Maryland DNR Proposes Crossbows for full Season

[Hatrick]

A heads-up for all Maryland bowhunters and those from other states that enjoy heading our way for some enjoyable deer hunting.

The Maryland DNR has a proposal on the table to allow for the use of crossbows during the entire deer season which currently runs from mid September until the end of January. Current regulations allow crossbow use for split periods (about a month total) as it stands now.

My personal feelings are very strong against this change and I have voiced my opinion. For others that might be interested you can add your comments by going to:
  http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/comments/Hunt_Proposal.asp

From the majority of the opinions I've read so far I can just say that I am sick to my stomach. What in the world has bowhunting come to.  

[Brian Krebs]

See - what it came to was marketing easy to shoot bows. Compounds came first; and they have successfully taken the 'arch' out of 'archery' and they have reduced archery to the ability to purchase a compound bow ( they come presighted with arrows).
 They shoot their 'bows' and say : 'man I put the crosshairs on that buck- and squeezed the trigger- and BAM - I SMOKED HIM!'.
 Worse-  when it comes time to decide the future of bowhunting- they are the majority.
 Nobody should be surprised that the crossbows are NOW having an easy time getting into archery seasons- after having failed miserably before the compounds caught on.

[No-sage]

In competitions where crossbows are shot with compounds, the compounds always out score them.

It's hard to justify excluding crossbows when compounds have become so advanced as to outshoot them, and they're allowed.

I saw an ad for a compound bow that had 99% letoff.  The bow was held by the string and just the physical weight of the bow would hold it at full draw.  

The cow has left the barn.

[Brian Krebs]

The cow has left the barn...

 I see it as a different path; that goes to a different destination. I am sure that people that are using compounds are having fun. Its not fake fun; its fun.

 I am not sure I am in it for the fun. I have climbed mountains; and climbed down them; and sat in the hot sun for hours; and been bitten by a billion mosquitoes (or so); I have made stupid hunting decisions; and good ones; and when everything is just perfect- I have a load of meat to take care of. Trucks 5 miles up hill. Fun? I have never heard bowhunters sneaking; then stopping and laughing and rolling around on the ground.  Most of the laughter is with sore muscles; and a bug somewhere starting to dig or bite.
 But fun- as in competition and winners and losers and 'really goods' and 'crappy shots' and 'management bucks' and ever.... ever... being in the position of having to apologize- for shooting a doe? No.
 
 I am glad we have the Wensels. I am glad we have Charlie Lamb and Terry Green and Killie and all those that are part of who we are. They follow the path; we follow the path; and as time goes on-- the path is clearer; and those on it are pretty much all someone we enjoy meeting.  

 The tradgang is a place of traditional archery; and traditional bowhunters. It is a place of respect for others; and love of children; and love of a good laugh; and a place of really decent people. We are a constant.

They are a variable.

 I do not like it when we lose the chance to be in the field; hunting as humans have for tens of thousands of years. Lose it: to the whim of the day.

 Personally - I am fighting crossbow use. Not just watching the fight.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

the cross bow is a cancer spreading coast to coast. Its  being proposed here in MN too! I am afraid that good old days of true archery may be near an end, I am glad I have had thirty years of archery but I fear for those yet to walk in woods, I dont think they will ever know what we truly had.

[Chris Shelton]

you guys want to know the truth about this.  We are not doing a good enough job!  That is the truth, we are not killing enough deer for the managment, that is the only reason that the crossbow for healthy individuals has a leg to stand on.  If we would just go out and kill everything, and with a 32 deer that can be taken in region B we could very well do that.  I like probably alot of you guys are selective hunters, and we try to shoot the older or at least adolescent animals in the pack.  So we are not going to limit out, add to the fact that we are traditional bowhunters and we just wont make the cut.  Well as a whole.  I know I can go out and kill a deer with my bow, almost everytime if I wanted to . . .

[Chris Shelton]

but we wont because we dont need to.  A crossbow is going to get more individuals into the feild.  I really dont know what the extra 10 days in the beginning that is proposed will do.  That should really be a trad season, lol.  BTW thanks for the link up top, got my two cents in!

[Hatrick]

Chris "we are not killing enough deer for the managment, that is the only reason that the crossbow for healthy individuals has a leg to stand on."

I don't buy that, Chris. The modern compound is a more effective tool and a lot safer weapon IMO. My main concern still centers on safety. I don't even want to be on the same range with them. Other than handicapped individuals (dare I say that word) why would someone want to use a crossbow over a compound?? Laziness I suspect.

[Tsalagi]

I might support crossbows, as long as they were made with the original Medieval specs. No scopes, no sights, and no shoulder stocks.

[Chris Shelton]

Originally posted by Hatrick:
I don't buy that, Chris. The modern compound is a more effective tool and a lot safer weapon IMO. My main concern still centers on safety. I don't even want to be on the same range with them. Other than handicapped individuals (dare I say that word) why would someone want to use a crossbow over a compound?? Laziness I suspect.

O i dont buy it either, but that is the only way the crossbow will ever be allowed to be used during bow season.  I hate to think about it, what is going to happened to our bow only areas???  Crazy!  But that is the crossbow pitch, that they will bring more folks afeild and decrease the herd.  And it might do that but do we really want the lazy people coming afeild?  Unless you have a handicap you have no business with a crossbow in my opinion.  Makes me wonder weather we should start wearing orange during bow season?

[kbetts]

Coming to DE too.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Anything with a stock is not archery in an sense of the word.  I agree the they should be allowed for disable hunters who need the advantage of the stock.  Otherwise let them hunt in modern firearm seasons where the stocked weapons belong.

[Brian Krebs]

Aldo Leopold said that their should never be enough bowhunters that they become part of a game management scheme.
 We shouldn't kill more than the natural death rate.

See what traditional bowhunting was then to him; before compounds and the vile thought of crossbows- was that we (bowhunters) are better off  with little impact on anything.

 With compounds we become great enough in numbers to start being a consideration in game management.

 Now the majority of bowhunters are compound bow hunters.
 
 With the addition of crossbows; our voice as traditional bowhunters is getting lost in the crowd.

 The thing about trying to argue game management; is that we are all from different areas; with different localized situations.
 Where some people have lots of private land like Texas; others have primarily public lands - like Idaho.

 Then too the types of game taken differ- we all hunt deer; some though have a chance at one deer per year; and others more than 10.

 You cannot really come to a logical conclusion on some things- when there are variables aplenty.

 Now- taking a stand about equipment; well the P&Y club has been doing that.

 I talked with a guy that works at the NRAs legislative effort; and he was adamant that the NRA is doing the right thing to support efforts to pass crossbow in archery season rules.
 I talked to him for well over a half hour; and he just could not be convinced that bowhunters were against crossbows.
 The NRA intends to support crossbows with zest; as they say it increases hunter numbers; and that is important to them.

  I argued the position on crossbows was a state issue; and it concerns hunting methods; and that they (NRA) really have no concern in that.

  The NRA is outright convinced that we bowhunters want crossbows in archery season; that we want more hunters in our seasons; and the more hunters the better.

 So this is not just about Maryland- its about the NRA deciding and imposing its beliefs about bowhunting and what should happen in a bowhunting season.

 I am an NRA member now; but I quit supporting them long ago- when the NRA hired Chuck Adams as the representative of bowhunters; after Adams started talking right off about taking 70 yard shots at antelope.
 With guns- a long shot is a back slapper; but with the bow; its about the hunting; and getting close.
 I was ignored; and my quitting the NRA made no difference to the NRA; and it does not make a difference anymore what the INDIVIDUAL person wants anymore to the NRA: its about the NRA deciding the fate of hunting.

 While I am an NRA member to help defend the 2nd amendment; I am totally opposed to the NRA taking advice from the crossbow lobby; and making the leaders of bowhunters those: 'whack em and stack em and get it all on film people'.

 The early bird gets the worm; and certainly the bird with its beak closed never gets anything; and that is what we as traditional bowhunters are doing.

 We are by nature less gregarious; less likely to get involved in issues; less likely to discuss it; and way less likely to make a stand.

 We tend to stand like a giant oak; weathering the storms and knowing one day all this will come to pass......with an obviously oblivious mind to the chainsaw season.