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Cross Bows in Iowa....? I hope not

I Know for the first time Iowa now will allow Cross Bows during the late Muzzle Loader season. If you want to hunt with a Cross Bow it should only be allowed during the gun season!
I believe archery is an art and it should not be done with a scope and a trigger. I do however believe the physically disabled should be permitted to use a Cross Bow.
I have heard the argument that this same battle took place with the introduction of the Compound bow, but it's not a fair comparison. When Bowhunting you need to be stealth ,and be able to pull your string back at the precise time , and not be detected as well as be able to hold it long enough for a shot. The room for error is much smaller with a bow than a Cross Bow. The Bow Manufactures have lobbyist 's and a lot of money behind them. They are pushing very hard for Cross Bows to be legal in every state. Don't be fooled, the Pro Cross Bow voice you hear are from the Archery Companies! I hope they are never welcomed in Iowa.
Preserve our Art.
 
Here we go again. I have no interest in using a crossbow until I have to. I agree that the challenge to using a bow compared to a crossbow is different. However, I have no concerns letting other use one during the archery season. The sky will not fall. I call it opportunity.

Now, I'll go get my popcorn out.
 
Here we go again. I have no interest in using a crossbow until I have to. I agree that the challenge to using a bow compared to a crossbow is different. However, I have no concerns letting other use one during the archery season. The sky will not fall. I call it opportunity. Now, I'll go get my popcorn out.

Completely agree.
 
Well I think there is plenty of room for everyone. I have used a Mathews for the past ten years and I use a release, (which has a trigger) and I use a very good pin sight. I try to use the best equipment I can so as to give me the best chance at a good clean kill. If someone feels it takes a crossbow for them to make a clean kill then I'm all for it. I think we have enough outsiders trying to alter or halt our sport without squabbling among ourselves. Mr. Fred Bear said I best.

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Crossbows will have little impact on your deer herd. People need to relax. The opposition to crossbows are the bow hunters who are only concerned with the "me" side of things. There is no other opposition.
 
I saw an article on Field and Stream about this. The author talked about how they were flying off the shelves and predicted that in the next 10-15 years crossbows would be the new compound bow. I disagree. I'm sure longbow guys say the same thing about compound bows, just like traditional black powder guys bashed Knight's inline muzzleloader as cheating when it hit the market and now everybody uses them.

Unfortunately alot of people want what is easy so I'm sure the crossbow companies will sell alot. I for one will use a bow until I can't pull it back anymore.
 
If we are going to push against cross bows then I think that archery season should only be done with bows with no cams or sights. That's true archery.

Much easier to shoot a compound than lug a crossbow. Technology has taken over. I bet most guys couldn't hit a target at 10y without sights. Just guys being selfish.
 
I think gun seasons or late muzzle is where crossbows belong. To me it's a lesser weapon. However I don't think I am in favor of them for the archery season tag.
 
I Know for the first time Iowa now will allow Cross Bows during the late Muzzle Loader season. If you want to hunt with a Cross Bow it should only be allowed during the gun season!
I believe archery is an art and it should not be done with a scope and a trigger. I do however believe the physically disabled should be permitted to use a Cross Bow.
I have heard the argument that this same battle took place with the introduction of the Compound bow, but it's not a fair comparison. When Bowhunting you need to be stealth ,and be able to pull your string back at the precise time , and not be detected as well as be able to hold it long enough for a shot. The room for error is much smaller with a bow than a Cross Bow. The Bow Manufactures have lobbyist 's and a lot of money behind them. They are pushing very hard for Cross Bows to be legal in every state. Don't be fooled, the Pro Cross Bow voice you hear are from the Archery Companies! I hope they are never welcomed in Iowa.
Preserve our Art.

Agree 100 %
 
Let's open the season September 1st and close it February 28th and you can use whatever weapon you want. I wonder how that would go for us not!
 
I hunt with both. I have a lifetime crossbow permit and have hunted both compound and crossbow. There is nothing wrong with using a crossbow. And the word bow both on crossbow and compound make it archery. I will hunt all season with either or no big deal to me. I say hunt with what makes your heart content.
 
Let's open the season September 1st and close it February 28th and you can use whatever weapon you want. I wonder how that would go for us not!

I wouldn't mind getting a nice velvet buck in Iowa.
 
I Know for the first time Iowa now will allow Cross Bows during the late Muzzle Loader season. If you want to hunt with a Cross Bow it should only be allowed during the gun season!
I believe archery is an art and it should not be done with a scope and a trigger. I do however believe the physically disabled should be permitted to use a Cross Bow.
I have heard the argument that this same battle took place with the introduction of the Compound bow, but it's not a fair comparison. When Bowhunting you need to be stealth ,and be able to pull your string back at the precise time , and not be detected as well as be able to hold it long enough for a shot. The room for error is much smaller with a bow than a Cross Bow. The Bow Manufactures have lobbyist 's and a lot of money behind them. They are pushing very hard for Cross Bows to be legal in every state. Don't be fooled, the Pro Cross Bow voice you hear are from the Archery Companies! I hope they are never welcomed in Iowa.
Preserve our Art.

Art??? Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. You make your own bow, string, arrows & chip your own flint arrowheads? If not then you are using "modern" equipment that someone else has made for you. Where is the "art" in that? I just examined a friends brand new compound bow. Smooth as silk. Easy draw. Big time let off. Shoots carbon arrows, with a release (with a trigger :rolleyes:) and expanding broadheads. It should be a deer killing machine, but art? Perhaps, but he still has to obtain good hunting ground, practice, put in the time, hunt hard, shoot well and be a little lucky to score. Artful or not, someone using a crossbow in the same area you hunt in will not be the limiting factor in whether or not you are successful in your quest for a trophy buck. I shoot a crossbow (by necessity) and it doesn't seem to keep my neighbors from harvesting good bucks. I wish I could pull my friends new bow because I would love to be able to hunt with one just like it, but only because OI think it would be better than the clumsy crossbow I use. Art has naught to do with it! Currently, (as you wish) they are only legal during the "gun season". (Muzzle loaders are guns.) Even if more freely allowed during the "bow" season, I suspect that there will be a flurry of sales for a year or two followed by a LOT of them for sale on Craigs list.
 
I'm anti crossbow except for those medically cleared to use one. To me, going bowhunting or archery hunting, means not using a crossbow.
 
The quality of Iowa bucks and amount of mature bucks will decrease dramatically if crossbows are opened up in our state. I could spend a paragraph explaining why & some data behind that. Happy to if you'd like. I'm sure many folks don't care if there's less mature bucks, our age class structure/balance is hurt & potential at trophy bucks or even old bucks is diminished BUT that's what will happen. If you care about that to any degree, you better hope crossbows don't come to Iowa EXCEPT for disabled/elderly. Happy to explain and back this up if needed.

And to the folks who want "more opportunity", "want to hunt however they choose", "open more seasons". Let's look at one example, of many that has had that happen - Late Shed Buck season. Which we thankfully just did away with because of the damage and hunter outrage. If you don't like that example but still like the above sentiment..... Yep, let's start opening gun season October 1 to January. Early Muzzleloader starting August 15 to October 1. Traditional gear archery season only, August 1 to August 15. Then, ya, let's extend a rifle season to March 31. Sorry guys, IOWA, very uniquely, is an extremely delicate resource with its deer. We have 5-6% timber, diminishing CRP/cover and not the #'s of deer other states have. We saw what one or 2 new seasons can do. We can't fool with a delicate system or it will be ruined like most good things usually are when government & lobby get involved. Where do we draw the line? Well, I'd say we crossed the line the last few years and are thankfully reeling back from all these over-reaches, new seasons, new management that destroyed a lot. We finally pulled back on that line & now we could be facing another fight to extend the line again when we're still in rough shape from the last rounds of bad decisions. Everyone has to mess with a good thing, drives me nuts. IOWA IS VERY DELICATE - it's sad how many folks still do not understand this, even after the last 5 years.
 
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Well said Skip


And to the folks who want "more opportunity", "want to hunt however they choose", "open more seasons".

If you want more seasons go out of state, try a new species. Iowa isn't the only state you can find deer. Just like we leave Iowa for elk or a chance at a whitetail in velvet. If you want to use a rifle you don't have to travel very far or spend that much to hunt in Missouri. You want to use a crossbow many other states you can hunt with "big" deer. I think crossbow should be used only by the elderly/disabled.
 
I live in Pa which legalized crossbows, I am totally anti - crossbow anything with a stock a trigger assembly, a scope , and a thing called a bolt in my mind does not constitute it as archery!! I totally agree with archery being a art. Anybody that don't hasn't archery hunted. The timing of when to pull back, the length of the hold, the let down , looking through a peep sight as light fades, the practice it takes to be effective. What cracks me up now is you see these 8 year old boys and girls holding there first "archery kill" with a crossbow. Now I say hand them a compound and let's see what they can do. It's here to stay in pa and now you got every Tom , Dick and Harry thinking they can "archery" hunt.
 
A crossbow consists of limbs string cables cams rollers there for its a bow and classified as archery. And Iowa dnr is going to make it where you can hunt with a crossbow no matter age race sex gender handicap ect. I don't know why everyone has such a bad outlook on them. You gain maybe 30 yards over a compound What's the big deal? Oh and let me add those crossbows that are bade like a recurve..... The crossbow is here to stay and many big brand companies are making them. Mathews even released one. Or mission if I'm wrong.
 
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So some of you are saying that its the same as a compound. So picking up and shouldering a crossbow and putting the scope on a deer is the same as standing and drawing a bow and aiming with a pin sight were your anchor or dropping your bow arm could result in being way off....
I wouldnt want to lug a crossbow around, but its not in same ballpark as drawing and shooting a bow.
 
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