why an "Archery Only" season?

I am not quite old enough to remember the first "Archery Only" season in Alberta. I do recall a time when purchasing a "Bow Licence" got you a tag that you could put on any big game you shot with a bow. Apparently the rifle hunters didn't think the bow hunters should have the extra tag and it was discontinued.

So why is there a special early "Archery Only" season?
With a "bow" one must get a lot closer to game and then most often there is just one shot from a one shot weapon. So it is harder than hunting with a modern, smokeless powder rifle.

If you look at a crossbow, it requires a hunter to get close to game and then have one shot from a one shot weapon. It is harder hunting with a crossbow than with a modern smokeless powder rifle. I don't think we need to argue about which is more effective or easier to use. (a vertical bow or a crossbow) The fact remains that Vertical bows are not as easy and effective as rifles and crossbows are also not as easy and effective as rifles. If vertical bows really "deserve" a special early season them crossbows do too.

Robin

yea right a crossbow and basically its ready to be fired for the whole season!!! try holding a 70 pound bow at full draw for even one minute. Then bring your rifle stock crossbow up and look thru that 3x9 power scope and tell me they are the same as a bow Give me a break. A cross bow would fit more into a muzzleloader type catagory season in my mind. They aren't the same

Carc, I'm a rifle hunter and a vertical bow hunter and I used to be dead against having crossbows in the archery season. I was always under the the impression that they had ranges of up to 200 yds, you could shoot them out the window of a truck, ect., basically that the crossbow hunters would have a huge advantage over the vertical bow hunters. After reading the "crossbow season" thread I see that I was totally misinformed. You're right, they are not the same, but from reading what guys who have used them for hunting, like Sheephunter, say, I now believe they don't really give a hunter a significant advantage at all. Personally I would rather see them allowed in the general archery season than having a seperate season for them as I believe most of the current bow hunters wouldn't see a huge impact on their hunting from it, maybe a little more competition. I've never found there to be that much competion for hunting space in bow season anyway. Plus if they had a separate season, I'd have to go buy one and it sounds like they're not cheap.

Crossbows do have one huge advantage over a conventional bow.That advantage is that while it takes a lot of practise to become proficient with a hand held bow,and to remain proficient,almost anyone can pick up a crossbow and be quite accurate with it with very little practise.I found this out first hand when a friend brought his crossbow out to the local archery range,and everyone present was able to shoot it very accuratelywith no previous crossbow experience.This was definitely not the same situation as when most people first started shooting a bow.The result is that someone could buy a crossbow,sight it in,spend very little time practising,yet still have a good chance at taking a game animal.On the other hand,to have a good chance of taking a game animal with a conventional bow,it takes considerable time to develop a consistant anchor point and release,and then one must practise regularly to remain consistant.

Alright ladies and gentleman there are now atleast 3 threads open on this topic so as a result this one is closed. Lets try to keep all our points together in one thread when they pertain to the same topic. Also hopefully there are some new points of view to be brought up because the rhetorical dead horse is getting beaten badly.

Thanks,

Morb