So to start this journey off, I shot at the local archery shop and range, Queen's Archery A nice establishment, if not terribly easy to get to from Manhattan. I'll go back soon I'm sure, but I am already thinking I will need to find a quite place in Riverside Park to setup a personal range. This could be difficult and maybe even illegal - though I don't think so.
Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect on my way to the shop but the people were nice, if a bit cautious. There were a set of regulars there, using bows that ran the gamut from very simple recurves to high-tech target bows. All seemed highly skilled. I was not the lone novice either. A group of young Asian-American guys in their 20's were seemingly there for the fist time as well and who were clearly as much on the outside as I. While still within New York City proper, the atmosphere was distinctly country with a constant stream of Hank Williams Jr-esque tunes playing and the liberal use of camouflage as part of the decor. It reminded me of a bowling alley in a way, with shoddy plastic tables and dusty glass cases of unused gear. That antiquated feel of subculture that has a loyal and unyielding group of adherents. The archery culture I would expect is much the same as the hunting culture I knew growing up. I don't really have anything against it per se, though the underling anti-intellectualism was distressing at times. It might be different here in the northeast though, so I'll try and stay open and I hope to walk a middle path. I'm not, nor will I ever be, much like many of these folks. I want to hunt for my own, admittedly over intellectualized reasons, that are more about having a different relationship to nature and my food sources than about "scoring a kill". I need to be respectful though in my dealings and realize that at least for now, I'm the one who knows nothing and should shut up and listen.
As I watched the bowmen and looked over the requisite wall of trophy bucks, I tried to think about what I will do with a dead deer.
There's something that bothers me about taxidermy. It's an artifice somehow and speaks of something vainglorious. I mean, of course we can kill animals, we're highly developed technological species! Assuming I score a buck, I think I'll hang up the skull to remind me of the act. The death. Other than that, I hope to find a way to use almost all of the deer. Eat it of course, but also, carve the bone and antlers into usable forms. Suggestions welcome on that one. The bow rental came with a lesson and practice lane, only $18 bucks. The instructor walked me through the procedure. How to use the trigger release, basic parts of the bow, my stance. Then then some zen - "do one thing at a time": nock, draw, aim, exhale, shoot, repeat. Use the sites to adjust after each shot. Find a rhythm. Get comfortable with the rig. All in all, I did pretty well I felt. Though I would guess that laying one in the black at a well lit indoor lane is the lowest of prerequisites for dropping an arrow just behind the shoulder of wary buck at thirty yards in dawn's gray light, it was a first step I was happy I could accomplish. By the end of my hour I had moved from the starting distance of about ten yards (does anyone ever get that close to a deer?) back to the thirty yard line. Even at distance I was able to consistently put my shots on the target. The rental compound was a low weight, I would guess set to about 40lbs. I shot the hour, and because it wasn't very busy, they didn't kick me right out. It was a great first experience overall.
I'll try and find a bow on ebay now, and take it back to them to have it adjusted.
Also, I found Saxton Pope's "Hunting with the Bow and Arrow" is in the public domain at Project Gutenberg.
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