Are Crossbows archery equipment?

[ROEBUCK]

everybody has a differant objective when it comes to hunting for some it means meat in the freezer and a fun time for some its a trophy for others its a dificult stalk theres nothin wrong with any of em as long as its in the hunting rules whats the problem?nothing wrong with crossbows in my mind!

[huntwriter]

The crossbows history is much longer than 800 years!



HISTORY:

Literary and physical evidence suggest that the crossbow originated in China during the 4th century BC, though a type of crossbow called the gastraphetes may have been independently invented in Greece at about the same period. It wasn't until the 10th or 11th centuries AD that the crossbow became a significant military weapon in Europe. It passed from general military service in the 16th century, but its use for hunting and target shooting has continued to the present day. The majority of the following chronology is abridged from GUIDE TO THE CROSSBOW by Paterson:

341 BC

Earliest reliable record of crossbow use at battle of Ma-Ling in China.

228 BC

Earliest crossbow artifact, a bronze lock mechanism from the tomb of Yu Wang.

0-100 AD

Heron of Alexandria describes gastraphetes.

300-700

Roman carvings of crossbows.

385

Vegetius mentions crossbows in DE RE MILITARIA.

1066

Crossbows introduced to England by Normans.

1096

Anna Comnena describes Norman crossbows.

1100-1200

Composite crossbow lath appears.

1139

2nd Lateran Council interdict forbids use of crossbow among Christians.

1192

Crusader victory at Jaffa aided by crossbows.

1314

Earliest reliable record of steel lath.

1346

Genoese crossbowmen defeated at Crecy by English longbowmen.

1373

Earliest illustration of cranequin.

1503

First of many English laws restricting possession and use of crossbows.

1550-1600

Firearms replace crossbows in most Western armies.

1860

Photographic evidence from Chinese shows repeating crossbows still used there as military weapons.

1939-45

"Arrowspeed" crossbow used by Australian commandos in Pacific Theatre.

1945-1975

Crossbows employed by Montagnard peoples and US special forces during Vietnam conflict.

1960?-present

Crossbows used to shoot anesthetic darts for capturing and treating wildlife; also used to obtain tissue samples from marine animals for obtaining genetic information.

Thanks for the history update.

[Bow Walker]

Mikey, Mikey, Mikey..........

Atlatls = archery? Now you're smokin' something really weird!.

Atlatls = extended arm triple jointed spear chuckin'.

[huntwriter]

... if they are classed as archery then so should sling shots ...

That is a bit of a stretch, no pun indented. A slingshot works quite differently from a bow in that it is the “string” which propels the projectile. Traditional, compound and crossbows use limbs to propel the projectile. The only difference being that the string by the crossbow is held back mechanically and it is positioned horizontal rater than vertically.

[huntwriter]

Sure there are some that shoot crossbows a lot and enjoy shooting- these guys should pick up a bow- they'd love it.

I enjoy bowhunting. in fact given the choice I will chose the bow anytime over the riffle. Bowhunting for me is hunting with a compound and crossbow, and if I would have more time to become proficient with a traditional bow I would use it too. Why use compound and crossbow? Simple, because I can!

[Gateholio]

Crossbows are held at the draw with mechanical aid, but they are cocked using muscle, held with muscle, and aimed with muscle.

And for that matter, many compound bow hunters use mechanical devices to hold the string, too.

[sealevel]

Now lets attack inline muzzleloaders did i ever tell you how much i hate them !!

[rocksteady]

. Its the guys that buy one 4 days before bow only elk season that started this debate about crossbows . .

Most of these guys will have their gear for sale in the classifieds within 2 years because they may have become good shots but crappy at the skills any archery hunter needs to become successful...Quiet/patient/stealthy...etc etc etc

[J_T]

I suspect the perspective is a question of your involvement in archery/bowhunting. In BC, crossbows are legal archery tackle.

If you spend a lot of time within the archery community, bowhunting purist or 3d FITA shooter, then the crossbow will likely not fall into your definition of a bow. Are crossbows allowed at Federal FITA shoots? Are crossbow harvests allowed in Pope & Young? Are the first questions that come to mind in our quick judgement.

If you are a hunter and archery is not your first love, and you are looking to take advantage of an additional hunting opportunity, within BC, we are fortunate to be able to use the crossbow within the bow only seasons. In this instance we will likely not see the subtlties of the differences.

While we have an educational issue for first time bowhunters, in BC there is lots of country and normally lots of animals. Adding crossbow users to the bow only season has little negative impact on the bow hunt and maximum impact on supporting our collective want for hunter participation.

Many jurisdictions do have to manage the number of hunters on the landscape and they draw the line for management reasons excluding crossbows from bow seasons.

We quite often use data from south of the boarder in our arguements on here. For some perspective, I've attached the position of a number of "bowhunting organizations" from the south.

Crossbows

To Whom It May Concern,

The representatives of 32 state and provincial-level bowhunting organizations met on April 17-18 in Springfield, Missouri at the first “NATIONAL BOWHUNTING SUMMIT”. The purpose of the summit was to share information and develop strategies to resolve issues of greatest concern and to establish a permanent communications network of bowhunting organizations that will work together on behalf of bowhunting.

A major issue addressed by the summit attendees was the use of crossbows during archery-only hunting seasons. It was immediately apparent that the attendees were unified as being strongly opposed to the use of crossbows in any bowhunting season.

State and provincial representatives unanimously agreed that crossbows are not bows and should not be allowed in archery-only seasons.

A hunting bow is recognized as a compound, recurve or longbow that is handdrawn and that has no mechanical device to enable the hunter to lock the bow at full or partial draw. Crossbows, on the other hand, are locked at full draw by a trigger, utilize a rifle-like stock, have rigidly controlled internal ballistics, can readily be shot from a rest
and typically use a telescopic sight. A crossbow’s characteristics are so vastly different from those of conventional bows that summit attendees agreed that crossbows would negatively impact bowhunting seasons if allowed in archery-only seasons.

While the group recognized and supported the rights of hunters who choose to use other legal weapons in separate hunting seasons, they stood unanimously opposed to any effort to establish hunting season regulations where the ultimate aim is the inclusion of crossbows in bowhunting seasons or in archery-only areas.

The below signed organizations and bowhunting-related businesses have joined the National Bowhunting Summit conferees in believing that, in order to preserve the integrity of bowhunting, it is vital that crossbows not be permitted in bow seasons or archery-only hunting areas.
Respectfully,
Alabama Society of Traditional Bowmen
Alaskan Bowhunters Association
Alberta Bowhunters Association
Alberta Traditional Bowhunters
Archery Big Bucks of Missouri
Archery Past (OR)
Association of Traditional Hunting Archers
Bayou State Bowhunters (LA)
Bob’s Archery Sales (CO)
Bowhunting Council of Oklahoma
Bowhunters of Alabama
Bowhunters of Wyoming
Carolina Traditional Archers
Colorado Bowhunters Association
Compton Traditional Bowhunters
Georgia Bowhunters Association
Green Mountain Traditional Bowhunters
Horse Creek Traditional Archery Club (FL)
Idaho State Bowhunters
Idaho Traditional Bowhunters
Illinois Bowhunters Society
Indiana Bowhunters Association
Iowa Bowhunters Association
Iowa Traditional Bowhunters Society
Kansas Bowhunters Association
Lone Star Bowhunters Association (TX)
Maine Bowhunters Association
Maine Traditional Archers
Maryland Bowhunters Society
Massachusetts Bowhunters Association
Michigan Bow Hunters Association
Michigan Traditional Bowhunters
Minnesota Bowhunters, Inc.
Mississippi Bowhunters Association
Missouri Bow Hunters Association
Montana Bowhunters Association
Nebraska Bowhunters Association
Nebraska Traditional Archers
New York Bowhunters, Inc.
North Carolina Bowhunters Association
North Dakota Bowhunters Association
Northern Bowhunters Association (AB)Ohio Bowhunters Association
Oregon Bow Hunters
Pennyslvania Association of Traditional Hunting Archers
Pope and Young Club
Professional Bowhunters Society
South Carolina Bowhunters Association
South Dakota Bowhunters, Inc.
Suburban Whitetail Management of North Georgia
Suncoast Archers, Inc. (FL)
Tallahassee Bowhunters Association (FL)
Traditional Bowhunters of California
Traditional Bowhunter Magazine
Traditional Archers of New Jersey
Traditional Archers of Oregon
Traditional Bowhunters of Florida
Traditional Bowhunters of Georgia
Traditional Bowhunters of Montana
Traditional Bowhunters of Washington
United Bowhunters of Connecticut
United Bowhunters of Illinois
United Bowhunters of Kentucky
United Bowhunters of Missouri
United Bowhunters of New Jersey
United Bowhunters Pennsylvania
Virginia Bowhunters Association
Wakulla Archery Club (FL)
Washington State Bowhunters
Washington State Archery Association
West Virginia Bowhunters Association

Wisconsin Bowhunters Association

[huntwriter]

J-T – I put very little value in what archery clubs have to say about the crossbow. The reason being that most clubs display an elitist agenda. The same goes for the Pope and Young Club.

This is by no means only a archery club problem, we see similar agendas in other clubs. Take muzzleloader for example with their endless and tiresome discussions about modern in-lines.

It is these organizations that have started many years ago to create and circulate the unfounded myth about crossbows. Now that the crossbow becomes more popular each year it is interesting to watch how some clubs smell the bacon (revenue) and become pro-crossbow.

To cite yet another example form the south of the border. Tennessee, talk about a crowded place, has permitted crossbows in the regular archery season. At first bowhunters were very upset but now they agree, with a few exceptions of diehards, that the crossbow has no negative influence on the archery season and the enjoyment of the archery only season. I rest my case.