John's Journal...

DON'T SAY NO TO THE CROSSBOW

Don't Think You Won't Ever Need A Crossbow


Click to enlarge Editor’s Note: My brother, Archie, always considered himself a bow-hunting purist. He shot the longbow first, next the recurve and finally the cam-bow. He thought of a crossbow as simply a rifle powered by a string. But then when Archie's ATV fell on top of him and nearly crushed him, he wondered how he would bow-hunt during the upcoming bow season. At that time, Alabama just had passed a law enabling disabled hunters and older hunters, both terms that applied to my brother although he'd never admit it, to use crossbows if they made application to the state. To receive a permit to hunt with crossbows, hunters had to prove they had physical limitations that would justify the need for them to use crossbows. The idea of shooting a crossbow presented a real dilemmaClick to enlarge for my brother. Would he shoot what he had called a rifle powered by a string, or would he give up hunting deer from October 15th to the end of January during Alabama's deer season?

A friend of mine named Allen, one of the most-techie bow hunters I've ever met, always has had the latest and newest bow equipment to come on the market every year. But in the last few years, he's developed a severe case of arthritis and has had to give up the sport of bow hunting. Allen just can't stand the pain of pulling a bow. For about two years, Allen gun hunted but never lost his love of bow hunting. Bow hunting became to Allen like a sweetheart he nearly married, but a quirk of fate separated the two. When the State of Alabama embraced the crossbow for disabled hunters, Allen put his name on the list and started crossbow hunting. Given the option of hunting with a crossbow or not hunting at all, manyClick to enlarge young, strong and healthy hunters will take the position, "If I thought I had to hunt with a crossbow or not hunt at all, I'd just give up bow hunting." However, if you become injured or grow too old or too weak to pull a modern-day bow, like Archie and Allen, you too, may choose to modify or change your position on the crossbow, particularly if you can bow-hunt with a crossbow as opposed to not bow hunting at all.

More and more states have approved crossbow hunting for the disabled and for the elderly. I'm in total agreement with this philosophy and excited about this crossbow option, which enables outdoorsmen who really like to bow-hunt for deer to continue in their sport. A recent report I've read on aging states that by the year 2025 more older Americans will be living than teenagers, a dramatic change from what Click to enlargewe've known in the past. As the largest population in America today (the Baby Boomers) grow older, the need for the crossbow will increase. Today the sport of bowhunting has more older hunters participating in it than younger hunters. Too, since Americans live and stay healthier longer, no one will want to give up bow hunting, as he moves into his senior years. That's why I believe the crossbow option will be more-readily accepted in the future than today. At some day in the future, more older hunters may take deer with crossbows than younger hunters will with conventional bows.


TOMORROW: BAN BOW HUNTING OR PROMOTE IT?


Check back each day this week for more about DON'T SAY NO TO THE CROSSBOW...

Day 1 - My Brother’s Dilemma
Day 2 - Don't Think You Won't Ever Need A Crossbow
Day 3 - Ban Bow Hunting Or Promote It?
Day 4 - Be a Real Bowhunter: Shoot a Crossbow
Day 5 - Tight Quarters: The Crossbow’s Best

 

Entry 268, Day 2