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My Thoughts On The NC Bow Hunters Association and Why I’m No Longer a Member Part Two

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:24:20 +0000

This is the second part of my response to the guest blog post from Ramon Bell of the North Carolina Bow Hunter Association. As I said in my earlier post I’m grateful for Mr. Bell’s post and while we may disagree on a few points there is many points we do agree on. Today I want to address the crossbow issue and the reason in good conscience I could not renew my membership.

The other proposal NCBA opposes is the legalization of crossbows across the board for anyone who wants to use them. We specially oppose them being legalized during ‘Bow Only’ seasons for anyone other than those who qualify for the handicapped hunting permit to use them. This is why this state law was enacted some 12-15 years ago.. to give the handicapped and physically challenged hunters a “special” privilege and the opportunity and advantage to hunt during bow seasons. Adoption of this proposal will eliminate the need for the special handicapped license/permits, and it will also eliminate the only advantage and privilege

NCBA Crossbow Facts & Fiction

Most of the folks I’ve met over the years that have a handicap did not necessarily want an “advantage” over those who don’t have a handicap just an opportunity to participate. Nor do I believe that the crossbow is an advantage over the modern compound bow.
Opposition to the crossbow by the NCBA is certainly their right as an organization even though I don’t understand the demonization of this weapon.

The N.C.B.A. will not permit its members to use this type of weapon (Crossbows or “Draw-Lock” devices), to hunt legal game, unless the member is legitimately physically disabled.
Members may not endorse such a weapon under any circumstances. If a member is caught using or endorsing such a weapon in violation of this article, he/she will be subject to immediate dismissal from N.C.B.A. membership.

NCBA

Opposing its use during the archery season is one thing but to oppose its use ever even during firearm season seems to be a bit extreme. In states that have legalized the use of a crossbow there has not been a significant loss of bow hunters. I think one could make the argument that more folks leave the bow hunting ranks and use firearms rather then switch to crossbows. However NCBA will drum a member out who uses a crossbow but has no such rule for firearms.
I don’t see anything wrong with a crossbow and if it brings more folks into the hunting ranks I think it is a good thing. So instead of getting kicked out I decided that I just would not renew my membership.
The NCBA is a great organization and does a lot of good things but their don’t ask don’t tell stand on crossbows is just one I can’t live with.

My Thoughts On The NC Bow Hunters Association and Why I’m No Longer a Member Part One

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:24:35 +0000

I was pleased to have Ramon Bell from the NCBA as a guest poster on here earlier this week. I appreciate his willingness to address the issues and clarify the Association’s position. The NCBA is certainly a prominent sportsman organization here in the state and have supported and advocated for our sport over the years. While I agree with them on many issues there is a few I fundamentally don’t agree.

Opposition to 2nd Week of Muzzleloader Season

The one that is most important to NCBA is the opening of gun (muzzle loader) season one week earlier statewide. Not so much that it encroaches on the ‘bow only’ seasons statewide by another week, it does. But because we feel this is not in the best interests of the quality of the buck deer population and the quality of deer hunting in general for all of North Carolina.

I don’t know about anyone else but I was surprised at this statement because the message I heard at the public hearing I went to was that adding this week on would only make the bucks go nocturnal earlier reducing the opportunity for bow hunters. I’m certain that there message of Quality Deer Management and improving the Buck population was missed by a lot of the hunters in attendance at the public meetings and not just me. I’m not convinced that the way to go about improving the maturity of bucks in NC is by season lengths but rather by bag limits and other regulatory measures. I’m not advocating for that and that is really another whole topic (QDM, Antler Restrictions, and Earn a Buck programs) that we’ll certainly get into in the future.
In the past archery equipment was not allowed during the muzzleloader season but that has been corrected and basically you can bow hunt from opening day in September all the way till the closing day on January 1st. The majority of hunting takes place on private land so individuals and clubs can easily control hunting methods, antler restrictions, doe harvesting etc. Everything one could want except controlling how your neighbors hunt.

We (NCBA) also believe there are other ‘Safety’ and ‘Social’ factors for why any gun season for deer should not be opened earlier. From a ‘Safety’ standpoint, we feel it will be dangerous, not only for hunters and bowhunters in particular! It will be dangerous to others who will be using the woods at this time of year.. late October.. when leaves are still on trees and in full fall colors to boot. This foliage will not only restrict vision and line of sight for hunters and make for dangerous shooting situations, our ‘blaze orange’ hats and vests will blend in with the fall colors complicating already dangerous situations. From a ‘Social’ standpoint, there could be many more unwanted and unnecessary confrontations and conflicts between hunters and others who will be in the outdoors during this time engaging in a variety of other outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, biking, horseback riding, animal/bird watching.. and just sightseeing in general to take in the fall colors.

Safety while handling any weapon is important safe gun handling is especially important. I fully support and advocate people follow the rules when it comes to guns. Identifying your target is paramount whether it is an arrow, bolt, or bullet you are releasing. Hunting is a safe sport especially compared to other recreational activities like softball, soccer, and football. The vast majority of serious and fatal accidents in hunting are from falls. There are a number of firearm hunting opportunities that take place prior to killing frosts while foliage is still present. There does not seem to be an increase in accidental shootings because of it. I believe that this argument supports an unfounded stereotype against hunters in general and I would have hoped that the NCBA would not engage in promoting such a stereotype.
How this proposal came to be is not that important because it obviously had wide support at the public meetings. There are many gun hunters that support QDM practices but the majority of them did not appear to support this argument at least in the public meeting forums I attended. I honestly believe that if people feel strongly about improving the age of bucks in this state that there are better ways to go about it then season structure. I’d be curious to know the age structure of bucks taken by bow as to those taken by gun. Anecdotally in conversations I have with hunters that hunt all methods it seems that when they have a bow in the hand they are more apt to take a smaller buck then if they were gun hunting they’d pass it up. I got two buck tags for where I hunt whether I take them in October, November, or December I don’t think will matter.
Part 2 will look at the Crossbow Issue and I elaborate a bit on why I did not renew my membership.

Guest Blogger Here Tomorrow

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:11:04 +0000

From time to time bloggers will have guests in to post on important topics or to fill on when the regular blogger is off. Tomorrow I’ll be stepping aside to allow a guest post on a very hot topic here in North Carolina and a man that has found himself at the center of it because of his position as president of the North Carolina Bow Hunters Association.
I sat next to Ramon Bell last month at the Big Game Committee Meeting and we struck up a conversation during the break. While there is a few things Raymond I probably disagree on there is far more stuff we agree on. As some may remember that many of the rule proposals for this upcoming season got sidetracked at the last minute and the NCBA has taken much of the blame for this. Initially that was my take on it but after some conversations with some folks and some digging on my part I discovered that the NCWRC had a lot to do with what happened.
At a time when hunters really should stand shoulder to shoulder with each other we don’t need some of the strive we have seen on some of the message forums. I’m happy to give Ramon and the North Carolina Bow hunters Association the opportunity to get their message out. I hope all my readers and any guests that drop in will listen to what Ramon has to say and feel free to comment.
While I wish Ramon was filling in because I was on the way to Maine to chase bears the reality is that I’m still in town but this is such an important topic that we need to talk about it. So please stop by Monday and see Ramon’s blog post.

NCWRC Reminds Hunters That Some New Rules Are Delayed

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:19:15 +0000

With hunting season fast approaching many of us are getting ready and we need to make sure we are familiar with the rules. This past year there was a wrinkle in the traditional method of how the rules get changed and many that we thought were passed actually got delayed and are not in effect. Here is the list changes that are delayed and not in effect for the upcoming season.

Rules NOT in effect for the 2009-2010 season are:
H1) Require persons harvesting deer through the Deer Management Assistance Program to use tags provided by the Commission and report their harvests, whether those deer are antlerless or antlered. Allow harvest of deer on DMAP areas under the big game harvest report card and the bonus antlerless deer harvest report card, where applicable.
H2) Change the description of where bonus antlerless deer harvest report cards may be used from “private lands” to “lands other than those enrolled in the Commission’s Game Land Program” in order to permit the use of these cards on military installations, national wildlife refuges, and other public lands that are NOT game lands.
H3) Remove the daily bag limit for deer.
H4) Allow hunters to use archery equipment to harvest deer during the muzzleloading firearms season on game lands.
H5) Shorten the bow season by one week and open the muzzleloader season one week earlier to create a two week muzzleloader season.
H6) Deer seasons in the Northwestern deer season will be changed so that the regular gun season is extended through January 1. Deer seasons in the Eastern, Central, and Western deer season structures will remain unchanged.
H7) Deer seasons on game lands in the Northwestern deer season will be changed so that the regular gun season is extended through January 1. Deer seasons on game lands in the Eastern, Central, and Western deer season structures will remain unchanged.
H8) Open all private lands in the Eastern, Central, and Northwestern deer seasons to the maximum either-sex deer season.
H9) Assign all of Moore County to the Eastern deer season.
H25) Allow falconry on Sundays, except for migratory game birds.
H26) Allow bow hunting on Sundays on private lands only, except for migratory game birds.
H28) Allow the use of crossbows, without permit, anytime bow and arrows are legal weapons.
H48) Disallow the selling of live foxes and coyotes taken under a depredation permit to controlled hunting preserves.
H50) Allow a landowner with a valid depredation permit to give away the edible portions of deer to anyone. Require the recipient to retain a copy of the depredation permit.
H51) Eliminate the requirement that a landholder must get a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit for the taking of migratory birds before getting a Commission permit to do so.

The current regulation digest is available on line or a hard copy can be found at most places that sell hunting and fishing licenses.

New Hunting & Fishing Regulations Posted

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:22:12 +0000

The NCWRC has released the new regulations book for the coming year on line version is available and hard copies should be showing up at the license agents soon. This had looked to be a monumental year in the hunting arena with what seemed like the approval of the use of crossbows, archery hunting on Sunday, as well as the addition of a second week of muzzle loader but all of that got delayed on some technicalities.
In an earlier post I wrongly agreed with a fellow outdoor writer Mike Zlotnick of the N&O when he placed the blame for these changes not taking place squarely on the shoulders of the NC Bow Hunters Association. While that is partially true because they spearheaded a letter writing campaign that blocked some of these proposals and educated other special interest groups on how to the same the NCWRC shares a lot of the blame as well. Clerical errors, ineptness, sloppiness or a combination of all of them on the NCWRC part lead to them not having a method of getting many if not all these rules in as temporary to block the shenanigans of a few special interest groups.
The big question is will NCWRC get their act together or will this be an annual occurrence making it a two year process to get any meaningful changes to game laws in North Carolina?

Mike Has Got It Right

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:02:49 +0000

Mike Zlotnicki over at the News & Observer has got it right. The 10-letter rule that sidetracked most of the new hunting proposals has got to go.

They’re not going to happen this fall, because of an obscure rule that allows a state regulation passed by a rule-making body to be delayed if the Rules Review Commission receives 10 letters of protest on a given rule.
This, after nine public hearings across the state, more than 40,000 comments in person, mailed and sent via the Internet. The proposals were then sent to the state Rules Review Commission (as are all state agency regulation changes) for review and were passed by the commission. However, because of the 10-letter rule, they now will be forwarded to the legislature for consideration in the fall. There, a proposal can die with the passing of a bill.

I whole heartily agree with ya Mike. It be one thing if these folks didn’t have the opportunity to speak up but they did and some I’m sure at multiple hearings. I’m mostly disappointed in the NC Bow Hunters Association while I support their right to stand up for their members this fight is very slimy. As an organization they do not allow any difference of opinion on the topic of crossbows. Members are forced out if they in any way support or condone the use of a crossbow. I know a number of members who do not support the total anti crossbow view but have to remain silent. I suspect that among the rank and file there is not as heavy support as the front the organization presents. Heck it wasn’t all that long ago that the purists within bow hunting organizations opposed the now widely accepted compound bow. I believe that many of those purists still hold that view but now turn it on to the crossbow.
Bottom line we all lose next season because of this stunt.

The 10-letter rule is counterproductive. The proposals had been hashed out and discussed by the public and by the commissioners.

Majority Of Hunting Proposals Get Delayed For A Year

Daniel "Moose" McLaughlin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:02:01 +0000

Many feel that the North Carolina Bow hunters Association (NCBA) has launched what amounts to a thermal nuclear war in the development of hunting rules and regulations for the state of North Carolina. Traditionally the changes to hunting regulations are proposed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and then taken to public hearings for debate and comments. Based on those hearings the Commissioners then vote on the proposals those that pass become effective the following July when the new regulation book is released. A simple and orderly process that for the most part has worked and most interested hunters understood and had accepted.
This year there was some controversial proposals that the NCBA opposed, removing the requirement that an individual has to be disabled in order to hunt with a crossbow and add a second week to muzzle loading. (Bow hunting would be allowed) At the public hearings there was overwhelming support for these two proposals despite efforts by the NCBA to organize opposition. There was also a number of other proposals including allowing bow hunting on Sundays that NCBA did not oppose that have traditionally been difficult to get past public hearings.
The Commissioners took these public meetings as well as the electronic comments into consideration when they voted on the proposals and traditionally that would be it those that passed would be the new rules. Except for this year the NCBA found a loophole in the final process that all new rules have to go before a State Review Commission that makes sure that the state agency making these rules has the authority to make these rules and that the new rules do not violate a current law. A new rule could be temporarily blocked if the State Review Commission received 10 letters of opposition to the new rule. That would then force the new rule to be put on hold giving the state legislators the opportunity to review it at their next session or to do nothing and then it would automatically pass. While this option has been around for a longtime it seems to be one that was not well known and rarely if ever used especially on Game Laws.
NCBA launched a letter writing campaign to block the expansion of muzzle loading from a one week to a two week season as well as blocking crossbows. Other groups followed the lead and Sunday Hunting along with a number of other proposals has been delayed as well.
Now in order for the NCBA to succeed in completely blocking these changes they now have the monumental task of getting a bills written passed and signed into law during the next legislative session that make it illegal for the NCWRC to allow the use of cross bows by non handicap hunters as well as a law that will not allow NCWRC to alter season dates. That is a mighty tall order to fill and I can about guarantee that it cannot be done.
There is no doubt that the NCBA had the right to take these actions but I would suggest that they did not think this whole thing through before they did it. They could not even come close to making a good argument or garner support at the public hearings where the majority of people there are fellow sportsmen. How will they get the support of those not interested in hunting? Many of these sportsmen now feel like the NCBA has pulled a fast one and they are now opposed to just about anything the NCBA stands for.

( For full disclosure I am currently a member of the NCBA)

Press Release from NCWRC

Moose Droppings » crossbow

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