Tracking wildlife with Joseph Cea

Wildlife issues across New York state

Crossbows in New York


I recall a conversation I had with a co-worker back in 2001.  She was in favor of crossbows for hunting and became really agitated when I told her it wouldn’t pass.  My reasoning was simple.  New York deer hunters had just harvested a record number of whitetails and the chances of convincing the majority of legislators that we need a new weapon to harvest deer was slim and none.  She apparently didn’t understand the legislative process when it came to modifying game laws.  But now almost a decade later crossbows for hunting will become reality and as of the 2011 big game hunting season can be used for deer and bear.  Here is the summary as provided by DEC’s website including some FAQ’s:

So what’s the big deal about the crossbow? Within the hunting community it has certainly caused a great deal of controversy and plenty of arguments between the pro and con camps.  To me, that’s the biggest problem with the crossbow is that IT DIVIDES SPORTSMEN!

Realistically, does the crossbow belong in the early archery season?  Absolutely not! Just because it looks like a sideways bow doesn’t mean it functions like one, it has a much faster projectile (bolt) and obviously as a result an increased range.  Not to mention the fact that the early archery season is also known as a primitive weapons season with the term primitive referring to the fact that a bow is held back by the archer and not held in place by a catch and released by a trigger.  Crossbows may be ancient but not primitive, at least according to that standard.

Accordingly one of the major hang-ups over the past decade has been if you allow crossbows when would the season be?  Bowhunters have never wanted the crossbow during the early archery and have waged a major battle to make sure it stays that way.  The new law allowing crossbows to be used for hunting would not have passed if that concession was not made.  In fact the bill took multiple attempts before being passed.  Accordingly the law provides for the use of a crossbow during the regular firearms seasons in the Northern and southern zones and during the LATE bow and muzzleloading seasons.  It may NOT be used during the early archery seasons or any zone that is designated as a bow only zone such as Westchester and Suffolk Co. (although in the latter it may be used during their special January Shotgun season) and also more locally the 4J which encompasses a good chunk of Albany Co.

New York Bowhunters, were very instrumental in seeing that the crossbow was not allowed in the early season but it wasn’t just whining about that primitive season.  It didn’t appear that DEC was anywhere close to being truthful about the public meetings seeking input from sportsmen including purposely locking out bowhunters while allowing the input of crossbow manufacturers.  It was almost as if the DEC had made up its mind about passing the crossbow bill in spite of what sportsmen, specifically bowhunters, had concerns with.  That is a huge problem for a public agency that just had their commissioner fired for insubordination and ineptitude has had their agency cut to the bone to the point where New York’s natural resources are about to be flushed down the toilet and they need sportsmen support more than ever.

Personally, I think this law actually satisfied everyone so hopefully we can put this foolishness behind us  so we can all, as sportsmen, concentrate on taking on an ever present nemesis i.e. anti-hunters.  The crossbow hunters will get their opportunity while the bowhunters still have their primitive season intact.  It also sunsets so if for whatever reason it doesn’t work out it can simply expire without hanging around causing problems.  As for me I like bowhunting way too much and really have no desire or the time to add a new weapon although I would like to round out my deer take with the weapons I do have.  I’ve harvested deer with a bow, shotgun and rifle and would like to get one with my handgun and muzzleloader but just haven’t enough time to practice where it would be ethical to do so.

a crossbow

Categories: General
Joseph Cea

12 Responses

  1. Jerry says:

    I completely agree with you on every point in this post. One area you didn’t touch on was safety. The Pine Bush (which I live in the middle of) is within the 4J zone. I have seen at times, upwards of 12 bow hunters in the same area hunting (which is about 10 too many for this specific area…check out the patch of land along Old State Road between Rt155 and Kings Road on any weekend during bow season if you don’t believe me). If even half of these hunters are using crossbows, I could easily see a dangerous situation developing.

  2. Tom Brophy says:

    I think that the weight of the projectile and it’s inability for it to exspand upon impact along with it’s increased speed would prove to be a problem with many hunters by going right through the prey doing little damage. My guess, 50% of the time. Deer have to be imobilized. I don’t think that a crossbow is the right tool for the job.

  3. Joseph Cea says:

    Good point – if the functionality is more like a firearm then yes you would most certainly have to take into safety zones/spacing between hunters. If you think that’s bad though you should try the January shotgun season on Long Island – talk about CROWDED!

  4. Joseph Cea says:

    That may in fact be a problem (faster speed but not enough weight in the bolt to deliver the desired impact) to and that’s why it was such a bad move for DEC just taking the input from manufacturers who just want to sell a product as opposed to hunters with crossbow experience. The wounding rate may be an issue to the point where it would be unethical to hunt with one.

  5. Jerry says:

    Am I wrong in assuming the bolt would have a broadhead on it? Broadheads on arrows do immense damage when they pass through prey. Many have cutting areas in excess of 2 inches. Granted, they still have to hit the vital organs or stomach to be lethal but the same is true with bullets.

  6. Joseph Cea says:

    There would have to be broadheads on the bolt and the same provisions would apply as with archery broadheads – especially with respect to the angle of the cutting surface being less than 90 degrees which would render the broadhead as “barbed”.

  7. ruserious says:

    Can anyone confirm that crossbows are more powerful/accurate than a bow? What is the arrow speed and general range? A fast compound is around 315 Fps. Most bows can ethically kill a deer out to 50. Is it the same with crossbows? I would think the size of the arrow would limit accuracy and distance.

    Also, can seniors use a crossbow during early archery. I think it is reasonable for seniors to be able to use a crossbow during early archery.

  8. Joseph Cea says:

    Obviously accuracy depends on the shooter and not necessarily the weapon itself. Just some quick research after seeing your response indicated that modern compounds exceed over 300ft/sec and aren’t far off and in some cases comparable to crossbows but consider that the new law indicates that in order to be used for hunting a crossbow in NY must have between 100 and 200 pounds being drawn back which is 30 pounds more than the maximum on most compounds so it probably will be traveling at speeds faster than bows whic in turn affects the range.

    I just want to reiterate that the compound bow is still held back by the archer which makes bowhunting more primitive especially trying to draw, relax and redraw when that dam 8 pointer goes around the opposite side of your tree!

    According to the new law seniors would NOT be able to use a crossbow during the early archery season but there are some provisions, specifically in reference to disabled shooters that have not been entirely written so stay tuned.

  9. Spitfire says:

    Are they going to allow scopes to be used on crossbows? Like any hunting impliment, if used properly and within their limitations, they can be effective to harvest. With modern compound bows having a very low holding weight, I dont see the need for crossbows and seeing the manufacturers advertising in the DEC hunting guide last year made it clear that this was brought on by Lobbyists, like so many other laws.

  10. Joseph Cea says:

    There isn’t anything in the summary that indicates that a scope can be used or not. I agree though that the DEC seemed hellbent on forcing the crossbow down our throats no matter what feedback hunters gave them.

  11. morrie wheeler says:

    The New York Bowhunters Inc. are a bunch of hypocrites They do more damage to hunting than all the ANTI-HUNTING GROUPS together.We need more hunters not less.Look at your compounds they look like something out of STAR TREK,and your knocking Crossbows?? You just want to be selfish and want your hunting to yourselves.I’m 68 and shot deer with a long before most of your members were born. Get rid of your compounds and use longbows and don’t use portable tree stands,stand on a limb for hours instead of your portable recliners like we used to. You finally got power and are misusing it, probably your superiors never had power before and think their hot stuff.Can’t wait for your reply.Do you know what a recurve bow is?? Ever hear of Fred Bear??

  12. Joseph Cea says:

    I don’t about the hypocrite part but you should reconsider the part about doing more damage than anti hunting groups. The main part of the article was to look at what the issue of crossbows do to sportsmen/women – it DIVIDES them! Don’t believe me just re-read your comments. Personally, I am not against longbows at all and I learned to shoot on one but there isn’t any reason for me not take advantage of new technology. You mean to tell me you never bought a “better pair of boots” even back in the day? Nobody is trying to disrespect you – the older generation of hunters (my father is also 68) paved the way for us just like we are for our kids but by the same token you need to be more respectful to other hunters including us “youngins” – I’ve got over 2 decades of experience with bow, rifle and shotgun – small game and big game etc… and that is certainly worthy of your respect.

    I recall being a member of local sportsmen club and telling them all where to go because the older guys wouldn’t let women join. I’m no liberal but I’ll be dammed if I’m going let a bunch of “the older generation” tell me to discriminate against my own daughter whom I want to teach to hunt. We both know that many local clubs have policies and conduct themselves in a manner that may not please everyone but I agree we need more hunters not less and denying women is the wrong way to go! Do you honestly think that crossbows will increase hunters numbers or will it just be the same group that simply tries a different weapon?

    The “power” you speak of was not misused in this case – it was used to prevent an overbearing DEC from steamrolling sportsmen and doing what they wanted without the say of said sportsmen and just to please crossbow manufacturers.