loogout1

I live about 40 mi. n. of nyc. Its suburban but has its rural spots(lots of big estates and horse farms and undeveloped land still). A couple of my spots are close to houses or in developments. Ive found that in these spiots the deer know where the people are supposed to be and are pretty much unaffected by them and the noise that we make. Step one foot into "their" territory and its a whole different ballgame, all you'll see are the white flags. This kind of hunting sets up some pretty good funnels in certain spots though.

GMMAT

There's a house abut 200 yds from one of the spots I hunt. The deer seem to pattern the people a LOT more than the other way around. If people think a suburban deer is any less a wild deer.....and that he presents his own, uniqueset of challenges......then they don't have any idea of what they're talking about.

Kinda like if I was to say picking them off with a gun was child's play.

c_str

I did/do a lot of suburban hunting and it is different from being "in the woods". Aside from theoccasional neighbor dog you might have running by your stand.The deer for one thing don't really seem to move around much, they don't have to, and they can bed, eat, drink etc within 50 yards if they want. So you might have some days of not seeing anything at all, which can get into your mind if you let it. Also I have noticed that deer tend togo close to houses when scared badly. And like the other poster said, if you are in an area where people are normally at, the deer will pay you no mind, but take one foot into "their domain", and they will act like a mountain deer that you just jumped. Suburban hunting is usuallyvery convenient, which isabig plus. On the bad side you have to put up with lawn mowers starting up 20 minutes before dark, people yelling for their lost dog, a dog running by your stand and spooking a buck walking up to you just outside of range, the usual sort of nonsense that happens when deer hunting, just a little different :-)

Lastly, you probably have to be very careful about your shot, or you might have a gut shot deer running through people's back yards, which will most likely end any permission you have to hunt.

Where I hunt, I even bag up the entrails and throw them in my trash, to avoid a neighbor dog bringing back a treat to somebody's house. I try to be a ghost, so nobody knows that I hunt back there. I have permission, but the more people know you hunt an area,
1) other hunters may join in
2) some property owner in the neighborhood who lovesdeer could cause problems.

I think if you find a good spot, that isn't hunted hard, by all means hunt it!
Honey holes are special, and for me anyway do not come along very often. I had hunting one year that was just like you see on those rediculous hunting shows, until the bulldozers came along...

huntinboy1122

Here in the suburbs of chicago it is hard to find a spot where a house isnt near

dmacneil41

I too hunt in a "city"..It is a bow only area around the capital of NY..I can see many homes right out of my stands...I have taken two P&Y bucks from these small patches of woods in the last three years...There are swamps and wetland areas where I concentrate...I am lucky and have about 75 acres of this that my company owns..I hunt every morning for about 1.5 hrs and everynight for the same..then just walk out and I am at work....

These small patches of woods are perfect for nice bucks especially in bow only zones...

Dave

mauser06

when the dogs start barkin, get ready! here they come!!

atleast thats my expirience so long as nothing else makes the dogs bark...

gets kinda old sitting there listening to cars and people and such...but can be great hunting, and doesnt seem to effect the deer...

early in

I have a couple of real small area's of private land where I can hunt, and am almost guaranteedto kill a deer. Onespot, I can count 7 homes all around me. I get tired of the dogs barking, landscapers leaf blowers, car doors slaming, and human voices.[:@]I prefer to travel to State land 13 miles (still local)away for the "real woods" effect, andpeace of mind. This area is bowhunting only, so very little pressure, and a goodamount of deer.

thephildo

any one else find that you need to pay less attention to your scent control tactics when hunting around people, and foreign objects?

StrikeTrue

The private property i have permission for is a fairly small wooded lot out behindmy buddieshouse and his property ends at the railway tracks. My stand is about 300 yards from the house and around 100 yards from the tracks. I hear everything and anything while im in my stand and at first it bugged me alot, until i realized that these deer hear these sounds everyday and are completely used to them. However, i feel they are every bit as cautious as any deer you will find. They know what happens everyday and can ignore but they also know when somethings new and are cautious towards it, if anything i think they are constantly on alert because of their daily experiences. I took a big doe there this year so far and hope to capitalize on another. I love it because its quick and easy to slip into and alot of deer travel through this bush.

MountainHunter

Lots of urban deer here in northern VA near DC.There were6,627officially harvestedjust inLoudoun County and another 1,300+ in Fairfax County. They're actually considering having a bow hunting season in Washington, DC because of all of the deer in Rock Creek Park. My sister works at the National Zoo, which is right next to RC Park and sees "wild" deer outside her office window almost every day. I see them almost every time I drive through it at night.

The problem I have had getting a suburban hunt going is getting the neighbors to sign on, since I may have to track the deer into their yards, etc. Any advice?