Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Shorten Crossbow Season (for some)in Wisconsin?

You can ask "sharp-things" on here. He is the one pushing the crossbow issue in Wisconsin. He is a real chest beater about it as well so be prepared for his usual banter. He has been busted for hunting over bait when it was illegal yet bashed others for baiting. He is a real piece of work. Oh, he had been banned from here as "diy guy" not long ago.

The original post I made was about a proposal on the spring ballot to limit/shorten the crossbow season for some age groups in Wi.
It was not about baiting or gaining an additional deer tag, or even or moving season opener dates.

Basically taking away some of the season for those who are not seasoned citizens or handicapped. Personally I am strictly opposed to this tactic by some to
re-rig or stack the deck so it comes out in their favor. We could go on and on about other challenges that we face concerning season dates, CWD, northern vs southern
deer numbers, the use of bait, food plots, antlerless deer harvest and so on, but that was not the point of my post.

It seems to me that a problem has been created where none really existed in the first place. It was like Al Gores global warming contention where he states that
"the science is settled" except this proposal starts out that "The Data Is In" Who would have thought one would need to belong to a lobbyist group, just to deer hunt.

As for me I have nothing to gain or lose as I'm a seasoned citizen who owns and hunts property in southeast Shawano County and am presently exploring a possibility of hunting
my son-in-laws newly acquired property in western Marinette County. On my Shawano County property, contrary to what was stated here, we have no such thing as a deer behind every
tree as previously stated in this thread. Last years rifle season had us taking one doe and no bucks with just one buck sighted for the 9 days. Bow season was better for sighting bucks and I was able to send a "warning shot" at one buck who ducked my bolt. None were taken though.

Chainsaw , I like to nudge the people in Shawano and Waupaca co. since I hunt only public. I can't help it since I have a little land in Shawano co. myself and dont hunt it cause there are so many others hunting our family property that I dont bother. My cousin sometimes sees 10 deer a day. As for crossbows, there is little debate it is easier to get a deer with one compared to a compound. So , what do we do about it? We need to change laws a bit to compensate for the extra harvest. Baiting, one buck a year, shorting the season ,always comes up. I think crossbow are here to stay. Harvest proves crossbow hunters are more successful than longbow hunters. Cant deny that, not that I care.

If they shortened my season, as a "seasoned" citizen with time on my hands, I'd just hunt more days earlier in the shortened season and quit when I had my year deer in the freezer. What the heck kind of a poky crossbow are you using? Early on I shot fiberglass arrows out of a recurve bow and in those days I had a built in excuse for a deer jumping the string and even then I brought home some venison, but a carbon fiber at 350 fps out of a modern crossbow is a whole nuther thing from what I've seen.

This question is a Natural Resou+rces Board Advisory question. You have one guess who the Board member was that asked the question

I have a self deer rule for myself no matter if I use my self drawn vertical bow,only my arrows I have assembled or when i rifle hunt i only use single shot Ruger #1 that I only use my handloads in ,it has to be at least 8 pt. buck medium rack 14-16 inches wide or bigger . now at my age of 65 years no fawns or does anymore for me, my son ,daughter ,son in law,grandkids,or friends can fill the freezer. I have harvest enough little deer over the years and I like to watch deer more now days. I do believe if you have a physical health problem or at least 65 years of age that is the only reason you should be allowed to hunt archery season for deer. myself just had another serious shoulder surgery but I plan on still using a vertical bow this fall 2018 its a stubborn pride thing for me a simple bowhunter for now over 50 years who started with a used recurve , wood and fiberglass arrows. for the old guys like me> we used Bear heads and Zwickey broadheads we hand sharpened ourself, that I now have went back too ! still killed my biggest buck with a Zwickey broadhead too and that was the fall of 2016 in late December it was 15 below that evening and believe me when you get over 60 years old the cold is nasty now ! so be safe and have a great 2018 hunting and fishing season !

Perhaps it was recognized that letting everyone and their cousin use a crossbow during the rut is a recipe for seriously compromising the age structure of Wisconsin's deer herd.

The "deck" has only been dealt this way for a couple years and it has been recognized that it was a mistake.

I suggested a one buck per year structure as a solution to not having to take away any portion of any season from anyone. If people are dead set on being able to shoot two bucks every year, the we shouldn't let everyone hunt during the peak of the rut.

No one can honestly state that a crossbow is similar to any bow in effectiveness. If it wasn't easier- it would not have been first utilized for the handicapped. The biggest advantage to a crossbow is that it can be brought onto target and shot with little movement to spook the deer, unlike any bow which has to be actively drawn when the deer is in range.

On Monday, April 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be hosting the Annual Spring Fish & Wildlife Public Hearings and Conservation Congress Meetings at pre-determined locations in each county throughout the state (go to https://dnr.wi.gov/about/wcc/Documents/spring_hearing/2018/2018hearinglocations.pdf to find your location).

This year's hearing will include the following DNR Wildlife Advisory question aimed at shortening the length of the crossbow season (go to https://dnr.wi.gov/about/wcc/springhearing.html to read the 2018 Spring Hearing Questionnaire):

Question #18: Do you support the DNR adjusting the length of the crossbow season, for those that are not disabled or elderly, to better reflect the harvest success rates of bucks similar to the gun season and archery season?

This question not only proposes shortening crossbow season, it is open-ended on HOW short the crossbow season could become - will it shrink from four months to a week?

If you do not want your crossbow season to be shortened or to lose the opportunity to harvest a buck during the rut period, you must take action by attending your local county meeting and VOTING NO on this question.

Please be sure to ACT NOW. Make plans to attend the hearing. Submit letters to the editor of your local newspaper that are supportive of keeping crossbows as legal equipment during archery season. Spread the word to your friends and family members through word-of-mouth and social media that crossbow use in future archery seasons may be threatened and encourage them to attend the public hearings and cast votes as well.

During this time when many anti-hunting organizations would like to see all hunting stopped, hunters should be working to unite with and support other hunters, rather than seeking to divide the hunting community, and limit greater overall participation in hunting

Were I king there would be no deer season, only limits. If people still felt there needed to be a 'season', there would be 2. Open season and closed season.

Use whateverthefugg you want to use during open season. No specific bow seasons, crossbow, primitive weapon, handgun, I'm a one legged midget seasons.

Same here. Technology has made most of the aforementioned weapons reasonably equal. Especially at the ranges most opportunities present themselves at in our area. Open and closed would be fine with me.

It appears that most of the bowhunters are an army of one on this thread. Take into consideration the rifle hunters who also have a stake in this
proposal and we have a clusterintercourse of pretty decent proportions.

I would suggest we are going to have to organize a lobbying group that opposes those groups trying to take away the opportunities of others.

Maybe we need to have hunting closed from mid October to Thanksgiving. Closed for all, now wouldn't that be fair to everyone?

Chain, have you been drinking or being sarcastic? Although that brings up another problem of all these seasons. I have heard many times people in late season bow and the Holiday Hunt that many are thinking they are pulling the trigger on a doe. Sure enough, a buck with his horns that were already shed. We can surely get rid of the Holiday Hunt. Do we really need to be shooting deer after Christmas? and even until the Sunday after New Years?. This would help reduce the harvest up north anyway. I dont know how many deer are shot north of HWY 8 after Christmas but let it go already. Go ice fishing or something.

Fair is liberal speak.

Deer season is either open or closed. Why does every group feel like they need special considerations? I swear all the different hunting groups (bow, crossbow, dog hunting, muzzleloaders, flintlock only, etc) are akin to the LGBTQ

I really have no desire to use a crossbow to hunt deer. I have shot plenty with my compound and like the level or difficulty. I like the extended season and I like that it gives me something else to do outside. But I don't find the need to use one. Hell, I have rifles that I shoot at bow range. I don't need another $1000 tool to hunt with.

That said, I couldn't give a crap if someone else wants to use one. Or a sling shot, a rock, or baseball bat. I don't care if you do it in August or the first week of November.

The WI Bowhunter Association doesn't even want gun hunters in the woods. As far as I'm concerned, they can piss up a rope. We all own the woods.

I'm not going to get into a debate or argument on compound vs. crossbow - I have and use both.

That said, having worked in an archery/gun shop in my college years, I'm happy to see a lot of the compound users migrating to crossbows. While a lot of folks take their archery serious and are very proficient with a compound, IMO, a whole lot of folks don't possess the efficiency to even warrant pursuing deer with stick and string but that doesn't stop them from slinging arrows at deer.

At least with a crossbow they can continue to NOT practice yet still be reasonably accurate.

That is the truth, and emberrasing when some dude posts a trail cam pic with an arrow sticking in a deers neck. That is why I only shoot the easiest chip shots with my compound. If it isn't a perfect shot I pass. As for crossbows, there are hunters extending the ranges too far already.

ihookem, I don't drink,smoke or use drugs or even chew gum. For the most part I just try to keep on livin' each day and let others live too, and try damn hard not to infringe on anyone else. As for being sarcastic. yes to a certain extent. I do have a thick skin though, so most of the stuff bounces off, so fire away

I did take a fair amount of arrows though, when myself and two others embarked on a plan to take the whole state to be able to hunt with rifles. It took just four "short" years to get it passed thru the Conservation Congress, The DNR Advisory Board and the State Legislature. From 2010-2014 I got pretty good insight as to how these various groups work, and those that lobby them. Yuup not always a pretty picture and not always fair. But now no one has to worry about any weapon they use during the 9 day firearm season.

Trust me the lobbying group who is pushing this is probably only seeing this as a first step on getting crossbow hunting eliminated or severely cutailed. They probably have other lofty goals in mind as well. Any group who use lobbyists are always trying to screw the other customers and pass the savings onto themselves. Remember the "Data Is In"

I'll give ya that one!

I really don't care what anyone uses. I'm sure someday I won't be able to pull back my bow and I'll have to use a crossbow. I have no issue that they're used during the bow season.

I also think the DNR should consider a "one buck" rule. At least in the northern counties. I'm assuming if they do that, their license sales will drop though. Maybe considerably.

Hell a crossbow doesn't give you more range necessarily. Guys at the bow ranges here are shooting out to 70 yards. I can't shoot a bow that far if I wanted to.

Tom - I'd be all for that. One buck tag - hunter can use it in whatever/all seasons he/she wants. To do so, they'd need to raise the price of the tag which is fine by me but I'm certain for many that'd be the most bitter of pills to swallow.