Free: Contests & Raffles.
Because in this state we are already divided and on our way to being conquered, IMHO. Most states out there do not have choose your weapon restrictions so you don't get the petty in fighting like we do here. Eventually once you break it down into smaller and smaller groups then the little groups have NO political voice and end up getting whatever the other user groups hand out to them. It's already happening to bowhunters. We may disagree on restrictions of certain equipment, but I will stand and fight with those guys for our season. We can't afford to be subdivided anymore than we already are.
i am a stickbow guy and have shot them all my life. i have actually been building them for about 10-12 years. having said that, i think dividing the bow season further will only further reduce the amount of total archery season available. i think a "Trad" only season is a bad idea. the only thing we do as SINGLE STRING bowhunters is challenge ourselves to get a little closer. having said that, i have busted my arse in the last few years to get consistently accurate on game out to 40 yards and regularly practice out to 80 yards for "form" work. so really, what is the difference between me and a guy that shoots a compound? we stickbow guys are not superior in any way shape or form and do not deserve anything extra...... doing so only creates less time for archery season and animosity between bowhunters.look at what we have now..... we have lost a total of 13-14 days between early and late season because of youth seasons and extended muzzle loader seasons. personally, i think the youth seasons are a joke. a child and their parents can bond just as well in an open season as they can in a youth season. infact, i think that it makes the kids feel like they are being given even more responsibility and more of a "right of passage" when they are sharing camp and standing shoulder to shoulder with with other adult hunters with loaded weapons...... not adults that are just there to take the "kids" out.... and how many parents take the kids on hunts that are actually camps anyway during the youth season. it typically means finding a place they can quickly take a kid out and get a kill under their belt.the muzzleloader season is another one i don't agree with...... today's guns are scary accurate out to 300+ with some out to 500. what is different about one of those with a speed loader and any single shot rifle such as the encores, new england arms, ruger #1s ect? i'd probably have a different opinion if round balls or solid lead bullets without sabots were mandatory and the in-lines were not allowed. all the muzzle loader season did was infringe on both the total rifle season and archery season days allowed when infact the modern inlines, powders and projectiles that are currently allowed really are not much of a "handicap" next to a typical deer rifle. the bridge between the max effective distance of a compound hunter and a single string hunter is MUCH closer..... who says you can't mount a sight on a traditional bow? before traditional bows became "traditional bows", many many bowhunters used sights on them. FITA and OLYMPIC archers still do and are scary accurate out to 90 meters. take the sight off a compound and how much further do you think a guy could shoot than the same guy shooting a longbow barebow? the point i am trying to make about muzzleloaders is that they are a firearm... just a different type with just a slight disadvantage to the modern cartridge guns..... but..... they did get a separate season. so since muzzleloaders have a different season (that is a fraction of the length) than the modern gun hunters, should the "trad only" season be separate from the general archery as well as being a fraction of the length?.... it would be only fair considering the current state of affairs. i'd happily pick up the compound if it meant i could only hunt 10 days a year in a "traditional only" season.today's muzzle loaders are singe shot rifles and bowhunters are bowhunters....... if we could go back to the two general seasons, EVERYONE would have more time in the field....... period.
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a time when we had muzzleloader only seasons that were a lot more generous than they are today? I seem to remember some general late season muzzy mule deer hunts.
