I call it as I see it and I refuse to believe in things and have opinions and views based on wives tales and boogy man fears.

Thats what the crossbow fear is - all fairy tales, none of it is real.

I do not like P&Y for their stance against legal bowhunters who choose to hunt with crossbows. They've lost their way by their stances and caving in's


ranger56528 I've hunted with rifle, handgun, shotgun, crossbow, compound buws recurves and longbows. I live in Arkansas, I've hunted 8-10 other states, I've killed elk, mule deer, antelope and whitetails.

Am I qualified to tell you what I know about crossbows, how they impact archery, bowhunting, seasons, bag limits etc ?

ranger56528

Then you have a opinion worth reading about right and I will take it for what it is a honest opinion,myself I started in 1982 with a compound and went that way for years untill I tried recurve then went back to compound and in these yrs I have added 3 crossbows and a longbow,recurve,take down recurveand have my own Honest opinion on the BOWS I USE..I could give my likes and dislikes but wont untill it comes up and only on the ones I use...
I could say something like your not a true Trad shooter if you use carbons or alum arrows but that is only my personal opinion and dosnt reflect that of others so I keep it to myself........Besides I do use carbon,alum and wood so my opinion is worth something on the use of said arrows but only with MY bows and I would never say that a person is not a true trad shooter useing these arrows with trad bows...AND I would never say that useing a CB is like shooting a gun because its not and thats a honest opinion because I do use crossbows...........It all goes back to being a Bowman/Archer...and being honest with honest opinions....
I to have hunted with handgun,rifle,shotgun and BPbut only deer..I still own several hanguns,rifles,shotguns and a BP plus two AR's and a PLR-16 but only target shoot with them now.....Maybe down the road I will hunt with them again,at least I have them if so desiard(spl).

Big Duane

ranger56528 if you want to discuss the purity of the sport of bowhunting and archery, we can do that too. I think the core of this thread is the debate surrounding legalizing crossbows for everyone to use in general PA archery season.

To decide how you feel about that, ask yourself two questions (you in a general term)

(A) what are the positives to allowing them for everyone
(B) what are the negatives to allowing them for everyone


I can tell you that in the (A) column we can say it will bolser revenues, it will add more numbers to PA hunter numbers which have been on the decline, it can be used as an additional management tool, it will allow people who cannot pull the min bow weight or cannot shoot well the opportunity to enjoy bowhunting season (women, smaller kids etc) crossbows can be an alternate when someone gets injured right before archery season. I can say to (A) that in every state they've been legalized, I can't find one negative to having them, no reduction in season length because of them, no loss of bag limits because of them, no hordes of crossbow hunters in the woods.


In fact, everything I come up with is under (A)

Under (B) would be factual evidence like overcrowding, loss of season, loss of bag limits, significant increases in poaching with crossbows or wounded game etc. No facts exist to support that.



You can argue they are not bows, but the basic definition of a bow excluded compounds already, so that point is moot unless you want compounds banned from archery season too.

You can argue they're too "easy" but again, that argument exists for compounds, you'll have to get them out of archery season too them.

You can argue heritage, or the purity of bowhunting ..... but do you really want to compare a recurve and hunting with it to a Mathews Switchback with a mechnical release, drop away rest, and mechanical heads ?

You can argue that its "drawing in the presence of game" .... let me tell you that has been something of the past for a decade now. Rarely do compounds draw in the presence of game, you draw BEFORE they get into your presence, or when they're head is behind a tree etc. I compound hunted for a long time, you try and NEVER draw when the animal is RIGHT THERE - they'll see you if you do ! Draw before, hold, wait THEN pull the trigger.

I know, crossbows are evil, they've been what "we" as bowhunters hate for a long time. Its wrong too, and those who've pushed that division are wrong.



I'll say this too - when season limit reductions are being discussed, when season length reductions are being discussed because bowhunters are killing too many animals, its time to put restraints on technology and I mean crossbows and compounds alike. Until that day comes, allow it all, it won't affect my bowhunting at all if the guy on the 5000 acre lease next to me uses a crossbows to fill his tags or a compound, and it won't matter if the same guy is sharing public land with me and is 300 yards away on the same scrape line either.

ranger56528

A..........100%

B......I have no answers due to the fact I to have not seen any negitives on allowing CB's in the all archery season..But then I hunt Mn and ND....I also havent seen or read anything about overcrowding of woods due to the CB users ether or the lack of deer because of CB's.....
If the shoe fits wear it weather it be CB,longbow,recurve or compound....

nodog

I have no problem with anyone using them.