Crossbow Allowance

We strive to protect, promote, and incentivize archery and bowhunting.

It is important to understand that the core driver behind full crossbow inclusion into archery seasons is to fatten the pockets of crossbow manufacturers and dealers. Basic human nature dictates that most current hunters are happy to take advantage of the extended archery season with a more effective tool that does not require archery proficiency. This basic idea holds true regardless of whether we are talking about crossbows, airbows, traditional muzzleloaders, or even modern rifles. Full crossbow inclusion is the wrong move, but we are open to working through a compromise that preserves as much of the archery season as possible while providing more opportunity to use non-archery equipment. 

Nearly every hunter is already fully capable of enjoying existing archery seasons through the use of recurve and compound bows. In North Dakota, less than 3% of bowhunters are unable to draw their bow/qualify for a disability permit. We have been a supporter of NASP for many years and are very happy to see that over 21 million students from 4th-12th grade have participated in this program. With full crossbow inclusion, it is likely that overtime, we will see upwards of 75% of "bowhunters" choosing to hunt with a crossbow, archery club participation decreased, and a 400-600% increase in archery season harvest which comes with increased wounding, unrecovered game, and a lot more early season hunting pressure which does negatively impact the resource. What we primarily see with full crossbow inclusion is a substantial shift towards crossbow use during the archery season, but we do not see a tangible benefit because nearly everyone who wishes to hunt the archery season has the opportunity to do so without a crossbow, and crossbow states are still losing hunters at about the same rate as archery states. It is simply not the lowest hole in the bucket of hunter recruitment, retention, or reactivation.

We support the use of crossbows in archery seasons for hunters whose disabilities physically prevent them from drawing the minimum weight. However, our view on crossbows is very similar to our view on traditional muzzleloaders. They should absolutely be a legal tool for the harvest of wildlife, but we do not want to see or accept the full inclusion of crossbows into archery seasons because they are functionally a very different tool. There is an appropriate time and a place for crossbows that is not the entire archery season.

What we have and continue to advocate for is the establishment of crossbow seasons that are longer than firearm seasons but shorter than designated archery seasons. Crossbows are highly marketed as long range (135+ yard / "you next rifle") hunting tools, but they are not as effective, provide a much duller user experience, require more frequent maintenance, and blow apart more often than rifles. Let's be honest, crossbows are NOT archery. 

Minnesota Bowhunters™ is very actively working to restore the archery deer season that many of us choose to enjoy and are very fond of. We have/continue to advocate in Minnesota House and Senate committees for the establishment of a crossbow deer season starting on firearm opener through the end of the year. While open to compromise on specific dates, we see starting the crossbow season on or after the start of the firearm season to be essential.