Wanna Hunt with a Crossbow in NC? Get a Handgun Permit!

Today from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission:

Use of crossbows in North Carolina is now considered a legal hunting method...anytime bow-and-arrow hunting is allowed... State law requires that anyone buying or otherwise receiving a crossbow in North Carolina first obtain a pistol permit from the sheriff’s office in their county of residence or hold a valid concealed handgun permit.

Am I missing something? Why do you need a pistol permit to buy a crossbow for deer hunting? I understand it has always been this way in NC. Why? Are there weird similar crossbow laws in other states?

Why does Little Brother (sheriff’s office/local government) need to know you have a crossbow anyway? comment