30 PETERSENÕSBOWHUNTING 09 • 20 19
CROSS
BOWS
Recent studies show that the relaxation of crossbow regulations has had the positive effect
of recruiting more youths and women into bowhunting, as well as retaining more older and
disabled hunters incapable of using conventional archery equipment.
person, including severely handi-
capped hunters.
Those with severe and permanent
disabilities were eventually allowed
to use crossbows. Crossbow use was
then expanded to include the moose
and bear seasons. After years of con-
tention, the Pine Tree State finally
capitulated in 2013 and, with virtu-
ally no opposition, expanded the use
of crossbows for all but the archery
deer and fall turkey seasons. That
was as far as I ever expected things
to go given the state’s limited and
precarious deer resource.
Things took a surprising turn this
year, though, when the legislature’s
Committee on Inland Fisheries and
Wildlife unanimously approved a
bill to allow crossbows in virtually
all seasons, including special and ex-
panded archery deer seasons. Com-
mittee approval means it’s virtually
a done deal, and while there was
some complaining from the more
devout vertical-bow hunters, it was
modest at best. Even I didn’t support
the bill, but I’m not complaining, ei-
ther. Anything that attracts or retains
hunters is a good thing.
New England News
It seems 2013 was a big year for
crossbows, especially in New En-
gland. That’s when Connecticut
made them legal for all archery
hunters. I couldn’t determine when,
but that was subsequently expanded
to permit crossbow use for all other
species. (I’m assuming the powers
that be mean all other game species,
but that’s not what the rules say.)
It shouldn’t be surprising if the New
England states seem a little behind the
times. It was religious prejudice back
in the 1100s that first damned cross-
bows to relative exile for centuries to
come, and it’s because of archaic, reli-
gious blue laws that Sunday hunting
is still prohibited in a handful of states
including Connecticut, Maine and
Massachusetts.
Speaking of Massachusetts, it’s
among the six states where cross-
bow use is still limited to physically
challenged hunters. A bill in the last
The More Things Change É
added to the list of legal arms for
turkeys,thesameyearspearswere
removedaslegalarmsfordeer. Al-
thoughAlabamaneverofficiallyan-
nouncedit,currentregulationsnow
list crossbowsaslegalformostev-
erything else, including migratory
birdsand,yes,feralswine.
Maine Developments
My own state of Maine hashad
an interesting track record with
horizontal bows. For years, there
wasan extremelystrongand vocal
anti-crossbow contingent. (I was
bootedoutofthestatebowhunting
organizationbecauseI wroteobjec-
tive stories about using crossbows
inotherstates,wheretheywere le-
gal.)Thesefolksfoughtvehemently,
evenvenomously,againsttheuseof
crossbows for any purpose by any
S
orry I’m late. My annual update on crossbow regulations
usually comes earlier in the year, but things kind of got away
from me in 2019. So, here it is — better late than never, as
the saying goes.
Space constraints preclude a com-
prehensive round-up; fortunately,
there’s increasingly less opportunity
for change, as crossbow use is now
so widespread. So, instead, I offer
some of the more interesting and
noteworthy examples from the last
few years.
Alabama Progress
Alabama made crossbows legal for
hunting in 2004. It was quite a contro-
versial step at the time, and, as a result,
it got lots of press. What was very clear
in the written regulations but most ev-
eryone neglected to point out was that
the law change made crossbows legal
only for hunting during deer season.
They still weren’t legal for any other
species in Alabama, including hogs.
It was only last year, for the 2018-
2019 season, that crossbows were
