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

For those who live in the real world and wish to become informed about the WI crossbow season.

Prior to 2014, myself and others worked to create a separate crossbow season in Wisconsin with a separate crossbow license and separate crossbow kill registration. We worked very hard at this and we got the separate crossbow season back in 2014. The separation of crossbow hunting and archery deer hunting was something other states did not do. Those other states simply lumped crossbow hunting into an existing archery deer season. We saw the error in that so we structured the WI crossbow season totally separate of bowhunting. We saw what was happening in others states and sought for separation so that the success of the crossbower would not have negative impacts on actual bowhunters.

When the deliberations of this new crossbow season were taking place, the question came up regarding the length of this new season. Many suggestions were made but in the end, everybody agreed that for a TEMPORARY period, the crossbow season would have the same duration as actual bowhunting. In the wording of the legislation we insisted that there be a trial period of a few years to gather usage and harvest data and that the data collected would aid the Natural Resources Board in setting the actual and final crossbow season duration. This data collection was only possible because we successfully negotiated the separation of bowhunting from crossbow hunting. That data has been collected and tells the tale of success rates for bowhunters, crossbow hunters and firearms hunters per license sold. As we had predicted, the crossbower would enjoy a higher success rate than that of bowhunters but we never dreamed the crossbower would enjoy a higher success rate than gun deer hunters.

The point being is that the initial duration of the WI crossbow season was only TEMPORARY and that once data was collected, the FINAL DURATION of the crossbow season would be set. Some made the mistake of thinking that the duration of the crossbow season was set when the trial season started. I think this mistake or misunderstanding by crossbow hunters is the main reason they protest now. They make the mistake of thinking the crossbow season is being shortened when actually is just now being SET per the wording of the legislation. I think if people came to that realization there would be less angst. Again, all this was structured so as to not have negative impacts on bowhunting because of the success rate of crossbowers. We supported the creation and continuation of a crossbow season but at the same time needed and wanted to preserve, promote and protect bowhunting in Wisconsin.

After a few years of the trial duration, In 2016 I wrote a resolution for the Waukesha county spring hearing to set the crossbow season duration. I used the higher success rates of the crossbower as the basis of my resolution. My resolution passed in my county. The next step of the process was for my resolution to be taken up at the committee level. My resolution was killed in the WCC deer and elk committee based (as it so often happens) on personal grudges and payback since the name of the author is known to the committee members.

In 2017 I again wrote a resolution in Waukesha County to set the duration of the crossbow season and again it passed. Once again it went to deer and elk committee. I was invited to attend the meeting to plead my case. I wasn’t unable to attend the WCC committee meeting due to my workload with my new company I was getting up and running but I penned a letter explaining the Crossbow harvest data the DNR gathered that supported the need to set the duration of the crossbow season. The harvest data shows that the crossbower has a higher buck kill success rate than not only actual bowhunters but the crossbower has a higher buck kill success rate than even gun deer hunters. The gun season is 9 days due to the impacts on the resource and the effectiveness of the weapon. The bow season is longer due to the low success rates of bowhunters and the challenges of bowhunting to be successful. The crossbow season should then be somewhere in between the length of the gun season and the bow season. The deer and elk committee saw fit to advance my resolution to their next committee.

Now the NRB has instructed the DNR to investigate the dates and duration of the crossbow season and to draft a scope statement to that effect.

No emotion, just a telling of the events of how the new season duration is going about being set. Its not a punishment to crossbowers. Its not to the advantage of bowhunters since their season is not changing or being impacted. This is how season lengths are set. Every season ever created had to go through the process of determining how long that season will be.

Folks can invent or manufacture a fantasy world or invent villains or try to attack them but its not material to the setting of a season duration and wont factor into deliberations. The final duration of the crossbow season will be set and the crossbow season will still be very long and rich with opportunity for crossbowing.

"Not so sharp mind",

So, how many times has your oafish, selfish proposal been knocked back so far ?

Guessing it'll be the same result again !

Everyone, other than you will be happy.

Again.

Then it'll be tantrum time.

Again.

Once. That was by the WCC in a committee.



Its out of the WCC hands at this point. Its a matter for the NRB now. You can guess if you like. I wont mind.



I have faith the that crossbowers will accept the season setting with grace and dignity. I'm pretty sure they will.

Yet, you won't gracefully comply with the inevitable result, due to the selfishly skewed data your proposal contains !

TFF.



You go poacher girl !

All harvest and usage data comes from the DNR as supplied by hunter registration. Season setting will be based on DNR supplied data.

Another Euphemism. You did not get a citation for feeding deer. (Something legal and encouraged here) you received a citation for breaking a law (baiting) while you were in a position to make rules for others to obey. That's similar to "under Color of authority". You stepped down in the fall out from your exposure as a hypocrite and a law breaker.
I try not to harp on your lapse of judgment, but don't try to gloss it over. I've known you along time on deeranddeerhunting.com. I've admired some of your projects, and I did try to get folks to back down and stop jumping on you for what you did. I felt it was more of a private matter, than a forum matter, but your personality makes that hard to get past. Most folks seem to have written you off. Given the talents you do possess, that is a shame. But you did bring it on yourself.

My citation was for feeding deer out of season. (1 week prior) Its likely fun for some to try to rewrite history and I don't mind but if you care to be accurate, the civil citation was for feeding deer.

So poacher, when you shot your baited deer & got "caught" for it, you fronted up to the checking station to register it, but forgot to remove the corn & milk from it's lips ?

Thought not.

Those that break the law, do so hoping not to get caught.

You were just dumb enough to be in the 1% to get nabbed.

I was on deeranddeerhunting.com when you were cited, and I read your reasons for doing so. I don't agree with the law against baiting, But you broke it knowing full well what you were doing

You can bullszchit the fans all you want.

There was no "out-of-season".
That was a CWD zone - meaning NO BAITING OR FEEDING - period.

From Pat Durkin:
"Writing as “Retch Sweeney” (aka Ron Kulas) on an April 23, 2012, online forum, he said: “I don’t place bait. It’s illegal in the parts of Wisconsin I hunt. If it were legal, I would still not place bait. I hunt dairy (agricultural) lands, so there is plenty of ag-intended bait I hunt around.”

"On another online forum in August 2011, Kulas wrote: “Unless those ‘magic stumps’ are within 50 yards of your house, they are illegal bait sites, which makes (you) as good as a poacher.”


Rationalize all you want - you're a phuggin' putz, hypocrite and a legend in your own mind.

Correct. I knew what I was doing. Just like the speeding citations I got. I knew I was speeding.

No, that makes them tender. You leave the milk and corn in place.

Actually there is. I put the corn in front of his stand the week before the gun season then headed back home 3 hours away. Nobody hunted over those 2 gallons that week and it was gone come opening day of the gun deer season so the Warden cited me for placing feed prior to the gun deer season. He looked, (he was very thorough and looked hard but found none that morning), I'm surprised folks who care so much don't want to pay attention.

The lack of finding bait on opening day of hunting doesn't mean squat.....if the law says all bait must be removed so many days before season.

My state mandates baits and affected soil be removed............at least 10 days before hunting season opens.

It mattered to Jonny law back in 2012. That is why he said specifically to me that day "i'll be issuing a citation for feeding since there is no corn present". And he was kicking over leaves searching hard to find some.

I was there. I read the citation, I too needed to look it up. Its the damndest thing.

Now I understand that this is not as fun and sexy as "shooting a spike buck over a bait pile" but I'm ok if folks want to manufacture their own reality if it makes them happy. I wont care. I paid the speeding ticket in 2012 and moved on but its fun to reminisce.

That spike was called "Whipy" by other members of our group because he held spikes 2 years in a row so everybody was tasked with taking him out if given the chance. I got to enjoy his milk fed, corn fed, tender goodness.

I'd love to hear your B.S. story on why the officer showed up on private property where there was no corn mysteriously. Someone obviously doesn't like you and knew you were a violator. Wasn't by mistake I will bet you that.

Would've been epic if your dad got busted and kicked the crap out of you.

I'd like to talk to Barry Meister and get his opinion on it since he wrote the ILLEGAL ACTIVITY ticket.

You say citation !

Hm, don't you get citations for breaking the law ?

Yes. you do. There are criminal citations and civil citations. Here is the fee schedule. Mine was a civil forfeiture of $343.50.

https://www.wicourts.gov/publications/fees/docs/dnrbondschedule.pdf

Over the last 6 years there has been plenty of speculation about the specifics of my rampant lawlessness. Some have been pretty entertaining to read. Some folks are pretty good at making up stories about an event they were not in attendance for. I remember one person stating that the pile of corn was so big it was spotted from the air by a DNR plane. The real story is pretty boring. I’ll share.

I built an insulated tower stand for my father and placed it in the corner of a large field. The other side of the field (at the fence line) was owned by another but they too had a tower stand but on their corner. That family was in a feud because they had kicked a family member off the land before the gun season. (which I later learned) The weekend prior to the gun season I deposited corn near his stand and headed home for the week to work.

The angry family member on the neighboring property called the DNR to tell them that their family member had feed near their tower stand. The day after I placed the feed, he was investigating the neighbor’s tower stand and since he was there and because he perhaps was uncertain exactly which tower stand was which, he walked over and checked out my father’s tower and found the feed I placed. He told me he was watching the stands from the road during the week so he knows it wasn’t hunted.

On opening day my father hunted my sister’s farm from their sap shack with my brother where he could cook soup move and round more and they had been seeing good deer there so rather than letting the tower sit empty, I hunted it. Whipy came by so I dropped him. Later in the morning I saw a truck drive onto the field. 2 guys without guns walked to the neighbor’s stand. Then they walked over to me. The younger (warden trainee) was carrying a salt block under his arm. The neighbors had both salt and apples under his stand. We exchanged pleasantries and he asked about the stand and the land and the corn he saw the week prior.

He asked a lot of questions and I explained. We walked over and he saw the dead buck and asked why it had not been tagged (we had to tag deer back in the day) I said I had not gotten out of the stand yet and I was still hunting with my doe tag so the buck laid there. He said, “get a tag on that deer.” He said I could hand the rifle to the trainee to hold while I tag the deer. He walked and kicked at the dirt and leaves looking for corn. He showed me a photo of corn on the ground that he said he took a week earlier. It could have been a picture of any corn on any forest floor but I didn’t raise the issue.

He said "i'll be issuing a citation for feeding since there is no corn present". He also said that the stand could not be hunted for 10 days. (the gun deer season is 9 days long). They left, I loaded the buck and hunted my regular stand the rest of the season. I got the citation in the mail and sent a check since there was nothing worth traveling to Madison for. Easy Peasy. Just like the speeding tickets I had received. After talking to the neighbor, I learned they got a citation for baiting.

Pretty exciting stuff.

Believe a blow hard, chest beating hypocrite or a officer of the law......hmmmm.... I'm pretty sure your credibility runs strong with the hunting community. (Yes, that was dripping heavily with sarcasim)

Lmao!!!