AdventuresInNature

CROSSBOWS OFFER NEW HUNTING TWIST

Solomon was wise. But, like the rest of us, he could be wrong occasionally too.

He said there was "nothing new under the sun."

Wrong, baby-breath.

In Virginia this fall, a new hunting season opens – one never before offered to the general populace of the Commonwealth.

The new season, which allows crossbows to be used for the first time by the general public, is causing a sensation.

Until this fall, you had to be disabled and get a doctor’s certification that you weren’t your old self in order to hunt with a crossbow.

This fall and winter, during both archery and regular gun season, hunters can take to the woods with an ancient weapon whose accuracy and power have been overstated by movies, but which will still improve a hunter’s chances of success several fold over conventional archery equipment.

Sporting goods stores that I’ve talked with say that, as hunting season approaches, the sale of crossbows is hotter than funnel cakes at the state fair.

Most of us who have tried to get within the necessary 40 yards of a deer while hunting with a recurve or compound bow would have traded a week of season to be able to carry the flatter-shooting, more accurate crossbow. Especially a crossbow with a scope.

We just weren’t willing to saw off a leg or adopt a wheelchair to do it.

Mark my words. The deer harvest in Virginia will go up this year, especially the harvest during archery season when a very large number of hunters happily shell out $150 to $400 or more for a good crossbow and scope.

The harvest will go up because the average hunter (I include myself) will be able to shoot more accurately with a crossbow than he or she was ever able to do with a bow and arrow.

This ought to mean – I emphasize "ought to mean" – both fewer missed shots as well as fewer wounded deer that weren’t hit where the archer hoped to hit. And that is a very good thing.

Here are some items you need to remember about purchasing and using a crossbow:

The same rules apply regarding draw weight as apply to the use of conventional archery tackle. In other words, the crossbow must be able to propel a broadhead arrow at least 125 yards.
Scopes are OK.

Crossbows are legal during the upcoming 2005-2006 hunting season, including early archery season which opens Oct. 1 statewide.

A special crossbow license ($12 for residents and $25 for non-residents) is required, in addition to a regular hunting license.

You’ll also need a big game license for bear, deer and turkey during archery season.
Crossbow licenses are available wherever hunting licenses are sold.

Try to buy your crossbow from a sporting goods store where the sales person is likely to know one end from the other. Just as few clerks in the big discount stores know much about fishing tackle or shotguns, even fewer know much about this ancient but legendary weapon.

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