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South
Carolina Legalizes Crossbows During Bow Season
On
June 11th, 2008, Governor Mark Sanford signed bill s691 into law.
This bill made several changes to the state wild game code, the most
significant of which is a change in the definition of "archery
equipment". As the result of this change in the code,
crossbows are now identified in this category along with traditional and
compound archery equipment. This change was effective
immediately.
The
SCBA has worked for several months in an attempt to derail this bill
which will most certainly have a negative impact on the quality and
safety of the 2 week archery only season. In spite of this
setback, the position of the organization with regards to crossbows has
not changed. "We have to abide by, but not accept their
changes", said SCBA President David Shull. "We
should continue to appose their use in archery season. We need to
continue to educate the public on the reasons we appose their use and
options on equipment that can be used instead."
There
are 2 reasons for bowhunters to be concerned about this change in
legislation. First a crossbow is an easy way for non-archers to
extend their season without the commitment and hard work that bowhunters
invest. This means that there will be more hunting pressure from
"gun hunters" who are not used to hunting deer in close
quarters like bowhunters. This is going to make our already
challenging bow season tougher. Second, the bill did not include
any specific verbiage to ensure that crossbow hunting is as safe as
possible, it simple added crossbows to the definition of "archery
equipment". Crossbows are inherently dangerous, they require
unique caution and respect that a traditional or compound bow does
not. A hunter walking around the woods with a loaded and cocked
crossbow is an accident waiting to happen, a danger to both himself and
other hunters.
Click
on the following link for more details on the change: s691
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