DON'T SAY NO TO THE CROSSBOW
Don't Think You Won't Ever Need A Crossbow
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 dilemma
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, many
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 we'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?
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