Bow hunting UK.

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Amjharris

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Why is bow hunting illegal in the UK? I can understand why people might have a problem with it for deer but why can't you hunt small game with one. I know my 70lb compound bow has a hell of a lot more power than a 12 ft lb air rifle. I've seen plenty of rabbit run after being shot badly with a air rifle but I don't see that happening with a arrow from a 45lb plus bow especially if using blunts. Maybe I'm in the minority but I would really like to see it be made legal to use a bow for small game in the UK.
 
people dont like it and get very excited, they also have to tell you how wrong you are for thinking its even maybe a good idea. i dont see the issue with it really, nothing in life is perfect especially when it comes to killing animals. i would however be suprised if the law ever changed in favour of it
 
People get their knickers in a twist about it. Largely due to ignorance about the effectiveness of archery as a means of killing.

Since using a bow to kill a deer in the UK is unequivocally illegal I do understand why site admins can quickly take a dim view of such discussions, but I would urge anyone who things a bow is in-humane to read through some of Ed Ashby’s studies on the subject:

 
people dont like it and get very excited, they also have to tell you how wrong you are for thinking its even maybe a good idea. i dont see the issue with it really, nothing in life is perfect especially when it comes to killing animals. i would however be suprised if the law ever changed in favour of it
This ^^, as a sometime bow hunter (abroad); dead is dead, the sport is in the stalk, not the squeezing of the trigger nor the loosing of the arrow. It's the about the Injun, not the arrow. Still, an ecumenical matter, so...
 
The way I see it is a bow can be just as effective as a rifle at killing humanly the difference is you can learn to shoot a rifle well in a afternoon whereas it takes many month or even years to learn to shoot a bow to the level needed to kill a animal quickly. It all comes down to the hunter and their ability to know when a shot is good or when to just leave and come home empty handed.
 
The problems are two fold.
1) we live in a land of eejits and there’s already been a death in Cardiff when a guy was shot with a crossbow. I know they’re not the same but to the uninitiated they are one and the same.
2) how would the government license such a weapon and put the laws into place?

It’s bad enough trying to unite the shooting fraternity to rally against additional shooting laws i.e. the hand gun ban or the Air Weapons License in Scotland.
So how many supporters would it take to make bow hunting legal.
Unfortunately there ain’t enough for anybody in law to care about.
Personally I’ve never stalked with one and I’d like to try but I doubt it will happen here.
 
there are 3 things about bowhunting you need to know.
1, some are pro bowhunting
2, some are anti bowhunting.
3, previous attempts to discuss the above have never ended well on here.

time will tell.
for the record , I own a bow.
 
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The way I see it is a bow can be just as effective as a rifle at killing humanly the difference is you can learn to shoot a rifle well in a afternoon whereas it takes many month or even years to learn to shoot a bow to the level needed to kill a animal quickly. It all comes down to the hunter and their ability to know when a shot is good or when to just leave and come home empty handed.
I agree. I have been practicing with bows for the last 2 years. I bought my latest upgraded compound about 8 months ago. far more practice needed with the bow than rifle. I can now put 3 arrows in a 4 inch circle so I now feel that I can confidently hunt with it. Off to Namibia in 2021 having hunted Africa 5 times with a rifle I am just as excited as the first time I hunted there.
I have watched hundreds of videos of bow hunting and from what I see most animals die very quickly.
Tusker
 
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