The 2009–2010 deer season witnessed the introduction of crossbows for all hunters during every season when a bow is a legal hunting sporting arm. Prior to this season, hunting with a crossbow was limited to individuals with certain physical limitations.
The New Jersey Fish and Game Council adopted the use of crossbows for hunters of all abilities after weighing constituent requests, crossbow harvest data from other states and the results of a survey conducted by New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife entitled An Assessment of New Jersey Resident Hunter Opinion on Crossbow Use.
The survey shows that the majority of New Jersey hunters support the use of crossbows by hunters of all ages in each existing bow season. Data from other states showed the ballistics and success rate of crossbows was comparable to those of compound bows. See survey results.
An analysis of harvest data from the 2009-2010 deer hunting seasons shows that crossbows accounted for 21.3 percent of the total Fall Bow Season harvest, 27.6 percent of the total Permit Bow Season harvest, and 29.6 percent of the total Winter Bow Season harvest. Overall, crossbows were used to harvest 23.9 percent of the deer during all three bow seasons.
By comparison, compound bows took 76.6 percent of the total Fall Bow Season harvest, 69.9 percent of the total Permit Bow Season harvest, and 64.7 percent of the total Winter Bow Season harvest. Primitive bows (long bows and recurves) took 1.2 percent of the total Fall Bow Season harvest, 1.3 percent of the total Permit Bow Season, and 2.6 percent of the total Winter Bow Season.
Harvest Numbers for the 2009-2010 Bow Seasons by Type of Bow
|
Total Season Harvests |
|||
|
Fall Bow |
Permit Bow |
Winter Bow |
|
|
Compound |
10842 |
4782 |
1342 |
|
Crossbow |
3019 |
1893 |
608 |
|
Primitive |
165 |
91 |
54 |
|
Antlered Season Harvests |
|||
|
Compound |
2940 |
2354 |
241 |
|
Crossbow |
912 |
943 |
99 |
|
Primitive |
36 |
42 |
14 |
|
Antlerless Season Harvests |
|||
|
Compound |
7902 |
2428 |
1101 |
|
Crossbow |
2107 |
950 |
509 |
|
Primitive |
129 |
49 |
40 |
Additionally, for the first time, deer could be harvested during the Six-day Firearm Season with archery equipment in the 2009–2010 season. Shotguns were used for the largest portion of the Six-day harvest with 95.4 percent, muzzleloaders took 1.6 percent, compound bows took 0.5 percent, crossbows took 0.2 percent, and primitive bows took 0.1 percent.
Six-Day Deer Season Harvest by Type of Sporting Arm
|
Six-day Firearm |
|
|
Total Harvest |
8,015 |
|
Unknown |
185 |
|
Shotgun |
7,644 |
|
Muzzleloader |
126 |
|
Compound Bow |
39 |
|
Crossbow |
15 |
|
Primitive Bow |
5 |
While harvest numbers show the number of successful hunters using any type of sporting arm, this data does not confirm participation rates during non-permit seasons. Therefore the White-tailed Deer Research Project is conducting the 2010 Bowhunter Survey. The random, statewide survey will tell us how many hunters participated in new programs like Sunday bow hunting; how many hunters utilize crossbows, compounds or primitive bows; and how many hunters may have returned to the sport or started hunting because of the legalization of crossbows. These data will allow Fish and Wildlife to estimate success rates for the different types of bows. The Bowhunter Survey results will be published in next year’s hunting Digest.
