# Laser sigths for hunting......?



## Hardtop

Anyone have the reasoning why laser sights are still not legal to use while hunting wildlife in Ohio , but acceptable to use to shoot people..?


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## Fishingisfun

I think lasers has been prohibited for many years. The original reasons for not allowing them may be long forgotten. I will guess the reason to prohibit it may had been the fear that the then new technology of having a red dot on your target would make taking a deer too easy. I really do not believe it would make a great difference in hunting success. If we want to change the restriction then enough like minded people need to attend the game hearings and voice our opinions about the restriction.


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## Shortdrift

I agree that Laser sights should be outlawed for hunting as it takes the skill out of marksmanship which is and should remain a integral part of hunting.
If killing is that important, get a sharp hatchet and some chickens. I'll go a step farther and say that the newest aerosol bomb that deadens a deers nose to other scents has no place in a true hunters methods. Too many individuals in the field that feel compelled to kill a deer by any means and then call themselves a hunter.


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## MassillonBuckeye

Wonder if they'll ever legalize these? I guess if enough people make enough noise!

I'm really not equating the two, just brought this vid to mind. Crazy stuff!


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## Hardtop

Why would we not want to do all we can to improve shot placement........according to Shortdrift.........scopes and even iron sights should be illegal to as they do that very same thing ( improve accuracy over a bare barrelll....) and make deer hunting too easy.? Improving accuracy would "help" emiminate many wounded animals....


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## MassillonBuckeye

Hardtop said:


> Why would we not want to do all we can to improve shot placement........according to Shortdrift.........scopes and even iron sights should be illegal to as they do that very same thing ( improve accuracy over a bare barrelll....) and make deer hunting too easy.? Improving accuracy would "help" emiminate many wounded animals....


Should the gun I posted be allowed? Hold the trigger until you scope a deer then it fires. Zero skill involved. Well, you have to be able to put the crosshair on the target. You don't have to hold it there and squeeze the trigger though. You are already holding the trigger. Why even use a trigger at that point? 






You obviously have to draw the line at some point.


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## Hardtop

The "hunting" part of the equation still falls on us, to do the homework and get in the right spot at the right time, that will always be a challenge and keep the excitment in what we do.....anything we can do to make the "killing/harvest" portion quicker and more humane should be on the table, or..........we can continue to ignor sighting aids available today and keep gut shooting deer for the coyotes.......just sayin'


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## MassillonBuckeye

Hardtop said:


> The "hunting" part of the equation still falls on us, to do the homework and get in the right spot at the right time, that will always be a challenge and keep the excitment in what we do.....anything we can do to make the "killing/harvest" portion quicker and more humane should be on the table, or..........we can continue to ignor sighting aids available today and keep gut shooting deer for the coyotes.......just sayin'


And upping your effective range from a couple hundred yards to a thousand or more takes some of the "hunting" out of the equation as well right? As long as you maintain some sort of balance. Make it too easy and they shorten the seasons/bag limits etc. Puts the "hunter" in a position where he may NEED to use some implements to harvest anything in the allotted time. Of course, this is an extreme we're talking, but if everyone else is hunting with arial drones, what are the chanced you'll still be able to take one with your rickety ole smoke pole?


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## ostbucks98

i dont know why anyone would choose a laser pointer over sights or a scope. they suck to be honest. might be ok at night or cloudy days. no range on them. whats the benefit?
Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Hardtop

they sure seem to work on TV when the the cops use them...... I have played with one in the wooded back yard in the last couple hours of light when we kill most of our deer and they are definately visable, in tandem with a scope they could improve our shot/harvest ratio and eliminated many poor hits and the resulting suffering.


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## bobk

You want to eliminate the poor hits and suffering then take better shots. Lasers aren't the answer. Last thing needed in the woods is a tool that gives more false hope of hitting running deer.


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## Lundy

Laser sights would not reduce poor shots. The poor shots are in the hunters not the equipment we have available to us today.


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## Mr. A

I have a question for the people that want to use lasers. I am for the ability, just do not see them as practical in a hunting situation.

If you have a laser on your deer gun (I'll say a 12ga. Mossberg slugster to be middle of the road here) when do you want to use the laser as your aiming device?

Here is why I ask. The laser, properly mounted in line with the barrel will emit a beam straight out from its point of origin, right? Now factor in that a laser does not account for ballistics, specifically bullet drop. So what would the benefit be of the laser then? If used in combo with a scope you nullify any reason to have a laser, and at best have a red dot scope with crosshairs.

I understand why CCW holders have them on their hand guns since there wouldn't be any bullet drop if the gun is used in self defense.

Mr. A


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## Hardtop

Lundy........if they would have no effect on shot placement then why is DOW against them... and as for the bullet drop argument........if I have it sighted in for 50 yds and I know how far away the deer is, that gives me a pretty good idea where to hold again no different than a scope, just more reliable as the law enforcement guys tell us with their endorsment of them


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## sherman51

I really don't see anything wrong with using lazer sights. its just another sight. its still going to come down to the shooter being able to squeeze the trigger while keeping your sights on the target.

better shots falls on the hunter not the sights. it takes time on the range to become a better shot. no sight is really going to make anyone a better shot. learning to squeeze the trigger while holding the sight on the target is the only way to make a better shot.

if you are using a scope or lazer sights and move the gun when you pull the trigger then no sights are going to help make a better shot. if the shooter jerks the trigger then there going to make bad hits.

we just went and shot our muzzle loaders last week. my daughter n law wasn't even hitting the paper. so we didn't know where she was hitting. we got a bigger target and went back. she was shooting all over the place. so I started watching her shoot. she had hit her head with the scope when she had shot. so every time she shot she was moving her head just as she jerked the trigger. I started talking her through her shots. I would tell her you don't even want to know when the gun is going to fire. just keep the cross hairs on the target and just start squeezing the trigger. by me telling her what she was doing and watching her and telling her to squeeze the trigger while she was shooting, she started hitting around the bulls eye. so it didn't have anything to do with the sights she was using, it was all in the shooter. now she is shooting pretty good but what she really needs is more time on the range. lazer sights wouldn't help her make better shots. and I don't believe they will really help anybody shoot better.

it doesn't matter how good your gun shoots or how good your sights are if you cant keep that sight on your target while you take the shot then your going to make bad hits. so it all boils down to the shooter not the sights.
sherman


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## Mr. A

Hardtop said:


> Lundy........if they would have no effect on shot placement then why is DOW against them... and as for the bullet drop argument........if I have it sighted in for 50 yds and I know how far away the deer is, that gives me a pretty good idea where to hold again no different than a scope, just more reliable as the law enforcement guys tell us with their endorsment of them


I agree with what you are saying in principal but question the application.

For instance, if you're sighted in at 50 yards and the ballistics state the bullet will drop 2" at 100 yards with a 50yrd zero, you can just hold high 2" for a 100yard shot. The problem I see is that I don't know anyone that can look at the side of a deer, find their shot placement then hold 2"high from 100yrds away without also using a scope. Especially since the side of the deer does not have contrast like a target would. And again, if your using a scope why would the laser help? I'm not against them but was just wondering why?

The police will swear by them for a couple reasons that do not help the hunters argument. First police prefer a weapon that is accurate, easy to use. In most police situations police are in a highly volatile situation and cannot take time for proper aim through a scope or even iron sights because the threat may be eminent by the time they encounter it (similar to CCW holders). They can use a laser and hand eye coordination to make rapid well placed shots because of the closeness of the target. 

If a SWAT sniper is using one the reason changes some but still won't help the hunters. Snipers are likely using a high powered rifle, shooting relatively short distances compared to the rifles capabilities, and that red dot on your chest makes a very convincing deterrent (even if they don't know it isn't attached to a gun). They may be 100yards away but the bullet won't drop enough to matter at that short of a distance.

If a SWAT officer is shooting a high powered rifle at a long enough distance away that ballistics become important they aren't using a laser, they are using a scope and rest.

Again, I am not against lasers at all. I wouldn't use one, but would never knock someone for it. I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

Mr. A


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## ezbite

lets make lasers, compensators, semiautomatic rifles and spotlighting all legal in ohio. then the deer harvest will be up...

a laser isnt worth crap at 100 yards unless its cost you as much as your rifle,. why? because the dot is the size of a softball, if not much bigger. if you dont believe me, take one out after dark and see, id honestly be suprised if you can even see a laser at 100 yards thru the woods. its not the pinpoint bright red dot you see on tv. those little $80 sportsman guide things are junk. you'd be much better off with a clear, properly powered scope IMO.


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## Hardtop

EZ, good advice at 100yds......but most of Ohio's deer are killed inside 50, and for us archery/crossbow guys that distance comes in to 30yds. Laser dots are the size of a dime there, and very bright at "deer 30" in the woods, try it if you have not, they would work really well.......None of us know if this would improve our shot placement because they are illegal for the time being, just like Sunday hunting, and two way radios were until some of us walked the walk a few years back and got those two changed. I fought Mike Budzik for several years before he quit and the radios were finally accepted, he and the boys cried that there wouldn't be any deer left in the state if radios were permitted...........guess they were wrong then too. 
Wildlife Law is not set in stone, we as hunters can ( and do as these two changes show) make the sport better if we team together and speak up. Each new change/innovation is percieved as the end to the deer heard by skeptics, but as we have seen, the new aids only make us better at what we do. This might just be another step in that direction, why on earth would anyone oppose a device that improves shot placement for some hunters........why do some of you take the "that ain't fair" approach if it could eliminate even a % of gut shot deer...? HT


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## Fishingisfun

Technology changes, if we look back at early fish finders aka flashers they did not tell much to the users, I'm sure many thought it would make fishing too easy. Now we have down imagining and side imagining with built in maps with GPS overlays for those that spend the money for the latest and greatest technology. Many gladly use the latest fishing technology and will jump right in and buy it to increase their catch rate. I'm not saying not to use helps where they are available. 
I believe the DOW likely reacted to the early reaction to the projected laser sight was due to those that attended the game hearings. I do believe that lasers would not alter the harvest or make long shots possible. There is still ballistics that limits the shooting distance where the laser is no longer effective. Range finders enable more accurate shot a great distances and they are legal and encouraged by many because it is believed they enable more clean harvests. Maybe they encourage long shots where the ethical effective range of a slug is passed. 
I have hunted with bows without sights and know that the effective range is limited. I have used compounds with sights that is nothing like traditional archery. In early archery they were seen as unsporting and likely to ruin the then new archery deer season. The anti crossbow hunting sentiment was because the belief that they would be shooting like a rifle because it has a stock. Now they are in the field and no one give it a second thought. Most of us use scopes and red dot sights and think nothing off it. Older eyes need some assistance to remain in the field. If it was a advantage to use laser sights I'm sure combat troops would use them during day light hours. It seems to be the reason for use may be low light shooting for daytime the point sight may be more effective.


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## buckeyebowman

Hardtop said:


> EZ, good advice at 100yds......but most of Ohio's deer are killed inside 50, and for us archery/crossbow guys that distance comes in to 30yds. Laser dots are the size of a dime there, and very bright at "deer 30" in the woods, try it if you have not, they would work really well.......None of us know if this would improve our shot placement because they are illegal for the time being, just like Sunday hunting, and two way radios were until some of us walked the walk a few years back and got those two changed. I fought Mike Budzik for several years before he quit and the radios were finally accepted, he and the boys cried that there wouldn't be any deer left in the state if radios were permitted...........guess they were wrong then too.
> Wildlife Law is not set in stone, we as hunters can ( and do as these two changes show) make the sport better if we team together and speak up. Each new change/innovation is percieved as the end to the deer heard by skeptics, but as we have seen, the new aids only make us better at what we do. This might just be another step in that direction, why on earth would anyone oppose a device that improves shot placement for some hunters........why do some of you take the "that ain't fair" approach if it could eliminate even a % of gut shot deer...? HT


You make some good points. As a bowhunter, primarily, I can well remember how many years that mechanical releases were illegal in Ohio. The powers that be, or were, felt that they would make bowhunters too accurate, that it would improve our shot placement and result in "too many" dead deer! HUH!? 

Back in the day, I was a real good bow shot using a glove and shooting with fingers. But, every once in a while I'd cut loose a clunker. The release felt the same, but the arrow flight was just awful and way off target. Which method, manual or mechanical release, impacts the deer herd more? Manual, with some poorly shot deer who die unrecovered, or mechanical, with well placed shots resulting in a recovered deer and a tag being filled. 

Don't get me wrong, archers using mechanical releases can still make bad shots, as can hunters using the latest high tech muzzleloaders, or rifled barrel shotguns! Or laser sights, for that matter. All we're trying to do is give ourselves every opportunity to make a good, quick, clean, killing shot. However, with a human at the controls, human error enters the equation. But, I can tell you this, when I switched from fingers to a wrist strap mechanical release, my 3D scores jumped up about 20 points. Then, when I switched from the wrist strap style to a "T" handle release, my scores jumped up again another 15 points! Admittedly shooting at a 3D target isn't like shooting at a live deer. But I think that trying to eliminate uncertainty and error is a worthwhile endeavor.


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## jonnythfisherteen2

laser sights increase your accuracy from the hip.


Just kidding. please don't shoot me.


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## Ring

FYI guys.. lasers are 100% legal in ohio to hunt on everything EXCEPT a bow...

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/default.aspx?tabid=20829


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## vc1111

I have no opinion on lasers, but I do agree that there is a limit to how much technology should be introduced to hunting.

Heck, I even have mixed feeling about what I use now, which is a compound bow with all the gadgets..

I often discuss the Drury brothers with my friends. Their motto has always been "100% fair chase." Well...is it 100%? I mean at times, they go to a "ranch" where someone has been patterning the bucks and have placed the stands for them. Basically, they drive to the ranch and the guy says, "Sit here."

Oh, and before they hunt they spray themselves down with a chemical concoction designed to reduce their scent, the put on clothes laced with carbon and whatever wonder ingredient it out there now...and before you watch them hunt, you hear of list of must-haves from their sponsors...you know, the stuff you can't live without if you want a trophy like they shoot every week. It all has it's application...I know because I've tried a lot of it.

Is that hunting? Maybe, but it isn't hunting as I would like to think of it, and it isn't hunting like they used to do in the early videos. Is that 100% fair chase?

And then we have to have game cameras with infrared capacity, linked wirelessly to a computer, which sends you a compressed, digital video of anything that farts in the general vicinity of the camera you placed to "help" you hunt in a "fair chase" way. (And before you get your back up because you have 20 of them, let the record show that I own one too!)

I even have mixed feelings about food plots. Those I don't mess with, but I've tried a lot of hunting "stuff" at times.

Lol, see I'm even confused about how I hunt!!!


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## Ring

Hardtop said:


> Anyone have the reasoning why laser sights are still not legal to use while hunting wildlife in Ohio , but acceptable to use to shoot people..?



It is legal.... Just not on a bow


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## Ring

MassillonBuckeye said:


> The Gun That Aims Itself (Documentary) - YouTube
> 
> Wonder if they'll ever legalize these? I guess if enough people make enough noise!
> 
> I'm really not equating the two, just brought this vid to mind. Crazy stuff!



Again... They are legal.... Just over price and dumb


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## MassillonBuckeye

Ring said:


> FYI guys.. lasers are 100% legal in ohio to hunt on everything EXCEPT a bow...
> 
> http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/default.aspx?tabid=20829


Not while hunting game animals it's not. Notice how the prohibition isn't listed for game animals. There are only provisions made for the nuisance animals.

You aren't allowed to use ANY light emitting device to hunt game animals. That would be covered under the Jacklighting prohibition in my opinion. The laser may not light up the whole animal, but it would illuminate the spot it hits wouldn't it? We may need a few experts opinions on this.

Legal in ohio? 
http://www.clean-shot.com/faq.htm


> Are Spot-On® Laser Broadheads and Laser Target Points legal for use across the United States?
> The Spot-On® Laser Broadheads are a legal hunting device in over half of the United States and for more than 2/3 of America's 3.5 million bowhunters. The Spot-On® Laser Broadheads are legal for recreational archery and mechanical pin sight calibration in all states. Spot-On® Laser Target Points are legal in all States for recreational and target use as well. As with any technology based hunting product, check your local hunting regulations to confirm the legality of the Spot-On® Laser Broadheads prior to use. A link to all State hunting regulations is provided on this website Here.


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## Ring

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Not while hunting game animals it's not. Notice how the prohibition isn't listed for game animals. There are only provisions made for the nuisance animals in my opinion.


quote the ORC code / DNR rule...

if not, you are incorrect...

http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/hunting_general.aspx#methods

you will not find the word "laser" anywhere on odnr's page, and "beam of light" is only listed under bows....


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## Ring

"spotlighting" is ONLY from a car

"Spotlighting of wild animals from vehicles, including illuminating with headlights, is prohibited. Spotlighting is illegal whether hunting implements are carried in the vehicle or not."


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## Ring

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Legal in ohio?
> http://www.clean-shot.com/faq.htm


depends if DNR defines a arrow as "attached" to a bow or not

"it is unlawful to have *attached *to a longbow or crossbow any mechanical, electrical, or electronic device capable of projecting a beam of light.."


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## MassillonBuckeye

So let me get this straight. You are trying to tell us its legal to hunt deer on foot with a spotlight attached to my rifle but not my crossbow?? The jacklighting ordinance does specify from a vehicle you are right about that. Hmm.


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## MassillonBuckeye

Ring said:


> quote the ORC code / DNR rule...
> 
> if not, you are incorrect...
> 
> http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/hunting_general.aspx#methods
> 
> you will not find the word "laser" anywhere on odnr's page, and "beam of light" is only listed under bows....


But why doesn't it specify the same on the deer regs? Just boar, coyote and the ***** skunks and such.. The groundhogs. Why is the wording different for the game animals?

Deer:


> Crossbow &#8211;
> draw weight no less than 75 lbs. The arrow tip shall have a minimum of two cutting edges which may be exposed or unexposed minimum 3/4 inch width. Expandable and mechanical broadheads are legal. Poisoned or explosive arrows are illegal.


vs.
coyote:


> Crossbow
> 
> Poisoned or explosive arrows are unlawful. While hunting, it is unlawful to have attached to a longbow or crossbow any mechanical, electrical, or electronic device capable of projecting a beam of light.


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## Ring

MassillonBuckeye said:


> But why doesn't it specify the same on the deer regs? Just boar, coyote and the ***** skunks and such.. The groundhogs. Why is the wording different for the game animals?
> 
> Deer:
> 
> vs.
> coyote:


i think they just left it out, because under the "general" hunting regs, its listed that way, so it only applies to bows, and all the time.




> So let me get this straight. You are trying to tell us* its legal to hunt deer on foot with a spotlight attached to my rifle but not my crossbow*?? The jacklighting ordinance does specify from a vehicle you are right about that. Hmm.


correct, and nothing new, the law has been that way as long as i can remember..



we used to use lasers on 22's when we went **** hunting on public land in the 80's
work well when chasing skunks accross a corn field, that was before the stupid "fur taker" permits 

CT laser grips on my g27... in the last 2 years, i think ive killed 6 or 7 groundhogs with the little red dot on them


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## Mr. A

Massillon, I would say its because game animals like deer have dedicated hours for hunting. Just as the sun comes up and as it goes down, effectively killing any use for a light. However, hunting totes and such is often done at night where people would be more apt to attach a light. Just a thought......

Mr. A


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## MassillonBuckeye

Ok well now I have to ask why this thread was even created?! OP, why did you think it was illegal?


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## Hardtop

I asked for the very reason that this discussion revealed.....just about all of us are confused with DOW's regulations on them. I have a call into the district office in Findlay and when I get their comments on this issue I will post....HT


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## Hardtop

I talked to the Law Enforcement Supervisor for our District office today, and he confirmed that laser sights are perfectly legal to use on firearms to hunt all species in Ohio. But not legal to use on any archery equipment. When I asked why, the only reasoning he could come up with was infromation the previous supervisor gave him : That archery equipment is silent, and if projected beams were allowed on archery equipment poachers could use that equipment to to their business and WLO's could not catch them as easily as they do the bad guys that choose to use guns. ( like these guys can't shoot our deer at night with a flashlight......#@[email protected]!? ) Sounds like the ban on archery equipment is strictly to make ODOW's job easier..... Time voice opinions at the open houses in March....?


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## Lundy

If I voice an opinion on this subject when I go to the open house it would be in support of the ban of lasers on archery equipment.


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## Hardtop

Thats what makes this forum and our counrty great Lundy....the ability to voice our own opinions even if that opinion makes us look a little hypocritical at times.Have a good weekend sir.


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## Lundy

Hardtop said:


> Thats what makes this forum and our counrty great Lundy....the ability to voice our own opinions even if that opinion makes us look a little hypocritical at times.Have a good weekend sir.


I don't think you looked too hypocritical with your opinion


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## Hardtop

Thanks Lundy..... I agree but there have been a few here that seem to have an issue with the new adavncements like laser sights for all equipment, just because "they" don't choose to use them, calling them unfair or unethical. But at the same time these guys take advantage of every other device they can find to improve their shot placement like say...taking the simple idea of a primitive muzzle loading rifle, and souping it up with a Savage action & stock, custom 45 cal Pac nor match grade barrel, bedded & pillers, shoot smokless powder/w 195 grn Barnes bullets which proves to be much faster and flatter than T-7 or BH 209, extremely accurate, especially when you top it off with a really big scope. Sweet gun, and I am glad ODNR doesn't restrict the way we trick our guns out.....in this same spirit though, why oppose an attempt to improve accuracy in archery equipment with available devices as well......?


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## Lundy

Hardtop said:


> ..in this same spirit though, why oppose an attempt to improve accuracy in archery equipment with available devices as well......?


I would oppose lasers for archery because I believe that end result would be the opposite of your stated intended result, improved accuracy.

I have been bowhunting for over 40 years, I used to bowhunt multiple states per year, I was the president of Ohio Largest Bowhunting club, I was sponsored and shot national bowhunter compitions for many years. Is that worth anything?, Nope but I have a lot of years with bows and bowhunting

The biggest problem with bowhunting today is that we have a very high population of bowshooters, not bow hunters. 

I can't help but cringe when I read accounts of 50 and 60 yard pins on compounds or crossbows. I cringe even more at the countless lost deer threads on this site and other Ohio hunting sites every fall.

I see a archery harvest that has increased over 35% since 2007. I see an archery harvest in 2013 that for the first time will exceed the 7 day gun season in Ohio. I see the single largest waste of killed and not recovered deer by the vast population of bowshooters that don't have much of a clue about how to bowhunt except what they see on TV or read on hunting sites. You want to know where a lot of the missing deer are going?

A laser has no arc, it is not effected by gravity. An arrow is effected by gravity the second it leaves the bow. There is only one very small coorelation of intersecting paths of an arrow flight and a laser beam. ONLY at the intersecting point would the point of impact for the arrow be the same as the laser

If a bowshooter were to be given some false sense of supreme accuracy based upon a beam of light versus the actual flight of his arrow the results could and most probably would result in even worse results, if possible, than is seen today.

So yes, I would be opposed, but not because I want to restrict equipment that would provide for a cleaner and more effective kill, but because a laser beam doesn't add any benefit in hitting your target with an arrow.

If I could put a built in range finder that would light the proper pin, adjust for crosswind, would not let you shoot over 40 yds and wouldn't activate in a hard rain I would be all in favor of it.

Lasers on bows, no thank you. Manadatory bowhunter education courses, yes please. Can I sign you up?


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## Hardtop

We agree on many points, way too many deer are wasted by poorly placed arrows/bolts and todays "archery" hunters spend too much time and money on equipment to increase their range and not enough time hunting and most of all preparing their areas as i have preached over my own 40 yrs of deer hunting. Most poor shots are not because the guys can't hit a target at a given range, its because they don't really know how far a deer is or they have not created safe shooting lanes & take low % shots thru brush......... Sight pins on bows, scopes on crossbows, or laser sights on either are not the villan here, it is the guy making the poor decisions. Your logic of banning the devices because some might abuse them would have us chasing deer with sharpened sticks.....or running them off a cliff like the original hunters did.... This is 2013, like it or not.....I'm on your side with the archery education, but don't take good equipment out of the hands of guys who can use it to improve shot placement like you and me do each season. When i have my crossbow sighted in to where the laser beam spot is right on at 25 yds, I know the bolt is going to kill every deer I shoot at near that distance when the spot is on the vitals......case closed


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## Lundy

Hardtop said:


> When i have my crossbow sighted in to where the laser beam spot is right on at 25 yds, I know the bolt is going to kill every deer I shoot at near that distance when the spot is on the vitals......case closed


The above is served just as well today with a red dot or a lighted single pin, during legal hunting hours, wouldn't you agree?

Just curious, If a bowhunter utilizes a laser as you describe above, where would you suggest a bowhunter hold the laser beam if they elect to take a 35 or 40 yd shot? . Do you recommend for them to mount multiple lasers for varied yardages?

Your 25 yard setup above would work for me personally all day long, no issues at all.


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## Mad-Eye Moody

I too wonder why (with the exception of a bow) someone wouldn't use a red dot scope if a laser was the desired affect?


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## Hardtop

Right now I/we have our crossbow scopes set a a given distance say.....25yds (mine) I know that at 35 yds, I hold about 5-6" high, and I don't shoot further than that why would a bright red dot be any different..... And no comparison to a "red dot" (imaginary,floating spot) I never bought into that idea over a conventional scope... If you have never expermented with a good laser beam in the woods or back yard on a cloudy day or at dusk/dawn when we shoot 905 of our deer, do so before you toss this idea out. That little red dot on the chest of a deer would tell you exactly where your bolt/arrow is going to hit.....HT


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## FAB

If you put a laser sight on your bow and the buck of a lifetime just happens to present you with a perfect kill shot and you harvest the record setting animal, Am I still correct that It would not be recognized by Pope and Young because of the light device on the scope ?


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## buckeye dan

I remember lasers being discussed at an open house many years ago. At archery ranges, a laser could be used to blind a deer with the possibility of permanent eye damage. The silent night poaching thing was also mentioned.

I have to believe a deer is smart enough to look away from a light that is injuring it's eye but the fear of it is more than enough to keep that tool out of our hunting tool boxes as far as the ODNR reps I spoke with were concerned. Even more so when coupled with the poaching argument.

Quite frankly I am sick and tired of the law breakers, irresponsible and reckless hunter actions being used to dictate what I can and cannot do on private property but that is the way of things. Hunters both allow it and encourage it in many cases so there is little that can be done.

The "idea" that a poacher will silently target a deer in the night with a laser equipped bow prevents me from using one. The "idea" of some bow hunter using a laser to intentionally cause eye damage to a deer, even if it is temporary, prevents me from using one.

The "idea" that a deranged person can carry a standard capacity, semi automatic rifle into a theater or school and shoot up the occupants without restraint almost prevented us ALL from owning one.

If you do it wrong and/or use it wrong, I should not be punished for your actions. But that is the way of things.


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## Big Matt

Hardtop said:


> I talked to the Law Enforcement Supervisor for our District office today, and he confirmed that laser sights are perfectly legal to use on firearms to hunt all species in Ohio. But not legal to use on any archery equipment. When I asked why, the only reasoning he could come up with was infromation the previous supervisor gave him : That archery equipment is silent, and if projected beams were allowed on archery equipment poachers could use that equipment to to their business and WLO's could not catch them as easily as they do the bad guys that choose to use guns. ( like these guys can't shoot our deer at night with a flashlight......#@[email protected]!? ) Sounds like the ban on archery equipment is strictly to make ODOW's job easier..... Time voice opinions at the open houses in March....?


Thank you good sir for doing the leg work and to that other guy for originally voicing his doubt that it is illegal so the leg work could start. Good peeps


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## miked913

Not sure I'd really want to use 1, unless I was trying to get out of a food plot and get rid of the deer 1st.

reelylivinsportfishing.com


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## Harry1959

I know this is a really old post. I think oneissue with lasers would be that one could more easily poach at night


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## threeten

That light would’ve covered the whole deer. 
About page two when I saw some old members I realized how old this post was. Good read though


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