April 2012
Recent history has seen the image of bowhunting as a challenging undertaking by individuals striving to harvest an animal utilizing one’s wits and skills – in close quarters, with minimal equipment – morph into another sport of technological domination over the quarry, thereby rendering everything that attracted pioneers of the pastime and its simplistic pursuits to an almost unrecognizable shadow of its former self. Fueled by industry competition and fed by the natural tendencies of human nature to “solve” the inherent difficulties of its primitive practices, many fear bowhunting’s future holds dim hope for continuity of its original intent and the corresponding opportunities allowed as such.
In light of such concerns, three of the nation’s most respected and premier bowhunting organizations have come together to remind and state to all just what bowhunting is supposed to be. Recently, in a joint effort, members of the Professional Bowhunters Society (PBS), the Pope and Young Club, and Compton Traditional Bowhunters crafted a mutually accepted definition of what constitutes bowhunting and its original intent.
“Bowhunting big game is an activity that, when compared to other big game hunting activities, offers the animal the greatest opportunity to escape. Therein, bowhunting is considered a close range activity that necessitates entering into the proximity of an animal’s defense senses, thereby risking the discovery of the hunter and so providing the greatest opportunity for the animal to flee and escape. In concurrence with the teachings of the National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF) and the field experiences of those who created its literature, shots should be limited to reasonable and responsible distances within the hunter’s personal limitations, keeping in mind that bowhunting is getting as close as possible before taking the shot. Under the umbrella of Fair Chase, we define bowhunting archery tackle to be selfbows, longbows, recurves, and compounds that are designed to be shot vertically and are held in the hand, and of which the string is drawn and held by the shooter’s own muscle power. Electronic devices attached to the bow or arrows are not bowhunting equipment.
We believe, for reasons of safety and responsible hunting, that arrows should be weighted and matched in relationship to the hunting bow’s draw weight in order to effectively transfer sufficient energy to the arrow so as to achieve good penetration and ensure quick and humane kills.”
In their roles as leaders among bowhunting’s finest organizations, and as role models to state organizations and game and fish departments across the country, these three organizations’ hope and intent is that this definition will help in guiding good management decisions and thoughtful considerations into what constitutes acceptable bowhunting and equipment and practices. Furthermore, it should stand as an example to industry innovations and marketers, and advertisers and PR professionals alike, that bowhunting’s image must remain true in its focus and practice if it is to survive for future generations as the distinctly primitive, fair-chase endeavor it was intended to be, and not blur the boundaries that separate it from other hunting pursuits.
