I hear stories about huge bucks down in the SE corner of the state. I will be hunting 10/11 & 10/12 in Paoli. The landowner is telling me of a 16 point in his yard every day....I'm getting excited. Any of you guys in that area care to offer some advice for hunting suburbia? I'm used to hunting the Allegany National Forest which is over 500,000 acres of public land in NW PA. Hunting someones back yard is going to be very new for me.

Jason,

My favorite strategy is to look for edge habitat. The border of a field and woodlot, a fencerow connecting two woodlots, the edge of a clearcut...anywhere that could be considered the boundary between two different types of habitats.

I also try to find the thickest spot in the area I am hunting. I then look for a very small clearing in that thicket with lots of deer sign. That is usually an excellent spot for a morning hunt...and I would stick to a field edge or just inside a field edge for the afternoon/evening hunt. If you can find a supplemental food source like acorns located just inside the treeline from the main food source then I would set up there for an evening hunt. Though I would typically consider my area to be more rural than suburban there still are areas nearby that have the typical suburban/development type habitat.

Thanks, Frank. I guess it's the same strategy applied in a different surrounding. Nonetheless, we will do everything in our power to harvest a few deer from the property. We sent in for two Chester county tags(one for me and one for my wife) so we should help the landowner out a little and maybe get to score on a wallhanger while we're there.

Jason
Been hunting suburban deer (and ANF deer) for a while now and the one thing I would say is dont take them for granted! Be extra cautious about scent control and be extra quiet getting in and out of your area. Suburban deer are VERY people smart and generally have a very tight home range that they know extremely well. I've found that their reactions around the homeowner and his routines are not the reactions you'll get when you climb a tree with the intent of poking holes in them. At least thats been my experience in Allegheny Co!

Best of luck and be sure to fill us in on the hunt!

Member of NRA, BASS, Buckmasters and Life member of UBP.........Kill a big doe, Let the little bucks grow

Great tip BTB! Both my wife and I will be donning Scentlok. Hopefully, we get in some prime area and have some shots....we'll see. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to tell the stories and hopefully post some pics!

Jason you scout the same way. Take notes if you can when the yuppies walk there dogs ,jog or walk around the block.I use them to push the deer my way. Use them when you can.especially the one that go to go work at 9:00 am. Also the ones who have multiple bird feeders in there yard.If there is still some farming in the area check the thickets between the food and the backyards.Good luck I'm a little familiar with the Paoli area.Be careful some of them anti yuppies can be nasty.

Cardeer, how far are you from Paoli? The property I'm hunting is actually pretty close to some farming....at least from the last aerial photos that I've looked at. My biggest problem is the time frame. The landowner is my mother-in-laws cousin and my wife and I are going down to visit and hunt. We won't be arriving until about 5pm Friday. I plan to hunt/scout Friday as soon as we get there and then hunt Saturday morning and evening. I may hunt all day Saturday depending on deer activity. We have sent for some Chester county tags and plan to take a doe or two. So far we have decided to give any harvest to HFH. If you and Nancy want a deer and we get one you're welcome to it....just ask and it's yours. It might cost you a necklace though!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>