Crossguns in PA

[Goose smasher]

Crossbows have been legal during archery season in Ontario for longer then I've been able to hunt in 1990. While I prefer to shoot with my longbow or recurve I honestly have nothing against a crossbow hunter.

 Back before I was injured at work and couldn't draw a bow for nearly ten years I shot both a recurve and a compound. I shot in many 3d events was was always amazed at how badly I could beat the crossbow shooters. There's a big difference between shooting a crossbow off hand and from a bench.

 Having actually hunted with one because I couldn't hunt otherwise I can tell you that they are not as superior as many believe they are and I mean that with the highest respect.

They are big,heavy and bulky and they are very noisy. A deer at over thirty yards has a real chance of jumping the string and being missed clean. I've had it happen. You will get way more shooting opportunities with a traditional bow then a crossbow. You just can't twist around the same to take shots.

 And to say that crossbow hunters are all slobs with no skill or respect to the animals is just not right. The two very best deer hunters I know are crossbow hunters. To say no one other the a crossbow shooter ever makes a bad shot is not reality.

 Are crossbows the same as traditional bows or compounds? No they are not,no question. But I do not believe they are nearly as bad as many people think. Perhaps there will be an influx of new shooters for the first few years but many will give it up or move onto another form of bow that is more pleasurable to use.

 Sometimes giving something a try can change a persons perspective on some things and I would urge everyone to at least give the crossbow a try on the range or even in a 3d shoot and you will see first hand that they do have their limitations.

 I love shooting my longbow and recurve far more then any crossbow but at the same time I don't look down on the crossbow either.

 Goose smasher

[Ron Vought]

I don't look down on the crossgun or the hunter using them but it simply isn't archery. They should be used in the gun season which I have no problem with. We have to draw the line somewhere on archery equipment otherwise it will keep going until they develop a crossgun where a 209 primer fires a bolt. We saw the same thing happen when the inline muzzleloader came on the seen....It's no more than a so called muzzleloader disguised as a very accurate and long distance caseless rifle cartridge.

The other side of this debate is how the crossgun could negatively impact the archery season in regards to now being viewed as a highly effective deer management tool. Example...Harvest numbers go above biologist projections and bow seasons never are extended or worst case seasons shortened. Nobody wants to talk about this especially the guys that use crossguns.

Ron

[Goose smasher]

Perhaps crossbows could be a recruitment opportunity for traditional bows? Crossbows are pretty boring to shoot but trad bows are wonderfully fun to shoot and we all know that!

  What if we embraced the new crossbow shooters and invited them to join us? I think a lot of them would eventually want to try something more challenging and fun like our bows. I know I'd rather take one shot with a longbow instead of a hundred with a crossbow.

[Ron Vought]

I think most hunters that use a crossgun use it because it requires less practice time and is easier to use, at least that is what I hear from the majority of them. It's more of an opportunists mindset. Having said this I am not sure they would convert to traditional bow being that it requires  practice and is not 'easier'.

Ron

[Steve D]

You hit the nail on the head for that one Ron. If the vast majority aren't switching that shot compounds,you can bet most using crossbows  have little or no interest in hunting with "Trad " bows.
Even if some did it's still no reason to have that contraption allowed in bowhunting seasons. Should be legal only in gun seasons/urban deer hunts. Or for the physically disabled.

[Ron Vought]

I have been in many debates with the crossgun community on other forums and this same discussion comes up about recruitment. I just don't buy it. The crossgun hunter elects to use the crossgun for normally two reasons....easier to use and requires less time. Seems our society today is all about 'less time' and people want things that are easier with no work involved.

The crossgun debate should be about two things....what is the true identity of bowhunting and how does the weapon impact our season. These two areas need discussion.

Ron

[Goose smasher]

I agree completely with you guys that crossbows are not trad bows.

 Another thing to think about is not alienating a group of hunters. We need to be united. Well funded anti hunting groups want to end our hunting and they will chip away at us little by little until they get their way. If one group of hunters fights with another group of hunters then its easier for the anti's to win.

 If the traditional hunters won't work with the crossbow hunters why would the crossbow hunters stick up for the trad hunters if they became the anti's target? What if there was more crossbow hunters then trad hunters and they lobbied to have us taken out of the hunting seasons?If there's more crossbow hunters then trad hunters we could lose.

 Like I said before guys my province has had crossbow hunting during archery season for over thirty years and I really don't see the harm in it.

 Ask yourself this question.If you or heaven forbid your son or daughter was in some sort of accident and could no longer draw a bow to hunt would you hunt (or allow them to) with a crossbow or stick to your guns and no crossbow hunting during bow season?

 I have the highest respect for everyone who loves their traditional bows and have put years into living the traditional lifestyle. I think its fantastic and I'm really enjoying getting into the scene myself. I just think fighting the crossbows is a losing battle. Maybe we should say to the crossbow hunters that crossbows are ok and hey ,have you ever tried a recurve? Maybe not all of them would get into the trad bows but some will. You catch more flies with honey.

[Ron Vought]

No problem with a truly handicapped hunter using a crossgun but prior to the crossgun being legalized in PA the word handicapped or disabled was truly being abused to obtain a crossgun permit. Crossguns are not archery hunting. Where do you want to draw the line on archery equipment and how does it impact our seasons?

It's not all about the weapon we choose to use its all about getting the right kind of hunters involved with fighting the anti's. We have many hunters that are opportunists plain and simple....in other words all they care about is hunting and never get involved with hunting related issues so by uniting what does that mean when only a handful of people are doing all the fighting? Pure numbers will not defeat the anti's or legislation that negatively hurts hunting...its having the right kind of hunters in our ranks. Those that actually do something versus just taking the opportunities to hunt.

Ron

[Ron Vought]

I was standing in one of the larger archery shops in PA today and overheard a guy inquiring about a crossgun. The clerk asked him "why do you want to use a crossgun versus a vertical bow". The response from the customer was that  he didn't have time to be proficient with a vertical bow and that the crossgun was easier....sounded to me that the guy wanted a short cut into the archery season. Sight it in and go hunt...

Ron

[Scamper]

So?

[Sam McMichael]

I have no problem with people hunting with crossbows. HOWEVER, I totally disagree that they should be allowed during archery season. They should be allowed in the rifle season. Modern crossbows are not archery. I've got no more use for them than I do an in-line black powder rifle.

[Scamper]

Except they aren't rifles.

Really I find these debates kinda ridiculous

Like you're arguing how someone else chooses to participate in a recreational activity.

And it actually doesn't even effect you.