Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Crossbows HSB163

Have to laugh at the fear of the dreaded Crossbow. Might kill all our deer. Our precious trophies. Its a gun with an arrow. Heard it all before. I began with a recurve. Before the days of 80%let off. Trigger releases. And all the other gadgets that now adorn the “Traditional “, bow. Crossbow’s are now accepted in many States. Eventually will come to Iowa. I think we have more to fear from ehd and cwd than from the dreaded Evil Crossbow.
 
I realize graphs without explanation are subject to individual interpretation. The following graphs are taken from Ohio Deer Summary 2017-2018. Interpret them as you will. Crossbows have been allowed in Ohio since 1976.

Ohio buck harvest peg.jpg


Achery v gun peg.jpg
 
Have to laugh at the fear of the dreaded Crossbow. Might kill all our deer. Our precious trophies. Its a gun with an arrow. Heard it all before. I began with a recurve. Before the days of 80%let off. Trigger releases. And all the other gadgets that now adorn the “Traditional “, bow. Crossbow’s are now accepted in many States. Eventually will come to Iowa. I think we have more to fear from ehd and cwd than from the dreaded Evil Crossbow.

I can’t believe it took you this long to chime in on your support for this bill..... if you haven’t already sent emails for support.... I’ll be very disappointed....
 
I just emailed a big mutli-paragraph email. Hindsight tells me it was to long and most of them probably wont read the whole thing. As I was typing it out I realized theres so many ways to go off in:

I am writing you about the proposal to advance the use of crossbows in Iowa's deer hunting seasons.

This is not a positive for Iowa. I am an avid deer hunter and it is my passion. I live and breathe deer and deer hunting on a daily basis.

I can see how it may seem like a good idea to allow the increased use of crossbows. It could mean getting more people outdoors, which means more money being spent on tags, licenses, and gear. It could bring more recreation for people, more opportunity. What could be wrong with that, why should we not move this forward? I can tell you why.

In the hunting community/society/industry Iowa is one of the top places to be, it is one of the best. Iowa is the teachers favorite student, nearly getting all A's. We are the star athlete, we are the celebrity. Everyone wants to hunt Iowa, those not living here wish their state was like Iowa. Iowa year after year has big bucks and monster deer harvested.

Why do many other states not have that? Why do even our surrounding states not have that? MN/IL/NE/MO etc? It all comes down to how our hunting regulations are structured. We do not allow high power, long range rifles. We have no firearms (only archery) during the rut, which is the breeding season for deer and when they are the most vulnerable to a hunter. Archery for IA has (until a couple years ago) not allowed crossbows. Archery has meant the hunter has to stand, physically draw the bow back, hold steady, and release a shot typically within 25 yards of an animal all without being seen. It is a great challenge and a hunter truly has to outsmart the game.

With a crossbow that range is greatly increased. Yes, with a bow a hunter can practice and make lethal shots out to 40 yards and beyond, but conditions have to be perfect and very few have the time/are willing to practice to be accurate at that range or beyond. With a crossbow the string is already pulled back while the hunter is waiting on game and the hunter can typically stay seated. This alone puts the deer at a great disadvantage, as one of the most difficult parts of hunting with a bow is getting into position and coming to full draw on an animal without being detected. But, the crossbow also greatly increases the lethal range of a hunter, with little to no practice, effective range is doubled. 50, 60, 70 yards a capable shots. Simply put, crossbows require little practice, little woodsmanship, and increased killing ranges.

This is going to have a negative effect on Iowa's deer herd and the age structure of bucks. This will ultimately lead to less people hunting in the long run because the deer herd #'s will decrease, there will be fewer large bucks, and many hunters will lose interest and move on to other hobbies.

A bigger issue than the crossbow is coming if this passes. An even bigger issue in IA is access to land to deer hunt. Many public hunting lands in our state are already over pressured from hunters and there is little game and hunters often times run into each other in the woods and hunts are messed up. Often times trying to find an area without treestands already set up is a task in itself. Much of the private ground in IA that is good for deer hunting is already spoken for. Most of the private land is leased to hunters, or owned by hunters, or family hunts it. For the average Joe out there finding access to land to hunt is a very real challenge and has caused many people to already leave the hunting world behind, and this is the main reason that hunter #'s are decreasing. Iowa has one of the lowest public land acres in the country with under 3% of land being open for public hunting. Where are all these people suppose to hunt?

Adding another weapon, the crossbow, to our hunting seasons may increase the # of hunters, but its only going to add the problem of pressured public lands and limit private land access even more so. It is going to negatively impact the age class and quality of our deer herd. In the long run nothing good will come from this. I fear this is nothing more than a money grab thinking that our state could collect more funds in tags, licenses, equipment, travel, etc. Our natural resources need to be respected and conserved, not exploited for a short term financial game. I look forward to hearing from each of you, please vote no.

Sincerely,
Sam Bricker
Norwalk, IA
 
I saw Rob Lange's post on the facebook page "bowhunters of Iowa". I'm disappointed how many on that page are in favor of crossbows. So many fail to see the deeper impacts it has and the slippery slope it is already on since they were first introduced a couple years ago.
 
Have to laugh at the fear of the dreaded Crossbow. Might kill all our deer. Our precious trophies. Its a gun with an arrow. Heard it all before. I began with a recurve. Before the days of 80%let off. Trigger releases. And all the other gadgets that now adorn the “Traditional “, bow. Crossbow’s are now accepted in many States. Eventually will come to Iowa. I think we have more to fear from ehd and cwd than from the dreaded Evil Crossbow.
So you're worried about the negative effects of two major diseases, but are okay with adding weapons that make it easier to kill a deer with? I'm not disputing them for elderly or injured as that is totally acceptable but for the everyday person I am not for them. They are not archery equipment in my opinion. They are loaded ahead of time and all you have to do is pull the trigger. As Boyd stated they are being sold with scopes set up to shoot well past 100 yards. Think back and count up the number of deer you could have killed if you could shoot to 100 during the rut. Or the ones that you could just point and shoot in an instant and not have to worry about drawing or holding.
 
I saw Rob Lange's post on the facebook page "bowhunters of Iowa". I'm disappointed how many on that page are in favor of crossbows. So many fail to see the deeper impacts it has and the slippery slope it is already on since they were first introduced a couple years ago.
Thought most people would be on my side. Very surprised.
 
Thought most people would be on my side. Very surprised.
I am too. I have always taken pride in that fact that Iowa did not have them or no firearms during the rut. I think just so many people don't see the underlying effects it will have a few years after its introduced if passes. They don't stop and think about long term effects. And of course of facebook everything just turns into an argument, can't reason with anyone.
 
I am too. I have always taken pride in that fact that Iowa did not have them or no firearms during the rut. I think just so many people don't see the underlying effects it will have a few years after its introduced if passes. They don't stop and think about long term effects. And of course of facebook everything just turns into an argument, can't reason with anyone.

There is one very easy explanation for why Iowa doesn't have crossbows or guns in the rut - it can be stated with 3 letters - IBA
 
No big advantage in range for cross bows. Still one arrow one shot. Loud noise. Close range always best. A broadhead on an arrow not a bullet. You can become proficient with a crossbow much quicker. You can sit still . These two advantages mean better shots less wounded deer. Less deer shot and lost. Less deer killed overall. I enjoy seeing all the gadgets hung on vert bows. Something new every year. Where did the fingers go? Why a Trigger Release? All ad ons for one reason. To make a bow easier to shoot. Trying to turn compound bows into CrossBows.? Then we have the elevated houses. Darkened inside blinds. Why. ? So you can draw without being seen. Similar to a CrossBow. If. You want to be pure use a recurve and your fingers. Lots of tech today on bows. Indians wouldn’t recognize them! Just silly. But the hate for these ancient weapons goes on.
 
Sep0667......just one comment on your letter......It will not attract more hunters. The Cross-Gun folks used that as a talking point. They said let cross-guns in it will bring in new hunters and since hunters are on the decline its a big win. Look at MI, KS, and WI. since the introduction. Zero new hunters created. The only thing that happens is hunters migrate from other weapons to the cross-gun. Mostly from the guns and some from compounds. What the real issue here is when you boil it all down is a superior weapon being injected to the Rut when deer are the most visible.
 
Unfortunately, this one has legs. It's about money, keeping older hunters in the woods who cannot use a vertical bow, and introducing kids to archery with a weapon that's easier to utilize. Not saying a I agree with the previous but those arguments make those in power listen. Also, I think, not sure, that states receive money from the Dept. of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, who collect tax on hunting weapons sold nation wide each year. I know PA does and would assume it applies to all. Something to look into as motivation to pass this bill.
 
"keeping older hunters in the woods who cannot use a vertical bow"

Most of the states where Cross-guns were introduced recently already had laws that allowed handicap or hunters over the age of 65 to use them.

"and introducing kids to archery with a weapon that's easier to utilize"

Can you show me a state where youth hunting is increasing due to Cross-guns?

If those arguments are used they do not hold water.

Looked this up after I posted above....form Iowa Hunting Regs

"Crossbow License for Seniors Resident hunters 70 years old and older on the day they purchase a license may purchase one statewide Antlerless-only License to hunt deer with a crossbow. This license may be obtained in addition to any other deer license."
 
Last edited:
In Iowa, do most you guys still see herds of deer out in fields? Numbers of 20 or more? This is the new era of reducing herd size. That's what this is about. I wish you all luck in your fight, but I honestly think you'd do yourselves more benefit by spending 3 hours working on your habitat than 3 hours of writing emails to the important guys who already have their minds made up. Crossbow use in regular archery season is only a tiny slice of the big picture.
 
Top Bottom