I hunt in my backyard about 700 feet from the house in a stand of woods. I guess I'd consider that hunting. It's not like the deer are just sitting there, waiting to be taken. They travel through often but I get maybe a few opportunities each season if I'm lucky. I still have to do all of the things to conceal myself and my movement/scent that I'd have to do if I traveled miles to some public wilderness area that many would consider a TRUE hunting ground. I say its all about location, location, location. Why sit out in some farm field where from experience you know you'll see one deer each year if they've set up major trails through your back yard? This month's Field and Stream has a Super Bucks special section where one guy took a huge buck right behind his house. No one is challenging him on it being considered hunting.

I don''t like getting into debates about shooting versus hunting. If an animal isn't caged in and there's some skill and luck involved (as in this case), I think it could pretty much be considered hunting. After all, he didn't manage to get the buck. Where will the arguement end? If a deer passes by your stand and stops and looks at you and waits a long time to give you a good shot, is that hunting or shooting? I mean, I suppose some people would argue it's not hunting because it's not fair chase - the deer saw you and was not intelligent enough to run, therefore the hunter had an unfair advantage so he/she would just be shooting and not hunting.