| Diminished incomes has caused many hunters | | | | because they offer only a single shot opportunity, |
| who could once afford to go on out-of-state | | | | they are relatively quiet, are very effective when |
| hunting trips to consider hunting closer to home | | | | the arrows are properly placed, easy to learn to |
| and processing the animals themselves, | | | | shoot, and most importantly, allow for very |
| sometimes even in their own back yards. Even a | | | | precise shot placement at close range. The merits |
| segment of the out-of-work near-urban population | | | | of the crossbow as a hunting instrument in the |
| who have never hunted are considering either | | | | principal reason that more states are allowing it |
| hunting or salvaging road-killed animals as a way | | | | use - particularly for urban deer control. |
| of extending their family food budgets. | | | | Using either conventional archery equipment or |
| During the 2009-2010 hunting season every state | | | | crossbows to take deer within 20 miles of where |
| in the nation reported a rise in the sale of hunting | | | | a person lives and self-processing the deer, can |
| licenses, which many attributed to some of the | | | | bring meat costs down to the order of 25-cents |
| nation's 8,000,000 unemployed taking to the to | | | | a pound. Even if the price of the crossbow, |
| woods. This increased averaged about 3-percent | | | | arrows and resident licenses are factored in, the |
| and was higher in states like Michigan that had | | | | processed meat costs is less than $2.00 a pound, |
| unemployment rates of over 10 percent. | | | | assuming that three deer are taken per hear and |
| Deer populations nationwide are generally at | | | | the costs of the crossbow is averaged over |
| healthy levels, with a few local exceptions. In | | | | three years. |
| some eastern states such as in Virginia, | | | | In my home state of Georgia, where it is legal, |
| Pennsylvania and Georgia extended sessions are | | | | the last road-killed deer that I put in my freezer |
| being allowed to help reduce the problem of | | | | was a very nearly 100 percent meat recovery (I |
| automobile-deer collisions. Each year in the United | | | | typically average 70 percent for me and the |
| States there are some 1,000,000 deer-vehicle | | | | remainder for my pets.) at 11-cents a pound. This |
| collisions, 10,000 injuries and about 100 deaths. | | | | price included the energy costs of retrieving the |
| Other problems cause by overpopulation of deer | | | | deer and boiling its bones for my dogs. The gut |
| in near urban areas include landscape browsing, | | | | pile was put out for the buzzards. |
| the spread of Lyme Disease that is caused by | | | | Residents who live in cities where deer are a |
| deer ticks and even occasional attacks by buck | | | | problem, can both help reduce this problem as well |
| deer during rut. Although deer are most often | | | | as providing someone with needed food by |
| cited as causing problems, geese, black bear, | | | | designating areas for archery hunting. One model |
| alligators and wild hogs are also listed among | | | | is of a neighborhood consortium where safe stand |
| wildlife species causing adverse resident-wildlife | | | | locations are designated, the deer is taken to a |
| encounters. | | | | processor and any member of the consortium |
| Last year Texas, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and | | | | who wants deer meat is awarded it for their |
| part of Michigan allowed the use of the crossbow | | | | share of the processing costs. |
| during their designated deer archery seasons. The | | | | Deer meat does have to be cooked differently |
| crossbow, particularly when shot from an | | | | than beef because of its low-fat content, but |
| elevated stand, is a very safe and effective tool | | | | once these skills are learned it can be fit for a |
| for taking urban, even backyard, deer. Last year, | | | | queen, as it was for Queen Elizabeth II's 80th |
| for example, I took two deer from a friend's | | | | birthday dinner. The British Royals very often |
| backyard in Georgia and a 200 pound wild hog | | | | serve deer to visiting heads of state. If they can |
| from my own property with a crossbow. | | | | eat it, I think that more of us can eat a little deer |
| Crossbows are valuable wildlife control instruments | | | | meat too. |