bow hunting in the uk

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stone

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hi all
just a quick question
today i was asked about bow hunting in this country
i thought it was illegal ,
can any one shed some light on this at all for me
many thanks
stone
 
Yes, I understood that it was illegal as well. I don't think that you can hunt anything live with a bow in the UK.

As far as being humane, as with rifles, I think that it is as humane as the person with the bow in their hands. Done right at short distance and it can be as humane as a rifle. What worries me is that I have seen videos of bow hunts where the deer has already started bolting before the arrow has reached it. They can obviously hear the shot being taken. If you then have to predict which way they are likely to bolt and try to compensate with the shot, then the humane side of things becomes extremely questionable.
I will add that my only experience of hunting with a bow has been through videos that I have watched so I am an armchair expert! :lol:
 
It is illegal in the UK. I have a number of inquiries every year from the States about Bow Hunting in the UK. The Americans cant understand why we do not allow it.

Modern Bows are pieces of engineering in their own right, and in experianced hands are a deadly weapon. However you also get the real purists who only shoot wooden bows (you know green tights and green pointed shoes) brigade :lol:

They even allow bow hunting in Africa, and on big game like Leopard, Lion and even Buff and Elephant. They must be nuts :eek:
 
thanks lads
i hav actualy found a site which shows a map of europe ,which shows you which countrys it is legal and illegal to bow hunt in
the uk is one that is illegal and has been since 1963 but can't find any data as to why it was banned
but with this,
i now can pass on this info
many thanks
stone
 
There is talk of making bow hunting legal here in Sweden. It will be restricted to small game, roe, hares etc. It is as i understand legal in Denmark on small game.
I having never tried bow hunting or want to. But i have read about bow hunting and have an open mind about it.
 
stone said:
thanks lads
i hav actualy found a site which shows a map of europe ,which shows you which countrys it is legal and illegal to bow hunt in
the uk is one that is illegal and has been since 1963 but can't find any data as to why it was banned
but with this,
i now can pass on this info
many thanks
stone

My son is into field target archery and has shot at national level, I have witnessed small game being taken abroad by the ex UK national junior champion and I am undecided as to whether it should be legal in the UK.

I think that the legislation which was brought in to stop people shooting animals with crossbows, by accident stop people taking animals with a bow, I could be wrong but that was what I was told.

Best rgds

Tahr
 
Tahr,
Why would the legislation be more directed at crossbows and not bows. I assumed that a crossbow would be more humane than a bow.
Now that I think about it, I have never seen an American hunt with a crossbow but have never thought about why they don't.
Do crossbows not provide as much punch as a compound bow?
 
I think that we should use the best and most modern tools to do the job, the rifle. Before bows men used to drive deer into pit falls or deer hayes and slaughter them with stone axes. We have moved on from those methods, we should move on from bows to.
I try very hard to kill deer quickly and humanely, sometimes that takes longer than I would wish. It shouldn't be about our vainty or sporting preference it should be about dispatching the unfortunate beast with the least amount of pain and in the shortest amount of time possible IMHO.
 
Using a bow accurately - and as a result humanely - takes considerable practice and skill. Plus you don't need an FAC for one. Put those two facts together and the result would be disastrous for deer in the UK. I think we're better off as the law stands.
 
Hi Guys

I to thought it was illegal to use a bow in the uk. I also thought you wearnt allowed to have broad head arrows, which is why all the crossbow bolt's and arrows, I have seen have blunt'ish heads

Joe


Have a friend who went out to hunt deer in the states with his bow and ended up being stalked him self by a cougar I will try to get him to Email the story so i can post it
 
We used to hunt with bows and arrows when we were kids many years ago and it was great fun, also had a crossbow I built which was an awesome peice of kit, many bunnies and small game fell to it and my bows.
I don't think I would hunt deer with one, though our ancestors who used long bows were deadly soldiers and hunters so mybe I would but as Malc says those pratts who shoot dangerous game are bonkers :rolleyes:
 
I have had a go at hunting whitetail with a cross bow in Canada. In the whole of North America the demand for bow hunting and all the kit that goes with it is huge. Its a multi billion pound a year industry!! They have very short firearm seasons, typically two weeks per year, but bow season tends to be about three months. I have seen videos of hunters taking big game with the cross bow including elaphant and hippo!! Bear in mind any ethical hunter would only take a shot at 30 yards or less and you can imagine the adrenalin rush and the field craft required to get so close to your quarry. On the humane side a well placed arrow through the lung area kills on blood loss and collapse of the lungs. The animal basically drowns in its own blood. I had a conversation with a Canadian bow hunter who told me that he shot a whitetail buck with his cross bow, the deer ran from the field, turned , came back into the field and started feeding again, then simply fell over dead. There are many deer, elk, moose and bears taken with bows and crossbows in north america every year. Is it ethical? They seem to think so. The crossbows are fitted with a telescopic site which helps acuracy, most times the arrow will punch straight through the animal. They use expanding broad heads which leave a good blood trail. I didnt manage to get close enough with the bow to take a shot, but have taken two whitetails with the muzzleloader. They are very challenging to hunt. Interestingly in Cananda they are not allowed to hunt at night so my friends over there think its strange that we dont allow bow hunting hear but can shoot vermin under the lamp!!
 
I have a number of DVDs that show bow hunts in the USA for animals from the size of boar all the way up to grizzlies and moose. I have to say from the start that the hunters were very accurate with shot placement which may not always be the case and only one arrow was ever needed.

My impression is that the animal sometimes does not appreciate that it is in any danger when shot as it reacts as if stung by an insect. In one sequence of a grizzly bear being shot it spun around as if looking for a wasp but then sat down again after the shot and then quietly expired on the spot.

Death is a little longer in coming than with some rifle shots as it relies on haemorrhage but there is no bang and no disturbance to other animals.

It also requires greater stalking skills as the shot is taken well inside 50 yards in most cases.

Purely as an armchair observer its probably not for me but I saw nothing that would suggest that it was any less humane than shooting with a rifle but a poor non fatal shot would be at least as damaging as a badly placed bullet from a rifle.
 
bow hunting in UK

Like most,I have seen the experts on video etc: shooting all manner of game with a variety of bows. I too shoot animals with a rifle and shotgun so cannot point the finger at others who do the same with other weapons. However, there are a couple of differences with bows. Firstly the target creature will hear the sound of the bow before the arrow or bolt strikes so can move slightly before the hit. Agreed, if the hunter is a expert as the videos show then a single shot will do the trick, but not all hunters are first class shots. With a rifle a follow up shot is almost instantly available with a bow it isnt. So in the case of a poor shot the creature will probably be off into the distance carrying the arrow or bolt with it. probably not ideal
 
You can see stacks of bow hunting on youtube I personally did not like it, it's not for me.
Have a look and judge for yourself

Everything I saw, ran off with an arrow in it.
 
I had a go with a bow last time I was in Canada (only into a bale I hasten to add), they are scary things. The broadhead arrows leave an immense wound channel and can kill very efficiently and the skill in placing the shot well is undoubted, but...I think in the UK they would be a disaster both on a PR level and a sporting/welfare level. It would only take a few photos of misplaced shots in the Guardian to tar all stalkers with the same brush.
 
i would like to thank everyone for thier veiws and help on this subject , i spoke to my mate today gave him the info he needed
many thanks
stone
 
Bow hunting.

A bow in a skilled presons hands is just as deadly as any rifle, britains have a long history of bow hunting and to have that history removed by hippies is a bit unfortunate. A bow may not be deadly at 200 yards, but that is the appeal of the bow hunt; It is a far more personal and sometimes difficult method of hunting small and medium game to stalk and get within 50 yards of an animal, to smell it and look it in the eye is what we are after, I am a big rifle hunter, but I am also a big bow hunter they are two very different experiences and should not be compared.
 
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