132 replies to this topic

[Doc]

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I do not think you are going to see a big increase in hunter numbers or the kill the way the bill passed they can be used in the gun & the late bow, ml season. Also there noisy, big and clunky, hard to reload and cost too much.

I think you are probably right. As I understand it, they are currently not allowed in the primary bow season. If it stays that way, there won't be much of an impact.

As far as them being something that catches on, I think that without the linkage to the early bow season, there is not much about them that is very attractive for hunters. The only real appeal would be for gun hunters who would like an earlier crack at the deer herd without the rigors of becoming proficient with a bow. That is the only real appeal that I can see that they would have for anybody.

Doc

you might have forgotten a few groups there Doc, the appeal would also be for people who like to shoot crossbows, (yea some of them might be rifle hunters god forbid), and older hunters who can no longer effectively use a vertical bow.
and using the argument about having to sustain the rigors of hunting with a compound bow are pretty weak, if you arent well practiced with crossbows you will about as effective as a vertical bow hunter who also hasnt practiced.

Yeah, I know ...... That's a good one ..... lol.

[WNYBuckHunter]

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I do not think you are going to see a big increase in hunter numbers or the kill the way the bill passed they can be used in the gun & the late bow, ml season. Also there noisy, big and clunky, hard to reload and cost too much.

I think you are probably right. As I understand it, they are currently not allowed in the primary bow season. If it stays that way, there won't be much of an impact.

As far as them being something that catches on, I think that without the linkage to the early bow season, there is not much about them that is very attractive for hunters. The only real appeal would be for gun hunters who would like an earlier crack at the deer herd without the rigors of becoming proficient with a bow. That is the only real appeal that I can see that they would have for anybody.

Doc

If they are only allowed in gun season, they will have an impact, just not everywhere. There are many areas around the state that are archery only, meaning they see almost zero hunting at all because only bowhunters can get in there. Now, those areas will be open to anyone with a crossbow as well. It can be a great tool for helping out with urban or suburban areas with high deer density and lots of houses around. I hunt a few areas now that are bow only, and 99% of the time the friend of mine that hunts the area with me is the only other guy in that tract of woods, which is fairly large.

[Doc]

So, are you saying that you expect the city areas that you hunt to be now open to crossbows during bow season?

By the way, I heard that crossbow safety training will now be entered into the hunter safety courses as part of the requirement for hunting with crossbows. Do you suppose that stuff will be grandfathered in for existing licensed hunters or will there be a requirement to take additional training before you can use a crossbow for hunting? Has anybody heard how they are going to handle that part of it all? Any theories??? 

Doc

[SteveB]

Pure speculation and opinion here on training:

New bowhunters will recieve the safety traing incorporated into the existing course. Existing bowhunters should probably get training on crossbows - a one hour safety course would cover it.
I would hate to see the courses get bogged down by numbers if existing bowhunters are required to retake the entire course just for the crossbow aspect - there are too few courses now to add that strain.

[Doc]

That's why I was curious as to how they intend to handle that issue. I mean, for this year the season is only a few months away, and I would guess that nobody has even thought of the logistics of hunter safety training.

Doc

[WNYBuckHunter]

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So, are you saying that you expect the city areas that you hunt to be now open to crossbows during bow season?

By the way, I heard that crossbow safety training will now be entered into the hunter safety courses as part of the requirement for hunting with crossbows. Do you suppose that stuff will be grandfathered in for existing licensed hunters or will there be a requirement to take additional training before you can use a crossbow for hunting? Has anybody heard how they are going to handle that part of it all? Any theories??? 

Doc

Yes, I expect if the bill is signed into law, you will be able to crossbow hunt in archery only areas. Why wouldnt you? If you read the bill, it talks about the safety requirements.

[Chevy]

The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

[fasteddie]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

For the time being but when the bill gets signed , the Cross-guns will get into the archery season ......It's just a matter of time .

[WNYBuckHunter]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

I didnt say archery seasons, I said archery only areas. Most archery only areas exist in places where the discharge of firearms isnt allowed, so since a crossbow is not a firearm, you will be able to use them there. It may even be spelled out in the bill, when I get a chance Ill re-read it.

[WNYBuckHunter]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

For the time being but when the bill gets signed , the Cross-guns will get into the archery season ......It's just a matter of time .

I agree

[SteveB]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

For the time being but when the bill gets signed , the Cross-guns will get into the archery season ......It's just a matter of time .

I agree

Crossbows will be included soon.
Crossguns will have to wait until they are invented. ;D

[Doc]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

I didnt say archery seasons, I said archery only areas. Most archery only areas exist in places where the discharge of firearms isnt allowed, so since a crossbow is not a firearm, you will be able to use them there. It may even be spelled out in the bill, when I get a chance Ill re-read it.

Actually, I believe that conservation law that applies to firearms also applies to bows unless specifically excluded or differentiated with appropriate language. So it is possible that bowhunting only areas will still apply only to bows until somebody adds crossbows. It all depends on the language of the laws involving archery only areas. Now, whether that is merely accomplished by some verbal agreement or whether there are actual laws that need to have their language amended I really don't know. Again, it just may be something that has slipped through the cracks and not been thought of.

I have to admit that I am not familiar with the laws regulating archery only areas. I've never hunted them, and probably never will, and so I have never read anything about fine points of hunting in those areas. That's why I asked the question. Actually, I'm not sure just how thoroughly the new law has been gone over and how much of what we may consider to be logical has even been thought of regarding the implementation of crossbows. So I just thought I would ask to see if anyone has run across some of those details and seen such things actually written down.

Doc

[WNYBuckHunter]

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The bill that is on the Gov's desk only allows crossguns during the regular and ML seasons. Therefore, I would interpret that to me no xgun in any of the archery seasons. But thats just my understanding of it.

I didnt say archery seasons, I said archery only areas. Most archery only areas exist in places where the discharge of firearms isnt allowed, so since a crossbow is not a firearm, you will be able to use them there. It may even be spelled out in the bill, when I get a chance Ill re-read it.

Actually, I believe that conservation law that applies to firearms also applies to bows unless specifically excluded or differentiated with appropriate language. So it is possible that bowhunting only areas will still apply only to bows until somebody adds crossbows. It all depends on the language of the laws involving archery only areas. Now, whether that is merely accomplished by some verbal agreement or whether there are actual laws that need to have their language amended I really don't know. Again, it just may be something that has slipped through the cracks and not been thought of.

I have to admit that I am not familiar with the laws regulating archery only areas. I've never hunted them, and probably never will, and so I have never read anything about fine points of hunting in those areas. That's why I asked the question. Actually, I'm not sure just how thoroughly the new law has been gone over and how much of what we may consider to be logical has even been thought of regarding the implementation of crossbows. So I just thought I would ask to see if anyone has run across some of those details and seen such things actually written down.

Doc

Actually, it will most likely depend on the individual areas, since there is no set law in place governing archery only areas. I re-read the bill, but it doesnt specify anything on archery only areas, only what seasons a crossbow can be used in. I dont see why they would exclude them from archery only areas, thats the only way they will make any type of an impact on the deer herd short of allowing them into archery season.