PA BOARD APPROVES EXPANDED USE OF CROSSBOWS

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BOARD APPROVES EXPANDED USE OF CROSSBOWS

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to expand the lawful use of crossbows to include both the archery deer and bear seasons for the 2009-10 seasons.  The Board amended the proposal by including a sunset date for the expanded crossbow use that will require a future Board to vote on the measure again before June 30, 2012.


Under the new regulation, a crossbow must have a peak drawn weight of at least 125 pounds, and a bolt must be equipped with a broadhead that has an outside diameter or width of at least 7/8 inches with at least two cutting edges on the same plane throughout the length of the cutting surface, and shall not exceed three inches in length.


Also, before giving the measure final approval, the Board adopted an amendment to prohibit the use of magnifying scopes for archery equipment and crossbows during the archery bear and deer seasons.  The use of non-magnifying scopes – such as those that provide a red dot for sighting purposes – will continue to be legal.


The proposal given approval also would remove the lawful use of crossbows during the October muzzleloader or late flintlock muzzleloader season. Other changes made by the proposal simplify and make the language of the regulations easier to understand.

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By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Monday, February 9, 2009

The leaders of the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania did not immediately make an official statement after Pennsylvania Game Commissioners approved crossbows for use in the statewide six-week archery season.

They have now.

It's clear that the group's positions have not changed: they disagree that crossbows are a primitive weapon and want the commission to track their use somehow.

"The United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania remain steadfast that the crossbow is a superior weapon to a bow and should not be permitted in archery seasons other than by those hunters who qualify as physically unable to draw and hold a bow," reads the statement, released by the group's president, Wes Waldron.

The statement goes on to say that allowing an unknown number of crossbows into the archery season, with no way to track participation or impact on the deer harvest, "represents a departure from the limited and incremental approach historically utilized when providing new or expanded hunting opportunity." It further "depicts an overall deviation from the scientific, biological and social concerns of conscientious wildlife management.

"Therefore, we feel that any hunting license increase package must include a crossbow license to accurately track harvest and participation," it concludes.
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