Straight arrows

HOLDERNESS — The boars, foxes and squirrels aren't real, and there's more laughter than stealthy stalking, but the skills being learned and honed at a new indoor archery league this month are real. The league is an attempt to get more people to visit the Owl Brook Hunter Education Center this winter with the hope that some of them will take up the sport of hunting.

The center is located on a nearly 500-acre parcel located on Perch Pond Road and operated by the state's Fish & Game Department. Though it held its grand opening in 2001, facilities and program manager Tom Flynn said many people aren't aware of its existence.

"We were trying to find a way to increase our activity in the winter time," said Flynn. "What better way than to have an archery league indoors?"

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, members of the league show up to the center's archery range and try to be the most accurate archer of the night. They aim at critter-shaped targets 20 yards down range. Hitting a silver dollar-sized target centered over the animal's vital organs earns five points. Landing an arrow in a slightly larger circle is good for three points, and hitting the animal elsewhere is worth a point. Archers keep their own score in a league that Flynn said is competitive yet fun.

Participants in the league range drive from as far as an hour away, said Flynn, and range in skill from intermediates to life-long archers. That range is demonstrated by Dave Dillon and Mark Lesnewski, friends and Gilford residents, who decided to join the league together. Dillon has been around bows since he was a kid and joined the league because it sounded like more fun than merely practicing at home. "This is a lot better than the basement," he said.

For Lesnewski, though, the league is a chance for him to exercise his still-developing skills. He picked up archery a couple of years ago and so far has only practiced with targets, fearing that he wasn't yet accurate enough to attempt bow hunting. By participating in the league, shooting shoulder-to-shoulder with other archers, he has a chance to test his abilities. "I'm doing alright," he said. "I'm already increasing as we speak. The more you shoot, the better you know your bow."

"Hunting is a tool for wildlife management," said Flynn. Those uneducated about the sport, he's found, often harbor unfair stereotypes about hunters and their effect on wildlife population. However, Flynn said the real picture of the sport is one that supports wildlife.

Of course, unregulated hunting has had devastating effects. The passenger pigeon's extinction, Flynn said, is one notorious example. Another is the eradication of turkeys from New Hampshire. However, thanks to a re-population effort taken by his department in the 1970s, turkeys are now found in every corner of the state. Their prevalence leads Flynn to recommend that beginner hunters set out for them instead of white-tail deer, which remain elusive though the statewide population is estimated at a healthy 85,000, according to the Fish & Game website.

The health of the two game species is evidence in Flynn's eyes that management works. If it is to work, though, hunters are required, both as a means to keep populations in check as well as a source of funding for the department's operation. The department doesn't get any funding from the state's general fund. Instead, its funds come partly from federal sources but mostly from license fees paid by hunters and fishermen.

According to Flynn, there are about 60,000 licensed hunters in the state, a figure that has been stable for several years. However, with about 1.3-million living in the state, there's plenty of room for growth. Flynn said, "I'd like to see more hunters. Without hunters, who else is going to fund the department to manage the resources?"

The Owl Brook Hunter Education Center's reason for existence is to further that goal. Many of its programs and facilities are designed to make the traditions and techniques of hunting, for generations passed down from parent to child, available to those who were raised in a suburban lifestyle. The center runs a popular program for youth during the summer. This weekend, the center will be hosting an installment of the "Becoming an Outdoorswoman" program. On March 3, the facility will host a workshop to explain how to hunt snowshoe hares with beagles. Another upcoming workshop explains how to field dress an animal. The most popular offerings are workshops on turkey hunting.

Flynn said many of the people who sign up for programs are simply curious about hunting. He's okay with that, even if people don't sign up for a hunting license he feels good to have removed a few misconceptions from the general population. Still, he hopes to inspire a few people to gain the necessary skills and head out into the woods for sport.

It's working, at least in Lesnewski's case. In past hunting seasons he hasn't felt comfortable enough with his accuracy to take aim at a live animal. For ethical hunters, the least desirable outcome is a non-lethal strike, one which will cause the animal great pain and suffering. At the Owl Brook range, Lesnewski said, "I can see what I'm doing is adequate," adding that he's looking forward to the next bowhunting season. "I've got the confidence that I can take down a kill cleanly, I want to be sure that I can get a clean death." The league, he said, "Is a great opportunity to come out during the winter time. This is awesome."