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Crossbow considerations
By MIKE SCARANTINO It is bow season in Florida, and traditional hunters are stalking their quarry with the utmost silence and stealth. With hunters garbed in camouflage clothing, their faces masked or painted to hide amongst the branches and brush, there is a pureness about the sport. Crossbow hunting isn't viewed in the same way, specifically not by bow hunters. They look at the ancient method of projectile launching as a threat to their way of life in the woods. In fact, the Pope and Young Club -- founded to promote bow hunting and to record for prosperity the outstanding examples of North American big game -- sees the use of crossbows to be a serious threat to bow hunting. Crossbows and their accessories are not even featured in bow-hunting magazines or periodicals. Bow hunters think crossbows are much more accurate than traditional hand bows. A simple mention about their use around bow hunters brings scathing remarks. Yet many of the practices appear to be relatively the same. Crossbow hunters must be keenly adept at finding game and getting in close proximity to make a clean kill. They must practice the same ethics, and safety issues seem to be similar. But there have been many statements about the differences between the two and against the use of crossbows that may not be true. One simple misconception is that crossbow hunters can achieve a higher degree of accuracy than their hand-bow counterparts with a few hours of practice, allowing them to harvest quarry more easily. That assumes the crossbow archer is adept at judging distances in the field accurately and the myriad of other essential skills to harvest game. For practical purposes, handbows are defined as long, recurve and compound bows. Handbow enthusiasts think crossbows are more like rifles due to their use of sights, stocks and triggers, and that they should be used only during big-game general gun seasons -- if at all. It would be okay to say crossbows resemble rifles since early firearm stocks are similar, but that is far from true. Crossbows lack the noise, flash, recoil, range and accuracy of any firearm. The ballistic and accuracy potential of a crossbow more resembles that of powerful handbows. Today, traditional archers use mechanical releases or triggers and sights on their handbows when target shooting and hunting. The difference between handbows and crossbows is that handbows are held at full draw by the archer's muscles while aiming. Crossbows are placed in the cocked position by mechanical devices. In the past 30 years, crossbow hunting has gained in popularity despite the negatives presented by the opposition. Many states allow the use of crossbows in the field during big-game rifle and small-game seasons. Only a few permit crossbows in traditional archery-only hunting. Florida hunters can use a crossbow during big-game firearms season or if an individual is disabled, has a special permit and chooses -- in big-game season -- to use a crossbow in lieu of a firearm. Considerations are being examined to allow crossbows during the archery season. Statistics published by the National Anti-Crossbow Committee and reportedly taken from Ohio's Department of Natural Resources show a drastic increase in the number of deer harvested with crossbows. What the numbers do not represent is the increase of hunters using crossbows in relation to the harvest statistics. Ohio has for the past 30 years allowed crossbows during the big-game archery season. The number of animals harvested has grown, but so has the number of participants in the type of hunting. Vicki Mountz of the Ohio Department of Wildlife is an avid bow hunter who occasionally prefers the crossbow. "At 51 years old, there are times when I haven't had enough practice with my compound bow so I'll hunt with my crossbow," Mountz said. "Understand too that Ohio only has a one-week firearms season for big game. Many hunters have extended the length of their hunting season by switching to crossbows," she said. Her impression is that it's easier to become proficient with a crossbow on the practice range, but hunters must possess the necessary skills in the field to harvest quarry. "We in Ohio feel that we'd like hunters to have weapons they can do their very best with," Mountz said. In Florida, there are a number of crossbow enthusiasts who would like to see the weapon included in the archery season. To date, no public referendums have been scheduled. If you have a question or comment, call Mike Scarantino, (352) 683-4868.
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