Crossguns in the Pa bow season!!!!!!

[sailordad]

 heck here in mn we have thousands and thousands of acres of public land. we have so many deer they allow bow hunting in some larger cities, thats right in the cities,
in areas around the mississippi river banks, less developed housing areas etc. even public land her can be very bountiful with deer all season long,bow season runs from early sept. untill the end of the year, and if one knows what he/she is doing you can nail monsters on public land.
even after they allowed x-bows during gun season,no major problem for bow hunters here. we generally give up those two weeks of the year on public land because of all the morons in orange that come out in masses for gun season here.lol

its more fun hunting after they are all done for the year. its usually much too cold for the average hunter out there in late dec.. if a person knows how to dress properly for the weather and the type of hunting that they are doing on that  day,and you've done your home work for the piece of land,well i say let them hunt with their damn x-bows, they dont hunt when real bow hunters are out.

[Justin Snyder]

To use a cross bow here you have to be partially dissabled, not just a doctors note. The permit isn't easy to get even with the right medical forms.  Justin

[El Destructo]

Here too Justin....the Laws in Texas sate...

ONLY a person with an upper-limb disability may use a crossbow to hunt deer and turkey during the Archery Only Open Season, provided the person, while hunting, has in their immediate possession a physician's statement certifying the extent of the disability.
An upper-limb disability is a permanent loss of the use of fingers, hand, or arm in a manner that renders the person incapable of using lawful archery equipment.

[mullet]

  Here in Florida, the club I belong to, Traditional Bowhunters Of Fl , lobbied hard and defeated it being used during archery season, unless you were truley handicapped. It is legal during gun season.

[Ryano]

Tim, Pa used to have a ton of deer to and we probally have more acers of public land than Mn does. Our wonderful game commission decided about 5 years ago that we had to many deer and they were damaging the forests. So they opened a 2 week concurrent buck and doe season and offered double the amount of Doe tags in effort to get the "Buck to doe ratio" Back in check. Well they pretty much thinned the deer heard in the mountain county's to nothing. Still a few deer left in the farm land county but the national forest is desolate. The difference is the absolute numbers of hunters. If you've never seen Pa on the first day of rifle season you couldn't possibly understand. around a million on the first day of rifle season! 

[Hillbilly]

Ryan, sounds like the National Forest lland here in western NC-I unfortunately know exactly what you're talking about. Crossbows here are only allowed to be used by hunters with a disability that keeps them from being able to draw a bow.

[JackCrafty]

If increasing the season for crossbows will help reduce the season for rifles, then I think it's a good thing...but it probably won't happen.

I dunno, I think that crossbows are a lot like wheel bows so it doesn't bother be one way or the other.

[El Destructo]

If increasing the season for crossbows will help reduce the season for rifles, then I think it's a good thing...but it probably won't happen.

I dunno, I think that crossbows are a lot like wheel bows so it doesn't bother be one way or the other.

I have a Barnett Revolution 175 pound Crossbow....that I can't group better than 6 inches at 20 yards with....and it has a 3-9 power Scope on it....I am better than that with a Stick Bow.....to Me it is the biggest piece of Crap I have ever wasted Money on....and I have bought some foolish stuff in the past!!!....This Bow is so disappointing that I could not bear to sell it to someone...as I feel I would be cheating them BAD!!!....but I have a Bowtech Patriot....that will group 1 inch at 20 yards....and it's a Bow (of sorts!!)......so if all Crossbows are as Accurate as mine....let them shoot them during Rifle Season....or Black Powder Season...but I think that if they Legalize Crossbows during Bow Season...you will have every Tom .....Dick and Harry ....buying one so He can be a Bow Hunter.....chances are they will never see a Deer....let alone shoot one....but then there are that many more Crazies out there with Blaze Orange on.....with 125 to 200 pound Crossbows with scopes....Red Dots or Lasers ....shooting at anything that moves....not what We need!!    J.M.O.

[Justin Snyder]

You guys crack me up. Did you know there is more public land in Colorado than east of the Mississippi River.  Fact not myth.  

I hear you Ryan, the game and fish, or whatever each state calls it is usually using flawed reasoning.  We used to have a pretty good deer population, but alas there are just to many people.  

Patrick, the major problem I have with crossbows is the fact that the shooter doesn't have to draw it or hold it. Many have a cocking mechanism.  Then it locks in place and can stay at 120# draw for hours with no effort by the shooter. At least the wheel bows have to be drawn when the deer is approaching or in the shooting lanes.

Utah's law classifies any bows that have a device to hold them at full draw the same as a crossbow. They are not legal to hunt ANY game species without a special permit. And like Hillbilly said, you must be disabled to prevent drawing a bow to get the permit. Justin

[El Destructo]

Colorado has the Most Public Domain....and Texas.....the second biggest State in the Union....has the Least....less than 2% of the State is Public....and most of that you have to Pay to Hunt

[JackCrafty]

Justin, I agree....a crossbow is easier to shoot....and less challenging to hunt with.

Destructo, I know all too well about the lack of public hunting land in Texas.  It really stinks.

[huntertrapper]

i heard this before man, crossbows dont fit in the bow season.....

[perry]

Forgive me but I am probably going to go a bit off exactly what this topic is about . I think responsible crossbow hunters over there at least getting an opportunity to hunt with their crossbows should count their blessings and strive to clean out the bad eliment and educate everyone else . Is there any Crossbow governing bodies or lobby groups over there . Its a freedom and should be protected .

I know there is complicated issues with manufactures and other vested interests clouding the legislaters minds and not beiing a resident likely don't understand all the issue's . I just feel that crossbows have an undeserved reputation and really are only a short bow on a stick . The modern compound devises whether on plastic sticks or handheld are far less conected to Primitive archery and are a real scurge in the wrong hands .

Here crossbows are illegal in some states to hunt with and ownership is so regulated in others that they have effectively turned responsible crossbowmen from the weapon of their choice . Crossbows in Queensland are held on a Catagory M for Mischelaneous licence . The anti everything fun folks are pushing to get hand held bows classified Catorgory M .

I can't even carry a pocket knife without violating state law .

I make my own crossbows . I use a medievil stock design , modern trigger mechanism from a Barnett type cheapy and have before restriction made the 3 piece chinese mechanism and either a wooden prod or solid fibreglass . I have a nice steel prod just dying to go into a stock as well .Scopes are a useless waste on crossbows - arrows and bolts arc so if you must use sights in my veiw use pin or peep sights that keep you in contact with this arc . I am not much of a shot but have no drama's with 6 " groups at 30 yards . I cant do that with my selfbow's or my laminated bows .

I cop all the same arguments and them some against crossbows that I have read here . In Queensland you need a licence and a genuine reason to own one . I need a armourers licence and an armourery if I wish to continue to make my own crossbows or manufacture new parts as they wear and thats too costly to consider . The only legal place I have to shoot my crossbows is on parcels of private land bigger than 40 acres . So they are pretty tightly restricted .

Trouble is every idiot / criminal that had them before licencing still has them as they are not interested in the law . There is a lot more idiots / criminals out there with compound devices than with crossbows putting arrows into pelicans or Kangaroo's than I want to think about . Point is responsible folks like myself are getting trodden on due to the actions of idiots and bias .

Sorry if I ramble and get off topic but I take every chance to push my crossbow barrow .

regards Jacko

[Pat B]

I have absolutely no problem with folks hunting with crossbows. As far as I am concerned they can hunt with any ethical method there is out there. My problem is with crossbows being allowed during primitive weapons seasons. Modern crossbows are not primitive weapons! Here in NC they are allowed only by permit for handicaped folks. In Ga where I do most of my hunting they are allowed anytime but on our club, they are not allowed during the archery season. As a matter if fact nobody in our club would even want to hunt with one. Everyone else besides me in our club hunt with compounds and as soon as archery season is over they go for their 270s and 30-06s. I prefer to stick with my sticks!!!      Pat

[DanaM]

Just found out Michigan also has a bill in the house to allow anyone with a valid deer license to use crossbows The driving force
is more license sales. The end result is more slob hunters in the woods and believe me there are all ready to many of them around.
I quit bow hunting for almost 10 years because of all the useless idiots on public land. Now I have acess to private land