Post by cambygsp on Oct 23, 2005 7:19:00 GMT -5
www.rifle-scopes.info/?p=95
Crossbow issue causes crossfire with hunters -EXPANDED ARCHERY SEASON DRAWS COMMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES
Hunters opposed to expanding archery season for deer and wild turkey by allowing the use of crossbows were successful in keeping the regulation from becoming law for the 2005-06 deer season. But the contentious issue is far from being settled.
Passed by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission on March 4, and commented upon at a public hearing on April 22, the expanded archery season regulation was about to come before the legislative committee, which reviews proposed regulation changes. But then Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife officials learned there weren’t enough votes for it to pass.
At that point, commissioner Jon Gassett withdrew the proposal from consideration.
Gassett said, “We want additional time to further explore the social implications. We want to take a year to gather additional data and take a closer look at the user side of the issue.”
A survey is planned so hunters can voice their opinion on the proposed change.
“(The expansion of archery season) is not dead. It will come up before the commission again,” predicted Doug Hensley of Hazard, chairman of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member citizens board that oversees the state agency.
In passing the archery season expansion regulation, the department’s position was clear.
Allowing the use of crossbows would give hunters more options and opportunities afield, while increasing deer and wild turkey harvests without endangering populations.
The opportunity to hunt with a crossbow might entice people who wouldn’t hunt that way to give archery hunting a try. This could lead to the sale of more deer and fall turkey permits.
These reasons seemed to add up to a positive for the state’s aging population of hunters who want to hunt as much as they can before they get too old; for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, which is funded primarily by license sales; and for deer management efforts, especially in the semi-rural suburbs around large metropolitan areas where deer densities are too high and firearms hunting isn’t possible for safety reasons.
But a coalition of archery hunters, including members of the United Bow Hunters of Kentucky and League of Kentucky Sportsmen, successfully lobbied legislators to de-rail the regulation change.
“I don’t have anything against hunting with crossbows,” said Jim Strader, an opponent of expanding archery season to include crossbows and host of a hunting and fishing talk show that airs on WHAS-AM in Louisville on Sunday nights.
“I just think some of the commissioners have a personal agenda (to expand the use of crossbows), and they didn’t seek out input from the user groups that it would affect. I don’t like the way it was handled.”
Strader thought crossbow hunters tend to harvest more bucks than does and that would happen in Kentucky if the season is 136 days (Sept. 3 to Jan.16, as archery season will be this year).
“I also have concerns on the turkey side of the issue,” he said. “Participation (in turkey hunting) is up 15 to 20 percent, while harvest in the spring has been down for the past three years. (The crossbow) is a weapon that can be fired without any movement. I think that could significantly increase the harvest of adult gobblers (during the fall season).”
But some hunters believe otherwise. They don’t think that crossbow hunting will mean more antlered bucks will be taken.
In an e-mail message, Cary Perkins of Shelbyville said he is in favor of the crossbow regulation as passed and believes it’s a win-win situation.
“Since you can only kill one buck, regardless of the method, it won’t hurt the bucks. If you get a buck with your crossbow, it just means you won’t be getting one with your rifle or muzzleloader. And the more does (antlerless deer) we can kill, the better. Where is the problem?”
Strader would be in favor of lengthening crossbow season but prefers it not be as long as the entire archery season.
Other archers aren’t so flexible in their position.
“We don’t consider a crossbow to be archery equipment,” said Jerry Napier, a former president of the United Bowhunters of Kentucky, a group organized in 1978 to fight a proposed crossbow regulation that year. “At that time we feared for the resource (growing deer herd). Now it’s just a philosophical difference.”
Napier also believes that the Archery Trade Association is behind crossbow expansion. “It’s all about money. There’s a big lobby there.”
More discussions
Deer hunters in favor of allowing crossbows have yet to be heard on the issue. It will get serious discussion when deer hunting resumes Sept. 3, and hunters gather around campfires at night.
In reviewing what has transpired some observations and conclusions are hard to escape. For example:
• Sportsmen are arguing with one another and the department over an issue that’s nothing more than personal weapons preference. It’s basically the same argument that came up when the early muzzleloader deer season was created in the 1980s. Some hunters argued that the season should be open only to traditional round ball black powder rifles, while others lobbied for modern in-line rifles that shot conical bullets with replica powders. This sort of divisiveness isn’t good for hunting or the image of hunters. It is a waste of time and money better spent elsewhere.
• The archery groups and individuals who worked to de-rail the regulation change clearly have some prejudice against crossbows. The logical conclusion is that they don’t want to share the woods with crossbow hunters. When you’re working to deny others an opportunity to hunt, most people would agree that’s selfish behavior.
• It is difficult to find fault in the accomplishments of the department’s deer and wild turkey managers and the actions of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission. They have worked together for years, creating one of the finest deer herds and turkey flocks in the eastern United States. But biologists need to do a better job of educating hunters about sound wildlife management practices and philosophies and be more forthcoming with their intentions.
• The groups and individuals opposed to expansion of archery season aren’t acting like team players. They don’t seem to get the big picture. Keeping hunters involved is crucial to the future of their sport, and it takes a lot of revenue to support quality wildlife management.
• When the average deer hunter in the woods thinks he knows more about deer management than trained biologists, you’ve got a big problem.
If you think that’s an exaggeration, consider what happened in Pennsylvania, when deer biologist Gary Alt wanted to lower deer densities to protect forest habitat from over browsing and balance sex ratios to promote improved herd health and grow larger antlered bucks. He received death threats, was forced to wear a bulletproof vest in public and eventually had to resign.
“The Commission’s long-practiced philosophy has been to provide and increase recreational opportunity for hunters and anglers whenever the resource can sustain it,” Gassett said.
“We have clear data that indicate allowing crossbow hunters to hunt throughout the archery season poses no biological threat to our white-tail deer or wild turkeys. This is a social issue about shared use
Crossbow issue causes crossfire with hunters -EXPANDED ARCHERY SEASON DRAWS COMMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES
Hunters opposed to expanding archery season for deer and wild turkey by allowing the use of crossbows were successful in keeping the regulation from becoming law for the 2005-06 deer season. But the contentious issue is far from being settled.
Passed by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission on March 4, and commented upon at a public hearing on April 22, the expanded archery season regulation was about to come before the legislative committee, which reviews proposed regulation changes. But then Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife officials learned there weren’t enough votes for it to pass.
At that point, commissioner Jon Gassett withdrew the proposal from consideration.
Gassett said, “We want additional time to further explore the social implications. We want to take a year to gather additional data and take a closer look at the user side of the issue.”
A survey is planned so hunters can voice their opinion on the proposed change.
“(The expansion of archery season) is not dead. It will come up before the commission again,” predicted Doug Hensley of Hazard, chairman of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission, a nine-member citizens board that oversees the state agency.
In passing the archery season expansion regulation, the department’s position was clear.
Allowing the use of crossbows would give hunters more options and opportunities afield, while increasing deer and wild turkey harvests without endangering populations.
The opportunity to hunt with a crossbow might entice people who wouldn’t hunt that way to give archery hunting a try. This could lead to the sale of more deer and fall turkey permits.
These reasons seemed to add up to a positive for the state’s aging population of hunters who want to hunt as much as they can before they get too old; for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, which is funded primarily by license sales; and for deer management efforts, especially in the semi-rural suburbs around large metropolitan areas where deer densities are too high and firearms hunting isn’t possible for safety reasons.
But a coalition of archery hunters, including members of the United Bow Hunters of Kentucky and League of Kentucky Sportsmen, successfully lobbied legislators to de-rail the regulation change.
“I don’t have anything against hunting with crossbows,” said Jim Strader, an opponent of expanding archery season to include crossbows and host of a hunting and fishing talk show that airs on WHAS-AM in Louisville on Sunday nights.
“I just think some of the commissioners have a personal agenda (to expand the use of crossbows), and they didn’t seek out input from the user groups that it would affect. I don’t like the way it was handled.”
Strader thought crossbow hunters tend to harvest more bucks than does and that would happen in Kentucky if the season is 136 days (Sept. 3 to Jan.16, as archery season will be this year).
“I also have concerns on the turkey side of the issue,” he said. “Participation (in turkey hunting) is up 15 to 20 percent, while harvest in the spring has been down for the past three years. (The crossbow) is a weapon that can be fired without any movement. I think that could significantly increase the harvest of adult gobblers (during the fall season).”
But some hunters believe otherwise. They don’t think that crossbow hunting will mean more antlered bucks will be taken.
In an e-mail message, Cary Perkins of Shelbyville said he is in favor of the crossbow regulation as passed and believes it’s a win-win situation.
“Since you can only kill one buck, regardless of the method, it won’t hurt the bucks. If you get a buck with your crossbow, it just means you won’t be getting one with your rifle or muzzleloader. And the more does (antlerless deer) we can kill, the better. Where is the problem?”
Strader would be in favor of lengthening crossbow season but prefers it not be as long as the entire archery season.
Other archers aren’t so flexible in their position.
“We don’t consider a crossbow to be archery equipment,” said Jerry Napier, a former president of the United Bowhunters of Kentucky, a group organized in 1978 to fight a proposed crossbow regulation that year. “At that time we feared for the resource (growing deer herd). Now it’s just a philosophical difference.”
Napier also believes that the Archery Trade Association is behind crossbow expansion. “It’s all about money. There’s a big lobby there.”
More discussions
Deer hunters in favor of allowing crossbows have yet to be heard on the issue. It will get serious discussion when deer hunting resumes Sept. 3, and hunters gather around campfires at night.
In reviewing what has transpired some observations and conclusions are hard to escape. For example:
• Sportsmen are arguing with one another and the department over an issue that’s nothing more than personal weapons preference. It’s basically the same argument that came up when the early muzzleloader deer season was created in the 1980s. Some hunters argued that the season should be open only to traditional round ball black powder rifles, while others lobbied for modern in-line rifles that shot conical bullets with replica powders. This sort of divisiveness isn’t good for hunting or the image of hunters. It is a waste of time and money better spent elsewhere.
• The archery groups and individuals who worked to de-rail the regulation change clearly have some prejudice against crossbows. The logical conclusion is that they don’t want to share the woods with crossbow hunters. When you’re working to deny others an opportunity to hunt, most people would agree that’s selfish behavior.
• It is difficult to find fault in the accomplishments of the department’s deer and wild turkey managers and the actions of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission. They have worked together for years, creating one of the finest deer herds and turkey flocks in the eastern United States. But biologists need to do a better job of educating hunters about sound wildlife management practices and philosophies and be more forthcoming with their intentions.
• The groups and individuals opposed to expansion of archery season aren’t acting like team players. They don’t seem to get the big picture. Keeping hunters involved is crucial to the future of their sport, and it takes a lot of revenue to support quality wildlife management.
• When the average deer hunter in the woods thinks he knows more about deer management than trained biologists, you’ve got a big problem.
If you think that’s an exaggeration, consider what happened in Pennsylvania, when deer biologist Gary Alt wanted to lower deer densities to protect forest habitat from over browsing and balance sex ratios to promote improved herd health and grow larger antlered bucks. He received death threats, was forced to wear a bulletproof vest in public and eventually had to resign.
“The Commission’s long-practiced philosophy has been to provide and increase recreational opportunity for hunters and anglers whenever the resource can sustain it,” Gassett said.
“We have clear data that indicate allowing crossbow hunters to hunt throughout the archery season poses no biological threat to our white-tail deer or wild turkeys. This is a social issue about shared use
