Denied my Disabled Permit

[kellory]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0

It looks like even School House Rock is against gun ownership.

[hot tamale]

JPH ,

thanks, I wound up watching about 15 minutes of those school house rock videos. Like I don't already have ADD coming to this site every day!!!
So, Just so you all know, I have been lobbying in Madison,WI and bringing up the point that disabled people like myself have to pay money to get a permit to do something that other people get to do by just buying a license. In a way --thats discrimination.
I am of the opinion that crossbows would be a good thing for wisconsin.

I've had my nephews ask about hunting with me but they cant pull back a bow very well. they live in the city and really don't have anywhere to practice. as i'm sure you know, if they could use a cross bow, they could sight it in, become familiar with it and then put it away for a while and be able to use it when the season comes around again. they would then have the opportunity to hunt with the family and get involved at an early age.

I just think giving everyone the choice to choose, not base things on age and health status, is the right thing to do.
we all own the public land, what you do on your private land is your business. one land owner shouldn't be able to dictate what another landowner does on his land.

Just my thoughts.

[JPH]

The question of crossbows in Wisconsin is none of my business.

As for the places I live and hunt? I support the use of crossbows during regular archery season by those with a legitimate disability and I am open to the possibility of a separate crossbow season. I do not welcome the inclusion of crossbows as archery under normal circumstances. For what its worth.

[Deebz]

As most of you know my wife uses a crossbow due to having Brittle Bone Disease.

Before I was familiar with crossbows and had seen them in action, I was against allowing them in a full inclusion capacity.

After seeing what it takes to cock them and realizing their capabilities (including limitations) I don't really see a whole lot of difference in the effectiveness of killing a deer.

The biggest thing that makes it easier to kill a deer with is that you don't have to draw the bow when the deer is in front of you.
The biggest drawback is that it is VERY unlikely that you can get a second shot off with a crossbow. I can definitely get an arrow off my quiver, knock it, and draw again with MUCH less movement than a crossbow. Of course, that first shot is arguably much easier to take as most crossbows are equipped with scopes and shoot very fast...

I also don't believe that you get any more range out of a crossbow than a vertical bow. When we shoot in the backyard, my wife is a tack driver with her crossbow out to about 40 yds. When we move it back and shoot 50/60 yards just for fun, I actually shoot tighter groups with my vertical bow than she can.

Not trying to persuade anybody to change their minds here, just sharing my personal experiences.

I do think that it is likely that if crossbows were allowed to anybody, it may be easier to recruit people to hunting. Like Tamale mentioned with his nephews...getting started learning how to shoot a vertical bow is going to be a lot harder and take longer to become proficient than getting started with a crossbow. Plus, crossbows are super fun to shoot.

This past year, IL allowed everybody to use a crossbow for the remainder of the archery season after the second shotgun session. I've heard talk that they are likely to allow crossbows to be used by anybody for the entire archery season soon. I would be ok with this. I might even take my wife's old crossbow out for one or two sits. I think I would still much rather use my vertical bow for the majority of the season, simply because it does take more skill and effort, and the challenge is part of the allure of hunting for me.

[JPH]

I'm not so sure lowering the level of skill and effort required is the best way to recruit hunters. At least not in the existing archery season. Why not carve out a few weeks for a special crossbow season and allow those who have put in the effort required to keep archery season as it is?

At least that's my take as it applies to my neck of the woods.

[Deebz]

That sounds like a fair compromise.

[Ohio farms]

Why not allow crossbows during the regular archery season? Because it would compete with the vertical bow hunters. That's the reason plain and simple. Vertical bow hunters do not want to share the woods and the rut with anyone else. Share the woods.

[JPH]

Why not allow crossbows during the regular archery season? Because it would compete with the vertical bow hunters. That's the reason plain and simple. Vertical bow hunters do not want to share the woods and the rut with anyone else. Share the woods.

Well if that is true then I see no reason not to allow rifles too. Right? Why not set the number of deer tags to be sold and allow hunters to fill them however they want starting on October, 1? Do you want to share the woods that badly?

[Deebz]

You could argue a safety issue with rifles and bowhunters... a rifle hunter shooting at a deer on a treeline 200 yds away might not see the bowhunter...

Of course you'd have to require the blaze orange, but with the proximity needed for a good clean bowkill having to wear solid blaze orange would be detrimental to the bowhunter. Whether or not the deer can see the color, they can definitely distinguish the large (especially on a guy my size) patch of a different shade... I know I've been picked off more by sight when wearing my blaze orange than when in just camo.

[Ohio farms]

No, I don't think that guns and bows will mix for safety reasons. I do consider vertical and horizontal bows to be similar enough to be used in the same season. Ohio was one of the first states to allow both and it seems to have worked well.