The new hunting reality for lots of folks is likely made up of little woodlots. Obviously, the land is no longer city-and-country, but city tossed throughout the country—with country sometimes creeping surprisingly far into the city.
The country is still full of natural vibes. You can go into an interurban woodlot and feel like you’re out in the boonies. No one is outside anyway. You may see houses on the horizon but if it’s cold and snowy, you might not hear a sound. Maybe a little car-traffic hum. No people anywhere. Lots of woods and nature and animals—including plenty of game critters.
I re-discovered such a place just last week. Across the street, literally, from our local university city is an un-used woods’n’fields are about a mile square in size. It has a two-track ripping thru it, a kid’s party pit, and tons of nature and wildlife. I noticed a hunter’s treestand, probably for archery.
I’m thinking that firearms are becoming less viable as a hunting tool for many people who live near smaller natural areas and who would like to continue hunting them. At the same time, regular archery is either very difficult or very complex. It takes me an hour a day of practice for a month to become confident with my elegantly simple longbow out to 20 yards. One can become competent with an expensive compound bow with sights and trigger set-up possibly in less time out to maybe 25-30 yards. It just occurred to me that there might be another option. …The crossbow.
Crossbows are coming on strong as a new market segment. They’re becoming generally legalized in more and more states. I’d think that with moderate practice one could become competent out to 40 yards. Furthermore, and here’s the kicker for me: there’s no reason (I can see) why a lovely all-wood crossbow couldn’t be as effective as one of the very common mass-produced synthetic compound crossbows. An all-wood bow would of course have to be craftsman made—but the need for craft hasn’t overly hurt the wood “vertical” bow market, or the wood-gunstock firearm market. Synths are dominant in both places now, but wood has its place. A place that I still appreciate! I’d just rather use something handmade, not fancy, just incidentally of heirloom quality. The robo-stuff just puts me off, in general. I guess I can’t quantify it—I won’t use a synth shovel or ax either. I’d use a synth canoe, though.
Anyway, I think the sportsmanship argument is pointless. I want to get meat effectively for my rural-burban situation. Given that, I know I can have a perfectly satisfying “sportsmanlike” experience in the out of doors and my game cannot know the difference.
A big snag here, though, is that I have yet to find a single wood modern crossbow. There are medieval style reenactor bows, but that’s not what I want. There are recurve synth bows, but again, not quite right. I don’t mean to diss em. I’d use one. I just prefer wood. (But synth is all I could find in terms of a photo to use here. The built-in camo pattern is cool in a synth way.)
My inter-urban hunting solution campaign isn’t finished with furry game, however. What about waterfowl? They’re everywhere—but again firearms aren’t suitable in many places anymore and “vertical” archery would require lifestyle commitment to reach bird-skill. Not sure if crossbows would work here, but who knows. I figure that a camoflaged canoe drifted down a local river—even with houses every quarter mile on the banks—would be the way to approach. Now, how to finish the job.
https://www.crossbow-hunting-crossbows-excalibur.com/
