Crossbows in Virginia

[gwhilikerz]

This may have been posted here before, but I thought it might show us that things will calm down before long.
The Roanoke Times
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When Del. Watkins Abbitt (I-Appomattox) recently introduced legislation to give the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries the authority to create a crossbow license, I envisioned some active opposition from die-hard bowhunters.

If there's been active opposition, I've missed it. I've gotten just a few e-mails and calls about crossbows, certainly less than I expected after my column supporting the legislation. Apparently Virginia's delegates and senators didn't get much pressure on the issue, either. House Bill 2200 flew though the legislature, passing unanimously in both the House and Senate.

Now all it needs is the governor's blessing, after which the ball will be in the game department's court.

It seems a pretty safe bet that the department's upcoming package of possible regulations changes, which will be released in late March, will include a crossbow proposal.

If there is to be opposition, that should trigger it.

Recent conversations and e-mail exchanges with fellow hunters haven't swayed my thinking on crossbows, but have helped me better understand the forces at work in this issue.

I realize now that I was oversimplifying when I wrote that killing a deer with a crossbow is for all intents and purposes as hard as killing one with a compound bow.

I'm more comfortable and more accurate shooting a compound bow than a crossbow. But I've been shooting bows for 30 years. Because there are fewer variables in aiming a crossbows, it stands to reason that the learning curve for a novice would not be as steep as it would be with a bow, even one of today's user-friendly compounds.

Interestingly, in Georgia's 2003-04 archery season, crossbow hunters were 24.8 percent of the total hunters, but they accounted for only 21.8 percent of the kill.

The success rate for compound hunters was .51 deer per hunter while crossbow hunters averaged .49 deer per hunter. In fact, the crossbow contingent wasn't too far ahead of the bowhunters using recurves and longbows. Those traditional archers averaged .46 deer per hunter, a testament to their impressive dedication.

Considering that about a third of those crossbow hunters had never hunted during archery season, that's a pretty good success rate. Still, it's also proof that the weapons aren't magic.

The bigger question is, is ease of use really relevant in this debate?

Were Virginia's archery season truly a "primitive weapons" season, it would be. But were it a primitive season we wouldn't be hunting with compound bows, because the technological leap from a recurve or long bow to a compound bow is a lot bigger than the leap from a compound bow to a crossbow.

Part of the credit for the lack of controversy - so far - about crossbows in Virginia must go to Georgia, Alabama, Maryland, and other states that have gone through this. There was heated debate in those states, but it quieted down pretty quickly when the world didn't end.

When the game department announces its intentions regarding crossbows I'm sure we'll hear some grumbling. But I suspect it won't take long to get real quiet again, which seems fitting for a hunting sport where silence is so important.

[Sackcloth]

The governor signed dthe bill into law on march 4, with an ER amendment. That means the bill can be put into effect immidiately. There is a good chance it will be in effect for the 2005 archery season. The big holdup now is the paperwork involved in printing license, regulation books, and etc in time for the June 2005 release of the printed hunting regulations brochure.

[Willie]

Crossbow hunting could be on target for 2005

By Mark Taylor
981-3341
The Roanoke Times

The legislative proposal that opened the door for the regulation met with little opposition as it moved through the General Assembly this winter.
As it was written the bill would have allowed the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to start the process of implementing a crossbow license in time for the 2006 hunting season. But at the end of the session the crossbow bill got an extra push, receiving an "emergency" amendment that will allow the game department to accelerate the process and could lead to crossbow hunting in Virginia as early as the 2005 fall hunting seasons.

The department's staff will present a proposed crossbow regulation to its board of directors at a meeting in Richmond on Thursday.

Should the board approve the proposal for advertisement, the public will have its say over the next few months. Comments will be taken by phone, e-mail, mail and at six public meetings to be held throughout the state.
The board will then vote on the proposal at its next meeting, in late June. If the regulation passes, Virginians will be able to hunt with crossbows this coming fall.

Currently, only authorized disabled hunters are allowed to use crossbows in Virginia.

Bob Duncan, chief of the department's wildlife division, says the proposal will establish a special crossbow license that will allow hunters to use the weapons during established archery seasons.

Like archery and muzzleloader speciality licenses, the crossboW license would be used in combination with a big-game hunting license.

The license will cost $12.50, the same as the other speciality licenses.
A hunter who chooses to use only a crossbow during archery season would not be required to purchase a regular archery license. That provision should appease disabled hunters, some of whom worried that a crossbow regulation would require them to purchase an additional license.

In addition to establishing the new crossbow license, the department will also seek to remove certain prohibitions on crossbows during other hunting seasons.

For example, hunters who so desire will be able to hunt with crossbows during the general firearms and muzzleloader seasons, just as bowhunters are currently allowed to continue using those weapons during deer gun seasons.
Rushing the crossbow proposal will create a couple of challenges for the game department.

The final vote on the proposal will come after the deadline for the department's 2005-06 hunting digest. Duncan said the digest will likely include a passage reporting that a crossbow regulation was being considered at press time and that hunters can refer to the game department's Web site for the regulation's status.

Crossbow approval, should that happen, will also come after the deadline for Virginia's traditional preprinted paper licenses. That means crossbow licenses will be available only through limited venues, such as through the department's Internet and telephone license sales programs. That may be inconvenient for some hunters, but those who want to hunt with a crossbow probably won't mind going to a little extra trouble to get the license.

A growing number of states have approved crossbow hunting regulations in recent years and the proposals have not come without controversy.
Crossbow supporters point out that the weapon is essentially just a modern bow attached to a rifle stock, with capabilities and an effective range little different than the compound bows most archers use. They also say that the weapons help attract new hunters to the exciting, close-range sport of bowhunting.

The second argument is supported by statistics from states that have seen bowhunter numbers increase after crossbow seasons were established.
Opponents argue, among other things, that crossbows violate the primitive spirit of archery hunting because they are easier to learn to shoot effectively than bows, and don't require a hunter to draw while while game is approaching. Some also fear that new crossbow hunters will take to the woods without a full understanding of the limitations of the weapons.

In addition to the crossbow regulation, the department also plans to announce other potential changes to hunting, fishing and boating regulations. Those ideas, which could include hunting and fishing license fee increases, will be presented only informally. The official proposals will be made in August and voted on later in the fall. Those changes would then take effect in 2006.

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