YOUR GUIDE TO THE CROSSBOW
Class now in session for new weapon Education and buying process has begun as hunters prepare
BY LEE GRAVES
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 7, 2005
The woods aren't legal turf yet, but crossbow season already has started in stores and classrooms and on ranges.
Retailers in particular have seen interest spike since crossbows were approved for general use, including special archery seasons.
"We're selling quite a few already. It's very popular," said Glen Harper, archery manager at Green Top Sporting Goods in Hanover County.
Hunter education instructors also have had special sessions with various manufacturing representatives to learn and practice crossbow skills.
Capt. Bobby Mawyer, coordinator of hunting education programs for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said classes include crossbows in the spectrum of weapons available to hunters.
"It's up to the students to pursue the things that excite them the most," Mawyer said. "I would anticipate [crossbows] being very popular."
That popularity does not extend to some traditional bow hunters who oppose crossbow use in special archery seasons. In public meetings, through e-mails and letters and in comments to VDGIF officials, they said crossbows are different animals -- more powerful and less demanding of hunters' skills than vertical bows.
But the VDGIF board's decision in June establishing seasons and a special license shifts the focus from debate to practicalities. Crossbows are now in the quiver of every hunter's options, so being informed about choices, from picking the right arrow to selecting the right shot, becomes the responsibility of everyone who exercises the privilege.
A good starting point for curious consumers is the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show this coming weekend at The Showplace on Mechanicsville Turnpike.
Green Top plans special crossbow demonstrations on Saturday, and other sporting goods retailers are geared for hunters' interests.
Harper's experience at Green Top is that the price tag is driving many decisions.
"Most people that come here are really considering price range more than anything else," Harper said. "I sell more bows in the $500 to $600 range than anything else."
Similarly priced bows can vary significantly, however, in design, safety mechanisms, trigger systems and other features.
One of the biggest factors to keep in mind is that draw weights of crossbows are about double the poundage of vertical bows, so don't be surprised when a salesman or catalog talks about a 150-pound draw weight. Crossbow strings travel less than half the distance of vertical bow strings.
"You need that poundage to have performance equal to a compound bow," said Johnny Grace, national sales manager with Parker Compound Bows in Mint Springs.
According to "Today's Crossbow," a booklet published by the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, "Ballistic tests show that there is very little, if any, difference in the impact of broadhead-tipped arrows shot from a crossbow and a compound bow."
Members of the American Crossbow Federation helped write that book, a source of pride for Dan Hendricks, chief executive officer.
"We want to train people to be good crossbow hunters, ethical crossbow hunters," he said.
That includes dispelling misconceptions about crossbows' range and power. For whitetail, a shot of about 40 yards is max. An arrow has to have the velocity to deliver a deadly wound, and that can mean piercing bone, Hendricks said.
Even in competitions on ranges, crossbow archers get a zero score if they take a shot beyond 40 yards, he said.
Competitive archery is one direction Hendricks, Grace and others see the sport expanding. Other growth markets include products specifically geared to women and young people.
The biggest need, however, is spreading accurate information.
"Education, education, education is the most important thing we can do now," Hendricks said.
