I ditto talking to the neighbors just to let them know what's going on. I will be hunting one acre and a half in a thick stand of woods that we are currently building a house in. If one of them gun hunts their land (if its fairly rural), they might even share some scouting tips since your're not directly competing with them. This is what happened in my case.

On a related note, I've noticed that deer in residential areas are more accustomed to people, which I guess might make sense. Don't get me wrong, they still take off when they see you, but they still keep coming through evening after evening despite noise and scent from humans in the area. Does anyone have any different opinions of scent in residential areas? Do the same rules apply or can you be more lax?

not sure, but some states require at least ten acres to be legal to hunt. in a community type subdivision that is. i know texas is like that.

By residentail I guess I meant a rural area with other houses and farms within the close vicinity - within regular earshot and easy eyesight of the deer. For instance, in my area, deer have to cross over several dirt roads to make it throught their trails through the woods and often stop and watch the cars drive by. It is also not uncommon for them to pass within a hundred yards of a busy campground in a state park in the evening when most of the campers have settled down.

I agree. I might feel kind of weird hunting in a subdivision. But I guess a good spot to lean a ladder stand against would be the community entrance sign, you know, one that reads something like "Welcome to Prairie Meadows." : )

I would pick a spot to hunt from where there is no way a bullet could go any where but in the hillside/ground. Safety is the #1 issue when you hunt such a small piece of ground. I would then get set up in that area & shoot the deer you want buck/doe in the head with a rifle.

My hunting buddy is permitted to hunt like that in his town. It's perfectly legal and all he has to do is notify the adjacent neighbors that he will be bow hunting and that's that! I'm jealous that he is allowed to do that. However, his town has a bad deer problem and is proactive in getting the deer down to a manageable size. He hunts smart, though. Good stand location with safety in mind and also baits. He'll get 10-15 in at a time. He's told me his arrow has fallen off and clanked on the stand. The deer scatter only to return 1 minute later! Who can say that has happened to them in the field?! The deer are basically tamed to a point and not much sport in it, but it sure beats hauling into the thick woods when you really only have an hour to hunt per day. Plus, he donates a portion of his kill to charity and he gets good practice...and only takes does as he won't/can't take a buck and call that hunting!

I don't recommend talking to any neighbors. Let the home owner do this if they feel it's needed. I have agreements with some of my home owners to be descreet and that their neighbors will never know I'm hunting there. They want the deer gone but not quarrals with the neighbors. Like I stated before one home owner didn't want the quarrel with his own wife. That's fine by me.

As far as the deer, some of them are a trip. My friend was hunting a yard and choose a new tree. It was before light and was about 10' up when he encountered his first branch. He was in the process of breaking it when he heard a deer about 20 yrds away. He was convinced it was a doe. He continued doing his thing as the deer came closer. It turned out it was the big 10 point we had been after. He was able to pull his bow up and nock his arrow while the deer was 10 yrds. He didn't feel comfortable taking the shot since his stand wasn't secured to the tree and he wasn't attached with a safety harness. He let him walk that morning figuring we would get another shot since the deer didn't seem to care. We never did get another shot at him. Oh well.