Post by cambygsp on Aug 1, 2005 22:45:35 GMT -5
outdoors.mainetoday.com/hunting/humphrey041024.shtml
Crossbow's relative simplicity may boost ranks of hunters
By Bob Humphrey
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
E-mail this story to a friend
I've heard a lot of negative things about crossbows. Personally, I've always thought they got an unnecessarily bad rap. But I also felt I couldn't be completely objective until I had a chance to hunt with one myself.
That opportunity came recently when Wade Nolan, who runs the Whitetail University, invited me on an Ohio crossbow hunt.
Ohio is a particularly fitting locale, as it was one of the first states to allow crossbow hunting. It also has one of the nation's healthiest deer herds, and like a growing number of states, has an urban-suburban deer problem.
I had the pleasure of sharing camp with several other outdoor writers, including C.J. Winand (Bowhunter magazine), Jimmy Sites (Spiritual Outdoor Adventures), Tim Lilley (Quality Deer Management Association), Brenda Valentine (Whitetail Adventures) and Mike Kaye and Tim Lajoie (CamoCountry TV).
Also there were representatives from several prominent companies in the archery industry, including Ameristep, Carbon Express, Frigid Forage, Tink's and Ten Point Crossbows.
Because Ohio's regulations permit the use of crossbows or vertical bows during the state's archery season, we all got a chance to hunt with a Ten Point crossbow. Before we did, however, we were treated to a couple of interesting and enlightening presentations from Dave Robb of Ten Point and Mike Tonkovich, a deer biologist with Ohio's Department of Natural Resources.
Tonkovich provided some facts and figures on Ohio's deer, the effects of crossbow hunting and how the state stacks up in terms of trophy bucks. According to the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, which supports crossbow hunting, crossbows are permitted for some type of hunting in all but eight states.
Crossbows became a legal hunting implement in Ohio in 1976, and 27 deer were killed in the inaugural season. Since 1982, they were permitted through the entire four-month archery season.
The national crossbow kill increased annually from 1986 through 1994, peaking at 16,306 before falling for four consecutive years. During the 2003-2004 season, crossbow hunters killed 29,397 deer, while vertical bowhunters killed 21,167 deer.
Meanwhile, according to records from the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young clubs, Ohio ranks fourth in the nation in terms of trophy entries. However, Tonkovich added that the largest deer taken in North America in 1999 was shot in Ohio; and the third-largest taken in 2000 was shot in Ohio, the same year Mike Beatty arrowed the largest buck ever taken by a hunter.
Furthermore, the Buckeye Big Buck Club recognized 716 whitetails (with a score of 140 inches or more) at its March 2004 banquet. Of those, 37 qualified for the B&C record books, including 11 that scored over 200 inches. Clearly, the Ohio deer herd is thriving.
Interestingly, vertical bowhunters have consistently posted a higher success rate than crossbow hunters. While it's difficult to substantiate, Tonkovich speculated that may be because crossbows are attracting a different type of hunter. He suspects that many are coming over from the ranks of gun hunters, who are used to a different style of hunting. They, like many others, mistakenly assume the crossbow has greater capabilities than the vertical bow.
Robb provided some illuminating facts on the crossbows' mechanisms. Because it has much shorter limbs, the crossbow must have a higher draw weight -- usually around 150 pounds, as compared to 70 pounds for the compound bow -- to achieve the same energy and speed.
The velocity, energy and effective range of both are quite similar, with the compound bow actually having a slight edge. Essentially, the only difference is that the crossbow can be held in the cocked position, while the compound must be drawn when an animal is at close range.
One major advantage of the crossbow is that it is much easier to set up and learn to shoot. Because the time required to become proficient is reduced, it is more attractive to many hunters who might otherwise be intimidated by getting into archery hunting. This is particularly true of younger and older hunters.
In fact, Tonkovich pointed out that while only 40 percent of all hunters in the middle-aged range used crossbows, roughly 80 percent of seniors used them. Several of the hunters present provided personal anecdotes of their parents or friends who, were it not for crossbows, would have had to give up archery hunting because of physical limitations.
After seminars, it was finally time to field-test our bows. My opportunity came in the fading afternoon light, when a small doe made her way toward my ladder stand.
Despite the advantage of not having to draw my bow, I found it surprisingly difficult to get into shooting position in the presence of the sharp-eyed doe, and then wait for her to present a bow-range shot. She finally did, however, and I made it count. We never did bag any of those bragging-sized Ohio bucks, though several came tantalizingly close to some of my camp mates.
Several more does were taken at the request of those on whose land we hunted. They were corn and soybean farmers, and to them, the deer are a plague. We were glad to oblige, and what venison didn't go home with other hunters was donated to the local Salvation Army.
All in all, it was a positive experience. We hunters benefited from discovering a new form of hunting recreation. The state of Ohio benefited from our license dollars, and presumably our spreading the word on the wonderful hunting opportunities available there. And the landowners benefited from a reduction in crop-raiding deer.
With burgeoning whitetail populations in urban, suburban and rural areas, and static hunter numbers, state agencies are increasingly looking for ways to recruit or retain more hunters, particularly the younger and older. Ohio provides testament that the crossbow is one way to accomplish that, without any negative effects on the resource.
BOB HUMPHREY is a freelance writer and registered Maine guide who lives in Pownal. He can be contacted at sportventures@juno.com.
Crossbow's relative simplicity may boost ranks of hunters
By Bob Humphrey
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
E-mail this story to a friend
I've heard a lot of negative things about crossbows. Personally, I've always thought they got an unnecessarily bad rap. But I also felt I couldn't be completely objective until I had a chance to hunt with one myself.
That opportunity came recently when Wade Nolan, who runs the Whitetail University, invited me on an Ohio crossbow hunt.
Ohio is a particularly fitting locale, as it was one of the first states to allow crossbow hunting. It also has one of the nation's healthiest deer herds, and like a growing number of states, has an urban-suburban deer problem.
I had the pleasure of sharing camp with several other outdoor writers, including C.J. Winand (Bowhunter magazine), Jimmy Sites (Spiritual Outdoor Adventures), Tim Lilley (Quality Deer Management Association), Brenda Valentine (Whitetail Adventures) and Mike Kaye and Tim Lajoie (CamoCountry TV).
Also there were representatives from several prominent companies in the archery industry, including Ameristep, Carbon Express, Frigid Forage, Tink's and Ten Point Crossbows.
Because Ohio's regulations permit the use of crossbows or vertical bows during the state's archery season, we all got a chance to hunt with a Ten Point crossbow. Before we did, however, we were treated to a couple of interesting and enlightening presentations from Dave Robb of Ten Point and Mike Tonkovich, a deer biologist with Ohio's Department of Natural Resources.
Tonkovich provided some facts and figures on Ohio's deer, the effects of crossbow hunting and how the state stacks up in terms of trophy bucks. According to the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, which supports crossbow hunting, crossbows are permitted for some type of hunting in all but eight states.
Crossbows became a legal hunting implement in Ohio in 1976, and 27 deer were killed in the inaugural season. Since 1982, they were permitted through the entire four-month archery season.
The national crossbow kill increased annually from 1986 through 1994, peaking at 16,306 before falling for four consecutive years. During the 2003-2004 season, crossbow hunters killed 29,397 deer, while vertical bowhunters killed 21,167 deer.
Meanwhile, according to records from the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young clubs, Ohio ranks fourth in the nation in terms of trophy entries. However, Tonkovich added that the largest deer taken in North America in 1999 was shot in Ohio; and the third-largest taken in 2000 was shot in Ohio, the same year Mike Beatty arrowed the largest buck ever taken by a hunter.
Furthermore, the Buckeye Big Buck Club recognized 716 whitetails (with a score of 140 inches or more) at its March 2004 banquet. Of those, 37 qualified for the B&C record books, including 11 that scored over 200 inches. Clearly, the Ohio deer herd is thriving.
Interestingly, vertical bowhunters have consistently posted a higher success rate than crossbow hunters. While it's difficult to substantiate, Tonkovich speculated that may be because crossbows are attracting a different type of hunter. He suspects that many are coming over from the ranks of gun hunters, who are used to a different style of hunting. They, like many others, mistakenly assume the crossbow has greater capabilities than the vertical bow.
Robb provided some illuminating facts on the crossbows' mechanisms. Because it has much shorter limbs, the crossbow must have a higher draw weight -- usually around 150 pounds, as compared to 70 pounds for the compound bow -- to achieve the same energy and speed.
The velocity, energy and effective range of both are quite similar, with the compound bow actually having a slight edge. Essentially, the only difference is that the crossbow can be held in the cocked position, while the compound must be drawn when an animal is at close range.
One major advantage of the crossbow is that it is much easier to set up and learn to shoot. Because the time required to become proficient is reduced, it is more attractive to many hunters who might otherwise be intimidated by getting into archery hunting. This is particularly true of younger and older hunters.
In fact, Tonkovich pointed out that while only 40 percent of all hunters in the middle-aged range used crossbows, roughly 80 percent of seniors used them. Several of the hunters present provided personal anecdotes of their parents or friends who, were it not for crossbows, would have had to give up archery hunting because of physical limitations.
After seminars, it was finally time to field-test our bows. My opportunity came in the fading afternoon light, when a small doe made her way toward my ladder stand.
Despite the advantage of not having to draw my bow, I found it surprisingly difficult to get into shooting position in the presence of the sharp-eyed doe, and then wait for her to present a bow-range shot. She finally did, however, and I made it count. We never did bag any of those bragging-sized Ohio bucks, though several came tantalizingly close to some of my camp mates.
Several more does were taken at the request of those on whose land we hunted. They were corn and soybean farmers, and to them, the deer are a plague. We were glad to oblige, and what venison didn't go home with other hunters was donated to the local Salvation Army.
All in all, it was a positive experience. We hunters benefited from discovering a new form of hunting recreation. The state of Ohio benefited from our license dollars, and presumably our spreading the word on the wonderful hunting opportunities available there. And the landowners benefited from a reduction in crop-raiding deer.
With burgeoning whitetail populations in urban, suburban and rural areas, and static hunter numbers, state agencies are increasingly looking for ways to recruit or retain more hunters, particularly the younger and older. Ohio provides testament that the crossbow is one way to accomplish that, without any negative effects on the resource.
BOB HUMPHREY is a freelance writer and registered Maine guide who lives in Pownal. He can be contacted at sportventures@juno.com.
