NY 2025 - crossbows now archery implements for deer/bear hunting

I would love temps in the 30-70. Thats a cold rifle season for us. A 30 degree day is stay at home the roads and schools are closed weather.

I could see how guys would get upset with more hunters pressuring deer during the nice times to hunt.

Particularly in states where firearm season occur in late Nov after peak rut which has traditionally allowed more bucks to reach maturity, crossbow use effectively adds a lot of rifle hunters into peak rut hunting during archery season.

I'm not saying one party is more entitled to something than another but I'd definitely prefer season structures that give ample opportunity but also facilitate more bucks surviving to maturity.
 
Someone else is now out there hunting who wasn’t doing it before.

And, just like him, they are using a modernized piece of ancient technology. It has slightly different strengths and weaknesses. That’s all.

His complaint is about the same level of legitimacy as it is for a little kid playing on the public playground and not wanting other little kids to use it at the same time.
You stating that a crossbow is just another piece of ancient technology with only slightly different strengths and weaknesses has got to be one of the most pathetic statements that I’ve ever read regarding crossbows. Lol
 
For as long as I've been hunting, crossbows have been a legal means of take in any open archery season. It's not the end of the world and I bet there's less of a wound rate with them. Not to mention the people that can actually benefit from one like kids or people with disabilities.

You don't know what a person has gone through and why they may be hunting with one. We're all out there trying to do the same thing. Drop the elitist compound bow BS.
 
For those that say there is no impact... For the first time last year, the 2024 PA's archery buck harvest exceeded that of rifle season. It was 87,400. The rifle buck kill was 86,300. In 2009 the archery buck kill was 33,400. The same year xbows were legalized for archery.
 
PA did the same thing a few years ago. Guess what happened? Nothing. All the pearl clutching is unnecessary. Still seeing a bunch of deer. There aren't as many hunters as there used to be.

Yes and no. While overall hunter numbers dropped we added approximately 150K bowhunters. Rifle hunters attracted by a weapon they were already familar with.
 
I think the change was a good thing. I would be MUCH less positive about a similar change in a western state, where the supply/demand relationship is flipped the other way, but most of NY could stand to have fewer deer and isn't suffering from overcrowding. Crossbows are also a good way to make hunting more accessible for urban folks so they can hunt in more populated areas, that only allow archery hunting (and those are often the areas that need the reduction in deer numbers the most).
 
MS and TX are a far cry from NY and the upper midwest. We have the opposite situation - Firearm seasons in November, some into december when its freakin cold. Archery seasons with a lot of 30-70 degree temps when it's pleasant to be outside.
Yea, I think that's where the discrepency in views are. Totally different situations
Someone else is now out there hunting who wasn’t doing it before.
Not seeing it in MS.
For those that say there is no impact... For the first time last year, the 2024 PA's archery buck harvest exceeded that of rifle season. It was 87,400. The rifle buck kill was 86,300. In 2009 the archery buck kill was 33,400. The same year xbows were legalized for archery.
It's nice for someone to present actual data. I doubt MS has anything since we've only recently started doing voluntary harvest reports. I can believe it's having an effect in areas of the country with nicer weather and rutting bucks.
 
Yea, I think that's where the discrepency in views are. Totally different situations
This is where I like regional hunting regs. What works for my area is inappropriate for a different situation. Deer breed like crazy down here and I can harvest 5+ per year with no changes to herd health. Granted the deer are only 80-100lbs.
 
Yes and no. While overall hunter numbers dropped we added approximately 150K bowhunters. Rifle hunters attracted by a weapon they were already familar with.
I've been hunting the same area in PA for 40 years. There used to be trucks parked everywhere along the roads, every cabin packed full of guys during rifle season. We would also see 20 does for every spike buck. Now there's hardly anyone after opening weekend. We are also killing mature bucks. We've killed bucks 5-7 yrs old bucks on public land the few years, that never happened when I was younger. A 2 1/2 yr old was a trophy back then. Antler restrictions have made the most impact. Crossbow hunting had zero effect. It's not that much of an advantage. It just allows people who don't practice with a bow, to hunt during archery season. It also opens it up to women and kids who can't draw a bow. I think it a good sight.

If you don't like them, shoot your $2k carbon fiber bow that shoots 300fps, with a scope, clarifier and auto range finding sitght.
 
zero effect other than you can shoot two practice shots and be deadly out to 100 yards versus having to practice for years to even think about being deadly at 50.
 
zero effect other than you can shoot two practice shots and be deadly out to 100 yards versus having to practice for years to even think about being deadly at 50.
After scaling down the distances this sounds like the compound/ recurve discussions in the 1970s.

Majority of crossbow hunters around here are sitting in a blind with a tripod rest 25yds from a corn feeder.

The trend of highly mobile deer hunter usually does not include hauling a boat anchor around with your saddle and single stick then shooting it off hand from a tree.
 
zero effect other than you can shoot two practice shots and be deadly out to 100 yards versus having to practice for years to even think about being deadly at 50.
Did you ever shoot one? They aren't guns. I've used one three seasons. I wouldn't shoot past 40 yards. They are loud and deer don't stand still. I haven't killed anything I wouldn't have killed with my bow. I honestly don't like them. It's just not as cool as using an actual bow. I finally got my shoulder fixed this year so I'm looking forward to using my bow next yesr.
 
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