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CT wants to eliminate late archery season now…. Can’t make this stuff up.

Blood like Jan????

Raise fees; eliminate late deer bow seasons; with no bear season ......Hmmmm Reminds me of old Bob Dylan lyric...."look out kids. Something you did" ?

Steve,

The question was if you were in favor of extending State Land Muzzleloader season through the end of Dec, effectively eliminating late season bowhunting on state land.

I'd prefer the state allow lesser weapons to this "option"....

Doesn’t look like they’ll get much feedback this year. Email was in junk folder.

I put stop earn a buck , and cut tags to 4 !!! not unlimited.

Mike, I’ve been battling with Howard and Andrew for years in allowing bow as a lessor weapon during state land gun season. It falls on deaf ears. Why can’t we get this changed??

"Why can’t we get this changed??"

Infighting in the sportsmen community destroyed the unified front needed to counter our opponents in the legislative process.

" I'm so busy with my things that I have no time for preserving my rights as they are now." " Why should I support any lobbyist group that doesn't provide a newsletter monthly in my mailbox?" "Those guys are all for themselves."

Blood, It's called apathy and hopelessness. Throw in some inability to conduct civil discourse and you have our sportsmen/citizenship state of affairs in Connecticut.

We have a decline in population that recognizes and strives for virtue. Our problems are national in scale, but the solution is in a turning on an individual basis. One person at a time must turn to another person and have something of value to impart to them, and they in turn do the same, known as grassroots movement.

Freedom isn't free and the price of maintaining it is personal vigilance.

I don’t know what the big deal is allowing bows as a lessor weapon. I put on the survey that it should be allowed and that I opposed lengthening muzzleloader. This state is after nothing other than money and the destruction of the deer population.

State is a joke. They should be focusing on what they can do to improve the habitat for deer on these larger tracts of public land. Such as creating more bedding and browse with clear cutting and select cuts. The forest are mature hardwoods and when you don’t have a bumper acorn crop year and a tough winter those mature hardwoods are tough on deer with not a lot of browse opportunities. Therefore they head to people’s backyards and start getting hit by cars and now the state wants them all gone. We should be trying to protect the resource not decimate it.

State is a joke. They should be focusing on what they can do to improve the habitat for deer on these larger tracts of public land. Such as creating more bedding and browse with clear cutting and select cuts. The forest are mature hardwoods and when you don’t have a bumper acorn crop year and a tough winter those mature hardwoods are tough on deer with not a lot of browse opportunities. Therefore they head to people’s backyards and start getting hit by cars and now the state wants them all gone. We should be trying to protect the resource not decimate it.

Hangnhunt, you won’t win that argument. The state is clearing habitat for the cottontails and they’ll tell you that the habitat improvement for the rabbits is helping the deer. This is in the eastern part of the state in the state forests. Problem is, it’s very limited.

I would love to see the logging operations they had in the 80’s again all over. THAT made great deer habitat.

It’s so perplexing to me. It’s so simple. Obviously, reduce the tags. First and foremost. Manage the herd better. Better quality. Better quantity.

Then, let me, an archery hunter, buy a state land shotgun tag AND/OR a state land muzzleloader tag. Then let me hunt during those seasons.

The state gets more money. And I get to keep enjoying my passion. Win win.

I like archery more then gun hunting, but the current situation is just stupid. Just run muzzleloader out till the season end date. The 10 day archery thing is just ridiculous. Look at the deer summary from the past season. Not many deer on state land around me even get killed during muzzleloader season. There's bigger fish to fry. They could start by pushing the gun season back by a week. Also, if you're not a child, disabled person or to old to draw a regular bow. There is zero reason you need to be shooting a crossbow. Sick of seeing 20 year old kids walking around with crossbows

I'd like to know the reasoning of ML over archery. Why does it have to be an either/or thing. It's late season, not many guys out there anyway, just let us hunt our way. I mean, is there an increased danger having two types of weapons in the woods? Umm, no.

I agree with you Brian. I only hunt with a bow. I wear orange during rifle season anyway, why changed that?

The arguments guys make here, make sense, the problem is: online is the ONLY place most of us/ you/ them express their opinions.

Have you been talking to, and meeting with your State Senator and State Rep? Have you contributed to their campaign? They all need a large number of donations ($5 min) from their district to qualify for matching funds. Are YOU one of those donations? If not, do you expect them to take you seriously? A large percentage of people here have never sent in one piece of written testimony on the bills that matter to us. How do I know? Those emails and letters are public, and the names are out there. The Antis have NO problem getting people to contact Legislators AND folks at the DEEP.

You're preaching to the choir here, and if that's all you're doing, you're not a part of the solution. The Lesser Weapons thing is a part of a proposed Regulation Change with the DEEP, and if they get enough pressure, it'd be a pretty easy addition since it doesn't require legislation.

(Blood, I have had trouble answering your PM, not sure why, do you have my cell #?)

I haven't received mine yet.

Ace, the anti hunting sentiment has no voice in making the change of actually making hunting harder by allowing a bow as a lessor weapon.

Same with cutting tags.

I can’t see one anti hunting word that would fight against those two things. Doesn’t make sense.

This one is for the DEEP to make a change.

I also sent you another PM with my cell number.

I am actually one of those weirdos that thinks the state hunting regulations are more or less fine (with the glaring exception of Sunday Hunting).

Blood - I think the point you may be missing be missing about the anti's is their hatred of bowhunting in particular. When the HSUS made a big change many years ago (it was a merger, change of their board or something like, can't remember). What I do remember is they came out strongly to ban bowhunting. They aren't worried about the degree of difficulty; they are worried about "cruelty" they specifically associate with bow hunting. They will never be in favor in expanding bowhunting opportunities, even if it is at the expense of a more difficult style of hunting.

I guess we disagree on that one.

And the state still hasn’t presented me with one reason why you can’t be allowed to buy a state land shotgun tag and use your bow to kill a deer and tag it as such... none. Maybe we should all contact Andrew and Howard and let them get back to someone.

AND they have never answered my question to them on how a muzzleloader became a lessor weapon during state land shotgun. It’s really quite amazing. Anyways, it’s good discussion here and there’s alway good insight. Thanks again.

I am not opposed to bows being included as a lesser weapon, just providing an explanation of why the animal rights likely do oppose it.

I would say though it's a relatively minor issue. For the amount of complaining that bowhunters tend to do over regs, we should remember about the many regulatory advantages bow hunters have over gun hunters in CT, and that bow hunters kill more deer annually in CT than gun hunters.

1. Very long season exclusively for bow including 1/2 the rut. 2. Liberal bag limits 3. Sunday Hunting 4. No set back requirements 5. Bow only public hunting areas 6. Baiting 7. Crossbows

There may be others I am forgetting. Maybe I am a glass half full guy, but the bowhunting regulations in CT are hardly draconian.

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