Quote:
Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck
Why would I use a bow when I can use a shotgun or a muzzle loader or a crossbow?
Because I want to use a bow....I enjoy the challenge of the hunt not just the harvest.
Archery only non-daw seasons exist due to low harvest rates....when they creep up it goes to all draw (see southern mule deer). Adding an easier method to master "archery" only increases the numbers of hunters and the harvest. Allowing crossbows for those who have legitimate physical constraints is great. Allowing them for all is great for 2 years before it all becomes a draw. Many of the areas crossbow are allowed during archery have much higher deer density and are not on the road to population recovery.
Alberta management differs than other areas, 15% harvest is a threshold....even though 19% of people archery hunt and its growing. Are rifle guys willing to give up 5% to archers...ask and see the response.
LC
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Respectfully I think you are a small percentage of archers and I respect that you choose to only archery hunt now but the majority of the population are hunters that hunt with what they can. I am a bow hunter by default and a rifle hunter by choice. If I was looking for an extra challenge I might try a crossbow or a iron sight 30-30 but 99% of the time I am out and armed with the biggest advantage available to me.
Maybe its because I am already on the other side of the fence with all of my hunting zones already being on draw for Moose or Mulies for archery.
I would be interested to learn the actual harvest and hunter increases....truthfully as it is now with limited general archery zones for mulies I would venture its will only be time before the pressure on those zones becomes too much to sustain a general season for mule deer. Just like closing lakes to fishing puts pressure on other lakes.
And even so lets look at moose draws now I can hunt with archery earlier in the season if I have a draw and then rifle after a certain date .....same with mule deer or elk draws, now what difference does it make if I walk around with a bow for 2 months then pick up a rifle and blast one a few days later or if I walk around with a crossbow? The result is the same.
If we had archery tags and general tags for whitetail I would have a different perspective but with only one tag does it matter if I use it with a crossbow in September or a rifle in November?