Got an email yesterday morning from Mr. Dick Nelson (outdoor writer from The Register – Star & The Daily Mail). He had apparently read my blog and was inclined to ask me a question.
“How do you feel about allowing crossbows in New York's bow and gun seasons?”
Well, I thought for a moment. (I felt like I was being tested.) I want to qualify my answer by first saying that this opinion is specific to the Southern Zone of New York. As always, I think safety-first in all aspects of hunting; so crossbows should be the same.
Here it is, the solution to all the fuss about when crossbows should be allowed:
I believe that crossbows should be allowed in every big game season. There are some rules and regulations to be adhered too, but the minute amount of compromise needed, is a minimal intrusion or inconvenience.
If you want to hunt with a crossbow during the archery season then crossbow manufacturers must be able to throttle down the speed at which a bolt can leave the crossbow. That speed should be no faster then the fastest compound bow. That’s it -- that’s fair.
If you want to hunt with a crossbow during the regular rifle, shotgun or muzzleloading season, then all you have to do is wear a 12 inch square patch of hunter orange on the back of your outermost garment and a 12 inch square patch of hunter orange on the front of your outermost garment. If you want to interchange one of those squares, with a hunter orange baseball cap or pullover hat. That’s fine with me, also. That’s fair ---- and safer too.
Now, what did we accomplish here? We got more hunters back in the woods. We break the ice and set a precedent for mandatory inclusion of hunter orange in certain aspects of hunting. We have initiated another deer management tool and we have created more industry and commerce to help the economy. Ladies and gentlemen, we did all that and we did it safely! We showed the rest of the world that hunters are responsible people (again) by implementing a safety regulation even though it slightly intrudes on a personal right. Ladies and gentle sportsmen, we have an opportunity to look like we know and care about what we are doing! Let’s get ‘er done!
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I agree to an extent crossbows could be a good thing especially for suburban hunters.
ReplyDeletehowever I never even considered the speed of the bolt argument. What I don't like is that it is more like a gun that shoots a projectile that resembles an arrow. It has a stock it is preloaded and it can be rested in the ready position. Archers argument for not in the archery season. The hardest part of bowhunting is not the speed of the arrow it's always been getting a shot while being undetected by the weary game. The movement required to harvets a deer with archery equipment is the challenge. My opinion crossbows never leagalized during archery season. 2nd thought they are an efficient means of harvesting deer and reducing deer populations during regular season as an alternative to other means, what scares me is the fact that most hunters will choose to shoot more bucks with the crossbow and we all know we already have a shortage of bucks age 2-1/2 and older. as long as we do away with a 2nd extra buck in this state more antlerless deer may be harvested in lieu of the macho 2nd buck. Accomplish this and crossbows could be argued as an efficient and effective tool for hunters to manage growing deer populations.
We all need to use the words "Yearling Buck Protection", not antler restrictions, It is about protecting yearlings from harvest nothing more. Unfortunately many do not understand AR's, the main reason there is controversy.
ReplyDeleteCrossbows are fine, lets limit the buck take though, we are by far overharvesting bucks that are not mature. This is not what hunting should be about, decimating the imature population before they have a chance to mature, what kind of sportsmanship is that? But I know many still must wish they were in the days of no regulations, where they could just choose to do the right thing, such as shoot the last passenger pigeon, ya that's it I want the right to choose to kill every last one that's it, the Dan O. way. Kill em all it is my right !!
Deer ANON 2,
ReplyDelete"Yearling protection" encompasses a lot of tools (AR's, Antler spread width, earn-a-buck etc.). "Antler Restrictions" are the tool most being discussed, because they are the tool whose management is the easiest to enforce and the easiest to implement.
Not sure who this Dan O. is? Are you referring to the Hawaii Five-O character?
PS - I am fine with limiting the buck take (under the right circumstances).