john12205

I agree and have had this problem here. N.Y.S. requires me to have a license for my dogs, with proof of rabies vaccination and my hounds have to be under control all the time. I've been in the woods and seen these cats killing everything they can take down and NYS has no requirements on cats. They cleaned every rabbit, squirrel and song bird off my property at one point. I've had them in packs of 4 or 5 stare me down and even start approaching me with no fear of a human and in a not a friendly kitty way. I'm sure some had rabies. When I hunt I consider them to be unprotected with no closed season if that gives you a clue. They are tougher then you would think to take down.

I agree. Things seem to go in cycles and nature plays the big role in those cycles. I've hunted in area's on my property where the squirrels would be every where one year but few and far between in the next. I have a lot of oak there. Some years there's a lot of corns, some years not. Nature is a big factor.

I'm not sure that I support crossbows in N.Y. for hunting For those proven handicapped or disabled and who actually, can't physically draw a bow, I can go with it. I'm an older guy so bear with me on this. Once upon a time an archery season was created with the intention of a hunting season for the use of a primitive weapon. Archery and shooting a bow require considerable hunting and shooting skills and you need to be close to your game and remaining undetected in your draw and hold to place a shot. Deer and Turkeys pick up on movement very easily. That's where the primitive aspect comes in and your are at a disadvantage and the game your pursuing has the edge. I believe a crossbow has a distinct advantage over a bow. Hunting with a crossbow requires no movement other then pulling the trigger and requires no holding of the bow weight and choosing when to draw and make a shot and remain undetected in motion. I would consider a crossbow to simply be a gun shooting an arrow and not a primitive form of hunting. I will agree that the crossbow is a weapon and primitive, but it was a huge improvement over shooting a bow. Lets see, gun stock, cock it once and a trigger. Just stay still and I have all day to take a shot at prey at my convenience and all I move is a trigger? THAT'S A HUGE ADVANTAGE! In my opinion, a cross bow requires very little skill to shoot, just sight it in. I've shot cross bows with ease. Much easier then shooting a bow! Should they be legal to own, I think so. Should they be legal to hunt with in archery, hell no! This is of course my opinion and I'll propablly have people respond that I'm a Leftist and a Communist liberal that should rot in hell. My response ahead of time is that if you need a cross bow to hunt, your either lazy or can't shoot a bow worth a **** and your trying to take the easy way out. Thanks for listening.