Hunter Happy For New Archery Law
You cannot convince Ember Killion the approval of the crossbow as an official archery weapon by the Department of Conservation was not a good decision.
“I’m so happy for the change,” said a jubilant Killion. “I probably wouldn’t have got my buck if the code had not changed.” The somewhat-controversial decision made its debut Sept. 15 this archery season. Some applaud the decision. Others dispute its approval.
“I always wanted to hunt with a bow, but never could pull it back far enough to hold it back,” she said. But when her dad, Jimmy, heard about the crossbow change, he thought it might be a solution for Ember’s desire to become an archery hunter. She got her crossbow on a Monday, then practiced shooting it. Right away, she knew this was the answer she was looking for. The next day, with additional practice and a slight sight adjustment, her confidence was high. She made the decision she could get an ethical shot almost every time. “I knew could do it,” she stated.
On her first-ever archery hunt, sitting in separate tree stands 50 yards apart, at sunrise, Killion and her father watched and listened in hopes of seeing a deer.
“We saw and heard nothing but a squirrel,” Ember reported. At approximately 8:15 Oct. 3, all that changed.
Simultaneously, she heard something and her dad’s whistle to get her attention. A buck appeared and stopped at 20 yards. Carefully she readied herself, and in an instant her crossbow released an arrow (called a bolt when fired from a crossbow) exactly where she was aiming. The shot resulted in a fatal hit. The deer advanced only a short distance as she watched it fall.
“I immediately got way excited; I was shaking and shaking. I could hardly believe my good luck,” she said, recounting her excitement. She and her dad waited only a couple minutes before climbing down from their stands to go take a look.
They approached the 8-point buck and celebrated.
“I was so happy, I never felt this way before. I got a doe and a couple smaller bucks with a rifle, but nothing like this.
“This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done,” declared Killion.
A friend measured the buck’s rack at just over 132 total inches of bone.
Opponents of the change may argue allowing crossbows will increase the number of deer killed before firearm season, thus less opportunities with a rifle or handgun. Others declare crossbows are not actually a bow because you do not “draw” in the presence of game. Or perhaps some die-hard archers’ argument is justifiable against crossbows in historic terms because great efforts were made to have a season approved, but they do not wish to share their spoils.
Those in favor say that because a crossbow is easier to hunt with, it may increase the number of hunters each year. And because it is easier to be successful, it will retain the number of hunters in Missouri, thus benefiting many businesses and increase state revenue. Perhaps the biggest reason to have crossbows as an approved method of hunting during archery season is because it may get more women and youth involved. For example, Ember Killion.
“I’m glad they (Missouri Department of Conservation) changed it. I may not have got to shoot my deer if they didn’t,” she said. It is also noted, but not confirmed, that Ember may be the first female archer to harvest a deer with a crossbow in McDonald County.
While some people say allowing crossbow hunting in bow season is a mistake, Ember Killion shows why it was a good decision.