BTBowhunter

Our number of hunters does nag at me in this whole thing. Our hunter numbers are obviously the driving force behind the xbow companies.

Maybe the tools are in place to solve the dilemma. crossguns are legal in 2B. Heck, I even use one once in awhile in the late season for just the very reason you laid out. Maybe the way to handle this is for bowhunters to insist that the PGc study the things already in use in 2b and give us some assurances that its not changing harvest success rates here. After all 2B is heavily hunted in bow season. What better place to examine the effects of their use than right here in 2B!

livbucks

If it weren't for the possible negative effects of allowing them statewide, I wouldn't have a problem with them. They are already permitted in 2B, whereI bowhunt, so I'm already dealing with them. As long as they're use is not detrimental to the herd or season, more power to those that use them. It's not anus vs. them thing. We are all hunters and at some point maybe I'll need to use one. I think you hit on a great point though:
What is the REAL story here?
I think that unfettered use could open a whole new scenario that we didn't bargain for.
Hopefully the GC will test the waters before plunging in.

Win.88

Fromlivbucks: I have no predjudice toward crossguns. I wouldn't mind owning one. The whole idea of archery season was to use a primitive tool to take a deer. A self imposed challenge.

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I don't know what a crossgun is.And as far as a primitive tool goes.I think that a recurve crossbow is more primitive than a compound verticle bow.It's been around a long time.I think,longer than firearms.

livbucks

I see where you're coming from, but it's not like that.
The act of drawing a bow, in the presence of game, and then holding that bow and positioning the sights under that muscle stress, releasing the arrow and follow through makes any bow a different tool than a crossgun.
The crossgun is pre-drawn, storing the energy at the leisure of the shooter. The aiming is not affected by any muscular stress of holding the stored energy. Follow through is minimal, as the short bolt leaves the device many times faster than a bow with double the draw length.
The person simply aims and fires.
A compound is more efficient than a recurve, but it is still a bow.
A crossgun is a mechanized gun, without the aid of explosive propellant, using stored energy in it's place.
It is still a gun. You put it to your shoulder, aim from two fixed sighting points, and pull the trigger.
It's a gun.

Win.88

I understand what you are saying.I hunt both verticle and horizontal bows,IMO a crossbow is still a bow on a stick.Think about all the modern accessories added to the recurve.Stabilizers,sights,illuminated sights,releases,cams,string silencers,vibration dampeners and probably some things I'm leaving out.Is this bow hunting? I think it is.It is just a step forward in technologyfrom a real bow.I own a recurve crossbow.Really, the only modernthing I have on it is the sights.Is using a crossbow bow hunting? I think it is.Just because you have a weapon that is a little easier to use doesn't mean you are going to get a deer.Just because you have a newer ,or more powerful gun doesn't mean you have a distinct advantage.I don't get a deer every year but I'm happy to get my share.I have been hunting with a friend of mine for over twenty yrs. and he has only gotten 3 deer.He's the type that had to get a 30-06 when his 30.30 was still working fine.Had to get the better bow when he was still hitting 1 1/2" circles with the old one.It's sad to say he can't hunt for dookie. And won't take advice.I think It's his hard german head.No offense to anyone I don't know.So while everyone is getting excited about xbows and speculating and anticipating about everything bad,just because you have a cross bow doesn't mean you are going to ruin archery for everybody else.You have to know how to hunt first.

livbucks

Oh sure, I know.
There are guys that couldn't find a deer if you tied it to a tree, and gave him a map to where it was, letalone shoot it even if they had laser guided missles.
Like I said, I'm already dealing with them now in 2B. Allowing them statewide in bow and arrow season does not affect me further, as I only bowhunt at home in 2B. But like I said, should the season end up shortened,I would become highly enraged.
You know that once they are permitted, there is no going back, don't you? So we have to be diligent in how we go forward. Like Bob said, study 2B for awhile and see how things play out.

Win.88

Right,I hunt archery in the special regs. area in 5D and I see crossbows but alot of the guys I talked with were already compound bow hunters,but not all.I have acccess to some private land,but I also hunt Ridley Creek State Park where you can hunt in any deer season ,archery only.

bluebird2

How high do you think the archery harvest would have to be before the PGC decided to shorten the season. Would they shorten the season if the archery buck harvest was 35% , 40% ,45% or 50% of the total buck harvest?

livbucks

Well, I think the gun only hunters might get a little vocal if the early harvest shot up excessively. Or then they might go out and buy crossguns themselves, and guess what??? the season would be just another gun season, only quieter. The crossgun makers would put the gun makers out of business, and the falling ranks of gun owners would tilt the influence of the NRA in elections and lawmaking. Guns would be outlawed, because nobody would need one. The country would slip into dictatorship and the whole world would erupt in Anarchy...
And you wonder why some people object to crossguns!
I could be wrong. There's my qualifier.

Win.88

DAMN!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GUYS ARE REALLY OFF THE WALL..............