bluebird2

Are you saying the PGC annual harvest reports aren't good enough for you or are you saying you don't know how to find them? if you got the number of deer harvested by x-bow hunters, would it tell you how many compound bow users switched to x-bows? I am sure you wouldn't have a problem if the harvest increased because highly skilled compound bow users switched to x-bows.

livbucks

I think it would be quite legitimate to have a problem with that. If the number that switched was significant, it would indeed show that the use of crossguns was resulting in a much higher harvest, and might lead to shortening the season. You would be changing the entire scenario by implementing a more effective tool. The season length would need to be scrutinized as a result.

BTBowhunter

FACT: The crossbow was made legal in 2004 in 2B in regular archery season

FACT: The archery kill increased almost 70% since in 2B

Since you couldn't grasp my message, I'll put it another way. The facts above make a very compelling case for the idea that general use of crossbows in the archery will skew the archery harvest and possibly jeopadize the length of the seasons that seasons we now enjoy.

That being said, I was attempting to be fair and say lets look at the actual crossbow component in that dramatic increase in the harvest. The report cards include both types of weapon so the mechanism is in place to verify or refute the above conclusion.

I realize that it may be a hard concept for you to grasp, but good decisions come from having as much information as possible before drawing a conclusion

sproulman

i cant speak for 2b but i can for 2g.

crossbows are killing a LOT of deer in archery, not in rifle or late season.
best week is last week of season, i see more bucks killed with crossbow that week.

just about every hunter i see with crossbow are hunters that never hunted archery or were not very good at it or would not take time to learn, now they are getting deer.

hope my comments dont offend crossbow users ,only what i see and i am seeing a LOT of deer killed with crossbow and 3 times the hunters in archery here in 2g than i saw in 2004.

heck, they are driving deer with crossbows,thats something you never saw before in archery.

drivers are not carrying crossbow but all watchers are.

a lot of hunters dont send in report card if they are not TAGGING the deer and archery is when a lot of that is done.

sammy_tat

With todays cross bows sproul, They are more accurate than smooth bore shotguns with slugs at 50 yrds.... Just like shooting a gun with a scope and not much practice needed to go from gun to crossbow to become deadly with one. Just have to know your yardage......

bluebird2

So what was the PGCs response to the increased archery harvest you worry so much about. Did they shorten the season in 2B because too many bucks were being harvested before the rut? Did they care that the archery buck harvest exceed the concurrent season buck harvest in 2007?

Do you have any idea why removing so many bucks before the rut wasn't a problem?

Buck Hunter 1

OMG, Bluebird your getting it. It's about the $$, and PAPGC is meeting the herd reduction requirements in those areas. LOL, some people think hunting is about sportsmanship...............

BTBowhunter

Off topic again but then we know you regard any topic as a chance to spew your venom for the PGC with your distortions

The PGC has been attempting to increase the harvest any way possible in 2B. Earlier starts of the bow season, longer antlerless gun seasons so adding the crossbow was a natural part of the process.

The numbers above are at least a cause for serious caution when considering the legalization of crossbows anywhere in the state where deer populations are being adequately controlled by utilizing the present mix of seasons and weapons

BTBowhunter

That view is a bit over simplistic. Hunting is about sportsmanship to those who hunt. To the rest of the world, hunting is about game management. Don't think for a minute that the non hunting public would give a rats butt about our sport if we weren't an important game management tool. Never forget that.

The PGC is still struggling for ways to reduce the herd in 2B. Liberal doe permits, lengthy seasons and even crossbows have helped butthey're still not quite there. Property acces is the problem so the PGC makes it possible for those with access to kill as many as they want in as many ways as possible.

If the crossbow comes to pass, it will be motivated primarily by money.
First and foremost that influence is from the manufacturers and the distributors. Unfortunately, we cant ignore that the PGC is in dire finacial straights due, in part at least, to political pressure from deaddeer and his USP buddies. We can only hope that the BOC won't sell out to the crossbow industry looking for a cash cow from increased archery permit sales.

bluebird2

I am not off topic since the reason you and Livbucks gave why the PGC might shorten the harvest was that too many bucks would be killed before the rut. But, you apparently don't understand why that is not a concern since you didn't address that issue.



As more hunters quit you once again see a push by the PGC to introduce more weapons into the archery season. Would you prefer rifles or x-bows?