[Hot4huntin]

This is my personal opinion only~

I believe in preserving and promoting bowhunting in Texas. Bowhunters before me fought hard to get a Special Archery Season. We've paid for the Special Season with an Archery Stamp since approximately 1974 and it is important that we preserve the tradition and pass on the heritage of bowhunting. I appreciate the efforts those bowhunters made and I believe that I owe it to them and future bowhunters to give back to the sport and to continue the rich heritage that they began. I don't believe that allowing other weapons to encroach on Archery Season benefits bowhunters or bowhunting.

Unfortunately, there will be some unskilled bowhunters that go into the field (just as there are gun hunters), but I don't think they will be in it for the long haul. One of the things that the LSBA does is promote Bowhunter Safety through the IBEP course. When a person becomes a member, they get a Bowhunters Education pamphlet to inform them about the course. Many of the EC members and others are dedicated IBEP Instructors who volunteer their time to teach bowhunting safety, responsibilty and ethics. Why? Because bowhunting and the safety of bowhunters is important to us!

With guns, muzzleloaders, crossbows, bows and knives already available with which to hunt, I seriously doubt that a large number of people will decide not to get into hunting because they cannot use a crossbow during archery season. However, if crossbows are allowed during archery season, I can see where some people will choose not to pick up a bow and that, my friend, will hurt bowhunting and its future. It is hard to pass on the heritage, if there is eventually no one to do it.