Hunting Suburban Deer

[BackWoodsHunter]

Wondering if anyone else hunts deer in the city and what obstacles you have to deal with and what patterns and behaviors you notice in deer who live in close proximity to people that you do not see in deer in other areas?

I've recently acquired a couple city properties to hunt and a lot of stuff just doesn't line up. In some instances the deer just seem plain comfortable, or dumb even. But I know when I get comfortable and start hunting "deer" I am never going to put down one of the monster bucks because they get old and wise even in the city for a reason. Today I snuck up on a bedded doe who saw me approach. I came to full draw as she stood up, was a chip shot, but the arrow fell off the string. Turns out there were multiple does with her and none of them seemed too alarmed. As I left the woods I noticed where they were bedding was downwind of a house doing laundry and the scent of dryer sheets was so strong I even picked it up.

What are some tips and tricks to killing big deer in the city, the deer I am after seem to have a circuit where they are around for a few days then disappear for a few days then they come back. Not sure how to hunt it or what to make of it.

[dan]

Well, I hunted a lot of the areas your most likely talking about... One of the biggest obstacles, and the reason I don't do it much any more is cause of all the anti hunters and non- hunters who think hunting is wrong or dangerous... I was constantly being harassed by cops and wardens for doing nothing wrong... I had to sneak my gear into areas I had permission to hunt cause if I did,'t Cops would come haul me out... Maybe some of that has changed now, but thats exactly why I no longer hunt Andraes Wisconsin land...
Some of the areas deer are just as cagey as the ones out in the country, but some do almost seem stupid, or humanized.
One of the biggest advantages in hunting areas with lots of human activity is they will put up with a lot more human scent and intrusion. Your a lot more likely to pull off a bump and dump...
People usually walk all over the place in these areas and deer just skirt around them. You can set up just off to the side of human trails and deer won't think much of anything of your ground scent...
In some of the areas the only food sources are browse, and bedding is scattered, that can be a challenge. But if you search hard enough you will find these areas do have primary bedding areas that bucks with a few years under there belts call home. Its usually in the spot that gets the least human intrusion. Unfortunately, that can often be on posted land and your forced to sit and wait for the deer to make a mistake.
If you don't have much human intrusion, its private ground, and you have permission, a small food plot can work awesome on this type of ground.

[BackWoodsHunter]

Awesome tips Dan. I finding my biggest trouble is access without spooking deer. The piece I primarily hunt is a big swamp surrounded by ag and a golf course. My main access is from the west and I have to pass by the bedding area and circle down into a half frozen noisy swamp to come back up and properly hunt the bedding area.

I'm finding my biggest obstacle is neighbors being in my business about what I'm doing/seeing and the overwhelming amount of pressure on surrounding pieces of land. Seems like there's always someone wanting to know what I'm up too, or what I'm seeing or trying to "befriend" me and "work together" which really means let me hunt with you.

So now I have a scenario and I think I botched it pretty good. I probably set myself up for a bump and dump but did not execute a dump. I tried to try to cut a corner to sneak and hang my LW yesterday where I thought a good buck was leaving this bedding area. I thought I was on the outskirts of the bedding area. Turns out I walked up on bunch of bedded does and blew them out of there. They circled behind me right into where I had some trail cam pics of the buck leaving a week or so ago. So I think he beds in there, at least some of the time. I don't have his bed pinpointed and the does weren't very alarmed. If they pushed him out of there, should I have hunted that this morning hoping he would come back?

[Edcyclopedia]

A couple past reads that may contain useful tidbits...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6194&p=64103&hilit=suburban#p64103

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2397&p=23147&hilit=suburban#p23147

[BackWoodsHunter]

I need to start using the search feature more often lol

thanks for the help Ed, Merry Christmas!

[seeds]

Suburban folks feeding deer - especially in the cwd zone - and ESPECIALLY when there's available bedding near the property line.

If someone's feeding deer to watch them,I assume they're not going allow me to follow a blood trail onto their property. I won't set up a situation where a shot animal may run onto their land. The feeding site seems to draw deer from all around. I've written off the place where bedding is close to the property line because there's open fields on 2 sides of the bedding,and a road/private land on a 3rd

Another spot - ag fields on 3 sides,plowed under. There's a couple hillside acres where farmers have unsuccessfully tried to tile-off the multiple springs,now it's just thick,thick brush. The three deer bedding there are crossing one field and going thru the 100-yds of hardwoods (and prickly ash understory) on a different route every night (since the snow),then a beeline across a golf course towards a cluster of 5 high-end houses. I tried driving thru and peering into backyards but the barking dogs and suspicious looks deterred me. No doubt that someone's feeding,I don't need to know which house.

[Stanley]

There have been some nice deer taken out of the suburbs. It takes the right piece of property to stay away from the people that live there.

[dan]

I have seen bird feeders and shrubs be huge attractions for late season bucks in Suburban settings..

[dan]

If they pushed him out of there, should I have hunted that this morning hoping he would come back?

Try it your next free morning. Get in early. I have done a couple morning hunts recently and on both the bucks were bedded before legal shooting. But there is more pressure here.

[Stanley]

A friend of mine moved into a new duplex and said he had something eating apples in his back yard in the suburbs. I told him it was more than likely raccoons. I told him I'd set a trail camera up to catch the coons in the act. I laughed so hard when I got the card out of the camera. First picture is of him throwing out apples for the coons. LOL Couple of pretty nice 10 pointers.


[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86PkPUhhrEo&feature=youtu.be[/bbvideo]



[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntO2ytimqXQ&feature=youtu.be[/bbvideo]


[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP6PKA7ZFhE[/bbvideo]

[bbvideo=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiT_qZ1-ahk[/bbvideo]

[Edcyclopedia]

A friend of mine moved into a new duplex and said he had something eating apples in his back yard in the suburbs. I told him it was more than likely raccoons. I told him I'd set a trail camera up to catch the coons in the act. I laughed so hard when I got the card out of the camera. First picture is of him throwing out apples for the coons. LOL Couple of pretty nice 10 pointers.

The videos will not play says "private video"???

[dan]

You have the video's in a private account Stan... We can't watch them.

[Stanley]

I fixed it.

[BackWoodsHunter]

If they pushed him out of there, should I have hunted that this morning hoping he would come back?

Try it your next free morning. Get in early. I have done a couple morning hunts recently and on both the bucks were bedded before legal shooting. But there is more pressure here.

I was in there this morning the woods was still and quiet but the ground was loud. I was on stand about an hour before legal light. Didn't see or hear a deer. What happens when they are already bedded? The marsh I was hunting in had high water last week because of the rain now its a thin layer of ice and crusty marsh grass but the water levels went down so it is LOUD. I assume those bedded deer heard you coming and took off Dan?

[dbl lung]

I mostly hunt suburban deer. The issue is people. I have noticed that as long as the people living in the area don't modify their habits the deer won't modify theirs. I have had pictures of several BIG bucks during the season, including after the gun season. Now I have one of the neighbors snow shoeing around my corn and treestand. The deer are probably pushed across the valley now where I have another stand. This has been happening for the past 5 years or so and I am not happy nor do I know how to deal with it properly other then to suck it up. It is one of those deals which I think curiousity is going to kill the cat, the cat being the snow shoer, when he finally comes walking by when I am sitting. The past couple years I have tried to modify my hunting by moving away from the snow shoer but he seems to follow me.

As far as intrusion I have noticed the deer get used to me if I check my camera regularly. I try to keep to a routine throughout the season. Don't ever let someone tell you suburban deer are easier to hunt. They pose different challenges is all.