This year during archery hunting season in Illinois, it's now legal to use crossbows.

The rules are changing for bowhunters this season.

Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, signed the bill into the new law.

From the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at dnr.illinois.gov,

"Hunters in Illinois may use crossbows during archery hunting seasons, including the Illinois Archery Deer Season and the Illinois Fall Turkey Archery Season beginning on Oct. 1." 

"Illinois law previously allowed the use of crossbows for archery hunting by persons age 62 or older, and those persons with disabilities who qualified for a crossbow permit issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).  In addition, the previous law allowed certain youth hunters to use crossbows." 

In the hunting world, the new law is controversial. If you go to the IDNR Facebook page, the comments are exploding.

This is a game changer for Illinois archery hunting season and it might not be for the good.

Bowhunting takes a lot more skill than shooting a crossbow, so how will this affect the overall season. Will it bring out more amateurs? Are there safety concerns? What kind of decline will we see in the population?

It will be an interesting subject to research after the season is over.

What do you think?


 

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