These days the parking lot at Gauthier's Archery is pretty full. Owner Jim Gauthier explains "definitely in the past few days the fever has picked up. Now the guys are coming out of the woodwork that had been looking or just giving it a thought." For just about any business in Northern Michigan, having customers lining up to buy stuff these days is really good news and a welcome relief. In fact Gauthier says "this has really been a God send for us."
Now it might not seem that out of ordinary to have sales go up at an archery store when deer hunting season is just around the corner. But this year the boost in the bottom line is coming from an unexpected source. According to Gauthier "We have had a definite drop in regular bow sales this year, this has filled that void of hunter that we didn't see before or they got to the point when they couldn't hunt so this has been a welcome relief for our shop and all the shops selling crossbows in the area."
That's right, traditional bows are not selling so hot. But crossbows are flying off the racks. "I have sold lets just say close to 10 times what I sold last year," according to Gauthier.
So why are more customers coming in to buy a new crossbow? Turns out it's because more of them can carry one in the woods come opening day. Michigan has allowed crossbows for years, but in the past you had to be about 80% disabled, a hand or an arm missing, a doctor and a therapist order to get a crossbow permit. But this year, the Natural Resource Commission and the DNR announced a change in the rules, due to what they say is an abundance of deer, especially in the southern counties. Gauthier explains "to qualify in Michigan in our area you have to be 50 years old and we can hunt the first full season with the bow and in the lower area zone 3 of Southern Michigan, 12 and older can use a crossbow."
So in our viewing area, if you are 50 years old, you no longer need to have a physical disability to hunt, but an awful lot of the people buying these days do feel some physical limitations. Gauthier says when it comes to his customers "it's very surprising. A lot of the hunters who were mainly bow hunters whose shoulders were giving out in their 50's and now they have interest again because now they can get back into the woods and hunt like they used to hunt and enjoy the woods like they used to enjoy the woods."
A lot of viewers had a lot of questions about the impact of the crossbow changes. Some wondered if due to the technology of the new crossbows, harvest numbers during archery season will skyrocket, but that hasn't been the case in other states that made the switch. Ohio allowed crossbows back in 1976. Since then crossbow hunters have a success rate about 3 % higher than traditional bow hunters. Although some crossbows have an awful lot in common with firearms, (triggers, and telescopic sights) their effective range is often over exaggerated. According to Gauthier "the effective range of a crossbow is 20 to 35 yards and after that they drop like a rock. You can extend your range with a crossbow by about 10 yards over a bow hunter."
So the biggest impact may not be on the number of deer harvested by bolts shot from crossbow. But with more hunters physically able to take part in another hunting season, the impact could be felt on a slew of businesses far more reaching than those that sell crossbows like Gauthier's. He says "it's huge not just the $15 license. Everything they buy from the time they go hunting to the time they come home from the hunting trip. Its huge impact on the state of Michigan."
So what do you think about the decision to allow crossbow hunting for more hunters in Michigan during the archery season? Good Idea? Bad Idea? If it means more hunters in the field do you support it? Do you think more animals will be harvested and what impact will that have on you?
Let me know, leave a comment below.
