Beast tactics in the suburbs??

[Jwjack0128]

New member here. Greetings from Cumming Ga! For those unfamiliar I’m about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, and as the title says, in the suburbs.

Most of the properties I have permission to hunt are small tracts of land and locating bedding isn’t easy to do with access and such. (By small I mean 2-5 acres).

One piece of property is family land. It’s 20 acres and is a swamp. It’s landlocked by subdivisions on the east, west, and south, and bordered by a 20 acre property to the north which is an overgrown hayfield. I’ve hunted the edges for several years in trees I can get my climber in, as the edges of the property are the o lot places with trees to climb. After stumbling across beast tactics, I’ve decided to scout the large middle piece of property which is basically a alder shrub swamp. Most places hold about 18” of water and a about a 2-3 acre knoll that stays dry. Trails run everywhere, and there is buck sign. Locating beds has been difficult because I’ve found several spots that looked like bedding, but I couldn’t find any hair in the spots. The buck sign is somewhat all over the place, no rhyme or reason.

I hunted this evening out of a small tree about 6 feet off the ground with only the bottom of my climber. I faced the tree and used it as cover between me and where the deer trails had a large intersection. I saw one doe.

I’m reaching out for any helpful information from all your beast experiences. I killed a 100” 2.5 year old off this property and that’s it. This place screams big bucks though. I believe the deer are bedding on this property because they have all the protection they can in such a human populated area. But I’m having a hard time distinguishing between matted down spots and beds.

Thank you!

[mspaci]

we always found that keeping a very low profile & not bumping bucks was helpful. Older bucks that were bumped just once in the burbs wouldn't be back. we did a lot of pre sets, bare paths to them & no flashlights. Park down the road & be very quiet going in. Don't over hunt a spot. Mike

[Jwjack0128]

Thanks mike. The particular land I described to you seems like it should be a safe haven for bucks to grow old and die on. But I also feel like suburban bucks travel more than bucks in big woods do. My parents for example have a large kudzu patch with a drainage ditch separating the kudzu from hardwoods. My parents part of this land is 3 acres. Every summer we glass a group of bucks. For about 20-30 days straight they are feeding in that kudzu every afternoon. But come late August they vanish. They cruise back through very sporadically during the season. My dad actually arrowed a 133” 8 pointer back there in October, and that’s the first buck that we have pictures of from the summer that we’ve harvested. Any other buck we’ve killed we’ve never seen before. So I’m not sure if a suburban buck’s core area is as pinned down as a buck in big woods

[wmihunter]

Check out seek one on youtube. They hunt Atlanta monsters

[Jwjack0128]

Thanks WMIHunter. I’m very familiar with them. They hunt the county south of me. I can’t afford to use their tactics lol. They run 40-50 cellular trail cameras at all times. Seems like a great idea to get real-time updates of a bucks travel, but I can’t swing it. They also target a specific buck and gain access on as many adjacent properties as they can. It all seems a bit too obsessive to me. They kill monsters though. I just want to get better at killing the bucks I believe to be living on the properties I have permission to hunt.

[Rich M]

Access and not leaving scent.

If the deer see you park or access the property, they go elsewhere.

If they smell you often enough, they go elsewhere.

On GON there were a few stories by guys who had small properties - say 10-acres and could only hunt it on X wind during the last week of October. Always shot nice bucks and saw lots of deer but only when the stars aligned...

[Twenty Up]

Sounds like y’all got the early season food, then they go elsewhere when the acorns drop.

If I were you, I’d determine what each tract I had access to held and what the adjacent tracts may hold (food, bedding, travel) then figure time of year plus wind/ access. I personally wouldn’t even hunt the buck beds.. that’s a one and done thing for sure.

I’m new to huntings the suburbs, got one small sub 10 acre tract and I’ve yet to hunt it.. Just like rural deer it doesn’t take much pressure to lock them down and ruin a property. Figure the pattern and time it right.

Welcome to the Beast

[Jwjack0128]

Thanks Twenty.

Yeah the suburbs is all I’ve known growing up. We were in a lease in south Ga for a few years but I was very young. My dad raised me on suburban bowhunting and I enjoy it. Up until now though all I’ve done is sit 20-40 times a season hoping to get lucky. I enjoy being out there and the occasional buck, but I’m ready to get a little more serious. Learning the beast tactics has the gears turning in my head wondering what I can apply to my area.

I agree with just a little pressure pushing deer in suburban environments though. They’re used to us at a distance blowing leaves and being in our yards. Once they detect our scent in their home, we’re predators.

I’m going to study the land nearby my properties and see if I can come up with some more access

[JSnake]

Fellow metro Atlanta beast here! Welcome! It sounds like you have some good bedding on your property and that's always a plus. I do however think that the deer bounce around to a lot of different bedding and travel further distances than you think they would on a daily basis, particularly, in-season. I think it would be really hard to pin a specific buck to a specific bed and then hunt him. I think the main advantage in suburban hunting are the obvious funnels. As others have said, I think accessing undetected and having the discipline to stay out until the time is right are key.

Those seekone guys are serious grinders. Most don't have the time/patience for it. I got into bowhunting and, consequently, the beast due to the quality of bucks I'd see around my neighborhood in Dekalb.

[Jwjack0128]

Thanks JSnake. I agree I do believe the bucks we chase down here in the suburbs do travel further. I hunt Forsyth. I’ve made 1 beast type hunt and 1 scouting trip to a different property since finding all of this great information. The scouting trip was pretty exciting. Finding deer beds is fun. Definitely keeps you optimistic