WY Taking a Look at Technlogy Concerning Hunting

[Hilltop]

Your not "disappointing me". I am very well versed on the opportunities available. We would all love to hunt elk close to home and be able to draw tags every year for it. That's not reality unless you are a resident. Cow tags are easily drawn in many units if you are willing to travel. I understand your situation and empathize but I believe if you view the big picture you will realize your situation is not the norm. The supply out there is nowhere near the demand so we all have to plan to make the most of what opportunities are out there. If you feel crossbows are your answer, by all means speak up to the WG&F. I won't be commenting to them as it really doesn't mean much to me either way.

 

[Gr8bawana]

there is room for all weapons. I don't really care if I lose a bit of opportunity in rifle or blackpowder or archery if I gain opportunity in crossbow.

I don't own one but I would, if we had a crossbow season I wanted to hunt.
I have killed deer and elk with above three but have always wanted to try a crossbow also.

I do understand that it has probably become necessary to try separating the archery and crossbow seasons.

we did it bow hunters and balckpowder. those who choose those weapons are ok with it. why not do the same we did for them with the crossbowers?
or perhaps we should simply make one season period and let hunters pick their weapon.

I wonder just how many crossbow advocates would still want to use them if they could to hunt ONLY during a crossbow season and not be able to also hunt during rifle and muzzle loader season? Choose your weapon and season of choice and that is your only opportunity. If you're not successful, tough luck and try again next year.
I have no problem with people using a crossbow during archery season for medical reasons but being old or being too young and small to draw a bow is not a medical condition.

 

[kidoggy]

I wonder just how many crossbow advocates would still want to use them if they could to hunt ONLY during a crossbow season and not be able to also hunt during rifle and muzzle loader season also? Choose your weapon and season of choice and that is your only opportunity. If you're not successful, tough luck and try again next year.
I have no problem with people using a crossbow during archery season for medical reasons but being old or being too young and small to draw a bow is not a medical condition.

I'm sure we will find out in the near future.
Idaho already does that to some extent for elk. you have to choose between an A tag or a B tag.

we do still have opportunity in some units where we can hunt both rifle and archery but not all.

I have no problem with pick your weapon. pretty much what I do now anyhow, as I enjoy hunting with all choices. it may cut down on length of hunts but I believe it would make for more quality hunts.

some years I choose archery or blackpowder over rifle, some years I go rifle . just depends on what hunts are available in that year or wether I want meat or sport.
we can still hunt all three,(rifle archery ,muzzle) for deer, though I very seldom do but we do have to choose between whitetail or muledeer

 

[Blackdawg]

Technology has fried hunting and fishing up, It?s probably not going to get better with any bandaids or without bandaids, we have probably reached a point in the outdoors where a whole new set of self-imposed limits will be needed to change the course of this snowball rolling down hill heading for h?-!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[shootbrownelk]

You crossbow fans keep saying 100 yard shots are common with verticle bows. I don't know where you are getting that from. The only people making 100 yard shots at big game with verticle bows are either fools, or people who dedicate YEARS to developing that skill. Years. Not days. And days is exactly what it would take for me to teach a new shooter how to hit a paper plate at 100 yards with a modern crossbow.

As far as kids go, how about fishing and small game as has been done for generations. When did the ability for your average 13 year old to kill a mature bull elk become a right? Shed hunting, swimming, athletics, the list goes on and on. How about accompanying hunters until they build the skill and strength to do it on their own. Or any manner of youth and mentored rifle hunts.

Crossbows are not archery, and technology is going to continue to make that more obvious very soon. 200 yard kill shots are right around the corner.

I'm getting that 100 yd. shot with a compound off YouTube and other sites. No different than guys making 1,000 yd + shots with a rifle. What if the long bow/ recurve guys got their panties all bunched up over compound bows having an advantage over them? Would you be willing to take a special/shorter season to appease them? We hunters had better quit squabbling about each other's choice of weapons or we'll regret it. And I do not own a crossbow or even know anyone who does. I have no axe to grind.

 

[buckbull]

I dunno. I don't get too worked up about what tool folks use to hunt with as long as legal. I know plenty of compound archery guys that never practice and are horrible shots. The 2 stories they tell every year is that "I shot him in the ass, but he will live." and "I made the perfect shot but lost the blood trail after a half mile." I'd rather them take up the crossbow if it would cut down on the maiming of animals.

I also see laziness as a reason for folks going to the crossbow route. Perhaps there is some truth in that but folks that are lazy are lazy at everything including hunting. So they'll road hunt with their crossbows and create bait piles just outside their living room.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Here is a picture of my wife. See the smile? Why would you want to take that away from her?

 

[Hilltop]

Here is a picture of my wife. See the smile? Why would you want to take that away from her?

View attachment 20774

I surely wouldn't want to. Wish I had all the answers but I have zero issues with her hunting with a crossbow or harvesting a bull elk. Congrats to her. The state needs to figure out how and when they can be used so she can continue to be able to hunt imo. I don't have the answers and I'm glad I'm not one of those people that has to figure it out.

 

[480/277]

Great pic!

 

[ColoradoV]

Colorado has it right again...

You can hunt with cross guns all you want in the rifle seasons - as rifle season is the correct time and place to hunt with guns.

Not sure why folks would not just hunt the correct season with them as I know bow hunters who use a bow in rifle so easy issue to solve if you like the cross gun use it in rifle.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Colorado has it right again...

You can hunt with cross guns all you want in the rifle seasons - as rifle season is the correct time and place to hunt with guns.

Not sure why folks would not just hunt the correct season with them as I know bow hunters who use a bow in rifle so easy issue to solve if you like the cross gun use it in rifle.

I object to your terminology! They are not crossguns, they are crossbows.

As for hunting during rifle season, consider this: With a crossbow, you still have to get close to the animal. That means you will likely need to use camo. Camo during rifle season would be dangerous.

By the way, my wife (in the picture) shot that bull at 20 yards. She sat by a trail in a ground blind, and when the bull came by she got a nice clean lung shot. The bull went less then 30 yards before dying. It was a nice clean ethical kill resulting in a very happy hunter.

 

[ColoradoV]

Good for your wife glad she got a bull.. It is nice to be happy. No reason with a bit of work she cant be happy in a rifle season where all guns are legal.

Opinions on such things differ and myself - as well as a majority of hunters in Co anyway - believe cross guns are just that and I will call them what they are until the end of time...

 

[WapitiBob]

And once again I'll state we're talking WY specifically. Crossbows have been legal for years. Are the herds in trouble because of crossbows being used? Inordinate number of lost animals?
I've always been of the opinion they need to be in the rifle season but honestly, I can't say why except it's a personal opinion from a bow hunter. As jeff asks in the Commission meeting, "where is the WY data that shows if there is an impact on the resource?" If crossbows have had no measurable impact on success rates or wounding loss in WY, it's pretty hard to argue against their continued use other than just a personal bias.
If new improvements increase the success rates in WY, take a look at it and re evaluate, just like you should do for any other technology.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

And once again I'll state we're talking WY specifically. Crossbows have been legal for years. Are the herds in trouble because of crossbows being used? Inordinate number of lost animals?
I've always been of the opinion they need to be in the rifle season but honestly, I can't say why except it's a personal opinion from a bow hunter. As jeff asks in the Commission meeting, "where is the WY data that shows if there is an impact on the resource?" If crossbows have had no measurable impact on success rates or wounding loss in WY, it's pretty hard to argue against their continued use other than just a personal bias.
If new improvements increase the success rates in WY, take a look at it and re evaluate, just like you should do for any other technology.

I completely agree. The Commission appears to be considering this move without adequate information. They don't even know how many crossbows are being used in Wyoming. I suspect it is a fairly small number. They also don't know what percentage of archery kills are from crossbows. They need this information before they can make any informed decisions. Unfortunately, I don't think they are going to get it during the public input period.

And once/if the information is available, I would encourage them to use it to adjust quotas, season dates, etc. just like they make other management decisions. Banning crossbows should not be a part of that management process unless the data show their use is very prolific...which I doubt. When I am elk archery hunting, I see very few people with crossbows.

They may be in search of a solution to a problem that does not exist. In the meantime, they are dividing the hunting community by pursuing this course of action.

 

[dustin ray]

If the harvest objectives are meet why would any body care the weapon one choses to use

My friend who loves to bow hunt but can no longer pull he's bow back from a shoulder injury but he to proud to a labeled desabeled he would like to try a Crossbow

 

[Horsenhike]

I'm getting that 100 yd. shot with a compound off YouTube and other sites. No different than guys making 1,000 yd + shots with a rifle. What if the long bow/ recurve guys got their panties all bunched up over compound bows having an advantage over them? Would you be willing to take a special/shorter season to appease them? We hunters had better quit squabbling about each other's choice of weapons or we'll regret it. And I do not own a crossbow or even know anyone who does. I have no axe to grind.

I searched for it yesterday and found very few examples. The turkey one you referred? Is that the one where they were shooting across the river and took multiple shots to hit it? Ya, I saw that one. Which group do you think they fall into.

If we can't discuss these issues here, then where?

 

[Horsenhike]

If your trying to crawl or on your hands and knees stalking with a loaded crossbow there is not many ways to carry it safely. The limbs, string and cables are horizontal with the ground cover so you have to make sure to get above all that. The crossbows are twice the weight of a compound and need to set up a bipod to shoot accurately. With a compound I can draw my bow from cover and raise up to shoot quicker than having to set a bipod up, get the crossbow on top of the bipod, make sure the bipod is not in the way of the string and take the safety off. I have a Ravin and it is still heavier and more bulky to carry than my compound. Yes at 20-30 yards the Ravin is a one hole group but at 100 yards I can group my hoyt just as good as the Ravin. Plus you have to carry shooting sticks because you can't really lean against a tree with a crossbow.

Ravin weighs 7#. I think I could manage.

You shoot a verticle bow as well as your Ravin? How many years did you say you have been shooting archery? Because that is next level stuff, well outside the capabilities of 99% of archers. Or more.

One thing is for sure, my take on Wyoming archery elk stuff is changed because of this thread. Crossbow and compound are significantly different weapons, but if I can I will.

 

[Hilltop]

If the harvest objectives are meet why would any body care the weapon one choses to use

My friend who loves to bow hunt but can no longer pull he's bow back from a shoulder injury but he to proud to a labeled desabeled he would like to try a Crossbow

A line has to drawn somewhere and it's money in the end that will drive the battle. That line is a pretty hard fought battle between manufacturers, sportsmen, and State Wildlife agencies. Technology is increasing to the point that things are being manufactured to shoot projectiles easier, faster and further, raising hunter success rates. For instance, look at the air bow. It is very similar is function to a crossbow but it not allowed in any western states.

States will lose money if they have to lower license numbers in order to hit the harvest objectives in a given area. I don't know if today's crossbows have that much impact? I guarantee Wyoming doesn't know because they have poor harvest statistics because there is no mandatory check in of any kind. That said, where the line is drawn will always be fought because manufacturers won't stop trying to create the next best way to hunt.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Colorado has it right again...

You can hunt with cross guns all you want in the rifle seasons - as rifle season is the correct time and place to hunt with guns.

Not sure why folks would not just hunt the correct season with them as I know bow hunters who use a bow in rifle so easy issue to solve if you like the cross gun use it in rifle.

I agree 100%.
Nevada allows the use of crossbows during "any legal weapon" season. They are prohibited during archery or muzzle loader seasons.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Colorado has it right again...

You can hunt with cross guns all you want in the rifle seasons - as rifle season is the correct time and place to hunt with guns.

Not sure why folks would not just hunt the correct season with them as I know bow hunters who use a bow in rifle so easy issue to solve if you like the cross gun use it in rifle.

I?m not sure Colorado has it quite right having a ?gun? (muzzleloader) season right in the middle of archery season. Maybe have another week during archery season that?s open to crossbows?