Crossbows caught in the cross hairs this week

Crossbows should only be able to be used by disabled hunters. I still have a problem with inline muzzleloaders...

Gary BlockHEAD-

Your articles have no right being in the MCall Sports page.

Who reads these articles? There is a reason the MCall is losing subscribers.

I guess writing hunting articles attracts the hicks that live outside ALLENTOWN!

Ron, your crush on Gary is obvious.

Wish you all the best.

Hey Ron, why not use your real name and e-mail address. We know who Gary is, but you hide behind a fake one-name anonymous chickenshit monicker.

Crossbows should be legal but also legal for the 2 weeks. Than push on from there if the deer kill shows it can support it. I do get a little mad when seeing that hunters can't come to an agreement . I also think there should be a crossbow stamp and season. Look what the legislators are doing with HB965 and look who is supporting legislator involvement.

I say poison tipped arrows should be allowed also, that way the number of wounded animals would drop. By the way I quit Bow hunting when the compound was allowed, you must have guessed my feelings on crossbows.

At a time when sportsmen need sportsmen, I can not understand why one “group” pits itself against another when we would be better off aligning with each other to protect ourselves from the Anti’s. all this does is make it easier for the anti-hunting groups job easier. At the end of the day, hunting is the number one form of wildlife management. Ideally, how it is managed, is up to the biologists. If you are a Bow hunter, hunt with the bow and encourage others to take it up. If you are a gun hunter, do the same. If it is bow season and crossbows are allowed in your state and you don’t like crossbows, by all means use your stick and string but leave my form alone. Why would you want prohibit or malign a fellow sportsman for pursuing a form of hunting he or she enjoys.

People think shooting a crossbow is like shooting a gun with an unlimited range of effectiveness. You’ve watched to many movies if that is what you think. Massachusetts has a crossbow provision in it’s hunting laws for sportsmen who are physically unable to hunt with a bow. We all gathered behind it and MassWildlife embraced it. Now we have been able to keep avid sportsmen in the field, doing what they love most, HUNTING! Isn’t that what it’s all about.

Mark Jester, President
Berkshire County League of Sportsmen
Pittsfield MA.

I really enjoy the archery season and archery just for fun. I think one of the appealing things about it is of all the shooting sports, archery allows the most tinkering with your equipment. Good bow tuning is as much of a challange as good shooting.
The sad thing is that I will probably need to go the crossbow route in the near future if I want to do archery season with my sons. My shoulder is just getting old (so Am I). Been through the anti-inflamatories, physical therapy and shots. I tried a new bow this summer but I just can't pull it without the pain. I really hesitate going with a crossbow though. It just doesn't seem right to me.

Do me a favor if you see me sometime down the road toting a crossbow, don't snear or call me names. You'll get old too some day.

This is a shame to see. I started bow hunting in 1986 with a compound. At the time there was a good deal of opposition to compounds from traditional bow hunters. Now the crossbow. I myself use one due to chronic shoulder and arm problems but see no problem with others using them. In all my years of hunting, I have seen SO many deer hit poorly and most likely died a long painful death with compounds. I consider this the highest level of unethical hunting. Every bow hunter I know or have talked to hasd done this at least once. Now, it is not intential - and most guys even practice a fair ammount (but not to the level they should IMHO). A crossbow is not a gun - and you dont really get more yardarge with it - just better accuracy. Calling someone unethical or lazy or whatever because they want to use a more accurate and humane method of hunting is WAY out of line. Add this with the current overpopulation of deer and declining hunter numbers and you see what makes sense. If the UBP or others want the 'challenge' of using regular bows - then fine - I respect that - but dont try and push your desires (unrealistic IMHO) on others.

Oh, and to "Ron" - you need to realize that for a LONG time - before 78 got built and all the 'city' folks moved into the valley - this area was mainly farmland with a rich heritage of (mainly) small game hunting - esp pheasants. In the 80s the deer population really boomed and at the same time with deer numbers declining in the mountains, many people began hunting locally. This is a deep Pennsylvania heritage and tradition. When I was younger our schools even were closed for the first day of deer season. Perhaps you should try and understand and respect the local heritage before you criticize it.

at the end of the day, sterilizaton or contraception is what should be done if wildlife is indeed overpopulated. for example, we get 44 pairs of eagles living in nj and 9 million people - which are "overpopulated"? it is clear mankind is intent on wiping out all that live on earth. it is clear he is rushing headlong for that aim.