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SB 298 - Crossbow bill rears its ugly head

Sure crossbows may be a little more effective.

My contention is that the added motion traditional archers make when they clutch their pearls upon the mere thought of sharing the woods with a cross bow hunter scares away game.
A little more effective? I can have and have had a 10 year old shooting to 80yards in 1/2 a day at most. That simply can’t be done with a traditional bow. Not to mention the act of drawing and the movement and the hold. Yes newer bows have huge let off, but that does not mean we should allow them either…
 
Who do you shoot for?
I won the only archery shoot that I ever entered. Killed my first deer with a bow at 12 and have shot thousands of arrows every year in the 30 years since.

Like mentioned above, a crossbow still provides advantages. The main one in my opinion is not having to draw without being seen. Again, I don’t support crossbows.
 
I won the only archery shoot that I ever entered. Killed my first deer with a bow at 12 and have shot thousands of arrows every year in the 30 years since.

Like mentioned above, a crossbow still provides advantages. The main one in my opinion is not having to draw without being seen. Again, I don’t support crossbows.
A modern crossbow with a scope is an absolute difference… There is no real argument there at all…
 
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I fully agree that allowing crossbows will be simply more pounds per square inch behind “The boot on the neck“ of wildlife.

That said, there’s a fair amount of evidence out there that shows crossbows are more effective than vertical compounds - but not by much. I think that is what makes this an interesting hill on which to make a stand. We’ve taken miles, and we’re gonna argue about the last few feet. To be clear, I don’t think that’s invalid, as a good premise from which to move forward evermore, particularly in my motherland of Montana, is we need to oppose anything that increases take and opportunity, even if only a little.

This article written by Patrick Durkin was interesting to me. Particularly these bullet points regarding his study out of Ohio


  • Compound bow archers released 1,015 shots and connected on 686, for 67.6 percent accuracy.
  • Crossbow archers released 719 shots and connected on 529, for 73.6 percent accuracy.
  • Traditional archers released 38 shots and connected on 22, for 57.9 percent accuracy.
  • Crossbow archers recovered 60 percent of deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 19 percent of deer they hit.
  • Compound archers recovered 56 percent of deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 17.7 percent of deer they hit.
  • Traditional archers recovered 40 percent of the deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 30 percent of deer they hit.
The amount of wound loss when it comes to bowhunting of any kind makes me wonder about it’s net-utility at all.

I’m a guy who started traditional bow hunting and now hunts with a compound. If I need to, I will be writing my representative in opposition to this bill. Though they no longer respond to me, and I think my voice is no longer effective to them.


Would be interested to know what happens to all those umbers if you instill the time and effort and ethics of the traditional shooter across the lot? Any bets on why the crossbow hit numbers are so close to those of the other groups? Hint I am willing to bet that none of the crossbow guys spend all year shooting a hundred times a week. Any bets that if you dig into the data deeper there would be some huge difference in time spent shooting etc.?
 
Maybe the archery world should all move back to self-made trad bows and arrows? Eliminate all of the technology. Leave your range finders, cellulars, mapping software, etc. at home. No gas stoves. No synthetic fibers/clothes.

The compound bow is a huge step from a self-made trad. But it has certainly been accepted as "archery" now. I'd call it mainstream. The crossbow offers some advantages over a compound - for some hunters. Both sling a shaft and a broadhead. In my view, a crossbow might allow some hunters to hunt sooner (younger) and others to hunter for a few more seasons, while doing so with ethical kills. Those are good things, IMAO.

I think there can be a place for all, without destroying any. If it expands hunter/hunting access to allow crossbows, I support it.

Great discussion. Thanks for posting it and for everyone that chose to share.
 
I fully agree that allowing crossbows will be simply more pounds per square inch behind “The boot on the neck“ of wildlife.

That said, there’s a fair amount of evidence out there that shows crossbows are more effective than vertical compounds - but not by much. I think that is what makes this an interesting hill on which to make a stand. We’ve taken miles, and we’re gonna argue about the last few feet. To be clear, I don’t think that’s invalid, as a good premise from which to move forward evermore, particularly in my motherland of Montana, is we need to oppose anything that increases take and opportunity, even if only a little.

This article written by Patrick Durkin was interesting to me. Particularly these bullet points regarding his study out of Ohio


  • Compound bow archers released 1,015 shots and connected on 686, for 67.6 percent accuracy.
  • Crossbow archers released 719 shots and connected on 529, for 73.6 percent accuracy.
  • Traditional archers released 38 shots and connected on 22, for 57.9 percent accuracy.
  • Crossbow archers recovered 60 percent of deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 19 percent of deer they hit.
  • Compound archers recovered 56 percent of deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 17.7 percent of deer they hit.
  • Traditional archers recovered 40 percent of the deer they shot at, and didn’t recover 30 percent of deer they hit.
The amount of wound loss when it comes to bowhunting of any kind makes me wonder about it’s net-utility at all.

I’m a guy who started traditional bow hunting and now hunts with a compound. If I need to, I will be writing my representative in opposition to this bill. Though they no longer respond to me, and I think my voice is no longer effective to them.


The problem with compound or crossbows is the distance you can shoot them. Maybe not effectively but people think if they can hit a target at 100 yards they can shoot to 100 yards. Much like people with their long range rifles. It’s all the same to me.
 
A little more effective? I can have and have had a 10 year old shooting to 80yards in 1/2 a day at most. That simply can’t be done with a traditional bow. Not to mention the act of drawing and the movement and the hold. Yes newer bows have huge let off, but that does not mean we should allow them either…
Then have that 10 yr old pack the crossbow in the field and see how that goes.

It works in Wyoming because if a hunter fills during special archery, they aren't in the field hunting during rifle season. Look back into harvest surveys past 10 years and you will see no appreciable difference in success during archery, even with improvements to both compounds and crossbows.

This is all about selfishness and nothing about hunting.
 
Then have that 10 yr old pack the crossbow in the field and see how that goes.

It works in Wyoming because if a hunter fills during special archery, they aren't in the field hunting during rifle season. Look back into harvest surveys past 10 years and you will see no appreciable difference in success during archery, even with improvements to both compounds and crossbows.

This is all about selfishness and nothing about hunting.
Give a good archer a crossbow and you’re not going to like what happens to their success rate if you have a diminishing resource. That’s common sense. You can whip out whatever bs data you want. That argument reminds me of MT fwp gaslighting us on no difference in mule deer buck harvest whether the season is in November or October…give me a break
 
Give a good archer a crossbow and you’re not going to like what happens to their success rate if you have a diminishing resource. That’s common sense. You can whip out whatever bs data you want. That argument reminds me of MT fwp gaslighting us on no difference in mule deer buck harvest whether the season is in November or October…give me a break
What difference does it make if I kill an elk with a recurve, crossbow, or rifle? Either way my tag is getting used...
 
What difference does it make if I kill an elk with a recurve, crossbow, or rifle? Either way my tag is getting used...
What difference does it make if you hunt with a rifle during the entire mule deer rut? It makes a lot of difference what time of year advanced weapons get used. Your disdain for archery can only lead me to believe your elk total is much higher than you advertise.
 
What difference does it make if I kill an elk with a recurve, crossbow, or rifle? Either way my tag is getting used...
You’re not an average hunter @BuzzH. The last thing Montana needs is more opportunity for anyone. We need to get things back in balance in this state.
 
Let me take you guys back to December 25th 2000 a 12 year old me got his very first bow. A Martin jaguar 30-50 pound youth bow. I spent that entire year shooting that bow and worked my way up to a whopping 52# now at the age of 13 this was my first season having an elk tag. The last day of season a rag head 4 presented a shot at 42 yards. I remember how it seemed like time froze when the arrow was in flight a perfect double lung. Bull went maybe 60 yards and was dead inside of minutes.Now 20 years later when the crossbow thing gets brought up I think back to that day and how amazing it was that as a 13 year old child I could shoot a bow with enough pounds to kill a elk that quick while all these grown ass men have sore shoulders.
 
Let me take you guys back to December 25th 2000 a 12 year old me got his very first bow. A Martin jaguar 30-50 pound youth bow. I spent that entire year shooting that bow and worked my way up to a whopping 52# now at the age of 13 this was my first season having an elk tag. The last day of season a rag head 4 presented a shot at 42 yards. I remember how it seemed like time froze when the arrow was in flight a perfect double lung. Bull went maybe 60 yards and was dead inside of minutes.Now 20 years later when the crossbow thing gets brought up I think back to that day and how amazing it was that as a 13 year old child I could shoot a bow with enough pounds to kill a elk that quick while all these grown ass men have sore shoulders.
What difference would it have been if it was killed with a crossbow? More deader?
 
What difference would it have been if it was killed with a crossbow?
Honestly buzz if it wasn’t for the people that take advantage of the system it wouldn’t be an issue I feel for most of us. But it’s the lazy factor if someone was in a bad enough way such as missing a limb it wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit but that won’t be what this is.
 
Honestly buzz if it wasn’t for the people that take advantage of the system it wouldn’t be an issue I feel for most of us. But it’s the lazy factor if someone was in a bad enough way such as missing a limb it wouldn’t hurt my feelings one bit but that won’t be what this is.
Probably similar to how those that started the archery seasons felt when compounds hit the scene and were shoved down their throats.

Actually I know that's how they felt, lazy way out: the compound bow.
 
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