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Crossbows?!?!? Iowa bow season?

Sligh1

Sligh1

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This was one of the things highlighted that I got on this yr's round of legislative proposals. I copied it below & think I understand this right. Crossbows
in Iowa for anyone during bow season. Is this right, what r ur thoughts.

Why does it seem to me that almost all laws ever proposed for deer hunting are regulations that would or do hurt iowa's deer quality? The quality we all know that puts Iowa in a top tier across the nation. It's never stuff in any fashion that would improve what we have - even though Iowa is great- could be better. It's always things that threaten our future- shed buck season, increase in buck tags, earlier gun has been proposed, etc, etc. I guess it's a lot like Liberalism- maybe we will always have to fight back this constant flood of bad laws every year. It's a shame the proposals only go one way (bad directions) from I've mainly seen (not balanced at all!! This is usually one direction legislation) and further reason for folks to join IBA

8)* Desire for a crossbow season for all.* Currently, crossbows are legal for handicapped hunters with permit.* Resident hunters 70 years old and older may purchase one statewide antlerless-deer only license to hunt deer with a crossbow
 
I think crossbows should be legal I personally wouldn't use one but see nothing wrong with it . The hardest part of deer hunting is getting a shooter to walk by. If your proficient with your bow shooting is not the hard part
 
Also some people do not practice enough and should not be allowed to be out flinging arrows and wounding deer.
 
I say make them legal. Just put them in the gun season. I think a deer or any other animal shot with a cross bow can't be entered into the P&Y. In my opinion they are more like a muzzleloader then a bow.
 
Really more like a muzzleloader ? how darn old is your muzzleloader. And muzzleloader that shoot 250 yards are now completely acceptable.)
 
I wasn't talking about how far you can shoot. I mean its already loaded, all you have to do is pull the trigger. You have a built in trigger and a scope. You don't have to worry about getting busted drawing and you don't have to remember to go through all your steps of aiming.Thats the hardest part.
 
Crossbow Policy Statement
The Pope and Young Club was founded to promote bowhunting and to record for posterity the outstanding examples of North American big game animals taken solely with the hunting bow.

For the purpose of the Pope and Young Club, a bow shall be defined as a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow that is hand-held and hand-drawn, and that has no mechanical device to enable the hunter to lock the bow at full or partial draw. Other than the energy stored by the drawn bow, no device to propel the arrow will be permitted.

Consequently, the Pope and Young Club does not consider the crossbow to be a hunting bow and will not accept any trophies collected by crossbow hunters. Further, the Pope and Young Club considers the use of crossbows during bowhunting seasons to be a serious threat to the future of bowhunting.

The Pope and Young Club therefore recommends the crossbow should not be considered for use in any bowhunting only season. Also, the Club strongly recommends that crossbow hunting be abolished from all existing bowhunting only seasons and the use of crossbows for hunting be restricted to firearms seasons.


I AGREE!
 
I would prefer not to allow crossbows for multiple reasons. I think they serve their purpose right now for disabled and elderly people that need them.

And personally, having shot my grandpa's (who bowhunted for 40 years prior to having some serious back problems at age 71) I don't know why anyone would WANT to shooot a crossbow if they are physically able to shoot a bow. An actual bow is so much more enjoyable and not a time goes by when he takes his crossbow out he doesn't say "man I wish I could shoot a compound again."
 
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Chipterp you must not bow hunt. One the hardest thing about bow hunting is to get drawn on a animal.
 
Our G&P made them legal here a couple years ago. A lot of folks had the "sky is falling" attitude, like there was going to be a crossbow hunter behind every tree. That's hardly the case. It barely increased the number of bowhunters at all. Hunters are hunters, no matter what they shoot.
 
After you guys talking about it on a old thread, I agree it's a BAD idea to have crossbows. I can't remember all you said but it sold me into thinking it is and would be a not so good thing.
 
I don't see anything wrong with them. I'd love it if my wife could use a crossbow, she can probably out shoot half the guys on here with her compound but I worry about the fact that its probably only shooting 40 lbs. I think this would be a great way to get more women and kids in the stand.
 
Shovelbuck said:
Our G&P made them legal here a couple years ago. A lot of folks had the "sky is falling" attitude, like there was going to be a crossbow hunter behind every tree. That's hardly the case. It barely increased the number of bowhunters at all. Hunters are hunters, no matter what they shoot.
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X2 As someone who bow hunted for about 25 years before age and some nerve issues in my neck prevented me from being able to draw my compound anymore, I can speak with some experience in crossbow hunting. Crossbow hunting is different than a compound. Different, not always easier. I wish I could still use a compound because I would even if crossbows were legal for all. They are heavy and clumsy and if you think getting one brought into position and aimed is all that much easier than drawing on a deer I question how much you've actually done it. I wouldn't take a shot with my crossbow further than 30 yards without a solid rest, which is not available in my tree stand. Crossbows are incredibly noisy and nowhere near fast enough to keep a deer from dropping with the shot at anything further than about 25 yards. Any comparison to even an traditional old fashioned muzzy is misguided at best. As far as the need to "practice" is concerned, again it is different. No, I don't take thousands of shots with my crossbow a year like I did with my compound but I do spend a lot of time with it & other trigger weapons practicing form, sight acquisition and trigger pull. I am a hunter, and I do practice, just differently. I would bet that I put as many practice bolts through my crossbow as some do with their "real" bows before going out each year. I have shot some decent deer with my crossbow. I have been able to shoot one buck with it that because of branches in the way I probably couldn't have drawn on with my compound. I have also failed to get a shot at a very nice buck that I'm pretty sure I could have taken with a compound. Should crossbows become legal there will be a little flurry of popularity but it will not ruin bow hunting or the quality of Iowa's deer herd. Your neighbors won't all get crossbows and shoot all "your" deer. If it does nothing more than allow or encourage a few youngsters who are not yet able to draw a bow to get interested in bow hunting then it's a good thing! Fighting within the hunting community can only be bad for all of us.
 
I really could care less if they allowed crossbows or not during archery season. Sure would be easier to get my wife and kid out hunting if they did.

The American Sportsman is it's own worst enemy. One group doesn't like a way another group hunts, so there for it shouldn't be legal. We will eventually be the reason for many downfalls, just like gun bills. People who own shotguns, feel that people shouldn't be able to own AR style rifles, because, "you don't need those for hunting". Same with the type of weapon to chase a whitetail.
 
If archery success rates begin to increase due to allowing crossbows in the regular achery season, you may at some point see changes made to our season structure. Most would agree Iowa has one of the best structured archery seasons in the country. Why jeopardize it? Put them in a gun season IMO. It's always the cross bow manufacturers who push this legislation in some way.
 
I like the idea mainly for youngsters some kids are intimidated by shotguns and if they could use a crossbow its a way to get them started. Im doing a youth turkey hunt for kids in my church and have kids that want to hunt but are just to scared to shoot a shotgun i dont want to force it on them i want there first experiences to be good ones not necessarily ending in a kill but a good comfortable experience.
 
Funny how things go sometimes. Right now I have a crossbow permit filled out and signed by my doctor. I have done a lot of research about this and just feel it is time for me to move on with this issue. My shoulders just aren't very comfortable shooting even my old recurve of 42 pounds any more and I tried shooting my compound from the early 80s. It was 60 pounds with 65 percent let off and energy wheels instead of big cams. The string loop and release and peep sight and fiber optic sight pins made it much more accurate than my recurve or long bows but still was difficult to shoot much and I couldn't get it drawn and held and shot with out bumping the sides or window frame of the portable blind I was trying to use. Because I am approaching that 65 age my wife thinks that I shouldn't be climbing trees or ladders any more, so I have to use some kind of blind.

Research has shown me that while it isn't difficult to hit targets accurately at 40 or 50 yards, that almost all crossbow hunters restrict their shots to about 30 or 35 yards much like I have done with the stickbows. The noise and twang really can cause a deer to react, just watch some videos. If crossbows were allowed I don't believe for a minute that there would be a huge influx of new hunters just because they could use a crossbow. None of the other states that allow them have experienced any of that. Just like the silly season allowing rifles to be used hunting antlerless deer didn't cause a great increase of hunters just because of the novelty of it. The same thing would happen with crossbows.

For those of you who are convinced that crossbows are evil and way to easy to use think about this. Draw locks for compound bows have been legal for several years in Iowa so why aren't people complaining about them? I personally think that compound bows that have 85% or even 90% let-off should not be used and all the modern advances in sights and releases and ultra high arrow speeds just make using a compound bow just too easy and doesn't require nearly as much practice to stay proficient as my old recurve does. If you want to shoot a 90lb bow to get more speed and energy then you should be drawing and holding 90lbs just like Fred Bear or Howard Hill did cause that is what real bow hunters did.:rolleyes:

My point is if a hunter wants or needs to use a crossbow who are we to say NO you aren't as good or ethical a bow hunter as I am with my high speed decked out compound bow. That is not the case and I would challenge any of you to put down the compound and take up a longbow to enhance your own difficulty before you pass judgement on some of us who see a need for a weapon that will give us some of the same advantages that you have over the longbow users. None of us have that right.:way:
 
River1 said:
If archery success rates begin to increase due to allowing crossbows in the regular achery season, you may at some point see changes made to our season structure. Most would agree Iowa has one of the best structured archery seasons in the country. Why jeopardize it? Put them in a gun season IMO. It's always the cross bow manufacturers who push this legislation in some way.
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DO NOT put them in during gun season. That is the worst idea I have ever heard of unless you are referring to late ml season. Have you been on Iowa's public land during shotgun season? The last thing that needs to be done is guys sitting in trees trying to kill a deer with a crossbow with slugs flying everywhere.

Why not a compromise? Make it the first 2 weeks of archery season, crossbows can be used. The idea behind it is to get more women and children hunting, the weather is milder then.

By the way, I have no intentions of buying a crossbow anytime soon.
 
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