The pro-crossbow crowd says that because a crossbow has two limbs, a string and launches a fletched shaft that it is the same as a bow and that is should be allowed to participate equally with bows during Bowhunting seasons.
We all know this is a bow.
And we know this is a bow.
Both have to be drawn and held by the muscle power of the archer at the time of the shot and in the presence of game. Those two attributes make executing a Bowhunting harvest attempt on game what it is.
A the same time, we all recognize this as a gun. We can clearly see that this is not a bow. In fact, it's an AR-15 assault rifle stockand receiver.
So modifying the other end of this gun with this.
So that you have this.
does not make it a bow any more than adding an outboard motor to the other end would make it a boat or adding a spinning blade would make it a lawn mower............
It's a modified rifle/bow and as such, has no place in an archery season except for the elderly and handicapped as a way to offer them the advantages of its attributes. If it were not easier and more advantagous to the elderly and handicapped, they wouldn't be allowed for that user group but the facts are that the crossbow and its superior attributes make it a viable choice for those that can't use a bow but would still like to be in the woods during the archery season.
As twisted and irrational as that sounds, the crossbow crowd insists that it belongs in the woods equally with bows and bowhunters and as ridicules as that sounds, that assurtion makes these comparisons equally valid. .50 ca. Machine guns should be allowed to participate in trap and skeet events because both have a barrel and use gunpowder to fire a projectile.
Motorcycles should be allowed to compete in the Tour De France race since both have two wheels, a seat, handlebars and carry a rider.
Jet skis must then certainly be allowed to participate equally with canoes since they both have a hull, seats and both are a watercraft that carries people.
chainsaws ought to be allowed to participate in lumberjack competitions against buck-saws since both, Have a handle, a blade with teeth and are used for cutting wood.
And that F-16 jets should be allowed to participate equally in Ultra light plane events since both have an engine, wings, c0ckpit and can fly and require a pilot.
If the pro-Crossbow crowd thinks a crossbow belongs in the same season as bow, then it's understandable that all these other comparisons make sense and that allowing advanced devices to participate equally with their lesser counterparts should be acceptable since they say they are practically the same anyway. They claim that user groups are just being elite and selfish by not allowing advanced devices to share equally and participate with lesser equipment but we know better and so do they.
The PSE TAC-15 crossbow pictured above is married to an AR-15 Assault rifle and is for sale right now but crossbow makers are still in the infancy of crossbow design. The bow/gun hybrid of today will only get more sophisticated, powerful and advanced meaning that allowing the crossbow of today into the archery season is also allowing the gun/bow hybrids of the future into the archery season but by then, it will be too late to take these weapons out.
No matter how advanced a vertical bow gets, it still has to be drawn by human power to it's peak weight in the presence of game. For that reason, maximum draw weights have not advanced in centuries since it's all based on your own strength and ability to pull the bow to it's peak weight. Because of this, arrow speeds are limited.
Should a bowhunting shot not present itself, the archer has to use his human power to let the draw down and then repeat the cycle again in the presence of game. This is not true of crossbows. Stocked, cocked and locked means the very essence of bowhunting's final and most important step (and what differentiates it from making an attempt to harvest game with a rifle) is now converted to a firearms style of mechanics, removing the key component to taking game with human powered archery gear . Since there is very little to limit the power and speed of future crossbows that can be cocked with a crank, the crossbows of today are still in their infancy and near limitless in terms of draw weight and speeds thus increasing range and killing power. Because they can be shot off a bench rest or shooting rail, even the very act of a steady hold using human power to aim has been converted to a firearms style of shooting from a braced position.
The draw, speed, rest aim, stocked, cocked, locked and shoulder fired crossbow that requires a person to shoulder the weapon, lean into a scope, flip off a safety and pull the trigger are not the movements, actions or physical requirements of the hunting archer and provides advantages reducing the skill set to simply firing a stored energy weapon at game.
Is there a place in the woods for the crossbow? Yes, the elderly and handicapped are able to participate on par with able bodied bowhunters through the unique advantages and superior capabilities provided by the crossbow. That advantage is granted to them based on their limited physical abilities to participate in bowhunting. The same could be said for seasons that already allow shoulder fired, cocked, stored energy devices since the crossbow mimics those weapons except for the smoke and bang.
