magnus
PMA Member
All true!!
All true!!
I am one of those dasterdly hunters who have crossed over to the dark side of carrying a crossbow to more easily be able to poach and jacklight every big buck in the county.
The grin is just to help point out the sacasim in that statement. Because of old arthritic shoulders I got a crossbow permit last year and did harvest one deer with it during that bow season. I don't feel that I helped wipe out the deer herd by doing that. Baring the hype of the crossbow companies I just can't buy the fact that by legalizing crossbows that we will suddenly have 50,000 additional deer hunters fighting over land access. There may be some movement of hunters from other segments but the vast majority of any new crossbow users will already be deer hunters with land access. The next issue is that the proposal would only legalize them for a time frame that is already the least utilized of all the seasons. Those late seasons fall around holidays and often brutal weather that limited particapation by less than very dedicated hunters who already have been using their weapon of choice.
Every thing I have read about other states that have legalized crossbows says that crossbow hunters only harvest less than 5 percent of the total harvest. Even that 5% only includes many deer that have just moved from one season segment to another season, such as a regular bow harvested deer to a crossbow harvest or from a rifle harvest to the crossbow segment. The total harvest numbers have changed VERY LITTLE!
Now to address the myth of the ease and effectivness of the crossbow in a hunting setting. I have watched that same video with that PSE tactical bow and agree it is pretty impressive. I have also seen several videos with compound bows doing the same thing just as well or maybe a little better. The PSE tactical bow is not a hunting cross bow any more than a .50 cal sniper rifle is a deer hunting rifle. Both could be very effective with the crossbow at 100 yards or the sniper rifle at 1500 yards but none of us are going to use either one that way. I do have a hunting crossbow, an Excalibur, that is rates at 305fps shooting a 20 inch 350 grain bolt. With mine I use the 20 inch bolts with a 125 grain broadhead that pushes the weight upto about 390 grains and drops the speed down to about 275 fps. The no practice myth is just that, a myth. Last fall I would shoot it a couple of times a week and shooting from a bench rest I could hold inch groups at both 20 and 30 yards most days and I did kill a deer at about 18 yards with it off handed. It was a nice clean harvest with a pass through and the deer ran about 60 yards, similar to a couple of recurve kills. If I moved the range out to 40 or 50 yards things changed dramiticly. Using the same hold as for 20 yards the point of impact fell by over 24 inches and almost 36 inches at 50 yards. That 1 inch group then opens up to more like 6 inches from a bench with bags. I know that my crossbow isn't any where near top of the line and the trigger is not so great, it is still far better than many of the entry level crossbows out there, and those will be what most of those entry level crossbow hunters will be buying. With the kind of performance from these types of crossbows don't over estimate their killing effectiveness. With most first time users shooting off hand especially it may be very difficult to make a good shot on a deer over 20 yards out. Crossbows are not the evil killing machines that the non user belives them to be so fear not Iowa bow hunters, there will still some bucks left to hunt if we stop killing does and antlerless deer for over 60 percent of our harvest!!
The grin is just to help point out the sacasim in that statement. Because of old arthritic shoulders I got a crossbow permit last year and did harvest one deer with it during that bow season. I don't feel that I helped wipe out the deer herd by doing that. Baring the hype of the crossbow companies I just can't buy the fact that by legalizing crossbows that we will suddenly have 50,000 additional deer hunters fighting over land access. There may be some movement of hunters from other segments but the vast majority of any new crossbow users will already be deer hunters with land access. The next issue is that the proposal would only legalize them for a time frame that is already the least utilized of all the seasons. Those late seasons fall around holidays and often brutal weather that limited particapation by less than very dedicated hunters who already have been using their weapon of choice. Every thing I have read about other states that have legalized crossbows says that crossbow hunters only harvest less than 5 percent of the total harvest. Even that 5% only includes many deer that have just moved from one season segment to another season, such as a regular bow harvested deer to a crossbow harvest or from a rifle harvest to the crossbow segment. The total harvest numbers have changed VERY LITTLE!
Now to address the myth of the ease and effectivness of the crossbow in a hunting setting. I have watched that same video with that PSE tactical bow and agree it is pretty impressive. I have also seen several videos with compound bows doing the same thing just as well or maybe a little better. The PSE tactical bow is not a hunting cross bow any more than a .50 cal sniper rifle is a deer hunting rifle. Both could be very effective with the crossbow at 100 yards or the sniper rifle at 1500 yards but none of us are going to use either one that way. I do have a hunting crossbow, an Excalibur, that is rates at 305fps shooting a 20 inch 350 grain bolt. With mine I use the 20 inch bolts with a 125 grain broadhead that pushes the weight upto about 390 grains and drops the speed down to about 275 fps. The no practice myth is just that, a myth. Last fall I would shoot it a couple of times a week and shooting from a bench rest I could hold inch groups at both 20 and 30 yards most days and I did kill a deer at about 18 yards with it off handed. It was a nice clean harvest with a pass through and the deer ran about 60 yards, similar to a couple of recurve kills. If I moved the range out to 40 or 50 yards things changed dramiticly. Using the same hold as for 20 yards the point of impact fell by over 24 inches and almost 36 inches at 50 yards. That 1 inch group then opens up to more like 6 inches from a bench with bags. I know that my crossbow isn't any where near top of the line and the trigger is not so great, it is still far better than many of the entry level crossbows out there, and those will be what most of those entry level crossbow hunters will be buying. With the kind of performance from these types of crossbows don't over estimate their killing effectiveness. With most first time users shooting off hand especially it may be very difficult to make a good shot on a deer over 20 yards out. Crossbows are not the evil killing machines that the non user belives them to be so fear not Iowa bow hunters, there will still some bucks left to hunt if we stop killing does and antlerless deer for over 60 percent of our harvest!!
chipterp
PMA Member
Strongly agree
bonefishbill
New Member
"A Seahorse is not a horse -and a "Crossbow" is not a bow
203ntyp
PMA Member
I am one of those dasterdly hunters who have crossed over to the dark side of carrying a crossbow to more easily be able to poach and jacklight every big buck in the county.
Every thing I have read about other states that have legalized crossbows says that crossbow hunters only harvest less than 5 percent of the total harvest. Even that 5% only includes many deer that have just moved from one season segment to another season, such as a regular bow harvested deer to a crossbow harvest or from a rifle harvest to the crossbow segment. The total harvest numbers have changed VERY LITTLE!
Now to address the myth of the ease and effectivness of the crossbow in a hunting setting. I have watched that same video with that PSE tactical bow and agree it is pretty impressive. I have also seen several videos with compound bows doing the same thing just as well or maybe a little better. The PSE tactical bow is not a hunting cross bow any more than a .50 cal sniper rifle is a deer hunting rifle. Both could be very effective with the crossbow at 100 yards or the sniper rifle at 1500 yards but none of us are going to use either one that way. I do have a hunting crossbow, an Excalibur, that is rates at 305fps shooting a 20 inch 350 grain bolt. With mine I use the 20 inch bolts with a 125 grain broadhead that pushes the weight upto about 390 grains and drops the speed down to about 275 fps. The no practice myth is just that, a myth. Last fall I would shoot it a couple of times a week and shooting from a bench rest I could hold inch groups at both 20 and 30 yards most days and I did kill a deer at about 18 yards with it off handed. It was a nice clean harvest with a pass through and the deer ran about 60 yards, similar to a couple of recurve kills. If I moved the range out to 40 or 50 yards things changed dramiticly. Using the same hold as for 20 yards the point of impact fell by over 24 inches and almost 36 inches at 50 yards. That 1 inch group then opens up to more like 6 inches from a bench with bags. I know that my crossbow isn't any where near top of the line and the trigger is not so great, it is still far better than many of the entry level crossbows out there, and those will be what most of those entry level crossbow hunters will be buying. With the kind of performance from these types of crossbows don't over estimate their killing effectiveness. With most first time users shooting off hand especially it may be very difficult to make a good shot on a deer over 20 yards out. Crossbows are not the evil killing machines that the non user belives them to be so fear not Iowa bow hunters, there will still some bucks left to hunt if we stop killing does and antlerless deer for over 60 percent of our harvest!!
Just to clarify, I am not against someone using a cross bow that can not physically draw a bow. Cross bows are no more effective than todays compounds but it is not a bow as far as I'm concerned. And yes, it does make it easy for someone jack lighting to poach and no one will ever hear a thing. The more cross bows that are sold raises the percentage that some unethical poacher will buy one. Also if states claim only 5% harvest deer with crossbows that's because they're lucky if 50% of the harvest ever gets reported.
bigbuckhunter88
PMA Member
For youths and elderly/disabled I'm all for it to keep people in the sport. But for your average able bodied person I am against it in archery season. You don't have to draw without getting busted, you don't have to hold back until you get the perfect opportunity, and don't have to hold free handed on your target.
nemohunter
Member
They are trying to make them legal in archery season in Missouri now, sucks