| A Question of Crossbows | |
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Page Three
It Just Ain't
Right!
Another argument which anti-crossbow folks often put forth is that crossbow
hunting just plain shouldn't be allowed during "their" hunting season,
simply because it's different than what they're used to. Many of these are the
kinds of people who believe in the "us" and "them" mentality
when it comes to laws and regulations (just like the gun control crowd). Here's
another quote from the "National Anti-Crossbow Committee" I mentioned
earlier, from the same article in fact, referring to those "Yearly Harvest
by Weapon Type"
statistics:
"The Ohio statistics clearly show that bowhunters have become a minority in their own hunting season. The gap worsens with each hunting season."
"Their own hunting season." This is what it really boils down to, for some hunters. I am ashamed to have such people in our ranks, folks. They are afraid that if another tool is allowed to be used -- one that differs from theirs, though not as significantly as they'd like us to believe -- then they might just have to share the woods with other hunters. Heaven forbid!
Crossbows are labeled a "threat to the integrity of the archery-only hunting seasons." Integrity of a season? Further, anyone who would use a crossbow is called an "opportunistic hunter who lacks the dedication and commitment required to be a bowhunter." Folks like this seem to wear their selfishness like a badge of honor.
What they don't display are any facts to back up their claims that crossbow hunters are inherently undedicated or uncommitted. Their arguments come across as just so much slanted bluster, a scare tactic designed to anger bowhunters into protesting the crossbow based solely on the opinions of these writers. I prefer to believe that most hunters are smart enough to think for themselves, and that they should be armed with as many of the facts as possible, not just a few numbers designed to incense them and push them in a given direction.
Manufacturers
are Pushing for This, Not Hunters
Another tactic is to blame crossbow manufacturers for increased interest in
using crossbows during archery season. Supposedly these businesses are pulling
strings and bullying our game managers. We're told that, "Fish and Game
Departments are being blitzed by crossbow companies looking to expand their
markets." No proof of this so-called manufacturer's "blitz" is
offered, however.
In villianizing crossbow manufacturers, crossbow opponents seem to forget or ignore the potential customers of those manufacturers -- interested hunters, without whom crossbow hunting would be a non-issue. Conversely, no reference is ever made to manufacturers of other archery gear, who have an obvious stake in this matter (i.e. market share). It seems like just another attempt to rile hunters into opposing crossbows without presenting the facts for their consideration.
Interestingly enough, I have been told that in a resolution passed in June of 1999, "the Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization (AMO) recognize[d] the modern hunting crossbow as capable, challenging and appropriate hunting equipment, and recommends that it is up to each state fish and game department to determine who can hunt with a crossbow, what they can hunt, and in which seasons they can hunt."
Oddly, I was unable to find any mention of crossbows on AMO's Web site, even in their "standards" publication. So while the line between crossbow manufacturers and makers of other archery gear may not be as stark as it seems, the lack of coverage on the AMO's site does leave me wondering.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the most conclusive evidence that crossbows can be successfully
used alongside other archery equipment comes from the very state that opponents
point to in warning... Ohio. There, hunters are actually preferring crossbows
over other bows, but are experiencing the same (or very similar) success rate
regardless of their choice of archery equipment. That sounds like a win-win
situation to me.
There has been no wholesale slaughter of the deer population in Ohio. Crossbow hunters are not wiping out the herd while other bowhunters languish and sing the blues. Each season, more deer are being taken, which means greater hunter success is being attained, and there's plenty of game for everyone. Folks who like vertical bows are using them alongside crossbow hunters, and both are enjoying success.
Considering the evidence, and the equally compelling fact that there are folks who would like to carry crossbows in the woods during archery season, I don't see any reason whatsoever to keep crossbows out of the archery season based on the arguments covered in this article. Other factors, such as possible effects on the deer population, must be considered in any given case, but that's another matter entirely.
-Russ Chastain
