Crossbows in Minnesota: Let’s look at what their use could mean for deer hunting

There’s no doubt about it, legalization of crossbows for all during Minnesota’s archery season is the big-ticket change for the 2023 deer season. I’ve heard lots of chatter about it the past couple of months – mostly opinion and hearsay.
I’m big on having empirical data and evidence to back up assertions, so let’s speculate on the impacts crossbows might have on Minnesota deer hunting. But how to accurately estimate the effects of new regulations never before tried here? We won’t know how crossbows influence hunting in Minnesota until we have a few years of data to peruse, so the next best thing is to peek next door, and Wisconsin is a good case study.