4 ms·

There are various towns in New England that occasionally commission archers when there are too many deer, because the residents dislike the gunshot noises. Thi

There are various towns in New England that occasionally commission archers when there are too many deer, because the residents dislike the gunshot noises. This is with the fancy high-tech bows with various pulleys. Pretty well paid as I understand it.

greatpatton 4y ago
Is noise really the reason? You can have firearms with subsonic bullet that are almost completely silent.
- capableweb 4y ago
  How many hunters are using subsonic bullets? Back when I used to live close to/in the wilderness with many hunters around during hunting season, we heard gunshots almost every day, doesn't seem too popular to use those types of bullets if they are "almost completely silent".
  - sigzero 4y ago
    None. But I think what he was trying to say is that they could have used firearms and used subsonic bullets by town mandate.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      Sounds like a typical HN idea, do something more complicated, "transformative" and expensive rather than just using what works and worked for a long time :)
  - leeroyjenkins11 4y ago
    That's usually because hunters are prohibited from using suppressors. Subsonic ammo isn't ideal for big game because you do have a a reduced range and speed. And because of the NFA, every suppressor needs a 200dollar tax stamp and several months of waiting, this also drives up the price of suppressors. In PA they tried to pass a bill to allow deer hunters to hunt with suppressors, but it was voted down because you don't need to know things to vote against something.
    - senojsitruc 4y ago
      If only it was just "several months" of waiting. :-/
- thwayunion 4y ago
  IME, no. It's safety. I guess other places might be different.
- philwelch 4y ago
  You can, but subsonic rounds are less powerful and less accurate.
  - greatpatton 4y ago
    I get that but are they less powerful and accurate than an arrow? My point was more that people tend to see hunting in a different way depending on the weapon used (I don't).
thwayunion 4y ago
> because the residents dislike the gunshot noises It's not the noise. It's a safety issue -- setting off firearms within city limits is a lot more dangerous than bows. They will often close off a park or wooded area to the public during hunting; managing the area where a stray arrow might end up is a lot easier than managing the area where a stray bullet might end up, especially with well-trained archers. I've never heard of commissioning, though. Usually there are more than enough volunteers.
- foobarian 4y ago
  It's likely the commissioning was an isolated event, though the bowhunting is pretty common. Regarding the noise, I wouldn't discount it altogether - I know that if I lived in a suburb near NYC I'd be calling the police if I heard gunshots.
philwelch 4y ago
Many states allow bowhunting. I don’t know why they have to pay people in New England, maybe there aren’t as many hunters there as in other parts of the country?

greatpatton 4y ago

Is noise really the reason? You can have firearms with subsonic bullet that are almost completely silent.

capableweb 4y ago
How many hunters are using subsonic bullets? Back when I used to live close to/in the wilderness with many hunters around during hunting season, we heard gunshots almost every day, doesn't seem too popular to use those types of bullets if they are "almost completely silent".
- sigzero 4y ago
  None. But I think what he was trying to say is that they could have used firearms and used subsonic bullets by town mandate.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    Sounds like a typical HN idea, do something more complicated, "transformative" and expensive rather than just using what works and worked for a long time :)
- leeroyjenkins11 4y ago
  That's usually because hunters are prohibited from using suppressors. Subsonic ammo isn't ideal for big game because you do have a a reduced range and speed. And because of the NFA, every suppressor needs a 200dollar tax stamp and several months of waiting, this also drives up the price of suppressors. In PA they tried to pass a bill to allow deer hunters to hunt with suppressors, but it was voted down because you don't need to know things to vote against something.
  - senojsitruc 4y ago
    If only it was just "several months" of waiting. :-/
thwayunion 4y ago
IME, no. It's safety. I guess other places might be different.
philwelch 4y ago
You can, but subsonic rounds are less powerful and less accurate.
- greatpatton 4y ago
  I get that but are they less powerful and accurate than an arrow? My point was more that people tend to see hunting in a different way depending on the weapon used (I don't).

thwayunion 4y ago

> because the residents dislike the gunshot noises It's not the noise. It's a safety issue -- setting off firearms within city limits is a lot more dangerous than bows. They will often close off a park or wooded area to the public during hunting; managing the area where a stray arrow might end up is a lot easier than managing the area where a stray bullet might end up, especially with well-trained archers. I've never heard of commissioning, though. Usually there are more than enough volunteers.

foobarian 4y ago
It's likely the commissioning was an isolated event, though the bowhunting is pretty common. Regarding the noise, I wouldn't discount it altogether - I know that if I lived in a suburb near NYC I'd be calling the police if I heard gunshots.

philwelch 4y ago

Many states allow bowhunting. I don’t know why they have to pay people in New England, maybe there aren’t as many hunters there as in other parts of the country?