trophyhuntr

no such thing as a perfectly good ford, go Duramax

CC in WestV

you beat me to it man...
oh yeah, and car season is year round man, no bag limit either. sorta gets expensive though...

dkeener

Amen.
This thread prolly should be deleted too.

silentassassin

So bows should be illegal becasue they are easier to kill deer with than bows????????????? Got to admit you lost me there.

Why would you fight to have any weapon removed or try to keep it from being legalized in the first place. Also, what makes you feel like you have the right to decide for everyone whther it belongs or not. What is your rationals behind it? What is it hurting and what are the negative affects of allowing it?

I think it presumptious to do that in any state when it is not only forcing your views on other hunters but also potentially keeping people from entering the sport.

reylamb

SA, that is a fairly simplistic view there. Let's face it, the fact is every day, in every aspect of our lives someone forces their views upon us. Whether it is the speed limit, huting regs, or whatever else, someone somewhere has determined what is the "correct" things for society to do. Bowhunting is a "society." Prior to the introduction of crossbows there was nothing stopping anyone from going down to the local wally world and buying everything they needed to join the sport of bowhunting. And yet they did not. There was no public outcry in the state of Georgia from anyone stating give us crossbows and we will be bowhunters.

Contrary to what some may believe, the introduction of crossbows into the archery season, in Georgia, did not have any effect on the numbers of bowhunters in this state, at least from a statistical number. many bought crossbows and hung up there compounds, reason being, from those I encountered at my local bowshop, crossbows are like my rifle and easier than the compound. The others that began hunting in bow season were predominanty already purchasing the "all weapons" license because it came with the WMA stamp, cheaper than buying seperate WMA stamps and big game tags. The state did not see a statistical increase in the numbers of bowhunters.

The introduction of crossbows is potentially the beginning of a slippery slope for bowhunting. I know for a fact legislation will be proposed this year to eliminate the archery season altogether in Georgia. one of the many reasons cited is that constituents of a goldne domer have told them bowhunters can not kill enough deer with bows and crossbows. One of the offending legislators has hunted with a crossbow and has the same view, we need to have a year long gun season to get the herd in control. Now, truthfully this legislation will never make it out of committee, but the mindset is there. The introduction of a weapon that is a cross between guns and bows is but the beginning.

silentassassin

What you seem to be missing is that if 50 people started bowhunting this year that wouldn't have otherwise then it is worth it. These people may crossbow hunt for a couple of years and then go to compounds and then wind up passing the tradition on to their kids who turn around and pass it on to their kids. When if that door hadn't opened they may have never even entered the sport.
Well if that's the case then crossbow hunters should help your cause not hurt it. If you were in trouble with out the additional deer kill numbers that crossbows added then letting crossbow hunters in seems like a plus.

Blakeyboy

Wow, this and the crossbow thread sure has been interesting!

At first blush i thought no way to crossbow in archery season. However, after reading more and understanding things better...i see the crossbow is just another tool.

I see it more as a bow than a gun however. We've made a bow function like a gun. We've taken the unpredictable nature out of it. We've made a consistant anchor and it's pre-drawn. Yes it would seem we made a bow that could more reliably and humanely take game within normal bow ranges. It makes life more convenient. Less practice required etc. means more time for other things.

I think i would adapt. You still have to respect anyone who does it with a compound bow, just like those guys respect anyone who does it with a traditional bow(i do anyhow). It all comes down to what personally satisfies you for a tool. One year it might be a compound bow, the next it might be a crossbow, heck ya might wanna try a recurve after that? Maybe a gun after that?

I still think a shaft with a sharp broadhead on it propelled by springy limbs and a string still has pretty much the same limitations on game between a crossbow bolt or a regular arrow in terms of killing effectiveness and penetration etc. If it takes the bow to the next level, like compounds did to the recurve sort of thing, then by all means...allow it in the archery season. There are still cons to the crossbow imo. It is a bit unwieldy to move around and i imagine a second shot would be far harder, slower and noisier to come by than with a compound bow?

Anyhow, i've read and took it all in. I support it. To me its just a bow...not a gun. Its not a projectile propelled by gunpowder at thousands of fps. Its a compound bow made to shoot like a gun, not a gun made to shoot like a bow. Heck, if they legalized it up here in our archery season i might be able to get my old man back into it?

B

reylamb

My state rep has personally told me that many of his crossbow hunting constituents have asked for the removal of the season restrictions. Granted not all, but some are. If only 1 tells their state rep that bowhunting does not work they have tried it for 2 years, the damage to bowhunters and the future of archery season is in jeopardy.

silentassassin

I agree and I applaud your willingness to get involved and fight for our sport. I disagree with the fight against allowing crossbows but I still applaud your effort and willingness to get involved.

SCRIDER1

SilentAssassin, thats funny because I seem to recall it was YOU who started a thread a while back called "This Should Heat Things Up" or something like that, that used this same argument. You were talking about guns instead of crossbows but the argument was the same. Basically, you said you dont respect gun kills because guns are too easy to use. My point is that many people on this board feel the same way about cross bows and are allowed to express their negative opinions about cross bows and cross bow hunters as much as they wish. But when womeone tried to make the same point about bows being too easy compared to spears, somehow that argument is unacceptable on this board and the post was removed. The only point I was trying to make is if its OK to look down on another hunter for his choice of weapons, everyone, including bow hunters, should be subjected to same criticism from others who use more "difficult" weapons. Where does it stop?