Crossbows, Controversy, and Keeping an Open Mind

Late final month, New York handed a legislation that made crossbows legally equal to different archery gear for hunters within the state. For years, crossbow hunters had been restricted to a shorter portion of the season that got here after the common archery opener. With this alteration, crossbows are lastly acknowledged as an everyday a part of archery season. This has sparked each pleasure within the out of doors group and, as all the time, debate.

Debate and controversy are nothing new relating to crossbows. I’ve heard all of the widespread jabs: “may as effectively simply use a gun,” or “that’s the simple route,” and I hate to confess that I used to agree with these sentiments. As a compound bow hunter, my perspective was that crossbows ought to solely be permitted for many who bodily couldn’t draw a bow anymore—like my dad. A number of years in the past, he needed to get a physician’s be aware in Massachusetts to qualify for a crossbow allow after an harm. To me, that was the one “acceptable” situation for his or her use, however it was additionally my solely expertise being round crossbows. Then one hunt fully modified my outlook.

Final 12 months, a good friend invited me to mentor at an all-women’s hunt. I used to be so excited to be invited for the chance to mentor girls new to looking, however then she dropped the caveat: it was going to be a crossbow hunt. I won’t have advised her how I felt, however I’m certain my face did. After speaking forwards and backwards, I hesitated, however ultimately agreed, telling myself that my purpose is to convey extra girls into the looking group. I needed to set my bias apart and provides it a good shot. 

When the weekend arrived, I drove 4 hours to western New York and dove in. As mentors, we got hands-on coaching with crossbows. We spoke with the president of the New York State Crossbow Coalition. I attempted to maintain an open thoughts, reminding myself that if I count on our group to sort out controversial conversations, I’ve to be prepared to do the identical. On the finish of the primary day, it was not the mechanics or the lobbying factors that modified my thoughts; it was the ladies themselves. After I requested the brand new hunters why they selected this hunt, why now, their solutions struck me. Many stated compound bows felt intimidating or firearms weren’t interesting, however they nonetheless needed to attempt to hunt. The crossbow, for them, was a gateway: a option to step into the outside that felt approachable and doable. 

Since then, I’ve continued to convey up crossbows in dialog and it isn’t all the time effectively acquired. I nonetheless don’t plan to hunt with one myself, however I now discover myself advocating for his or her place within the discipline as a result of I’ve seen firsthand how they open the door for brand spanking new hunters. 

A kind of hunters is my fellow ADC sister, Abbi Ottman. Abbi is a self-taught, adult-onset hunter who started her journey with a crossbow:

“I began looking in 2020 to assist get me outside extra and fill our freezer. The one individual in my household who hunts is my stepdad, and he hunts firearm season. I knew I needed to bow hunt, however the complexities of compound bows felt overwhelming—too many equipment, too expensive, and nobody to show me. The crossbow was the right possibility. It was inexpensive, uncomplicated, and received me within the woods straight away. That first season I harvested one doe, and I used to be hooked. I fell in love with looking due to my crossbow. It gave me the arrogance to department out into different strategies—shotgun, firearm, and now recurve. It was the gateway I wanted.”

Tales like Abbi’s are why I’ve modified my thoughts. Crossbows aren’t “dishonest.” They’re a bridge, serving to extra folks—particularly girls—discover their manner into the outside. And isn’t that what we would like? Extra folks studying, rising, and defending the traditions we maintain pricey?

We don’t all must hunt the identical manner, and we gained’t all agree on each methodology. But when there’s one factor this expertise has taught me, it’s the worth of holding an open thoughts. Once we make house for controversial conversations with out shutting one another down, we don’t simply develop as hunters we develop as a group.