CrossBow Hunters!Please sign this petition! "Allow New York State hunters to use crossbows the entire archery season."

[Skillet]

If muzzle loaders or any other object that goes boom enters Bow season, I will be hanging up the old bow for the last time and taking my shotgun or rifle afield. There will be no point to Bow if the local Jim-Bobs are lighting things up with their boom sticks from dawn till dusk.

 

Crossbows are quiet. I have no issue with them. Bow season is all about silence and calm and patterning deer. Add guns of any description and that all goes away.

 

Good post. When (I don't really think it's a matter of IF) DEC puts muzzleloaders in archery, it's over for me. Even if it's an antlerless only season, or only for the first two weeks, I think it'll effectively ruin bow season. You rarely see deer acting normally during gun season, they're usually really paranoid & often the only reason you see them is that someone else bumped them. Gun hunting, by nature, is more disruptive. More hunters, more noise, more scent in the woods, different tactics, etc. It would suck to have gun hunters out there doing drives on the next property over, while you're bowhunting. I'm not saying it wouldn't bump deer by you occassionally, but I think the vast majority of archery deer are taken while the deer are behaving normally. Shooting at a driven deer as it sneaks by at 50 yards, isn't an option for archery hunting. Say it was only during the antlerless part of archery, OK, well now it's still going to take 2 weeks after that for the deer to return to normal behavior. Just in time for gun season!

When the guns get involved in archery season, why even call it archery season? Just make it deer season. It'll be no different than it is now. You're welcome to take your bow out during gun season.

I'm 100% for crossbows in all of archery season. Add guns, & why even bother with the crossbow?

 

Don't get me wrong. I love gun hunting! I just don't think that archery hunters (bow or Xbow) can share a season with a gun hunter, & still expect to have realistic chances of success.

NYantler put it perfectly, that we should have a season for silent weapons, & one for guns. I agree. It's clear and simple. But I'm sure someone would then say we should allow suppressed guns into the silent season. There's no end.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Skillet

[Doc]

NYantler put it perfectly, that we should have a season for silent weapons, & one for guns. I agree. It's clear and simple.

We all have our ideas of what should go into what season. Unfortunately while a lot of these opinions may make perfect sense, it must be remembered that very few NYS legal decisions are based on any kind of sense and reasoning. The fact is that those that make the most noise get things the way they want them. And those that want to invade bowseason with all kinds of weapons are the ones making the noise now. So when it is said that muzzleloaders will eventually be included in bow season, you can pretty much take that to the bank. The DEC is pushing it and so, it will happen eventually, whether it goes bang or not or whether it makes sense or not, or whether it is "clear and simple" or not, is irrelevant...... lol. And over the long haul, I do not expect it to end with muzzleloaders.