CattNY

Mandate ARs for bow season only. For the following reasons:

1.) Those who are avid bowhunters tend to be advocates of ARs, whereas, those who typically only get out a few days of the year during gun season, don't wish to see it. Since bowhunters want it, give it to them.

2.) Bowhunters already have an unfair advantage over the gun hunters with lengthy seasons during prime rut time when the deer are least disturbed.

3.) The bucks are too spooked during gun season and go noctunal so you will not have to worry about gun hunters killing all the young bucks that you pass up during archery.

4.) I don't bow hunt.

amayerican

Since when bow hunting was easer than gun hunting, HAHAHA? And where I come from us bow hunters cry when gun season opens because the rut normally hits full swing by the time gun season opens. If you where a bow hunter you would no that.

CattNY

I never said bowhunting was simpler, I stated that bowhunters have an unfair advantage because their season is too long on game that is not yet spooked.

I do know for a fact, a lot more deer in my neck of the woods are wounded by bowhunters than gun hunters. I know this one hunter, who bowhunts all the time and practices all year, even part of a league. He shot a bear this year on my land that weighed over 400 lbs. and he took a nice sized 7 pointer. He also hit a spike buck that we tracked forever and never found. He hit a doe that we never found and he hit a 4 pointer that we never found. All in one year. I know several other bowhunters who lost game. In defense of them, they took good shots, but deer don't always go down. Some of you may say those hit deer have a good chance of recovering. I say, they may, and they may not make it. Especially with the coyotes in the area.

Bottomline: Bowhunting is harder than gun hunting, but due to the long season, they have much more opportunities than gun hunters have on undisturbed deer.

SteveBNy

Most bowhunters I know don't want mandatory AR

But gun season accounts for approx 80% of the kill

They are spooked about an hour after 1st light(or before) on opening morning of gun, and yet gun still accounts for the overwhelming majority of the kill. When gun starts, or how long it runs will not change this.

Counting muzzleloader, we had 32 days of gun this year, and yes 31 7/8 of these days were at disturbed deer BECAUSE most gun hunting disturbs the deer! How would you change this?

I found 3 dead gun shot deer on my 60 acres next to an 800 acre piece of state land - 2 more on the state land itself. Also did find one arrow killed one also on another property. Every year see and hear of hunters shooting guns at dear and never going to check for signs of a hit if they don't drop.

I could say this means that gun hunters wound more then bow in "my neck of the woods". But I won't because slob hunters can use any weapon to be irresponsible - neither gun or bow have a monopoly on this.

We need to get back to the topic - continuing this will do us no good. And I (primarily a bowhunter) agree with you on NO to mandatory AR.
Steve

amayerican

Steve, I read that web site twice in the last week. And I do agree that every wmu is different. I also disagree with some of there practices. Our population down here in 8Y would support AR. I no this because we have been working with QDM in the past 3-4 years on our private lands and are seeing the effects of the buck and doe ratio. We sure have not complained about our herd. And we sure have not let the DEC affect our herd. 8Y is popular for high herd numbers but were down, not vanished like others. I know there are a lot of other hunters in some wmu that have some population problems. And im sure AR wouldn’t work in those areas. You simply first need deer before you grow deer. That’s why I would go for ARs in our wmu 8Y.

jf5

Just a thought. Here is a copied quote from a 14 year old boy in PA on AR and youthhunt.

"i think it is fair because it lets bucks grow bigger and have more poits so there is a lot more trophy buck potential around your area. Plus it lets the smaller bucks survive to maturity and have normal sized racks and bodies. i am stil a junior hunter so i have the choice to shoot smaller bucks with less than the 4 points to one antler rule. thats why i was able to harvest tht 5 point hunting peensylvania has been a great expierience for me."

stretchhunts

I think AR will make hunting better. The problem is INFORCING IT.

AndesNY2

Bottomline: Bowhunting is harder than gun hunting, but due to the long season, they have much more opportunities than gun hunters have on undisturbed deer.
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Agreed Cat. Bow hunting does allow for a hunting of deer that for the most part are undisturbed. You have just identified another benefit of AR... it is called hunting for deer that have not all been shot at. This would require deer hunters to shoot only at deer that they have identified as being legal versus blasting everything brown in the woods.

AndesNY2

Couldn't agree with you more.

hunterjohn123

I am a fulltime student at alfred university
I dont see what the big deal is about, y shouldnt there be antler restrictions. with me being from PA, i do alot of hunting here, but in the past 3 years since PA has had antler restrictions,between my dad and I we have killed 1 6 point, 1 7 point, and 4 8 points!
alot of people dont realize that if they dont shoot the FIRST buck that comes along often times there will be a bigger one behind it.
i have never heard so much complaining about not seeing any deer, people are just to lazy and wont get off their 4 wheelers and sit for a while or even walk somewheres.