Summer 08 Campfire
My fellow bowhunters as we head away from the cool, mild
days of spring into the hot, humid dog days of summer the
UBNJ Council has a lot on its plate. Before I delve too
deeply into any of that though first let me take a moment
to congratulate anyone how was fortunate enough to have
harvest a wily gobbler during this past spring turkey
season, with special kudos to anyone who managed to do that
with their bow. Having just harvested my first longbeard
with a bow this past season I know firsthand just what a
challenge it is. If you were fortunate enough to taken a
nice gobbler with your bow be sure to send us a photo and
if your so inclined a little story about your hunt. Kurt
Wille our magazine editor will be more than happy to add
your adventure to the UBNJ magazine and Pola Galie our
webmaster would love to put it up on our website.
The issue that I am going to focus on today is one that is
currently occupying a lot of the Council’s time and
is that of the crossbow. You may or may not be aware of a
push by the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish
and Game Council for the unlimited and unrestricted
inclusion of the crossbow into all of New Jersey’s
bow seasons. The main justification for this is a survey
performed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife that
according to their statistical analysis indicates a high
level of support for the crossbow inclusion. However, close
examination of said survey does not at all confirm those
conclusions; as a matter of fact there are several numbers
we believe to be misleading to say the least.
In accordance with our mission statement the Council
continues to follow the principles laid down in our By-laws
which are as follows:
A). To educate the public with respect to using the
longbow, recurve, and
compound bow in the hunting of all legal game and to
protect, improve
and to advocate the sport of hunting with the bow in an
ethical and
sportsmanlike manner.
b). To develop programs dedicated to the conservation and
preservation of
game and its natural habitat. To cooperate with local,
state and federal
agencies as well as sportsmens and conservation
organizations,
dedicated to this purpose.
c). To educate the public on the important role played by
bowhunting in
wildlife conservation and management.
d). To foster, expand promote and preserve the practice of
safe bowhunting
and archery in the State of New Jersey, as well as
nationally and
internationally.
e). To conduct continuous educational programs designed to
acquaint the
public and the Bowhunter with the proper, legal and safe
use of the bow
and arrow in the hunting of game animals.
f). To cooperate and assist other organizations with
similar interests.
Our initial reaction was to stand firmly behind the
UBNJ’s crossbow policy (which by the way parallels
the current P&Y club standards) opposing the
introduction of the crossbow into any bowseason, with the
exception of those who are disabled, as is the current
policy. However, in order to see how our membership felt
the UBNJ performed its own survey. The results surprised
some of our Council members, indicating that our membership
was virtually split down the middle regarding this issue.
Unlike the Division of Fish and Wildlife we are not willing
to completely disregard the half of our membership
that is opposed to the crossbow, at the same time we are
willing to support the half of our membership that does
support the inclusion of the crossbow in some way. The best
way to do this is by closely examining the impact that the
introduction of the crossbow could have and propose a
method of introduction that will allow for said impact to
be closely monitored and measured independently from the
data being collected on harvests taken with hand-held,
hand-drawn archery equipment.
The introduction of the crossbow as currently put forward
raises some very serious concerns and completely disregards
the views of a vast number of sportsmen. A main priority of
the Fish and Game Council and the Division of Fish and
Wildlife is supposed to be the welfare of New
Jersey’s renewable white-tailed deer resource, as
currently proposed the unrestricted, unlimited inclusion of
the crossbow blatantly ignores the potential impact that
such a weapon could have on the current stability of the
deer population as well as the current distribution of the
buck harvest per weapon and the potential impact
on the recreational time afield that bowhunters
currently enjoy. It seems to us that it would be more
appropriate to phase the crossbow in a little at a time,
much like the way the muzzleloader had been implemented. A
muzzleloader is more like a shotgun than a crossbow is like
a bow and yet there is a separate muzzleloader permit,
safety course, and rifle permit required to hunt with a
muzzleloader in NJ. It is apparent that the crossbow is
being pushed forward to avoid any real close look at it or
the impact it could have on New Jersey’s white-tailed
deer, the balance between New Jersey’s hunting
communities, New Jersey’s non-hunting community, as
well as any potential future legislative ramifications it
could have. Wouldn't this be the right thing to do
from the very start?
No matter how you slice it the crossbow is not a bow, it is
more like a gun. Hand-held, hand-drawn archery equipment is
the more primitive weapon and requires a higher level of
skill, practice and patience in order to effectively take
game animals, it should thereby follow that the UBNJ fight
to protect the fall bow season for hand-drawn, hand-held
equipment only. The prescient of the lesser weapon being
afforded the earliest opportunities is one that the
Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and Game
Council has always adhered to and we would expect the
crossbow to be no exception and not be considered for
inclusion in the fall bow season in any manner.
We are all aware of the difficult financial times that all
of the New Jersey governmental departments are facing and
we are not insensitive to them, mirroring the crossbow
introduction to that of the muzzleloader will give the
Division of Fish and Wildlife a much greater financial
boost than just trying to lump it in with hand-held, hand
–drawn archery equipment. The crossbow should have
its own separate definition, crossbow permit, zone hunting
permits, and especially a hunter safety course requirement.
The financial benefits from this type of introduction are
plainly evident and require no in depth assessment, with
the end result from the proper ground work being the
creation of a 4 weapon hunter. To define the crossbow the
same as all other bows is to overlook a potential
windfall that could help stabilize the financial position
of the Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Attempting to slip the crossbow in as archery gear in New
Jersey is merely attempting to slip it past any of the
issues or snags that might develop from properly putting in
place the necessary requirements to safely hunt with it.
The UBNJ Council will be pressing the New Jersey Division
of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and Game Council to
implement the crossbow in much the same fashion as the
muzzleloading rifle was introduced as well as emphasizing
the absolute necessity of independently monitoring the
effect on New Jersey’s wild resources from harvest
taken with hand-held, hand-drawn archery equipment.
You can rest assured that the UBNJ Council will always
continue to support, and participate in, improving sound
wildlife conservation practices and the wise use of our
State's renewable natural resources as well as act in the
best interest of our bowhunting heritage, and stands ready
to defend our way of life against any threat.
Joe Mills
President
United Bowhunters of New Jersey
