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Hunters with permanent disabilities will find it simpler to attain a crossbow permit as the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) streamlined the application process and redefined eligibility requirements at its August meeting in Lansing.
The NRC adopted recommendations from its crossbow disability workgroup, which worked for four months to develop new permitting criteria. The workgroup was made up of representatives from the medical community, bow hunting interests, the Accessibility Advisory Council, general hunting interests, crossbow industry representatives and Department of Natural Resources personnel.
Under the new criteria, a physician can automatically certify a hunter as eligible for a crossbow permit if the hunter:
- has an amputation involving body extremities required for stable function to use conventional archery equipment, or,
- has a spinal cord injury resulting in permanent disability to the lower extremities, leaving the applicant permanently non-ambulatory, or
- has a permanent wheelchair restriction.
If none of the above criteria apply, physicians, physical therapist or occupational therapists can certify hunters who fail:
- a functional draw test that equals 35 pounds of resistance and involves holding it for four seconds, or
- a manual muscle test involving the grading of shoulder and elbow flexion and extension, or
- an impaired range-of-motion test involving the shoulder or elbow.
In addition, a physician can recommend a crossbow permit for other permanent disabilities, such as neuromuscular conditions. The new regulations go into effect immediately and a new simplified application form will be available on line Monday (Aug. 25) at michigan.gov/dnr.
Meanwhile, the NRC announced it will seek authority from the Legislature to issue crossbow permits for hunters with certain temporary disabilities. Currently, the NRC has authority to issue crossbow permits only to hunters with permanent disabilities.
A 35 pound draw weight bow is enought to kill a deer at typical bow hunting distances.I should have said a properly matched bow and arrow ,propper spine and weight,matched to bow weight ,will yield kinnetic energy in the propper range to kill deer at typical deer hunting range.It might not be macho to shoot a lighter bow but yields more accurate shots which results in less wounded deer!
A lifetime of pounding nails and a couple of falls followed by sugery on a shoulder made short work of my bowhunting career. I agree with Jim in that I strongly feel that more states should give their elder sportsman the oportunity to hunt with a crossbow. I for one would buy a license and join the ranks of tree sitters and story tellersand relinquish my job as camp cook to someone a lot cuter.After ten years of sitting on the bench I probebly couldnt hit much but I would like to try.Crossbows for 55 and up gets my vote!
If you are talking about a compound bow and not a crossbow, i have killed a deer with a 33 lb. bow once. Although i have to admit that i thought it was 50 and i was new enough to bow hunting to not realize that the lenght of draw also increased the weight. Even though the arrow did not fall out on the other side, it did pass through so that the broadhead was through. The point is i think it can be done. But i can see your argument. I think it should be 40 lbs. for young hunters. I was 13 when i killed that deer.
How many hunters do you know that use a 35 lb. draw bow???
You would have allot of wounded deer if you used that.!!!
Let’s be practical and up the requirements to at a least 45 lb draw.
It would be even better if you would up the requirements to a 50 lb pull.
You are loosing allot of bow hunters each year because of age and ability to use their bows. If you want to retain those hunters, you might want to consider allowing crossbows for those aged 55 and over.
You will create another whole market (income) with crossbow permits for the state of MI and your budget. You will see an influx of sportsmen (and women) coming into our state to enjoy hunting with crossbows. Crossbow dealers, stores, suppliers and manufacturers will benefit also. It is a ‘win-win’ situation for MI.
(maybe a dove season for MI would be considered also, to get the younger generation interested in shotgunning) This should teach them patients and acuracy.
I, myself hunt yet, and enjoy getting outdoors to see the beauty of MI. Hunting seasons give me an opportunity to do this. Through the years, I put allot of money into the state. (licenses, permits, equipment, firearms, bows, etc.) I, like so many others really don’t want to quit hunting, but our aging bodies and capabilities are putting a limit on what we can do now.
Please allow us to use crossbows so we can still get outdoors and enjoy the ‘thrill of the hunt’.
Please respond…………….
Sincerely,
An older hunter, fisherman, trapper and outdoorsman,
Jim