Border states see crossbow as asset while KY twiddles thumbs

[Woody Williams]

WHILE KENTUCKY STALLS ON LEGALIZING WEAPON, OTHERS FIND IT EFFECTIVE IN THINNING HERD

By Art Lander Jr.

HERALD-LEADER OUTDOORS WRITER


If crossbows were legal during Kentucky's 136-day archery season for deer, how would their use impact the deer harvest?

In Ohio, where crossbow hunters have shared the woods with vertical bow (longbow, recurve and compound bow) hunters since 1982, deer managers have found that crossbow archers don't have an advantage.

"The data is almost identical, in the doe to buck harvest ratio," said Mike Tonkovich, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. "Crossbows have been an asset, not a liability to our deer management plans."

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission passed an expansion of archery season to include crossbows at its March 4 quarterly meeting. But the regulation failed to become law for the 2005-06 deer season.

This year, Virginia and Tennessee approved crossbows for hunting during their entire archery deer season, so now three of the seven states bordering Kentucky offer crossbows as an option to archers.

Ohio basically has two types of deer permits: an either-sex permit and an urban antlerless only permit. "We have five urban deer management zones, and crossbows have been very popular there," Tonkovich said. "About 35 percent of the deer taken in the urban zones are taken by crossbow hunters, compared to 15 percent (taken by crossbow hunters) across the state."

Tonkovich said the results of a recent survey of deer hunters found that archers who hunted with compound bows had a slightly higher success rate than archers who hunted with crossbows.

"We believe the (vertical bow) archers are more polished woodsmen and used to hunting close (deer at close range)," Tonkovich said. "The crossbow hunters are shotgun (firearms) converts, who tend to start hunting later in the season and hunt fewer days."

While hunters have definite weapon preferences, deer managers do not. Their main concern is that hunters harvest adequate numbers of deer to control herds, while maintaining proper sex ratios and healthy age structures. "Our focus is managing deer," Tonkovich said. "Kentucky and Ohio have a lot of similarities. If legalizing crossbows meant bringing more hunters to archery, we believe more hunters are a good thing and that the added doe harvest would outweigh the risk of higher numbers of bucks being taken."

Ohio has an estimated 250,000 archers, and archery season is 109 days long. "During the 2004-05 season, archers took 60,626 deer -- 35,729 were taken with crossbows and 24,897 were taken with vertical bows," Tonkovich said. "The percent of bucks to does in the archery harvest is about even (statistically), but four out of five years, slightly more bucks than does are taken."

In Ohio, where there's a one-buck season limit (like Kentucky), allowing crossbows to be used throughout the entire archery season appears to have shifted buck harvest to earlier in the fall.

"During our firearms season, the kill is 65 percent does and 35 percent antlered bucks," Tonkovich said.

A high percentage of does (antlerless deer) in the harvest is necessary to control the reproductive potential of deer herds. In Kentucky, deer numbers are continuing to increase in the so-called Golden Triangle, the area between Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington, especially in the Zone 1 counties along the Ohio River.

Last deer season in Kentucky, archery and muzzleloader hunters killed a higher percentage of does than bucks, but firearms hunters bagged more antlered bucks than does. Of the 90,694 deer taken with modern firearms, 53.8 percent were bucks and 46.2 were does.

Muzzleloader and archery hunters took nearly identical percentages of does in the harvest, 66.2 percent for muzzleloader hunters and 66.1 percent for archers.

In Virginia, the adoption of crossbows for archery hunting drew little opposition.

Matt Knox, deer program supervisor for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries(DGIF), said the legislature was responsible for the recent law that allows the use of crossbows during the entire archery season. "They passed an emergency statute that had to be acted upon at the next board meeting," Knox said. "The deer project staff supported (the law change). We believe the crossbow has real potential in urban areas."

The DGIF board of directors agreed to the crossbow regulation on June 23, as a way to help control the state's booming deer herd.

"We believe the crossbow is friendly to older hunters, and persons in the 50 to 60 age group will more likely continue hunting. The advantage of a crossbow (over a vertical bow) is you don't have to practice year-round."

Knox said he doesn't think the crossbow is going to have any "earth-shattering effect on deer management in Virginia. We just hope it's additive to the deer kill in urban areas."

Virginia has 18 urban deer management zones, and a late season in metropolitan Fairfax County (adjacent to Washington, D.C.) where deer can be taken from January 9 through March 25.

"We expect an increase in archery hunting, but don't think too many new people will come into deer hunting," Knox said.

Archery deer hunters in Kentucky have one of the longest seasons in the country. It will be 136 days long in 2005-06, more than four months long, starting on Labor Day weekend in September and ending on the Monday of Martin Luther King holiday weekend in mid-January.

While the deer harvest by Kentucky archers continues to climb (13,440 in 2004-05), and the percentage of does in the harvest (66.1 percent) far surpasses bucks, the archery harvest in Kentucky is much lower than several other states in the region.

For example, in Missouri, bow hunters killed 37,487 whitetails during a 112-day season. To the south in Tennessee, where crossbows will be legal this season, archers hunted 110 days last year and took 19,331 deer (not including kills on state wildlife management areas), with about 58.3 percent does in the harvest.

West Virginia, which doesn't allow any deer hunting with crossbows, has an estimated 125,000 archers, who took 26,227 deer during a 76-day season, killing 65 percent bucks to 35 percent does in the harvest.

During Virginia's 85-day archery season, bow hunters took 16,623 deer, with 53 percent does in the harvest.

"We have about 60,000 resident archers in Virginia," Knox said. "Archers are our best hunters, but they are the most elitist."

[wabi]

Very good article Woody!
But being from Ohio, there aren't any big suprises in the statistical information. It just beats me how the majority of deer hunters can be in favor of crossbows being included, the game departments can be in favor of including crossbows, and a few loudly complaining vert bow deer hunters can get it stopped in Kentucky?

[JDMiller]

Very good article Woody!
But being from Ohio, there aren't any big suprises in the statistical information. It just beats me how the majority of deer hunters can be in favor of crossbows being included, the game departments can be in favor of including crossbows, and a few loudly complaining vert bow deer hunters can get it stopped in Kentucky?

wabi : "The squeeky wheel gets the grease" as the old saying goes . In my opinion the whole thing was postponed because of a few selfish people that have no consideration for others . A segment wanted crossbows... a segment didnt care either way ..... a segment didnt want to share their season and they cried the loudest . However they are running out of arguments . Survey information like this is beginning to reach more people. We will battle again and soon . I believe it will be different this time .

[wabi]

wabi : "The squeeky wheel gets the grease" as the old saying goes . In my opinion the whole thing was postponed because of a few selfish people that have no consideration for others . A segment wanted crossbows... a segment didnt care either way ..... a segment didnt want to share their season and they cried the loudest . However they are running out of arguments . Survey information like this is beginning to reach more people. We will battle again and soon . I believe it will be different this time .

I hope you're right. It seems like other states are recognizing the crossbow isn't a magical device that allows anyone who uses one to kill any deer they see, but in reality is just another type of bow as far as launching a hunting arrow. It does, however, allow a few hunters that can't physically handle a vert bow to still be able to hunt. I know I'm "preaching to the choir" here on this forum, but I also know most of us will be there to help you get the facts to support your argument when the battle resumes

[JDMiller]

The KDF&W met July 6 and approved Cornell University to perform a independent survey . Its my understanding they will survey 2000 to 4000 people . It will be done by phone . Since this is a "social issue" there has been a lot of speculation on how it will be formatted . Overall opinions probably have not changed . There is still going to be a large segment that just dont care either way . This is my only concern . This segment allows somewhat of a area of dispute . I honestly believe that it will still come down to the commissioners implimenting what they already approved .

I wish everyone in the state would read information like this that woody posted . It might relieve some of the fears that were planted by the opposition . We will just have to see how this will play out and welcome any support we can get .

[Woody Williams]

........... I wish everyone in the state would read information like this that woody posted . It might relieve some of the fears that were planted by the opposition . We will just have to see how this will play out and welcome any support we can get .

The "fear" was planted by the opposition to the state's turkey hunters in that "crossbows would decimate the flock". Even though the well respected turkey biologist for the state said there would be NO negative impact on the flock.

How could there be when the 100,000 (estimated) bowhunters only kill about 900 turkeys in the fall season and there would be only 10,000 crossbowers out there AT THE MOST. Since the kill percentages are the same for crossbows as compounds that ratio would get the crossbow kill on turkeys at less than 100 birds.

The "bowhunters" used fear tactics and played on people's fears in spreading their propoganda.

The end result justified the means to them. it was defeat the crossbows any which way they could. Even to the point of paving the road for the Animal Rights people to challenge every decision by the KDF&WR Game Commisson from now on...