Felony Convictions: More Deer Bowhunters?

i dont know a single bowhunting felon anywhere i hunt all the people that have taken up bowhunting i kno i hunting smaller acreages closer to home because they cant afford to drive up north and the word spread and more and more sign up plus deer numbers are way down in north woods where not a deer was spotted at our deer camp the whole 9 day gun season

I know of 3 bowhunters that are convicted felons and bowhunt only because that is all they can legally carry. I don't agree with them even being able to do that. I believe if you are a convicted felon you should lose the right to carry any weapon and I don't see how they can carry a bow legally when the same laws apply for carrying a bow that applies to a fiearm. Is it a growing problem? From what I have seen and believe it is.

I have a friend who's wife went a little off the deep-end and filed a protection order against him. Because of this he was unable to carry a firearm and thus had to hunt the entire deer season with a bow. This has all blown over now and he is able to carry a firearm, the whole situation was rediculous and if his wife had pursued this he would still be hunting only with a bow. As for convicted fellons i do not know of any who hunt but believe that once convicted, these individuals should not have access to any type of weapon.

i do know some....... and the ones that i know that have felonies and bow hunt seem to be good guys now........made mistakes back when
they were young and dumb, i don't see them being the ones that give bow hunters a bad name though

There are steps one can take to regain the ability to own and posess firearms if you are a felon. But the law is pretty clear- if a felon, you pretty much abandon many of the legal rights afforded most citizens- the right to vote is one of them. I believe that it is illegal to own, posess, attempt to posess, go in a gun shop, or anywhere that firearms are sold or displayed for sale. You should go directly to jail and not pass GO. If judges followed the law, we'd have many bad guys off the street. Sorry for the soap box, but with the folks in office, we can not afford to have our rights taken away due to a bunch of scum bags and reporters who have absolutely no knowlege of firearms or gun laws writing or reporting. I think felons should not be allowed to carry or hunt with a bow as well. Sorry for the wind.....

Over the years I have been a public servant I have worked with the police and court frequently and from what I have seen alot of, and I mean alot of felony charges are dropped and pleaed down to a misdermeaner so when a person is convicted of a felony charge it's not just from being a kid whom has made a dumb decision and played a little mail box baseball. If he is caught once, there's a better than good chance he will get off, if he does it again, well it's hammer time. In my book that's someone who does not care about the things I do and I don't want to spend time in the woods with him. All I know is we live our lives with the decisions we have made. Sorry about the lecture guys.

If a guy writes a bad check, does that mean he can't kill a deer? I think that is B.S.! If a guy is a violent criminal, then I have no problem with the gun law. However, if a guy is an DUI habitual offender, I don't feel that should preclude him from hunting. I no a couple of felons that are dumbasses, but not violent. I think the punishment should fit the crime. Non-violent criminals should take drug tests & do community service, ie picking up trash and road kill. Same goes for welfare recepients.

curt i agree completly with ur last two sentences amen brother

Bowhunting takes money, time, lots of practice, and patience. Dedication, attention to detail, and the self control to watch more than you shoot. These don't seem to be qualities I would attribute to a convicted felon. I personally don't know any felons that bowhunt, but then I don't hang out with felons. I would be willing to bet that there are more felons illegally hunting with guns than there are legally bowhunting.

I think a lot of other variables are causing the increases in bowhunting: urbanization, demographics, increases in archery seasons, crossbows, etc. I'm not sure that convicted felons are becoming a large part of the archery revolution. I don't mean to go on a rant, but I have to comment on one of the above comments. I understand the "made a mistake a long time ago" argument, and have an uncle who had a PFA filed against him years ago (he was eventually cleared), but when we start talking about who should and should not be carrying a gun in the woods, I completely disagree with the comments about habitual DUI offenders. Hunting is a passtime that REQUIRES responsibility. A person who REPEATEDLY gets behind the wheel after drinking too much has not shown the necessary level of responsibility needed to carry a firearm anywhere. At what point does that same person go out for a walk in the woods one afternoon after having a few? I wouldn't want to be sharing the same patch of woods as that guy. I know that last bit is a little off topic from the original question-and I am by no means anti-drinking, but all hunters get a bad rap when one person makes a poor decision. Alcohol and guns, like cars, don't mix, and I don't trust the guy who couldn't figure out the cars part to be running around in the woods with a gun.

I sorta agree with some of you, but let me ask a question. As I child I loved to hunt and as an adult, that desire is gone. But this is only due to the fact that I can't own a gun. Why? I am a felon. When I was 18 I committed a crime while drunk. I walked into a party where I was not invited. Stupid I know, but I did not hire an attorney nor fight it in court. I was in the wrong and I took my punishment.
Am I a violent person? NO Have I broken any law since being 20? NO.
I am now 36. My wife (of eight years) and I had our fist child a year ago. My whole family is being punished for my wrong action over 15 years ago. We recently moved and cant rent because of my felony. I can never own a gun.
But yet I own my own company (Got worn down by the turn downs because of my felony) I pay my taxes and I abide by the law.
Is this really fair for all?

Thanks Hanback for the second thought.
I have put it all behind me, but when you get denied for a rental unit and you wife tilts her head down and you see that sadness in her expressions, it hurts.
we can buy a house with out a problem, but being new to the area we want to buy in the right location, thus the need to rent.

As far as hunting, I live behind the stories of friends and you all on line :)

Joe, As I said, I believe there are legal ways to regain your rights, but there may be high lawyer costs to get it done. My post before was not my thoughts, just saying what I believe the law states about what one can do and not after a conviction.. You should have legal recourse to regain at least some of those rights.

There are a lot of non violent felonys, and felonys which if you committe them you get a year, but if the President of the United States does it, only a small fine. Af for the Launtenburg Amendment, (Domestic violence) just think of the source? A lot of people should be given their rights back!