NJ bow hunter killed by another bow hunter

[sxs]

I personally think and what I have seen in the past couple years that crossbows have been allowed is that Xbow hunters are Elmer fudds. Were I hunt at the only guys that got Xbows are the same ones that use a 12 ga semi auto and when they see brown they empty the gun at it. Then they find one tiny spot of blood or some white hair, look around for ten mins and say they must have just grazed it, or that they dont want to stomp all over and chase the deer out of their area. Plus these are the sane guys that take head/neck shots and we only find part of the deers jaw or face. Now put a Xbow in these same guys hands with a scope on it and they think that if they can see it in their scope then they can hit it out to 80-90 yards. They can't wait for a deer to get to within 20 yards but instead if the deer is out at 70 yards they will take the shot cause if they don't then somebody else will shoot that deer, so they have too. This is the kind of Xbow hunter I deal with and some of the reason I don't like them.

That is the kind of hunter that you deal with, not crossbow hunter. Same guy that will take a 500 yard rifle shot at a deer even though he doesn't have close to the ability to make the shot. Same guy that will take a 40 yard bow shot at a deer even though he has not practiced all off season. Same guy that will sky bust waterfowl instead of waiting for them to work the decoys and come in, or simply just letting them pass instead of wounding them up high at 70+ yards. It isn't about the "crossbow", but about the hunter. Hunters like that give the rest of us a bad name. Luckily for me, I have only come across a couple people like that in my lifetime.

Let me summarize it for you fabs;

Bad Hunter.

+1, FABS and SRD

So Mark hunts around guys who are unsafe cross bow hunters and they're the same guys who empty there guns at a target that is NOT ID'd tip to tail....Maybe he
should really consider hunting around some other people.

Now let me tell you about the guys I hunt with: Rarely during firearms season do you hear more than 1 -2 shots at a time because all the guys pick their shots. Several are also rabid bow hunters. Many of them have changed over to cross bow as it requires somewhat less practice to stay proficient and some have been using cross bow since the earlier allowance for hunters who had disabilities. They are every bit as careful with their crossbows as they are their firearms. I used to hunt a little with a bow years ago. Due to rotator cuff injuries, I haven't been able to draw and hold, so 2 years ago I purchased a cross bow. Never did hunt with it yet since I completely ruptured the right rotator muscle in the right shoulder soon after acquiring it. Had surgery on the right side and the Doc noted the tears and bone spurs on my left side and fixed those just this past March. Now, after months of Physical therapy, I have full flexibility and am regaining some of my strength back. At some point in the future I may regain the ability to draw and hold a bow, but since I have my cross bow, I am more likely to use it. My point, it's far from 'Everyone who uses one is a Fudd'. And if you're hunting around Fudds, maybe you should reconsider who you are hunting around.

 

[sxs]

Have the deer bag limits gone up tremendously because of the use of crossbows? I am willing to bet that they allowed crossbows during bow season because bow hunters and firearms hunters have not been able to keep the deer population in check over the past two decades. Bow hunting is the only possibility in a lot of places, especially in Montgomery County and PG County. If you are from Derwood, just outside of Rockville and just south of Olney, I am guessing you know how many deer there are in that area (i.e., A LOT). My aunt lives in that area just behind Magruder High School. My parents live in Colesville. There is no gun hunting allowed in either area that I know of. The number of deer in those areas is INSANE. I used to live in Germantown and we had the same problem.

A lot of people, me included at one point, were not able to bow hunt because we just did not have the time to practice enough to make an ethical shot beyond 20 yards. The use of a crossbow extends my range without requiring a ton of practice time.

I seriously doubt the bow season will have to be scaled back at any point in the near future. If anything, they will have to do something to entice more hunters to get out there and hunt because the deer population around the suburbs is out of control wit the number of lyme disease cases skyrocketing.

By Gosh, I think you've nail it, FABS!

 

[HeatSeeker]

Anytime a hunter is shot by another hunter with any kind of weapon I have a hard time believing it is an accident.