Why?

[JamesKerr]

Can someone please tell me why stone points are illegal in some states. I have been curious about this ever since I started making my own hunting points. I do not understand why they would not want them used. One of the best bloodtrails I ever had was with a stone point.

[Ragnarok Forge]

They are a lot weaker than steel points, they are not necessarily reliable heads if you hit bone they can break, etc....  Lot of reasons I can think of for a game department not to allow them.

[JamesKerr]

I agree they can break but so can many of the heads that compound shooters are using. I have seen many animals shot by compounds in which the arrow barely even penetrated due to those mechanical contraptions. In my testing a stone point is much stronger than them.

[Looper]

Are you asking the question from a position of wanting stone points to be legal in your state, or from just general curiosity?  

Although laws are written by state legislators, biologists are the ones who make the recommendations for laws based upon their studies. Knowing a few of them, I do believe that they try to make the best decisions with the information they have. Unfortunately, many of them are not familiar with the effectiveness and efficiency of primitive weapons. Heck, many of them aren't even hunters, much less bowhunters. Some are, but most aren't.

It is possible to have laws changed or amended, but it is a lengthy process.  Perhaps the most critical thing is to find who actually makes the decisions and who that person gets his recommendations from. It's then a matter of presenting the right person with the right information, which has to be based upon actual science and not someone's wishes.

[Grey Taylor]

It could be an unfamiliarity with the material.
It could be erroneous research or advice.
It could be influence from manufacturers.
And worst of all...
It could be the stupidity of politics.

Guy

[hvyhitter]

Many parts of the archery regulations are in place as they were written many years ago and are still there till someone trys to change them. Many said "fixed blade steel broadhead 1 inch in diameter" till the gadget addicts had it changed for mechanicals. Untill someone lobbies to change them, the regs will stay in place. Talk to your state/national bowhunting organizations about backing for a change.

[Pat B]

I think it is ignorance on the part of the folks writing the laws. Not stupidity but ignorance. They just don't know any better.
  After trying to figure out what exactly was meant by a barbed head I called the head law enforcement for NC and asked him if he could explain it to me. He thoght for a few seconds and said that it couldn't look like a fish hook. Then after another pause he said I had better ask the officer that would be writing the ticket.  I just don't think they know and don't have time to find out.
  A broken stone point is sharper than the point before it was broken. It will do as much or more tissue damage as any point. If it weren't for stone points we wouldn't be here today. For a million years mankind has been using stone tools and not until reatively recently(since the bronze age) have metals been used and even Utzi, the Iceman from the Alps who had a bronze ax still used stone arrowheads and a stone knife.
  Plus the stone point lobby just doesn't have the clout to push the issue.

[Ragnarok Forge]

That are allowed in my state I have the stone and plan to learn to knap so I can hunt with heads I made myself.

[sweeney3]

Mainly money.  How many companies manufacture stone points?  What is the sales tax revenue?  How many people are lobbying for stone points to be allowed?  What is the economic/political incentive behind stone points?  

From a common sense point of view, there is no good reason why they shouldn't be allowed, and plenty of reasons they should be.  Sure, they CAN fail and cause a lost/wounded animal.  So can modern broadheads of all varieties.  So can a .270, .308, or any other projectile.  But there isn't much economic or political incentive to put any legislative effort into stone points or other "primitive" hunting methods.  There might be several thousand interested parties, nationwide, compared with MILLIONS of compound/mechanical pointed/rifle/other modern gun hunters in the country.  

There are a few states that allow them, either explicitly or through exclusion (they aren't DISALLOWED), but not a lot yet.  There are probably several other states that could be persuaded with some organized effort, and several that never will be.

[ChuckC]

Stone points are not some miracle thing. Yes they have been around for a long time, but I hope you noticed that every group that formerly used stone,  that finally had access to steel, made the jump.  They are not easy to make, they are not always sharp and if made by an inexperienced person, may not be sharp at all.

I have had enough issues years ago with folks not sharpening the steel heads before use.

I am NOT saying all of them are bad, but face it folks, not many of us are capable of currently producing a good stone head.

ChuckC

[Eric Krewson]

Unfortunately a lot of would be primitive archers make an arrowhead shaped object and try to hunt with it. There is a lot of difference in a properly made head and the run of the mill kind.

You can't separate the dullards tying a blunt rock on an arrow and the guys who use a finely crafted, very lethal point so I understand laws banning these points in some states.

I have some Bill Skinner points that I would feel confident hunting any big game animal with.

If I used some that I made I would be one of the dullards I mentioned above.

[frank bullitt]

Well, to address your ? James, I think it goes back to our Bowhunting Forefathers! The ones who fought for our bow only seasons!

At a time when we just had finished a great war, Depression, and a time for the nation to move into the new age. Alot of stuff to be thankful for!

The ole cliched phrase "going to a gunfight with a knife" comes to mind. They needed to show the effectiveness of our equipment, and I don't think "stone" age, was the best selling point.

Now jump to today, the primitive reannactors, techs, have proven thru time, that the stone point is effective. We know and see this every year, when folks use them within reason.

As for them being banned, they never were wrote in as to be used, until folks, in the last 20 or so years, have legislated for their use. The law is pretty gray in some states on broadheads!

I don't believe every Native in the past made perfect points. Nor did they all build perfect bows! Even today we all have different talents and have to share or trade our crafts in the tribe!  

[cjgregory]

Personally I do not support stone heads for big game.  Small game? Knock yourself out.

Now if you make the cutting diameter to match the regulations then I think they should take a look at it for you.

[Cory Mattson]

Yes it was the founding fathers of bowhunting when bow seasons were initially created. The modern pioneers in the 40s and 50s viewed stone points as a potential problem. Most bowhunters still do. If you had a good blood trail I am happy for you. I have seen several stone points blow up on hogs. ? Good bowhunters and using what looked to be good quality points. If you are bent on using them I recommend aiming for the liver - stones hold up better there and don't get torn up with ribs of shoulder deflection.

[cjgregory]

What many don't realize is the the stone points we find are actually discards.  A good point was retrieved and resued until it broke or chipped.

Some indians would have a "favorite" good luck point.  If one was used to make an amazing shot it could be removed from the arrow and put in a medicine bag because of its religious valve.

The points we find were points that didn't turn out right and were discarded as unservicable.  I learned this from a great uncle of mine who once had the largest most extensive collection in the world.  He had one that was from a lance and removed from the body of one of the soldiers killed at the little big horn before being piled up in the first mass grave.

Tom Custer had his head flattened with a war club and over a dozen arrows fired into him.  Naturally the officers were transported back to thier states.  Some of these arrow heads circulated for a while.  At least the authenticated ones.  No arrow except those shot point blank had a penetration even close to an inch.  The soldiers wore wool clothing.  All the soldiers killed at the little big horn were either shot with a better rifle than the soldier had or were lanced or war clubbed to death.

The primary weapon of the plains indian was a lance.  Penetration by stone points is terrible.

[Killdeer]

Thank goodness deer don't wear wool.
In states where stone points are not disallowed, the points must match the minimum dimensions of metal points. I feel no disadvantage in using a well-made stone point, save for the fact that it will be destroyed in the event of a miss.

Killdeer

[cjgregory]

Yes thank goodness they dont. lol  Whatever a state decides is what they decide.

With the hair and the hide I'm pretty sure that a deers hide is tough enough to withstand stone points pretty well.  Obsidian and possibly other forms of glass type substances work much better.

The real difference would be modern selfbow or modern laminated bow construction.  If you ever picked up a Souix bow and shot it you would NOT be impressed.  Buffalo were lanced and elk were herded into traps so they could be killed.  The bow was primarily a war weapon and deer hunting at very close range.  There is a reason why the indians would eagerly seek out and trade for trade steel arrow points.  They weren't concerned with primitive lifestyle.  They were concerned with survival.

Hunting took place when the hair on deer was short.  This also made it easier to scrape the hair and upper epidermis off to tan the hides.  Preperation for the winter.  The construction of clothing, weapons and tools took place during the cold of winter.

The hair is not short when we hunt deer now.

[arrowlauncherdj]

The laws were probably written by lobbyists for the steel/broadhead industry many years ago.

[Killdeer]

The two stone points that I have recovered from deer went through and punched holes in vertebrae. One through the back of the neck, and one through the body cavity. They penetrate, and very well.

Many hunters have had similar experiences, on larger game than deer. A prejudice is just that, and few wish to do the research to disprove their own.


Killdeer

[Bowwild]

Having spent a career as a biologist working in wildlife agencies most would be unfamiliar as some have stated above. So when a proposal is made they would turn to trusted bowhunters for advice. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine personal equipment bias impacting such decisions.

You'd be surprised to know how just a couple compelling folks can cause a change or not in a regulation. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it isn't.

Bowhunters would have at least a week longer to hunt turkeys in the spring (Kentucky) had not one fellow, who claimed JUST because he was from Missouri he was a turkey expert, spoke against the proposal about 7-8 years ago, That day science and bowhunters lost. Most days they didn't and don't though.