Several States to Liberalize Crossbow Usage

[MSHunter]

ORIGINAL: DoeEyed

Over my cold and dead body will I allow anyone to pollute my archery season with the use of a spear. Have you any idea of the ballistic advantages of a spear?
Not to mention the size hole they make.

This could be another tool to bring more hunters into the woods, increase the economy, someone else to stand by your side against the antis etc, ect. Interesting knee jerk reaction you had..... Same as some of the people opposed to crossbows perhaps? Interesting....

"I guess that is the fundamental difference between hunters like you, and hunters like myself,smoothbore, wack, woodswalker,etc. It isn't always about us. It's about the sport and it's future. About what we'll leave for our kids. I look at an issue like the CB and the first things that cross my mind are: How can we take advantage of this? How many new hunters (statewide, not in just my little corner) will join the sport? How many of them will be youngsters? How will my local economy benefit?"

This discussion took a definite turn toward the dark side, IMO very unfortunate. But I think DoeEyed is right, allowing the use of Crossbows could bring more people into the sport, or broaden the opportunities for others to increase the amount of time they spend hunting and what's wrong with that? Now, I live in Mississippi and in Mississippi there is no CB season. Nor is a CB allowed during the archery only season. CB are allowed during the primitive weapons season only (which includes muzzleloaders, arhery, and single shot rifles such as the Handi-rifle) and require an additional permit. I enjoy the challenge of using my muzzleloader, but I don't begrudge anyone who uses a Handi-rifle during the PW season any success they may have. I view the use of a bow or CB the same way.

[Woods Walker]

That quote you refer to was squirrelhawker's, not Doe Eyed's.

[MSHunter]

Squirrelhawker and DoeEyed,
If I miss quoted either of you and didn't give you proper credit as WW points out, my apologies. I think you bring up a great point.

[Wanderer]

Ehh...Obviously I should have used some sort of appropriate emoticon to indicate I was kidding.
And, I assumed (perhaps erroneously) that the post re spearing in AL was also tongue in cheek

 
Squirrelhawker,
My tongue was planted squarely in cheek. I only brought that up because JChurch mentioned it first, but there is a spearing season in Alabama. When I first moved to Alabama in 2001, I read the regulations and thought "these guys are way more serious about killing a deer than I want to be". Growing up in Wisconsin, I thought I'd learned every way that existed to kill a deer. Wrong!! My hunting companions in Alabama also hunt wild pigs with dogs and then wade in to kill them with a knife after the dogs have them cornered. I never took my turn at that either. I seriously considered bringing this spear thing up under the Dumb Deer Laws thread just to see if any other state allows it. I have yet to find any rules regarding tip length or length of shaft, but apparently some people do this. At my age, the velocity of a thrown spear would be about fifteen feet per weekend. I'd be better off trying to drop a rock on one from a tree or maybe using a six iron.

[JChurch]

First, Squirrelhawker I knew you were kidding and second all I was trying to say was who cares what you use as long as you get out there and hunt. If someone wants to use a crossbow and it's legal in their state who are we to tell them no as long as they obey the law while they hunt.If people don't want to be around people who shoot Xbows hunt private ground if your hunting public ground and someone with a Xbow is too IT'S PUBLIC GROUND they have the same right to be there as the rest of us, if you are hunting your own ground you have every right to set the rules for that ground if Xbow hunters don't like it they can buy their own ground or hunt public ground.I don't shoot a Xbow and I don't want to but if the time ever comes that I do want to or need to why does it matter to anyone else as long as I'm doing it legally and spending my money to support wildlife like every other hunter regardless of the weapon used.

[JChurch]

Is there anyone on this post against Xbows because they supposedly offer an advantage over vertical bows that uses an in-line muzzleloader to deer hunt with? Whats the difference between the advantage of a Xbow over a vert. bow and an in-line over a traditional muzzleloader? I don't have a problem with in-lines I shoot one myself but if I had to worry about powder measurements and patch and ball I don't know if I would hunt with a muzzleloader. If someone wants to use equiptment that is easier for them to use who cares as long as they use it legally.Now someone is going to reply to me about how I'm ruining the tradition of muzzleloader hunting by not staying traditional, so what I like my Encore and I'm not giving it up for anyone.Maybe that would get us off this Xbow subject though and then we could get carpel tunnel writing 26 pages of muzzleloader stuff.

[Squirrelhawker]

ORIGINAL: JChurch

First, Squirrelhawker I knew you were kidding and second all I was trying to say was who cares what you use as long as you get out there and hunt. If someone wants to use a crossbow and it's legal in their state who are we to tell them no as long as they obey the law while they hunt.If people don't want to be around people who shoot Xbows hunt private ground if your hunting public ground and someone with a Xbow is too IT'S PUBLIC GROUND they have the same right to be there as the rest of us, if you are hunting your own ground you have every right to set the rules for that ground if Xbow hunters don't like it they can buy their own ground or hunt public ground.I don't shoot a Xbow and I don't want to but if the time ever comes that I do want to or need to why does it matter to anyone else as long as I'm doing it legally and spending my money to support wildlife like every other hunter regardless of the weapon used.

Whew! I feel better now. As to the rest of your post, well put. What I find interesting and not a little amusing about this whole debate is that the CB opponents never have anything that makes any real sense. In ALL honesty I think I am a fairly open minded guy, and if someone, somewhere, could actually show me some real reason(s) how CB's are a detriment to deer hunting I would listen. But at the end of the day they got nothin'. No data, no logic, no real interest in supporting their fellow hunters(unless they're shooting the right kind of tool) nothing but empty, selfish, rhetoric. It's just sad.

[DoeEyed]

Squirrelhawker, sorry I misunderstood. And just to clarify, because I did not mention it before, I have no problem with crossbows. I may have to use one someday.[:)]

[buckhunter21]

Man, is this thread ever going to die?  [8|]

[Squirrelhawker]

ORIGINAL: DoeEyed

Squirrelhawker, sorry I misunderstood. And just to clarify, because I did not mention it before, I have no problem with crossbows. I may have to use one someday.[:)]

'Scool. This one dimensional medium we call email is not always the most concise way of communicating.
[:)]