RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I'm done stealthy, you aren't any fun anymore.
[&:]

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

rybohunter


translation - damn that stelathycat made an excellent point there, he tricked me and I'm in a corner, no way out ... better to do the old "I'm done now" game then to admit defeat at his brilliant hands .....

:D:D:D

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Stealthy,

Considering the fact that you have NEVER admitted you're wrong (and I am assuming you have been wrong at least once;)) He probably just assumed that he would have to quit at some point and this seemed like as good a time as any:D

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I've been wrong, admitted being wrong, it just doesn't happen often ;)

He's bascially saying (and this is most anti-crossbow hunters views unless I'm wrong here) that crossbows will bring in so many hunters that it'll crowd archery season and lead to fewer days of hunting. Yet he also says its already crowded (and since compounds are the preferred choice or archers by far we can place blame on them, right ?) and can produce nothing factual to back that crossbows lead to the deminishing of archery season at all, and that he doesn't want to limit bowhunters numbers.

If I'm reading that right, its a bit confused, and doesn't make much sense - right ?

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

If that is what floats your boat stealthy (and is legal of course)..............hunt on buddy!!

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

IL_BOW_MAN - You favor legilaztion of crossbows in Illinois ?

Laws change. They changed to favor compounds at one time, mechnical releases, mechanical broadheads, greater than 65% letoff etc etc .... change for what is and isn't archery equipment is what has allowed most of ya'll to enjoy the sport you call bowhunting.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

No, stealthy as bad as I hate to admit it;), I agree with you. The only negative affects that will be brought about by allowing croosbows is that the coupound and traditional hunters will have a knee jerk reaction. Here is the numbers from the 01-02 season in Arkansas. There were 9488 deer killed with archery/crossbow equipment. Only 1851 of those deer were killed with a crossbow. There were 115,115 deer killed with modern guns (not counting muzzleloaders). Archery season takes out very few deer out of the population, no where near enough to affect the size of the herd. Now, there may be three times the people in PA but there is also 3 times the number of deer. They cut our limit back last year and it has remained for this year. Statistically speaking there is just no way that crossbow hunting is going to affect the population of the deer herd. If anything is going to change that it will be the gun season. It is my understanding that in most areas of PA they are trying to control the population anyway. So IMO they have absolutely nothing to worry about by the introduction of crossbows. They'll just have to come to the conclusion that it isn't pre-ordained unto then to decide how another person hunts.;)

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

I know whats happened/happening in AR, GA and OH cannot be applied to all states, PA is a good example. The sheer number of hunters in PA creates for potential negative affects on archery season .... because theres already a problem there that I have seen nobody address and thats the absolute fact that modern compounds have led to huge numbers of bowhunters in that state. The addition of crossbows as legal archery weapons would add more archery hunters, no doubt, and if archery season is close to saturated as it is, then it might lead to oversaturation.

So assuming those assumptions are correct (can we do that ?) the core issue is NOT crossbow being legal, its PA archery season (or whatever state we might be talking about) already being overcrowded due to the weapons of choice - the compound bow.

If I'm wrong here, PA guys, let me know. Because if overcorwding is an issue, compounds are your suspect. If overcrowding is NOT an issue, then why not welcome additional bowhunters ?

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

In case anyone cares (I doubt it ;)) I went with my brothers yesterday to a local shop with a bunch of targets at their indoor range and shot for 90 minutes. We had a great time as we were the only guys there and had the run of the place. One guy picked a target and shot and the others followed and we all checked for bragging rights when we went and pulled arrows. Shots were up to 35 yards and some elevated 5-10 feet.......everything from a bedded down buck to a T-rex........even a cobra and a salmon. We shot from the ground at all angles and also a 20 foot high platform to simulate a treestand. We had a blast and all shot VERY well. We are not the ultimate archers and we don't shoot all day every day but we all shot more then well enough to be extremely lethal at any of those ranges and angles. Considering we are a full 6 months from archery season and none of us will shoot past 20 yards in the woods and only high percentage shots........I would say we will be ready come this fall :D

This was after a whole winter off (5 months) and I was the only one who had shot at all before yesterday (about 10 shots at BLOCK).

I won the ping pong ball battle piercing 8 from the elevated platform 25 yards away................and with a WHISKER BISCUIT no less [:o]


Practicing all year round is great and it will definately help you be a good shot and be comfortable with your equipment..........to say that it is a MUST for any and all bowhunters is just goofy.

I firmly believe in being over prepared and am a stickler for details...........I just don't think you have to be robin hooding every shot to go out and kill a deer. I know guys that are GREAT shots with a bow and have very few kills and I know idiots I wouldn't trust with a potato gun that have multiple wall hangers. Being a great target shooter doesn't make you a great bowhunter and vise versa.

If the kill zone on a deer was the size of a silver dollar I would say you better be splittin hairs before hittin' the stand.


If given the choice of seeing someone practice all year on bags from the ground at known distances with fieldpoints or for 2 weeks straight with broadheads from a stand at various distances I would vote for the second option every time and firmly believe he would be the better prepared of the 2 to go hunting.

RE: Who Practices Year-Round? Is it REALLY Necessary?
 

Because everyone wants to do what they enjoy most and have it all to themselves;) I don't think their is any comparison between crossbow and compound equipment but the argument that stealthy makes (I can't believe I am saying this:() is valid. There is a lot of difference between the compound and traditional equipment that makes compounds much easier to use and much more effective. Now, how would everyone feel if they wanted to make compounds illegal in archery season? Crossbow hunters don't want to see an elitist attitude from compound hunters anymore than compound hunters want to see an elitist attitude from trads.;)