# How Pope and Young came up with a maximum let off..



## TOW (Apr 2, 2008)

*G. Fred Asbell at the First National Bowhunter Conference on why P & Y chose 65% let off :* 

"The Pope and Young Club chose the 65% let-off as the maximum allowable for compound bows. The intent was to set a limit, beyond which a bow departed from being a hand-held, hand-drawn weapon that enjoyed primitive status. 

But, it also seemed foolish to attempt to turn back the clock, and to disallow what everyone was already shooting. At the time of the Pope and Young Club fair chase amendment, 65% let-off was the upper edge of what was being manufactured and sold on a large scale. A few bows were being offered above that level, although most were experimental. 

We became aware that some were experimenting with let-offs above 90% (which were felt at that time to be akin to a vertically held crossbow.) A majority of the compound bows being manufactured and sold at that time were below 65%. This is where the Pope and Young Club decided to draw a line." 


*Why the Pope & Young dropped the let off rule.*

By M.R. James, Founder/Editor Emeritus

AS A SENIOR MEMBER of the Pope and Young Club since 1980 and editor of three of the five P&Y record books published since 1975, I have been involved in various club activities for more than 32 years. I served on the board of directors from 1986 to 2000, including a 10-year stint as first vice president. I've been an official measurer since 1978. .............

As I see it, we must admit we made a mistake. Why? For years now, about 80 percent of compound bows sold have greater than 65-percent letoff. That means most bowhunters heading afield this fall will be toting bows that are P&Y "illegal," and none of the trophy animals they harvest will be eligible for the P&Y record book. In my opinion, something is definitely wrong when our record system excludes a majority of legally licensed bowhunters.

Not only does this deprive the Club of valuable revenue needed for many worthwhile projects, but worse, it means our club no longer fulfills a fundamental P&Y goal of serving as repository for bowhunting records of North American big game. And as long as a majority of this continent's bowhunters use equipment deemed unacceptable by Pope and Young, we will never collect truly representative trophy data. Without change, we'll soon be accepting and documenting a mere fraction of the total annual trophy harvest.

Given that fact, the Club's credibility is at stake. We can stubbornly stick to our 65-percent rule and exclude an increasing number of worthy trophies year after year, or we can accept the reality of a changing bowhunting world and realize that this particular equipment issue is not really significant.


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## 2PawsRiver (Aug 4, 2002)

> Not only does this deprive the Club of valuable revenue needed for many worthwhile projects,


Theres the real answer.

Wonder how much that peice of moral high ground sold for.:evil:


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## Pinefarm (Sep 19, 2000)

Wonder how much that piece of moral high ground sold for...

The high ground in Michigan may go for about 4 bags of carrots.


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## symen696 (Nov 7, 2006)

I like the carrot thing, thats :lol:. Cant forget about the beets and corn.


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