Patrick Killian
04/12/11
When Is a Bow No Longer a Bow?
Archery has been one of the most important skills man-kind has ever developed and without it we would probably still be stuck in caves. The Egyptians are thought to be the first to develop the bow and arrow more than 5000 years ago but it is believed that they have been used in the Stone Age (around 20,000 BC). It has been used for both warfare and hunting and has evolved into many different forms. Today the bow and arrow's use in warfare has been surpassed by many implements of destruction but its hunting heritage is still practiced throughout the United States. Today the most commonly used forms are the traditional recurve and compound bows but there is another that is constantly debated about whether its too advanced, the crossbow. In the State of Wisconsin the only times crossbows are to be used during archery seasons are if you are at least 65 years of age or have a disability that prevents you from using a traditional bow. There is constant talk about whether or not everyone should be able to use a crossbow. Personally I believe that we should stick to the simpler bow styles. Today's crossbows are less of a modified bow than they are a gun modified to shoot arrows. They take a lot of the skill out of bow hunting and without that skill we will lose our archery heritage. Archery has always been hiding in the woods covering your scent and blending in to the environment so the deer come close enough for a shot. When that shot comes you must move silently to nock and draw your arrow and line up your shot using little to no sights. Now compare that to a crossbow, you have a bolt (arrow) loaded into a crossbow ready to fire by the time you sit down in your treestand, what was little to no sights turned into a brand new high optic rifle scope, and what was moving carefully to not make a sound and line up your shot turned into point and shoot, just like a rifle. Now I understand that a lot of the time crossbows don't shoot farther or hit your target any harder but everything leading up to the arrow leaving your control has completely been changed. Archery has always been a sport of skill and patience and it seems to me that people are using crossbows to take the easy way out. I have shot a crossbow and yes they are very fun and I'm sure that shooting a missile is fun too but that doesn't mean it belongs in our archery seasons. Let those that require it use it, meaning the disabled and elderly; it is understandable that they often cannot draw a bow or hold it for long but for the rest of us I think we can manage. Let's try to keep archery what it is.
2 comments:
You picked a very interesting topic to discuss. I agree that the use of crossbows is a very controversial topic. I was at the Conservation Congress Hearing and there was a huge debate about this among the audience. I am not a bow hunter, so personally I didn’t realize at first how much controversy there really is between people who want to keep bow hunting more traditional, verses those who want bow hunting to evolve with the times. Good topic very interesting.
Good choice in topics. Pope and Young has been advocating the use of only traditional bows for a long time, with there also being strict rules on harvesting game via a compound bow (65lb letoff...etc) When hunters first began using compound bows there was also huge controversy about the compound bow being acceptable to shoot or not. The crossbow is where we need to put our foot down. I know a few guys who shoot a crossbow, many of them can get away with shooting crossbows with minor disabilities, we need to make sure they actually have a disability that warrants the use of a crossbow. I don't mind those who are older (65+) using a crossbow, but younger guys with minimal disabilities should not be given a crossbow. And crossbows SHOULD NOT be incorporated into the regular bow season unless you have a legit license for it. If people want to use a crossbow during rifle season I am fine with that, there's little difference anyway.
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