Wisconsin: Senate to Consider Increased Hunter Opportunity Bill Tomorrow

Contact your state Senator TODAY in support of Assembly Bill 194

Tomorrow, the Wisconsin Senate is expected to vote on an amended version of Assembly Bill 194, legislation that would allow hunters to use a crossbow during the big game archery season.  AB 194, sponsored by state Representative Mary Czaja (R-35) and state Senator Paul Farrow (R-33), passed unanimously in the state Assembly in June.  Therefore, it is critical that you contact your state Senator TODAY and urge him or her to vote YES on Assembly Bill 194 tomorrow.  Please let your state Senator know that experience in other states has shown that allowing the unqualified use of crossbows helps to retain and recruit hunters.  Sportsmen, particularly older hunters with diminished physical capabilities, in Wisconsin deserve this same opportunity.

If allowed to use crossbows, hunters will remain in the field years longer than they otherwise would if restricted only to vertical bows.  As a result, they would be more likely to recruit more family and friends into Wisconsin’s ranks of hunters.  For youngsters who do not yet possess the physical strength to use a vertical bow, crossbows would allow them to go afield earlier and create more lifelong archery hunters.  At a time when hunter numbers are declining, nothing is more important than retaining and recruiting hunters.  Experience in other states also shows that archer success rates do not increase with the use of a crossbow as compared to a vertical bow.  The goal of all hunters should be to increase participation because greater hunter numbers in the future will bolster defenses against the political attacks initiated by anti-hunting extremists and ensure the continuation of Wisconsin’s rich hunting heritage.