urban deer hunting in parks

[fr0sty]

I was drawn for an urban deer hunt here in central mn and could use some advice from any of you with experience. I've done three afternoon hunts but only saw one deer in range during legal light, but I'm seeing plenty of people using the parks. So far I've had in range three mountain bikers, two dog walkers and a handful of families going for walks. I've been trying to sit near heavy cover away from most human traffic, but so far I'm coming up empty. I assume deer are used to the rec users and aren't pressured by that too much but there must be away to factor that activity in and use it to my advantage.

Any of you here have suggestions on how to hunt in this situation?

[Huntress13]

Hunted a suburban recreation trail area a couple of times. The deer were on an adjacent heavy brush area and they don't come out in daylight unless pushed. I'd try an early morning hunt since you haven't seen anything on 3 afternoons.

[Huntress13]

Another idea would be to hunt it on a wet and nasty day when people aren't using it.

[fr0sty]

Good ideas. I'll see if I can drag my sleep rear out of bed some morning here soon.. :)

[Bonecrusher101]

I think I’d just put the bow and the stand down and just walk till you bumped the deer out of bedding. I’d have to believe With the amount of people around an intrusion into urban deer bedding will be quickly forgiven/ forgotten. Id get my intel, formulate a plan to ambush and setup accordingly.

Have you had any luck finding out patterns or bedding?

[Boogieman1]

I have hunted multiple city/county parks as well as golf courses. It takes a different mindset IMO. Throw all commen knowledge out the window, these deer have grown old right under the human nose. In most cases there is no overlooked spot and the deer are not used to being hunted. Does not make it easy by any means, the deer especially the older bucks have not only learned how to avoid people but to determine a threat from a non threat. My advice is take this to heart and don't be affraid to get creative.

[Horizontal Hunter]

I think I’d just put the bow and the stand down and just walk till you bumped the deer out of bedding. I’d have to believe With the amount of people around an intrusion into urban deer bedding will be quickly forgiven/ forgotten. Id get my intel, formulate a plan to ambush and setup accordingly.

Have you had any luck finding out patterns or bedding?

This.

They are used to people, dogs, and horses IME and they are also “used” to human scent. More tolerant for sure.

I/we have had success in these areas hunting terrain funnels and swamp edges. They seem to prefer the lower terrain funnels where they can stay out of sight of the walking trails to get where they want to go. One key here is that it’s not about distance from the trail. It’s sight lines that matter. They know that if they aren’t seen they will be left alone.

The edges where the homes are were also good to us. They would fill up on grass at night and come back into the park to bed.

When it comes to timing your hunt use the other human traffic to your benefit. Try hunting peak traffic times so the other human traffic bounces them around for you. It wasn’t uncommon to see, and shoot, deer during those times for me.

This worked for us for quite a few years.

We used to hunt a state park in Connecticut and the three of us would always see deer and we connected often. We haven’t hunted it in a few years because we picked up some terrific private land that was 20 minutes away.

One of the things I have learned, and it was made crystal clear here, that there are different types of deer and they need to be hunted differently to be successful. There is a world of difference between the behaviors of mature bucks, young bucks does, and public park deer are also in a category of their own.

Also talk to the walkers and bikers. IME it’s a mixed bag but some really will point you to some hot spots. Especially bikers that have had near misses with deer while riding. You might also connect on private by talking to people who are sick of having to replace their plantings yearly.

Bob

[justdirtyfun]

Good advice from Bob and bonecrusher.

Sightlines, safe zones, undisturbed areas are key.
Another great opportunity is using the noise and commotion to your advantage.

When I shot my biggest buck, I was close to a walking trail but had a berm along it that gave the deer more confidence. Due to sightline and less people coming over the berm. The group of teenagers walking by as I stalked into position also gave the deer confidence. Noise approached and left, as normal.
Lights out for him.

[218er]

I’ve done a lot of metro city park hunts over the years. I have three going on this year so I have some tips to try. As mentioned try and jump them, that will give you certainty where their bedded. If you have a hunt coordinator or park employees they might have some ideas. Their out there all year long and absolutely want lower deer numbers which is why your there. If it is a park landlocked by development deer often filter into and out of the parks through bike paths, creeks, drainages, etc. I’ve hunted parks where deer bed on public and feed in the park and then I’ve hunted parks that are the opposite it kinda depends on the park. I have a hunt Monday through Wednesday next week that has a large off leash dog area for example. There isn’t a deer on that parcel until the parks closes. I’m planning on hunting an oak ridge to catch them coming and going once or before they leave the dog area that they visit overnight. Bikers and hikers don’t bother park deer. I’ve walked past deer at ten feet and they could care less. Walk past them off the trail that is a different story. A lot of parks have trails that are closed seasonally or temporarily these can lead to higher densities of deer. I’ve been hunting a park this year with cross country ski trails all over the place. These trails are obviously pretty quiet right now but additionally they are in areas with several ridges and hills which really funnel deer traffic. I wish you luck I love park hunts. The hunts I’m doing this year they are 3, 20, and 25 minutes from my house. I live in a city with 3 mil+ people you can’t really beat that.

[greenhorndave]

Some great stuff from all the contributors. I’m all ears.

[fr0sty]

Good info! Last week I did a quick speed scout of the ridge area (first time boots on the ground) and encountered a doe at about 25 yards. I came back the next day to hunt that spot and ran into a man in the parking lot that gave me some good info, suggesting a couple other stops, two of which I've checked out but saw no deer. On that first sit it was all quiet except for people, but a doe ( assume a doe) did come by on my 25 yard trail when I was was packing up. There was still 10 minutes of legal light, but it was dark enough that I couldn't tell what the deer was. The only reason I know it was there was it blew at me.

One side of the parcel is bordered by the Mississippi river and the other is a mix of industrial and commercial.

[hokiehunter373]

Bob gave great advice.

I've done a bunch of urban hunts and my main advice would be to hunt in the morning with deer coming back from peoples lawns to bed

[greenhorndave]

I should add that I have some deer in my neighborhood that borders some sparse ag. One of the trails for the doe and fawn is visible, but it's bordered by a plum thicket that nothing but a rabbit can get through. They are bed right against the thicket and blow out of there if anything steps foot on that deer trail.

There's another trail near it that holds bedding in a small open edge. They sit tightly when people and dogs walk the path; wind direction does not matter. But they bumped out of there as soon as my dog stopped to take a whiz a yard off the path toward them. We couldn't see them and they might not have been able to see us, but the rustling grass was enough to bust them out. Not when he constantly swishes against the grass while staying on the path, but a rustle was different enough for them to respond in alarm.

It's not a hunting area, but I'd bet a dozen donuts that behavior applies pretty regularly in suburban areas.

[G-Patt]

I did urban metro hunts as well. The 3 best pieces of advice I've seen on this thread is 1) bump the deer to find where they generally like to bed - access and set up accordingly; 2) hunt the mornings; and 3) wet and nasty weather is better. The other advice is great too, but I'd start with these 3 and go from there.

[RiverBottoms]

One other tid bit to consider. The park I hunt generally has human activity in the mornings and evenings after work (dog walkers) and we've been surprised how much they can move in certain areas in mid day. They have a great ability to monitor human activity and adapt accordingly.