I have been hunting illegal...Now with UPDATE!

[Cootling]

The usual measure is cutting diameter.  An arrow that will pass through a 1" diameter ring is not 1" in diameter.

Easier to comply than worry, IMO.

[$bowhunter$]

Originally posted by Cootling:
The usual measure is cutting diameter.  An arrow that will pass through a 1" diameter ring is not 1" in diameter.

Easier to comply than worry, IMO.

id try that. sound simple answer. if not call ur local warden and arange to speack with him.

[Jimbow39]

I was told by a game protector that they shouldn't pass through a 7/8" diameter hole. If they did, they were illegal.

[xtrema312]

It is interesting that if the rule was 1” wide, a two blade with 1” wide cut would be ok, but a three blade that was 7/8” cutting dia. with 1 5/8” of cut wouldn’t.  You have to wonder some times about those who make this stuff up.

[tradshooter]

I would draft a letter to the F&G Office with this question and then keep their response on file. Offer to bring in one of the broad heads if need be, but for sure describe it fully so there is no doubt about which one it is. I agree with the last couple of responses and be concerned about it, an honest mistake is still a mistake and you can get an answer to this question in black and white. Best of luck.

[Tajue17]

1" cut?
I'm sure the entrance hole will measure at least 1" or my experience is it stretches a little at impact.  

thats a law they will use if your really abusing something and they want everythign they can get,,, nice and sharp and looks like 1" all day long to any Game warden around here..  we have to deal with the 40# minimum though and 7/8"s minimum cut.

if its like here though the minimum requirements are for deer,, and deer season overlaps everything else so if they want then play the loop hole game then say "I just realized I have my woodchuck arrows so I'll only shoot at those today officer sorry for the mixup"

[Lee Robinson .]

It isn't a stupid law, but using a ring to determine size may be inappropriate if they don't consider the number of blades. Instead, what they should do is use the ring for 2 blades, but for 3 blades they should then divide the diameter of the ring in half and then multiply this by three...which would put the WW over 1". Check on the procedure used to be sure it is a violation and that 2 blade and 3 blade heads are all measured the same way.

You could also just put a wider 2 blade or a snuffer in your quiver and hunt with that.

[FerretWYO]

Maybe it is just me but it worries me that so many here are looking for a way to lie to law official or find a way to cheat a simple rule.

I agree they are great head I have killed game with them. Just can't use them here until they meet the requirements.  I have been told the issue is being resolved.

[wingnut]

Dang if they don't measure up they need to fix that for sure.  Lots of folks use that head and believe what the packaging says.  Would hate to get busted for an undersized broadhead when I paid for one that is supposed to be 1" or more.

Mike

[Bonebuster]

Laws are supposed to be in place to help prevent problems.

Lets say, I am a Conservation Officer, and I stumble upon a bowhunter.

He`s carrying a $700.00 longbow, a $90.00 bow quiver full of handcrafted, wooden arrows, he is wearing a damn fine hat, and he is as polite as any hunter I`ve ever met. BUT, his surgical sharp broadheads turn out to be 1/16th of an inch too narrow for the letter of the law. (the bowhunter thinks he is completely legal)

Do I write him a ticket, or compliment his bow and his hat, and explain the law to him so he can get it right, and let him go on his way to fix the "problem".

Too many of us KNOW there would be a ticket written.

The next bowhunter he checks has broadheads that are as dull as a butter knife, but they are wide enough for the letter of the law, so he goes on his way. Problem solved...right?

Do all you can to follow the law, and get bigger broadheads.

[LV2HUNT]

I would think with a multi blade head that cutting diameter would be calculated by adding the cut produced from each blade. Especially in the case where they refer to it as producing a certain measured "cut". On my woodsman's they measure .5 from ferrule. By my math (3 x .5" = 1.5") which would make them legal.

[Bowwild]

Bonebuster,
If the bowhunter you describe hasn't done anything else that is against the law (tresspass, not wearing orange if required during an overlapping gun season, disobeyed shooting times, failed to tag or document a kill, etc.) and wasn't a jerk, (the fine hat would pretty much preclude him from being a jerk) I don't know of an officer who would write him.  I've known, worked with, and supervised hundreds in four states.

That jerk or not criteria is important. No one likes to be treated with disrespect.  I've follwed people at the boarding gate in airports who were rude and didn't get anything for their effort. Then I've stepped forward and received $600 credit for my trouble because I treated the person better - this happened last on December 16, 2010 in Lexington, KY. By the way, that credit might be used on a BC moose this September!

Of course there are a few officers out there who should be in other types of enforcement. The ones that like to throw everyone on the hood and read em the riot act. Actually, no law enforcement agency needs such people.

[paleFace]

Speaking from 15 years as a police officer and working closely with the game warden (now conservation officer), I can tell you that most if not all of the guys I worked with don't harass or write summons just to be jerks. If you haven't done anything wrong and just happen to get checked and he finds something, I would bet you would get a warning. Now if he checked you again and you had not fixed the issue, then yes a ticket is in the works.

now to add just a little wrench into this, say you purchased a pack of broadheads and clearly marked on the package is the cutting dia. or width that makes this head legal.  one would assume that the company that manufactured the head to print true information on the pkg. So you are out hunting and get checked by a warden and he writes you for illegal sized broadheads.  You bring the packaging with the cutting info printed clearly on it to court.  My guess is that the judge would be hard pressed to find you guilty. He might advise you find a solution and that if you come back to his court for this issue again he will find you guilty.  

Now I"m going to check my broadheads to see just what cutting dia. they are. Honestly I have never questioned what the packaging has printed on them. I assumed it to be correct.

Archery In Virginia:
# Broadhead widths must be at least 7/8-inch wide or expand upon impact to 7/8-inch.
# Bows must be capable of propelling a broadhead arrow at least 125 yards.

[Shedrock]

If the new ones are 1 1/8" as advertised, I wonder if 3Rivers will let me trade these "illegal" ones in for the wider ones? I highly doubt it, but I will call them.

I have been checked by the warden many times. Never once has my equiptment been checked, just my license.

We have to have an archery license in Wy also. I have never been asked to show that.

[Cootling]

On one hand, we have folks complaining that regulations are too complex and wardens are "out to get us" if we slip up.  On the other hand, we have folks wanting to add a bunch of what-ifs and wherefores to a rule that is easy to follow and simple for wardens to apply fairly and uniformly in the field.

Also, it is interesting to me that folks would want to codify issues we can't even agree on amongst ourselves.  How many debates have you seen about the superiority of 2 vs. 3-blade heads?

Seems to me that existing cutting diameter laws are pretty good.  Easy to follow, easy to apply in the field.  I think of them as a reasonable MINIMUM standard.

[Friend]

The WW's are not doubt a fine broadhead. However, when I measured the dia cutting width's several years ago, they were clearly undersized as advertised. To me this was misrepresentaion and thus far I have never hunted with them. My son, however harvested a turkey with a 150 gn WW this past spring.

The Big Jim 'Big 3's' pass the paper test but not inspectable per the 7/8" ring test. They just slice thru the ring before I can make an assessment.

[paleFace]

Just checked the WW 150 elites I just received from 3Rivers on Thursday and no where on the package does it give the cutting width or diameter. What it says is "Nearly eight inches of wicked cutting surface".

I also checked the cutting diameter of both the 125's and the 150's and they are both 7/8"... leagal here in Virginia.

[Turkeys Fear Me]

My guess is that if you get a ticket for an undersized Woodsman, you pi$$ed him off to the point he was looking for infractions.

[Bowwild]

I have always been an advocate for simple and stable hunting regulations.  The regulations get complicated for two main reasons:

1. Someone tries to impose their ethic on others.
2. Legal wants to make it as difficult as possible for the crook to get by on loop-holes.

I despise both motivations.

[lpcjon2]

In Jersey it states that an arrow must have a sharpened metal head with a minimum of 3/4" width.
But I think the overall cutting surface is what makes the difference.