Newsflash

North American hunters harvest over one point one million deer with bow and arrow

A record total of 1,101,561 whitetails, blacktails and mule deer were reported harvested during the 2009 archery season.  This was 62,962 more deer than the previous year!  The total number of deer harvested by bow hunters in North America has increased every year since 2008.  Compared to 10 years ago the harvest has increased by 20 percent.  Michigan bow hunters had the highest numbers down at 126,000 deer.  This was followed by Ohio (91,546), Wisconsin (87,241), Pennsylvania (73,440) and Illinois (64,858).

The archery success rate across North America also increased to a record of 24.6 percent of the licenses sold. Mississippi bow hunters lead the archery success rate with a remarkable 75 percent of the hunters harvesting a deer. Following are Kansas (50 percent), Texas (49 percent), Georgia (47 percent) and Nebraska (44 percent).  Only 10 years ago, the overall archery success rate was 14.6 percent.  Obviously, bow hunters are becoming much more efficient. 

Overall, 16.1 percent of the total deer harvest was bagged by bow hunters. Nowadays, 3,205,110 bow hunters are used as a significant management tool for most wildlife agencies in the US.

 

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Welcome to EBF

The European Bowhunting Federation (EBF)  promotes high ethical standards in a form of hunting that is tens of thousands of years old.

Our mission is to inform the public and to provide a base of knowledge for guiding governmental or non-governmental organizations toward effectiveimplementation of the art of hunting with the bow and arrow.

To achieve this end, we strive to communicate the value of bowhunting as a tool for sustainable game management and improving ecological conditions and awareness. EBF also supports the acquisition of practical skills and understanding by educating individual hunters through internationally acclaimed courses specifically created for the needs of modern bowhunters.

  

Bowhunting and why ? 

 

When choosing the bow and arrow as a hunting weapon, the bowhunter makes a conscious decision to forget many of the advantages modern technology offers in the area of equipment.

As a consequence, the bowhunter needs to develop the skills necessary to approach and hunt the quarry at ranges much closer than the animal's normal reaction/escape distance.

 

Further, the bowhunter needs to select, maintain and become proficient with equipment appropriate to the game hunted. Bowhunters are committed and ethical outdoor enthusiasts. 

They have chosen a deeper natural experience that requires more time to harvest the quarry, much like the angler who chooses fly casting and the challenges it brings. Challenge is the major reason for bowhunting. "A challenging way to hunt" or "requires more skill" consistently top the list of reasons why people take up bowhunting.

 

The majority of bowhunters have hunted with firearms prior to taking up bowhunting. In the U.S., the second most cited reason is that bowhunting expands the opportunity to hunt because of longer seasons (bowhunting seasons are generally twice as long as gun seasons), earlier seasons and more liberal bag limits.

 

Bow seasons are the least crowded hunting periods, and because bows are quiet, one doesn't sense the presence of competition, even when the woods are full of other archers. Bowhunting, as a silent, invisible and safe method, can be pursued in areas that are in close proximity to development, thus closer to home.

 

Bowhunters may also find it easier to gain permission to hunt on private land due to the relative safety and unobtrusiveness of the sport With a bow one can shoot all year round. In winter, clubs or shops hold indoor shoots, in spring and summer, 3-D tournaments and field shoots are regular attractions. One can also practice just about anywhere, including the backyard or even in the basement It's captivating to watch an arrow speeding to the target. 

The energy an arrow possesses is actually generated by the archer's own body. Thus, a bowhunter captures the quarry with his/her own hands. Archery is a hands-on sport. One can make arrows, sharpen broadheads, make bowstrings, tune bows and even fabricate a bow oneself Archery and bowhunting has a rich history, extending back further than 25,000 years. For some, bowhunting is a tradition, a life style.