RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

The only rule they have that I think needs to be changed is under their rules of fair chase at the bottom in the "special note" paragraph which gives their definition of a hunting bow , "compound bow that is hand-held and is hand-drawn , and that has no mechanical device to enable the hunter to lock the bow at full or partial draw"
This would eliminate handicapped bowhunters who have no choice but to use a bow like mentioned above. And I'm not just talkin about crossbows either , I seen a guy shootin at the range who was born with a deformed arm.He had a bow with a draw lock on it because he had to wedge the bow between his knees to pull it back (all this done with one arm) and he had some type of devise in his mouth that was his release.
Under the current rules he wouldn't qualify for Pope & Young record book.

"Nocked,cocked & ready to rock"

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

Ooops! After further review , they do allow the use of a draw-lock for handicapped.
It's on the second page , at least I think they allow it. Heres their paragraph for the handicapped , word for word.

B.Exceptions: physically handicapped bowhunters shall be excepted from the requirements of holding or shooting the bow with their hands.

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

Funny thing about Pope and Young fair chase rules. They do allow deer that were taken over bait and chased by dogs and taken by being pushed on a drive. Although I have done this I really would not consider it fair chase.

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

NATTY: You say you've done drives and don't consider it fair chase? I think statistics will probably show that more BIG DEER are taken while sitting on our duffs. You might run out some does, a few young bucks and an occasional larger one with a drive. But the Big Boys are usually too smart to fall victim to drives. There are exceptions to every rule of course. ME, I'm a tree guy.

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

Depends on the terrain. If you have small woodlots surrounded by huge grain fields and you know there is a trophy buck in there, you can surround the small woodlot with shooters and send someone in to chase out the buck that is totally surrounded.
The world record buck was taken just like this. Is it fair chase?

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

IMO.... yes. Just as much as finding out where he sleeps, eats and travels and sitting an waiting him out. If you declare it not fair chase a whole lot more things come under scrutiny. Did the bird hunter chase him to you accidently? Is that fair chase? You're walking thru the woods on the way to hang a stand and a stupid deer runs right up to you and stops. You blast him. Is that fairer chase than a drive? Is dumb luck fair chase? It's an age old method of hunting in many areas. Still, the modern record books are MOSTLY filled with sitting in a tree waiting. It's more sure fire. First off, most often that old boy in a small wood lot leaves himself and out and usually it's not where you think. IMO.... it's another way of hunting. NOPE, I hardly ever do it.... but it seems just as fair as dumb luck. How many guys are going to pass a record book buck because he just happened to show up when I wasn't even hunting for him.

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

its just a book of numbers to me

RE: Pope and Young. . . should they count?
 

If Pope and Young is so irrelevant, then why is everyone whining and weeping about their rules?

Because they are NOT irrelevant. Their rules give their book the one thing that only Boone and Crockett can equal.... Credibility.

Yes, I'm sure there are some animals in there that seedy individuals cheated to get in. They can't take the time to totally validate each and every entry. But, if you try to book an animal that gets into the top of the lists or is up for the Ishi Award, you do have to take, and pass, a polygraph.

Personally, I'd hate to have an animal listed that I cheated to put in the book. Every time I looked at the book I'd be reminded that I cheated. In my opinion, it would take a sorry individual to be able to live with that.