i just ask a question,,,thats all,,,maybe im just ass-u-me-ing,,,,that if you put enough emphasis on the fact that a crossbow,,,could be used as a legitimate tool to poach,,,,that you may sway a vote or so in the other direction to create revenue

personally I think the crossbow as a poaching tool is a myth. IMHO a 22 would be far more useful than a crossbow to the average poacher.

I must agree btb

Btbow:
cant say that i would agree with ya on the 22 issue from a noise standpoint,,,but in reference to my 1st question,,,,why the sudden interest in poaching fines from the UBP,,,,is ita further attempt to discredit x-bow users?

UBP has always been strong on higher fines for poaching. The release you see here is the entire communication I got. No mention of the crossbow.

The UBP still opposes the crossbow but i've seen no indication that this has anything to do with that. As a matter of fact, I just got the magazine today and there is a request for action regarding crossbows in this issue. It is an effort to keep the legal definitions of vertical bows and crossbows seperate.

As you should know from my comments on here, I am far from being in lockstep with the UBP official position on the crossbow so I have no reason to be biased here. The UBP support for higher poaching fines is just that and nothing more.


Oh, and I personally know of a few crossbows that are louder than a 22 short. I've also heard that a plastic soda bottle with the bottom cut out slid over the end of the muzzle really quiets a 22 down as well. Dont know any poachers that I'd talk to to ask what their weapon of choice would be, but if I had to covertly kill a deer, I'd probably take the noise of a 22 and a head shot between the eyes dropping the deeer on the spot over a quieter crossbowbut where a fair chance that some tracking will be necessary. Even a perfectly placed arrowoften winds up with the deer getting out of sight before expiring.

'Oh, and I personally know of a few crossbows that are louder than a 22 short."

Not debating the issue of 22 vs xbow in poaching, but just adding some personal experience with the 22. The huge majority of crossbows Ive seen are not louder than a regular22 short. Perhaps "minicaps" or similar ammo, but then those most likely wont kill a deer anyway. Ive used them to dispatch trapped animals and at times have had to shoot coon 4 or 5 times with the barrel less than a foot from their head before theyd even penetrate the skull of a decent size coon. I have used regular shorts long before that andalso currentlywhen trapping these days though, with little problem.

No doubt that a 22 wont always do the trick. I even have a buckthat proves it. I shot an arcehry buck back in 2000 that had a big old wart under his eye. The taxidermist later told me he found a 22 slug embedded there that had healed over and calcified.

I will admit however, that poaching deer, whether with a crossbow or a 22 or a 30-06 is not my field of expertise.

You do get alot more power with regular 22 ammo than shorts and a ton more than with the minicaps though speaking of the ballistics and the effect to hits on small legal game.

I and other family members have taken bucks that had 22 bullets in them on a few occassions.Though they were not in head or even the chest area.

Definitely on the .22 hits and bumps in the animals. We had a bad poacher incident 3 years ago by a known poacher. We had 8 deer that we know of that were carrying hits or sores on them that were ***** in some instances. Ended getting him again, he lost his gun and was fined, did 30 days and back out again.