Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteMeat
For those that wonder why law abiding firearms citizens get super annoyed when more restrictions are placed on them: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-2...lunder/4031190
Just one of the failings at the border - yet the law abiding citizens get reamed even more...
GariJ, not trying to pick a fight here, but can you please let us know what you had to go through to get your bow - which, when you break it down - is considered a 'weapon' just like a firearm - and if not a weapon, please justify
Thx 
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Whitemeat I am more than happy to field any question that’s what makes this a healthy debate and an excellent thread. As I am sure you and most of the hunting community are aware I went through nothing to purchase the bow. I even had it shipped by Fed Ex and Australia post from overseas with its ammunition. In fact the only issue with its import was the wood it was made from lol.
I most certainly agree with you to a point, the bow is a weapon. And I mean that in the strictest sense of the word. By its design it was created to inflict damage. The point at which I disagree with you is the “considered a “weapon” just like a firearm” statement. There is a vast contrast between bows and guns and to a lesser extent bows and crossbows with respect to their lethality.
This is largely a function of projectile velocity I think the highest poundcrossbows fire a quarrel at about 600fps while big draw weight compound bows are around the 450fps mark. Some major league baseball players can pitch at 150fps that would be equivalent to say a 45lbs bow. The average bows used for deer are about 200 fps so you can see they really aren’t similar to guns in that respect. I think the average .308 rifle fires a round at about 2800fps so not really the same thing.
I also believe that’s bows are so culturally accepted and thus un regulated because they predate written history and have for the last 200 years been used solely for hunting.
When hunting deer I have to get within 10m to ensure a kill 15m to wound and chase. And this is hunting with an 80lbs recurve. With the 110lbs longbow I might be able to get the same animal from maybe 25-30m. What could you shoot the same deer at? 400-500m? So again the lethality is very different. Regarding rates of fire I reckon I could get off maybe three well aimed arrows at a 50m target in a minute. Maybe 8-10 with zero accuracy with either bow before my shoulder and arms are done for the next few minutes.
Anyone can pick up your rifle even a child and fire it increasing its lethality. If and child could draw either of my bows I would awe struck. I’m impressed when a full grown man can draw either of them.
Cross bows are regulated because they are concealable and store their energy in a similar way to a gun. Thus a gun and cross bow can be discharged unintentionally a bow obviously needs to be drawn and released by the user. This combined with its low lethality and cultural acceptance make them unrestricted in my opinion although I’m sure most of you will disagree.
Yes they are dangerous but by comparison they aren’t really in the same ball park.
Having said all that I do believe compound bows should have some form of regulation due to their increased lethality. And I also believe that cross bows should be regulated just like low powered firearms. But the last thing I want is to turn this into a guns vs bows debate. I’m more than happy for people to use guns for sport as long as it’s strictly regulated. I don’t because for me the health benefits of owning a firearm don’t out way the health risks.
its mostly for dirt roads and slightly rough tracks as most of my hunting and other pass times involve me walking etc
