But before you read this news story, put yourself in the frame of mind of a disgruntled gun hunter that was prohibited from harvesting an anterless deer in 13 DMUs (18 this year). Or a gun hunter who did not see a deer last year. Or a gun hunter that was in favor of moving the gun season up a week into the rut. And a gun hunter that is not happy with bowhunters and our harvest numbers. Remember, there are 650,000 gun hunters and 250,000 bowhunters in WI, leaving 400,000 gun only hunters as I described above.
Then, Once you're in the frame of mind of an unhappy gun hunter, read the story from Michigan now that they have one season of crossbow hunting under their belt (in the lower peninsula)
From the story: " participation in the archery season was up 7 percent and the statewide archery harvest went up 10.5 percent statewide and 19 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula where the herd is the biggest."
Imagine a 19% harvest increase by bowhunters in WI while the DNR is still driving to lower the population because they contend the state is still 26% over goal and it's no wonder gun hunters are seeing red and they are unhappy that you, the bowhunter (and those using crossbows) are killing too many deer.
This sort of change in WI would certainly lead to a loss of the rut (like was attemped last year) so gun hunters can have a chance at the deer before the bowhunters kill them all. Increased harvests rates for bowhunters is the last thing gun hunters want and we will get news stories from the Wisconsin Outdoor News (like last year) Telling everybody that gun hunters had the worst season in decades while bowhunters killed near record numbers of bucks. Last year, bowhunters came close to losing the antlerless tag statewide due to gun hunters unhappy that they were prohibited from killing antlerless deer.
It won't have to be true but if crossbows are allowed, some will certainly blame the lack of deer sightings on all bowhunters (not just crossbow hunters) for killing too many deer but it wouldn't be just crossbow users that would have their days afield cut short. If crossbows are lumped into the archery deer season with bowhunters, we all suffer the claims from angry gun hunters that "bowhunters" are killing too many deer and the archery deer season is too long and that it's unfair that only bowhunters can hunt the rut.
The time for increased action is now and increased lobbying efforts in Madison is certainly a priority.
Another snip for the story that should catch your eye since WI now has a 10 year old hunting age.
"Jeff Kunkel, a deer hunter from Hillsdale, Mich., favors full inclusion of crossbows because of the way it helped his own children learn how to hunt. Because he lives so close to Ohio, where crossbows are legal and there's no minimum age requirement to hunt, his second son shot his first deer at age 9.
Kunkel said the crossbow gave his children a head start of 2-4 years on deer hunting that they wouldn't get under Michigan's existing law. They can learn about deer movement and hunting skills more comfortably in the early season, he said, and they don't need the strength required to draw a compound bow.
His son took those lessons and his crossbow and ran with them. Kunkel estimates Daniel, now 13, has killed 15 deer.
"He probably killed five deer with that thing from age 9-14," Kunkel said. "And he was able to hunt in October, so I was able to teach him some things about deer movement and learning better skills. The kid is prolific."
I draw your attention to this not because we should be against kids hunting but because it's clear that adding crossbows will mean any person can simply pick up what the story labels as "proficiency in a box" that crossbow hunters can buy." which is clearly happening in MI.
States with overpopulated deer herds and slumping archery tag sales are looking for a quick fix and certainly like the added revenue. Interestingly enough, the WI deer herd is in dire straits and WI is not suffering from a lack of bowhunters so perhaps (as hard as it is to believe) the depressed deer herd numbers and popularity of bowhunting WI may help us as we defend and protect the archery deer season from an influx of crossbow shooters looking to become instant bowhunters. Also remember, WI allows those 65 and older to use a crossbow, MI does not allow seniors the use of a crossbow. This is not about the elderly or the disabled. WI already allows both of these user groups to use a crossbow in the archery deer season which is a good and fair rule.
