In a companionable voice, I’ll try to reiterate my sensibilities as to fact verses opinion, and why this xbow issue is troublesome, not only to me but to many of my bowhunting brothers and sisters in Michigan. Understand too, that my rhetorical voice is in measured response to the indictments leveled against Michigan's hunting archers by the xbow lobby.
Facts:
1: xbow has never fit the criteria for use in archery seasons in Michigan (other than for special needs bowhunters, law has to undergo serious plastic surgery in order to include xbows)
2: It’s a stock shouldered, fore stock braced, breech loaded, cocked and trigger fired compound catapult.
3: It can remain in a static cocked and ready attitude, much like a firearm.
4: It can be laid across a tree limb or shanty window and sighted, then trigger fired, much the same as a firearm. It even comes with scope mounts. Much like a firearm.
5: It does not have firearm ballistics, but it’s ballistic capability far exceeds those of archery gear upon which lengthy bow seasons were and are premised.
6: Last but most importantly, special needs bowhunters have ALL the access they could ever want to xbows via the law nurtured, consulted, and sanctioned by Michigan Bowhunters.
More facts:
There is not now, nor has ever been, a nascent xbow constituency in Michigan.
The disingenuous spin from the xbow arms dealers (swarming our politicians) has been that their motivation has always been to help the special needs bowhunter.
Of course the xbow arms dealers were MIA when Michigan Bow Hunter’s did the yeoman work to make sure all special needs bowhunters could have available a variety of bows, including prosthetic attachments and xbows.
During the shams that recently passed as committee meetings, it seems the xbow arms dealers co opted Michigan’s NRC and may of our more secular progressive politicians and in doing so, trampled on the input from people like Ron LaClair and others who have unique insight into aspects of stewardship of our precious bow and arrow hunting aesthetic environment.
Opinion
Xbow arms dealers are tapping into the secular progressive wave that is coarsening our culture at large and bow hunting in particular. Fair Chase and it’s noble imperative is fodder for derision and semantic spin from those who believe that killing is what it’s all about. This segment of our hunting society would “use hand grenades if they’re made legal.” Heard one of the leaders for the destruction of our bow hunting aesthetic environment use those exact words. Witness the explosion of killing contests disguised as hunting shows on tv lately. Progressive improvement of hunting ethics? Not in my book.
This issue transcends naïve opines that we’re just a bunch of old farts hanging on to traditional institutions that are out of date. Rather, it’s about a few men and women being brave enough, in the face of the secular progressive tsunami, to take a stand as stewards of something so precious and fragile that it most be defended on a daily basis if we are going to pass it along in some kind of recognizable form to our great grandchildren.
In Michigan, our bow seasons are premised on the fact that Fair Chase plays a larger role in archery hunting than does using the most efficient killing machine available. If the later was a valid argument then there would be no need for a long bow season and we’d all just tip ‘em over with a 22.250 at 500 yds.
Again, the legacy of our archery forefathers is that my son knows the incomparable thrill of what it’s like to count a whitetail’s whiskers before he releases his arrow. And he knows the deep satisfaction vis-à-vis all the work it takes to do it consistently. No, xbows will not affect his adherence to fair chase. But they may become the norm in the woods to a whole generation who have grown up thinking that a bag of garbage, a tree stand and catapult are the traditional gear used for archery hunting. This idea may not be appealing to you folks from other states, but Michigan is the birth place of Fred Bear and all that his name, used to stand for. Years ago, I had a personal conversation with Fred (at the Michigan Deer Spectacular - he was on oxygen but still feisty) concerning the ascension of compounds and xbows. He was clear in his rejection of both for unrestricted inclusion in Michigan's bow season.
The notion that liberalizing weapons will bring more people into hunting is not working nationwide and should not be the vision for Michigan hunting season management.
At the very least politicians are not going to pull the wool over our eyes while they implement so-called progressive polices. Not on my watch.
Topic: Michigan Bowhunters Alert!!!! (Read 3516 times)
