By Chris Eger
Use of the crossbow or xbow as it is sometimes referred to by archers under 35, has long been the subject of rules and regulations.
Pope Innocent I outlawed the use of the crossbow in Europe in 1139, saying, "The deadly art, hated of God, of the crossbow, is not to be used against Christians and Catholics, on pain of excommunication."
Times change
In Mississippi, it has long been the standing policy of the MDWFP to allow crossbows to be legal for disabled hunters with a special permit as well as hunters 65 and older, to use during primitive weapon and deer gun seasons. The rule of thumb was that as long as they could not physically manipulate a standard longbow or compound bow, and could prove it with documentation from the VA or Social Security Administration, they were good to go for crossbows. Often the only avenue available to get their fought for crossbow was through mail order and internet catalogs as few local shops carried the 'specialty' items. Sporting goods shows and gun shows often only had toy crossbows that fired faux bolts or sucker-tipped plastic arrows.
Well, times have changed again
In 2009 full crossbow inclusion, to allow all properly licensed hunters to hunt with a crossbow everywhere in the state during regular seasons, failed to pass the state house. However, enough phone calls and letters from groups such as the Mississippi Crossbow Federation kept coming into Jackson to support the initiative.
On May 19, 2010, the five members of the MDWFP Commission voted to change the previous regulation to define crossbows as regular archery equipment and allow crossbows to be used by everyone in the early archery season on the 665,000 acres of the state's Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). While not as sweeping as the 2009 proposed legislation, it was an important step towards allowing xbow users to take game statewide. By 2010 a General Crossbow License was made available to any hunter, resident or non, to allow them to use a crossbow to take deer during the primitive weapon and gun season for deer.
The $12.29 General Crossbow permit is valid only during those two seasons, and to use it the hunter must also have their Sportsman (or All Game Hunting/Freshwater Fishing) and Archery/Primitive Weapon permits. For out of state hunters the permit is only $10 higher.
The Magnolia State has embraced the crossbow with open arms, as witnessed by the aisle after aisle of the devices on display at the Bass Pro Shop in Pearl. In fact, most sporting goods stores in the state that I have been through have at least a couple crossbow models on the shelf to compare. According to Wayne King of the Mississippi Crossbow Federation, more than 2300 Magnolia state crossbow permit holders currently take to the woods.
While some bowhunters see the crossbow as cheating, xbow aficionados counter that when compared to a hunter taking white tail with a scoped rifle firing match grade Nosler partitions at 300-yards, the crossbow is still downright primitive. This argument is used as well when comparing the crossbow with breech-loading single shot rifles that are legal to use alongside muzzleloaders during primitive weapon season.
"To call a crossbow a cheater's tool and a scoped composite stocked.45-70 a primitive weapon in the same state is confusing," said Robert Martin, a crossbow advocate from Gautier. Martin is a disabled hunter who is unable to use a compound bow anymore and is now hooked on crossbows.
When the state legislature resumes in 2012, the Mississippi Crossbow Federation will continue to push for legislation that may finally allow all Mississippians to hunt deer and turkey with a crossbow in all open seasons from October 1 through January 31.
If you are a interested in finding out more about Mississippi Crossbows then visit MS-Sportsman.com
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