Wow, I do not understand the opposition to this at all. Opportunities to hunt in Iowa have only expanded over the last 25 years I’ve been hunting, and the quality of the herd has increased exponentially right along with it. I want to respond to some of the common themes I’ve seen in this thread.
First, the idea that this bill is going to lead to a large increase in the deer harvest just doesn’t hold up to me. Maybe a marginally higher harvest, sure. But the people that just want to blast a deer or two are going to keep doing that during shotgun season. They aren’t going to go sit in the freezing cold and snow to shoot the first deer that walks by with a crossbow - at least not very many will. It will be more “hardcore” people that hold out for mature bucks.
Second, I think we have to ask why the quality of the herd has gone up despite growth in the number of deer seasons and the methods of take. I would guess much of that has to do with the idea of harvesting only mature bucks. So I don’t think adding crossbows to the mix is going to hurt that bad.
Third, and I think most importantly, is the arrogance of bow hunters. Yours is not the only method of hunting. Some people can’t hunt with a bow. Some people just don’t want to. So your endless opposition to anything that hurts *your* odds is tiresome, and quite frankly your problem, not anyone else’s.
I hope they open up the entire archery season for crossbow use.
