By John Kilgore
Phoenix Outdoors Columnist
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With deer archery season less than a month away, the most notable of changes involves the legalization and use of crossbows which, in previous years, has been limited to hunters age 60 and older or the physically challenged.
Oklahoma thus joins a growing list of other states which up until 30 years ago, numbered only two — those being Arkansas and Ohio — which allowed the use of crossbows for any hunter. Of course, without a doubt the legalization of crossbows will, in my opinion, draw fire from fellow hardcore archery traditionalists and compound bow users alike.
According to an article I found in American Hunter magazine, the Pope and Young Club, a prestigious organization dedicated to bowhunting and recognition of trophy animals harvested, issued a statement calling the intrusion of crossbows into archery season “the most imminent and critical threat to the future of bowhunting as we know it.”
I quizzed several veteran bowhunters, many of whom I've known and hunted with for years and asked them their thoughts on the subject.
Longtime bowhunter Bob Beavers of Muskogee is a true, died-in-the-wool, old school outdoorsman who feels that crossbows, when used by the physically challenged, have their place in the hunting world but should not be considered as “traditional” in a true sense of the word. Accomplished local bowhunter and archery tournament veteran Dan Chaffin feels that crossbows have their place with sportsmen and gives them another option to take to the field.
Local archery shops and Bass Pro in Broken Arrow have seen a significant increase in crossbow sales and a notable decrease in longbow, recurve, and compound bow sales.
There are a number of crossbows on the market. Horton and Barnett have been around for ages with Excalibur, Parker, TenPoint and Stryker brands coming on strong in recent years.
Many of these are available in package kits which include scopes, quivers, arrows and cocking devices that range in price from around $300 to $2,500.
One bit of advice — if you do purchase a crossbow by itself, listen to what the dealer has to say about the accessories you need to purchase. Any pro shop worth its salt will tell you the proper arrows and broadheads you need to purchase in order to get the peak performance from your setup.
I, for one, have mixed emotions on the issue having started with a recurve then graduated to a compound before health problems “forced” me to go the crossbow route. Whatever your opinion, like it or not, crossbows are here to stay.
On the positive side, they will, without a doubt, get more people involved in hunting and manage our ever-growing deer population. As for the flip side, I guess we will have to wait and see.
John Kilgore's outdoor column runs Fridays in the Phoenix. To reach him with news or comments, call (918) 348-9431 or e-mail him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com.
