MO has "allowed" crossbow hunters a longer season with the 'Alternative Methods' season in response to crossbow hunters pushing for a longer season than previously allowed (9 days during firearms season). I understand that allowing crossbows during much the longer traditional bow season (Sept 15 - Jan 15) would result in over harvesting. So, if they allow crossbows during traditional bow season, they'll probably have to shorten that season to manage the harvest. That would upset those of us who hunt with traditional bows, so don't expect that to happen anytime soon. Seems to me that the complaint was heard and an adjustment made, though not in the exact manner hoped for. I suggest you don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I really think its a "push" when comparing a compound to a crossbow.. A regular compound allows for greater mobility and your able to get off that 2nd arrow a lot quicker... Other than not getting busted while drawi g a compound the crossbow isn't really much more of an advantage.. With the 70 % let offs on the compounds cams your not holding much weight at full draw.. It's also a lot easier to manuver that compound over a crossbow ..

I agree, many believe a crossbow is "like a rifle" far from it. You still gotta be able to get the range right due to the trajectory or youre gon a miss. They are too heavy and unwieldy for me. My hunting buddy has one and prefers the compound over it 99% of the time.

I have quite a few hunters that cycle through my farm throughout the Archery and firearm season... This topic comes up quite often and I always have deer stands and blinds set up in the yard at the cabin to practice shooting from.. I put the archery hunters up in the tree or in the blind with a compound then crossbow.. Until you place them in a hunting scenario and offer different scenarios and target placement they soon find out that the crossbow isn't as easy as they thought it would be... The idea that the are like using a firearm is soon vacated....

A historic note, if I may? When the King felt threatened by enemies from within, archery was discouraged and the crossbow was banned. When the King was threatened by enemies from outside his kingdom, practice at the butts was mandated, and crossbows were encouraged as weapons that could be fired by those less skilled. Thus were armies raised from among the people. Hence, our 2nd Amendment; that no domestic Government should ever feel it had tenure, and no foreign Nation should ever consider us an easy mark.
In my state (Oregon), rifle hunters think the crossbow is too much like the wounding archery to be allowed, and archers think it too much like the rifle to allow it during 'their' season. Without a constituency, it is illegal.

Kansas is allowing crossbows for the upcoming archery season. I don't like the idea of crossbows during archery season. I guess we will see how it works. Kansas has also changed it's laws on rifle calibers. Used to be that a .243 was the smallest diameter rifle caliber...now it reads, any center fire rifle caliber is legal. That means the .223 ar's are gonna blaze away at em now.

Trust me Henny Penny the sky will not fall because of it...

Crossbows and AR's are tools of the Devil himself!!

I have nothing against AR's. I would love to own one someday. I'm just surprised that they are allowing a caliber that small to shoot deer. No offense.

Bail,
It's like anything else, use a properly constructed bullet and put it in the proper place and the result will be a properly dead deer. Slob's wound deer with .300 Magnums too, so it all falls back on the Indian and not the arrow.

No offense taken on my part.
Just because the agency has decided to allow the caliber for deer hunting doesn't mean that the woods will suddenly be full of folks shooting .223 AR's.
For many years the regs in KY specified a minimum of ".240 caliber or above" for hunting deer. Several years ago it was changed to "any caliber centerfire rifle or centerfire handgun."
After that caliber change I could count on one hand the number of rifles I saw every year that were under the .240 caliber minimum specified in the old regs.

I totally agree.

Crossbows are legal in Missouri during archery season with a doctors permission. You can download the form from the Missouri Conservation website. Have your Doc sign it and mail it in 2 weeks before you can use it. I have the permit but haven't used it yet.

As someone in medical records, many many doctors in Missouri (Yes even in the big cities) are signing the forms for crossbows. However you can't get a lifetime exemption anymore, 5 year max.

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