I've already emailed Beleg with some of this.
I agree that we need to see the cartoon and the context before we reply.
If, however, it is as stated then we need to send a strong reply.
The onus for this type of action is not only on the cartoon drawer, but also the editorial staff who would accept such a cartoon.
The cartoon is not justifiable, unless one bases it on some very poorly done studies from 20 or so years ago which said that bowhunters had wounding losses of around 50%. Those studies have been highly criticized and were shown to be invalid. Unfortunately some still believe them. The Camp Ripley study which was reported in Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine amongst other places showed a wounding loss rate for bowhunting which is comparable to that of rifle hunters.
Unfortunately I feel that there is a segment of the rifle hunting community which has always been jealous of the fact that bowhunters get to hunt first. I don't necessarily feel that this is a large part of the group, but I do feel that it exists. What is really offensive to me is that a magazine which supposedly serves all hunters would play into this bias.
LostHawg, Jerry Johnston when he was head of TTHA once suggested that rifle season be moved back to Oct 1. Needless to say he caught some flak from the archers over this. He did apologize and say that he didn't even think of the special archery season when he made the proposal, but this gives yous ome idea of his personal biases.
Please note, I am not trying to start a war with rifle hunters, nor with TTHA. I agree with Birddog that such only hurts hunting's future in general. On the other hand, I do think that bowhunters have to stand up when we are being slandered.
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