April 18, 2012
By Curt Wells
Consider this something of a pre-emptive strike.
Those of you who subscribe to Bowhunter Magazine, or buy it on the newsstand, will see something in our June "Gear Special" issue that may seem out-of-place. You will discover a full-page ad on page 27 that shows a crossbow.
I wanted to jump right out front, before this issue gets to our subscribers, and assure everyone that this was a miscommunication and an oversight. We screwed up. How does that happen? Well, in this digital world things happen quickly and often with a simple click. The ad features a Trijicon ACOG bowsight that was designed for crossbows — not the compound bow AccuPin sight, which we covered on page __ of the issue — and which had launched in this magazine a year ago. Trijicon's new ACOG crossbow sight ad ran recently in our sister publication, Petersen's Bowhunting. Late in the production process, after most of us had turned our attention to the July issue, Production loaded up the ad and we didn't pick it up in digital proofing. When we saw advanced copies, we started looking for the defibrillators.
Why is this a big deal? Because, at Bowhunter Magazine we do not cover crossbows and we don't run hunting stories that include the use of crossbows. Why? Well, put simply, for the exact same reason we don't run ads or stories about fly fishing, kayaking, or home decorating. We only do what we do — cover bowhunters and bowhunting.
We have nothing against crossbows. If you want to hunt with a crossbow and they are legal, have at it and have fun. Trijicon's new crossbow sight is top of the line. But, if you want to read about crossbows you'll have to go elsewhere, such as Petersen's Bowhunting and other publications.
This certainly has nothing to do with Trijicon. They make outstanding products, including precision targeting systems that help save the lives of our troops. We simply had a misstep that went unnoticed before the magazine was printed. I'm still not clear how this happened but as editor, it's on me.
The most important thing for all of you to know is that this doesn't signal any change in our editorial policy at Bowhunter Magazine. We are a bowhunting-only publication that covers hunting with compound and traditional bows. I wanted to make that clear before the deer droppings hit the fan.
Thank you for understanding.
