Hunting: Crossbow approved for PA deer archery season.
Share your thoughts at the Premiere hunting board of Pennsylvania.
More white-tailed deer will face the modern incarnation
of a medieval weapon of war this fall as a result of yesterday's ruling by the
Pennsylvania Game Commission to legalize the crossbow during archery deer and
bear seasons.
The board gave final approval to the measure, but
included several caveats and a sunset clause that will require the board to
revisit the vote by June 2012.
Prior to the vote, crossbows were already legal in
Pennsylvania during all small game seasons, big-game rifle and muzzleloader
seasons, for deer in special-regulations areas surrounding Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia, and during archery deer seasons by disabled hunters with special
permits.
The new ruling makes crossbows illegal during the
October muzzleloader and late flintlock muzzleloader seasons, and is limited to
the 2009-10 hunting seasons. Under the new regulations, a crossbow must have a
peak drawn weight of at least 125 pounds, and the bolt must be equipped with a
broadhead blade with an outside diameter or width of at least seven-eighths of
an inch with at least two cutting edges on the same plane throughout the length
of the cutting surface, not exceeding 3 inches in length. An amendment prohibits
the use of magnifying scopes for all archery and crossbow equipment during the
archery bear and deer seasons. Non-magnifying scopes remain legal.
The new regulations, which went into effect immediately,
could present a boon to Pennsylvania sporting goods stores, where new crossbows
generally retail for $450 to $1,500.
Share your thoughts at the Premiere hunting board of Pennsylvania.
10 Modern Myths about Hunting in PA.
By Denny Patterson
- You need lots of deer
- It's a covert plan to exterminate the deer.
- The habitat is just fine.
- All you need is lime.
- The state could fix all the forest
- The PGC is big government
- The insurance companies are in control
- The timber companies are in control
- License sales are down because of deer.
- Doe tag allocations used to raise money.
