I have hunted with a crossbow, and I have tried with other weapons.

I don't mean a bloody modern plastic-composite crossbow.  I mean a wooden, handmade Chinese-style replica.  No metal in it, just wood and string.  I call that quite exotic.  I was just using it to hunt pheasants, not using a modern bow to shoot deer.

Yeah, I made it.  You'd think that a wooden prod on a crossbow is inefficient compared to metal bows (or composite bows).  All three types were used together during the medieval period in Europe.  Wooden bows were still being used in Europe up until 1900 (ok, it's an isolated case, but...)  They were still used right up into the 15th and even 16th centuries by some armies.  They aren't as bad as you might think.  In fact, all that is needed to make a relatively strong bow is good wood and right length.
  Accuracy is good, as in most crossbows.  Quite easy to make as well.  Anyway, it hit the pheasant hard enough in the neck to drop it with a clean shot right the way through.  I think that throwing sticks make more sense when fowling, though.

With a knife.

No.  I cut all the wood myself, cut it down to the right proportions (waist height for the stock/tiller, knee height for the prod), carved it properly to shape, cut the mechanism into the stock (rising pin trigger), cut the groove for the bolt, fitted the string, tested the prod, made some quarrels and then test shot it.  Adjusted it accordingly (string length, &c), and then shot it properly.  It is accurate.  Go to www.atarn.org for information on Chinese crossbows, amongst other things.  (You will want to click on "China", then "the crossbows of southwest China".  You can also find out about many, many other things on there.  It's a great site).