Any Suburban Bowhunters on here?

[GRFox]

All of my hunting is done in the suburbs.....as in 25-40 minutes outside of New York City. One thing I have learned in the past 10 years, and especially the last 3 of being a "hardcore" bow hunter, is that all of the tips tricks and tactics, seldom work in our suburban environments.

For example I have learned in the past year or so, that because of so much human activity in the county I hunt, it is nearly impossible to hunt a buck based on one particular bed. There is so much human disturbance that bucks may have dozens of different bedding areas at all times. This is indeed hard to prove because I cant be certain what buck is bedding where, but based on trail cam photos, tracks, and hundreds of hours spent in the woods, I would think that bucks in these suburbs dont have a core bedding area, but more like they bounce around from woodlot to wood lot and bed where ever they wind up just before daylight.....and please feel free to correct me or offer opinions on anything I am saying here.

Our wood lots that are huntable can range anywhere from 1-50 acres and the bigger parcels, (which are estates owned by the richest people in the world...literally) are EXTREMELY difficult to get permission on for obvious reasons.

Any huntable patch of woods is surrounded by Parks, houses, or schools and there for you have hikers, people walking dogs, ATVs and A LOT of bowhunters.

We have deer populations in the county that range from 30-80 deer per square mile, which is extremely high compared to the rest of the country. Now some people think this makes bowhunting and shooting these deer a lot easier, but imagine an average of 12 bowhunters per square mile, all of the hikers, kids, dogs, and so on and you have mature bucks that are strictly nocturnal and absolute experts at avoiding people.

In all of the hundred of hours I put in scouting every year, I have probably only bumped 3 or 4 mature bucks, mainly because they will never let you get close enough to even see them. They deal with avoiding people every single day and are some of the smartest deer around.

We dont have open fields where deer go out and feed, our deer live in the hardwoods during the day and depending on location, back yards at night. There are no "feeding areas" the hardwoods in this part of New York have Oaks everywhere and there fore the deer dont really have one particular area they feed because they can feed essentialy everywhere.

Any way, I just wanted to share a different type of bowhunting whitetails that I dont think too many hunters can say they have experienced, but maybe Im wrong and maybe these are common circumstances in other places......

Anyway if there are any other hardcore suburban bowhunters on here, post some pics of your suburban bucks!

Gary

[dan]

When I was younger I did a lot of Suburban hunting around the city of Milwaukee's suburbs. I think your wrong about bucks not having defined bedding... Yes, they do have beds in several different woodlots and move often. However, the older ( and bigger ) they get, the more they lock into specific spots that for one reason or another are not bothered much by humans. Mabey its to thick for people to walk thru, maybe its an over looked spot that everybody walks past... But if you think with the mind set of where don't people or hunters go, rather than where would the buck wanna be, you have better luck finding those spots...
A lot of my tactics on hunting bedded bucks came from hunting suburban bucks in back yards and small lots.... Andrae too.

[DEERSLAYER]

... But if you think with the mind set of where don't people or hunters go, rather than where would the buck wanna be, you have better luck finding those spots...

That is the essence of it right there. I have always called it "hunting the people". Patterning people in these area's is the biggest piece of the puzzle. I have also found that the best time to hunt these area's are weekday mornings. Sometimes late mornings are good in these area's too.

[UPbowhunter]

Suburban bucks will look for the same things big woods buck will for beds. A place that afords them a place they feel safe, but use all of their senses to detect predators. I have seen MANY bucks bedding right next to highways, on a cedar wind break in someones back yard, if they can see in a few different directions and smell in another and the place doesent get alot of human actually walkin in it the can feel quite safe to bed in it. Once a person does something out of the ordanary or comes close they will have an escape rout lined up to use.

[BackWoodsHunter]

I have seen MANY bucks bedding right next to highways, on a cedar wind break in someones back yard

Have seen the same thing and was going to say the same thing almost until I read your post!


I hunt a few suburban farms in the milwaukee area and used to work landscaping in the river hills neighborhood in the mequon area. I was on the clock so I could not scout for beds but I found a shed once and always saw/jumped a lot of deer. In that particular neighborhood each person is required to own minimum 5 acres and a lot of those people left home and went south for the winter starting in november. We saw bucks chasing does through peoples yards and one spot in particular they bedded under spruce trees in the front yard. Those spots are tough to hunt because the deer are in places that just plain aren't acceptable to hunt. If you can get away from houses I think it is easier to find some mature deer sgn though and bedding. The deer are smart but they stay out of the way of hunters. I can see where hunting on a handful of acres (under 15 or so) would be damn near impossible. The beds I have found tend to be on bigger parcels and almost always seem to be smack dab in the center of the property. I am going to check one out this afternoon in the middle of a tiny pocket of cattails where a willow blew over on a hump of dry ground. The other consistent bedding I found is on a ridge along the fox river. Both beds are very huntable and approaching them is not even that difficult but they are both right in the center of the properties they are. The more consistent thing yet is that on both properties everywhere you look there are treestands hung and the only spots I found that aren't "covered" by these other hunters are where the bucks are bedding. I would map out where the other guys are and then look for any sizeable piece of cover between hunters to start. I can see how the pressure from so much activity does eliminate the hill/marsh country tactics because the deer will adapt if those are no longer safe spots.

[GRFox]

I think your wrong about bucks not having defined bedding... Yes, they do have beds in several different woodlots and move often. However, the older ( and bigger ) they get, the more they lock into specific spots that for one reason or another are not bothered much by humans.

That is kind of the feedback I was hoping for. I can agree with that statement regardless of my previous statement, and I do find beds while I am crawling on my hands and knees through the thickest briar patches, and I actually have plans on hunting directly over a bed opening weekend. The bed is in a 3 acre traffic island seperating north bound and south bound lanes on a major highway. I found a bed in there 4 years ago and regret not trying to hunt it. I actually observed the only buck fight I have ever seen from across the highway on the grassy slope on the edge of the highway, and one of them was a big boy. Hes probrably dead but hey, the buck whos but he kicked may be using that bed now haha.

This sloppy bastard was seen leaving a bed directly behind a tool shed on the edge of a back yard two nights in a row. We could never get close enough but we'll see if we cant kill him next year...

. I can see how the pressure from so much activity does eliminate the hill/marsh country tactics because the deer will adapt if those are no longer safe spots.

Thats more along the lines of what I was implying. And they still do work in certain wood lots. Bucks will cruise the top 3rd of a ridge scent checking does, they do bed in the top third, but then I also see them bedding in the bottom 3rd and even on the flats on the bottom of mountains. Just like dan said I guess it is where they feel comfortable.

[UPbowhunter]

Two things come to mind with hunting the traffic island, first you must have permission to hunt them. Second and most importanly is what happens when you do arrow a deer, if there is a chance of the deer running into traffic you must think of peoples safety first. Trust me Im no safety officer but high speed cars with kids first come to my mind with that senario. I would try to get on peices where the deer goes to eat, or breed during the rut, connected to those places. A buck living in these places wont live thier whole lives there, but will allways try to beat traffic back into them, and from them making it hard to get them in there. If you can attach a property to them say a creek and swamp, or marsh, with a bridge, you can rest asured that does will live in them and bucks will travel these areas during the rut. I lived in Connecticut for a few year a while back and this is a tactic that I used alot. Finding good areas is hard but you can send a bounding deer into traffic, and sleep at night if someone gets hurt. One of Dans big things is finding bucks beds and their enter/ escape routs, nothing is more important in a tight place like that. You must have a good idea of where a deer will flea. Good luck, man but dont give us bowhunters a bad name.

[tim]

im currently hunt ing some suburban areas. one place is 1 acre. and this place is my go to place when i need a quick hunt close to home . wind is CRUCIAL! THERE IS ONLY 1 WIND I CAN HUNT IT ON. at first i didnt care too much about this place so i tested it multiple times just for the of it. never seen deer unless i had southeast wind, it remains this way, then its almost like clock work. these deer are just as elusive as anyother deer.

[DEERSLAYER]

...what happens when you do arrow a deer, if there is a chance of the deer running into traffic you must think of peoples safety first. Trust me Im no safety officer but high speed cars with kids first come to my mind with that senario...

I was about to say the same thing. I worked with a guy that totaled his car because somebody was hunting where they shouldn't have been. The doe ran out in front of him and he couldn't avoid it. Fortunately he didn't have any kids with him or they likely would have been dead.

[GRFox]

This traffic island is not as small as you are thinking. Id say its 1/2 a mile long by 600 yards wide.....there are plenty of places for a deer to run before its going to think about crossing a road. If you were to worry about deer crossing highways then there wouldn't be much hunting going on anywhere around here....we are hunting deer in these suburbs to lower the population and PREVENT the 2000 deer related car accidents that happen every year in this county.

I have considered it many times and don't believe it would be an issue, nor do I know if I will ever hunt it. I have too many spots to hunt now as it is.

[cwoods]

Took my buck last year in b/w two neighbor hoods. Wife's family only owns 5 acres or so in just the right part! If you can access railroad tracks in burbs in b/w a wood lot I seen lots of deer around those areas and not as many houses!

[virginiashadow]

I am going to make a push to get onto some smaller tracts of property this year.(1-5 acre spots). In fact, my season may hinge on getting onto those pieces due to a tough work schedule that I expect, and I will not be able to take any vacation this fall.

[UPbowhunter]

This traffic island is not as small as you are thinking. Id say its 1/2 a mile long by 600 yards wide.....

Right on man in the first post you said it was only 3 acres. Go get um then.

[GRFox]

Took a walk in there yesterday and there is no fresh bedding where there was a couple years ago. Maybe there will be in the fall but I guess I cantbe sure. I did find some primary entrance and exit trails from them coming in and out and they don't cross the highway but come from a cross street at the bottom of the island. Im going to put a cam in there this weekend to see how often they are frequenting....or do you guys nh[url]think I should wait till September?

[headgear]

GRFox
I think Dan hit the nail on the head, those preferred bedding spots are out there, you will just have to keep searching. The big problem with suburban hunting like you pointed out is the access, the best bedding areas could be on land you can't hunt and that might be why you are having a problem finding the buck hot zones. In fact the best bedding probably is on land that no one can access which is why it is a great bedding area for old wise bucks.