Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

Wisconsin Crossbow Bill as Amended – May 29, 2013

by Leave a Comment

The bowhunter's crossbow

The bowhunter’s crossbow

Update 12/17/2013  Crossbows are now Legal in Wisconsin 2014

ASSEMBLY SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,  TO ASSEMBLY BILL 194

Under current law, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issues hunting licenses and establishes open hunting seasons that allow the hunting of specified game animals.  Among the licenses that DNR issues are resident and nonresident archer hunting licenses.  An archer hunting license allows the holder to hunt all game, except bear, elk, wolf, and wild turkey, with a bow and arrow during the relevant open season established by DNR.  An archer hunting license allows a person to hunt only with a bow and arrow and not with a crossbow unless the person is disabled and holds a permit from DNR that authorizes the use of a crossbow or unless the person is at least 65 years old.  This substitute amendment eliminates the age and disability requirements for using a crossbow.  Instead, the substitute amendment establishes a new resident crossbow hunting license and a new nonresident crossbow hunting license.

The crossbow hunting licenses established in this substitute amendment allow a license holder to use a crossbow to hunt the same game animals that may be hunted under current law with an archer hunting license.  The substitute amendment also allows the holder of an archer hunting license to obtain a crossbow hunting license at a substantially reduced fee and allows the holder of a crossbow hunting license to obtain an archer hunting license at a substantially reduced fee.  As with other hunting licenses under current law, a person may not obtain a crossbow hunting license unless the person completes a course of instruction in hunter education or bow hunter education.
Current law provides that if DNR establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, DNR may not open that season for hunting with a crossbow unless the hunter is at least 65 years old or is disabled and holds a permit from DNR.  This substitute amendment provides that if DNR establishes an open season for hunting any of those animals with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, DNR must also establish a concurrent open season that allows a person to hunt the respective animal with a crossbow regardless of the age of the hunter or whether the hunter has a disability.
The substitute amendment also provides that if DNR requires a person who kills an animal to register the animal with DNR, then DNR must make a record of the type of weapon that was used to kill the animal.

2013 Wisconsin Crossbow Bill – Upated May 30, 2013, June 6, 2013

by 25 Comments

Update – March 9, 2014 Wisconsin DNR Cancels Disabled Hunter Permits

Update September 18, 2013 Wisconsin Senate Passes Crossbow Bill

Update August 12, 2013 Wisconsin Senate schedules public hearing

Update June 6, 2013  Crossbow bill passes Assembly

Updated May 30, 2013

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 194, and Senate Bill 185 if passed in both houses and signed by the Governor would make it legal for anyone who has taken hunter education or bowhunter education to deer hunt with a crossbow or xbow as they are sometimes called.

Not all crossbows have cables and pulleys. A recurve crossbow is more challenging to hunt with than a modern compound bow.

Not all crossbows have cables and pulleys. A recurve crossbow is more challenging to hunt with than a modern compound bow.

Education is probably a good idea since many believe the myth that a crossbow is an all powerful weapon capable of shooting vast distances with very little marksmanship practice. (this is the argument made by those who oppose crossbows)

The bill would:

  •  Eliminate the requirement a hunter be over 65 or disabled in order to use a crossbow.
  • Require a separate crossbow license but only allow one buck to be taken with a hunter’s choice of archery equipment.  This license would allow the taking of all species as is currently the case with the archer’s license.  For $2.25 more the license could also allow a bowhunter to use a longbow, recurve, modern compound or crossbow; making it a “bowhunter’s choice” license.
  • Hunters who choose the crossbow would be allowed to hunt during Wisconsin’s regular bow season from mid September thru the first week of January.

Sponsors of AB 194 are Representatives Czaja, Danou, A. Ott, August, Ballweg, Bewley, Born, Brooks, Endsley, Hesselbein, Jacque, Jagler, Kleefisch, Kuglitsch, T. Larson, Milroy, Murphy, Mursau, Murtha, Petryk, Smith, Spiros, Strachota, Swearingen, Tittl, Tranel, Vruwink and Wright. It was also cosponsored by Senators Farrow, L. Taylor, Lassa, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany and Lehman.

Crossbows kill with arrows making them no different than any other archery equipment.

Crossbows kill with arrows making them no different than any other archery equipment.

Before anyone gets too excited about using a crossbow in 2013 be aware that as of this writing there is no Senate version of AB194 and this point is crucial.  On a variety of issues in the past if there is no bill in both houses and only one passes a bill without a companion bill in the other house; in the end nothing happens and the process must start all over again in the next legislative session.  So if you want this passed into law and effective for the fall of 2013 make sure you contact your state senator to get a senate version introduced.

 

Update 5/30/13  Senate Bill 185      fiscal estimate from WDNR

SB185 opens any archery season to crossbows- Section 1.  29.014 (1m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB185,2,62 29.014 (1m) (b)  If the department establishes an open season for hunting deer, elk, small game, wild turkey, or bear with a bow and arrow but not with a firearm, the department shall also open that season for hunting with a crossbow.
Introduced by Senators Farrow, L. Taylor, Lassa, Petrowski, Schultz, Tiffany, Lehman, Olsen and Hansen, cosponsored by
Representatives Czaja, Danou, A. Ott, August, Ballweg, Bewley, Born, Brooks, Endsley, Hesselbein, Jacque, Jagler, Kleefisch, Kuglitsch, T. Larson, Milroy, Murphy, Mursau, Murtha, Petryk, Smith, Spiros, Strachota, Swearingen, Tittl, Tranel, Vruwink, Wright and Tauchen.

 

Do Deer Eat Aquatic Plants?

by Leave a Comment

The short answer is yes.

Deer feed on many things including aquatic plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are plants the deer were eating.

The seemed to be eating the broad-leaf plant pictured here. As I observed them feeding there were times when the does would submerge their noses and come up chewing a lot of plant material. Leaving the impression they may have been consuming all the plant material.

It is easier to list the things deer do not eat than to list the things they do eat.  On a couple of occasions I’ve witnessed deer eating dead fish. In one case a deer caught a stranded 6-8″ sucker chewing it from head to the tail much the same as they would chew an ear of corn.

 

 

These deer stayed and fed on water plants for a long time.