New Bow, or Crossbow?

[PASKIINGSUCKS]

Ah, forgot you're a northern neighbor.

Interesting second statement. Couldn't justify because there isn't a healthy population or because you wouldn't eat it??? Down here I think small game hunters mostly go for squirrels or rabbits and yea grouse. I never have, but I would eat any of the three.

Also, sidenote as to what you were saying earlier about the dude not eating his rabbits. Nothing pisses me off more than all this organic and gmo labeling crap(don't get me wrong I'm all for knowing what you eat) going down, but as soon as someone suggests eating a wild rabbit or squirrel or bird some of these crunchy yuppies look at you like you're some disgusting caveman who doesn't belong in modern society.

 

[corona]

Yea those people make me laugh. They're all for well raised animals but soon as you take a wild animal that's had more freedom to life than any farmed animal and kill it in a more humane way than they'd ever get from a death in the wild then they freak out. I think it's total ignorance about hunting.

As to other animals I couldn't justify killing, a mixture of reasons. Wolf is practically non-existant in the area and although you can still legally hunt them that's a sure way to have them extirpated from the area completely.

Fox and coyote are common enough, but they get enough chastising from farmers. Coyote keep the deer populations at least a tiny bit in check and deer are wreaking havoc on the forest habitats. Fox keep in check the red squirrel populations, which there are more than there should be. And red squirrel can't be legally hunted here. No black/grey squirrels around, they're in the city.

Other upland game birds are around, but not nearly as common as grouse. I'd rather not put pressure on their populations.

Turkey, mallard, Canada and snow geese, and deer are fair game as far as I'm concerned. No danger to their populations. Geese need a good wacking too.

Once fox populations are high and rabbit/hare low I might take a fox in the winter for their pelts and make some bad-ass gloves. But generally I'd rather be able to eat the animal that I kill.

Beavers are far too common. I'm considering getting a trapping licence for them. They do some serious damage to what little late successional forest there is in the area. Other forests too.

 

[corona]

example of some beaver damage on our land.



granted they're mostly aspen, but the context is what makes it bad. If these was the middle of a million acre forest a few dozen trees/beaver/year isn't that big of a deal. Really is just peanuts. But this is in the valleys surrounded by farmland that are really the only real forested areas in region. Little strips of forest that take a huge hit from beaver activity.

Also, if you notice, this is a fairly early successional forest where the main deciduous species are aspen, rock elm, and ashes. The ashes and elm are all dying at an alarming rate leaving the favourite beaver food in the area as one of the only shelters to the later successional trees like maples and beech as they mature.

I've also seen some some areas where the valley sides have slid as a result of the beavers harvesting all the main vegetation holding it together.

Huge beaver populations do not mix well with this sparsely forested area and I'm inclined to side with the forest and take out a few beaver.

 

[PASKIINGSUCKS]

All makes pretty good sense to me.

I'm kinda curious why that kid was calling one type of rabbit garbage but the other suitable to eat.

Funny you say that because I've been talking to some people about trapping this year and I'm thinking of getting a license for it next year. Seems like you need a very local spot to do it though as you need to check them very often.

Blows my mind that you only have red squirrels in the woods up there. Down here in Pennsylvania red and black squirrels are quite rare but the grays are all over the damn place and are regularly hunted.

I actually think it would be fun as hell to try and rabbit or grouse hunt with a bow. Damn near impossible, but rather fun indeed.