I just emailed a big mutli-paragraph email. Hindsight tells me it was to long and most of them probably wont read the whole thing. As I was typing it out I realized theres so many ways to go off in:
I am writing you about the proposal to advance the use of crossbows in Iowa's deer hunting seasons.
This is not a positive for Iowa. I am an avid deer hunter and it is my passion. I live and breathe deer and deer hunting on a daily basis.
I can see how it may seem like a good idea to allow the increased use of crossbows. It could mean getting more people outdoors, which means more money being spent on tags, licenses, and gear. It could bring more recreation for people, more opportunity. What could be wrong with that, why should we not move this forward? I can tell you why.
In the hunting community/society/industry Iowa is one of the top places to be, it is one of the best. Iowa is the teachers favorite student, nearly getting all A's. We are the star athlete, we are the celebrity. Everyone wants to hunt Iowa, those not living here wish their state was like Iowa. Iowa year after year has big bucks and monster deer harvested.
Why do many other states not have that? Why do even our surrounding states not have that? MN/IL/NE/MO etc? It all comes down to how our hunting regulations are structured. We do not allow high power, long range rifles. We have no firearms (only archery) during the rut, which is the breeding season for deer and when they are the most vulnerable to a hunter. Archery for IA has (until a couple years ago) not allowed crossbows. Archery has meant the hunter has to stand, physically draw the bow back, hold steady, and release a shot typically within 25 yards of an animal all without being seen. It is a great challenge and a hunter truly has to outsmart the game.
With a crossbow that range is greatly increased. Yes, with a bow a hunter can practice and make lethal shots out to 40 yards and beyond, but conditions have to be perfect and very few have the time/are willing to practice to be accurate at that range or beyond. With a crossbow the string is already pulled back while the hunter is waiting on game and the hunter can typically stay seated. This alone puts the deer at a great disadvantage, as one of the most difficult parts of hunting with a bow is getting into position and coming to full draw on an animal without being detected. But, the crossbow also greatly increases the lethal range of a hunter, with little to no practice, effective range is doubled. 50, 60, 70 yards a capable shots. Simply put, crossbows require little practice, little woodsmanship, and increased killing ranges.
This is going to have a negative effect on Iowa's deer herd and the age structure of bucks. This will ultimately lead to less people hunting in the long run because the deer herd #'s will decrease, there will be fewer large bucks, and many hunters will lose interest and move on to other hobbies.
A bigger issue than the crossbow is coming if this passes. An even bigger issue in IA is access to land to deer hunt. Many public hunting lands in our state are already over pressured from hunters and there is little game and hunters often times run into each other in the woods and hunts are messed up. Often times trying to find an area without treestands already set up is a task in itself. Much of the private ground in IA that is good for deer hunting is already spoken for. Most of the private land is leased to hunters, or owned by hunters, or family hunts it. For the average Joe out there finding access to land to hunt is a very real challenge and has caused many people to already leave the hunting world behind, and this is the main reason that hunter #'s are decreasing. Iowa has one of the lowest public land acres in the country with under 3% of land being open for public hunting. Where are all these people suppose to hunt?
Adding another weapon, the crossbow, to our hunting seasons may increase the # of hunters, but its only going to add the problem of pressured public lands and limit private land access even more so. It is going to negatively impact the age class and quality of our deer herd. In the long run nothing good will come from this. I fear this is nothing more than a money grab thinking that our state could collect more funds in tags, licenses, equipment, travel, etc. Our natural resources need to be respected and conserved, not exploited for a short term financial game. I look forward to hearing from each of you, please vote no.
Sincerely,
Sam Bricker
Norwalk, IA
