| Subject: ATTN: Georgia Hunters |
Author:
Glenn
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Date Posted: 11:05:04 02/08/02 Fri
Bill Would Make Crossbows Legal for all Hunters, Throughout Deer Season
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HB 1174 — Under this change in the law, crossbows would become legal weapons for all hunters to use to hunt big and small game. During deer archery season, during the primitive-weapons week, and throughout modern firearms deer season, crossbows would be a legal option for all hunters, not just permanently disabled hunters as current law allows. Bears, hogs and turkeys could also be taken with a crossbow under the proposed change.
The bill’s sponsors — Democrats Bob Lane of Statesboro and Greg Morris of Vidalia, and Republican Austin Scott of Tifton — say the bill is part of an overall effort, which started with House Bill 1158, to liberalize opportunities for hunters and remove restrictions that are not needed.
At the February 5 meeting of the House Game, Fish & Parks committee, chairman Bob Lane explained that WRD’s Game Management section had told him the change will have little or no impact on the deer harvest.
Game Management Chief Todd Holbrook attended the meeting and told members that the original reason for not including crossbows as legal weapons during archery season was a perception that they were more powerful and accurate than normal bows and that regular bowhunters viewed them as unfair competition. That perception, Holbrook said, is not supported by the facts, especially when crossbows are compared to modern compound bows. Crossbows, he said, require much more fine tuning and adjustment to maintain accuracy because the shorter bolts are not as stable in flight as longer arrows. Their effective range, he said, was equivalent to a compound bow — about 30 yards for most shooters, perhaps as much as 50 yards for a small number of expert shooters.
Many crossbow shooters use scopes on their weapons, but HB 1174 does not say specifically whether scopes on crossbows are legal or illegal, at all times or during certain seasons. Scopes on muzzleloading rifles, for example, are legal only during the modern firearms season. GON asked WRD or the bill’s sponsors to clarify the intent of the bill in that regard, and we’ll share the answer when we get it.
Longer Season, 12-Deer Limit, Statewide Antler Rule Passes Committee.
HB 1158 on February 5 successfully passed the House Game, Fish & Parks committee with no amendments. It now goes to the full House for consideration, and then, if it passes, on to the Senate.
HB 1158 will raise the season bag limit to 10 antlereless deer, keeping the antlered buck limit at two. However, the bill puts in place an antler restriction on bucks — at least one of the bucks must have four or more points on one side of its rack of an inch or more in length. Further, the bill will make it possible for deer season to begin one week earlier than normal for a total of 17 weeks of deer season instead of 16.
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