I have permission to hunt deer in my mom's yard, bowhunt of course. Two nice buck cross often and many doe.
What do yall think of backyard deer.
i live in NJ, all we have is backyard deer! i say hunt them.
Over the years, people have given me permission (sometimes begged) me to shoot the deer that were decimating the plants in their backyards. I have never taken them up on it, assuming that the deer would probably not just conveniently drop dead on the spot, but would probably run down the block and drop dead in some PETA member's front yard.
If you're not worried about where they're going to run after they're hit, and if your mom's yard is in a legal hunting zone, then go for it.
I'm with McDave on this one. My boss has permits to kill deer in his neighborhood of 3-5 acre lots, a feeder in his front yard, and what he says are three really nice 8-10 pt. Whitetails hitting it daily, plus numerous does. He wants me to come and shoot two or three as the permits are bow only, but I just know I'll blood trail it into somebody's garage.....and I feel the outcome with the neighbors wouldn't be worth it.
Depends on the back yard/neighborhood. We shoot anything and up to high powered rifles in our back yard, I've seen some it's not safe to throw rocks in.
Only if they die in your backyard. Bad publicity when they wander on a neighbor's yard and croak with an arrow sticking in them.
I have had depredation permits and not used them because you just can't predict where the animal will end up. A shot clean through the heart and the critter can go 30 yards! Double lung 40-50 yards! Single lung-a week! And who knows which direction.............not for me!
Around here, most of my hunting is some variation of "backyard". I live on 25 acres, have permission to hunt on other plots of 10 to 20 acres, and so forth. All semi-rural, but certainly a far cry from "wilderness". Unless you are an unyilding purist, you may just have be able to enjoy yourself in less than untouched surroundings. Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. And, like a Wensel said, "If you call em and they don't come, they ain't a pet." So don't feel too bad about that aspect of the hunt.
I have a buddy who shot one behind his house (in a perfectly legal area) and it ran into a neighbor lady's yard and died in her gold fish pond. Not really what you would want to have happen.
Quoteand it ran into a neighbor lady's yard and died in her gold fish pond.
That's exactly why I don't even want to think about going after the nice bucks that I see frequently on my ~3ish acre old orchard property. There have been some beautiful 4X4 CA blacktail come through in broad daylight.
Plus my neighbors see me out there practicing archery all the time...Won't take a Sherlock Holmes to put 2 and 2 together.
I'd drop the string!!!!
Hunt where you can. sometimes those are the perfect spots for before or after work. I hate watching other peoples TV's from my tree stand so sometimes you have to face the other side of the tree despite where the trail is.
Save the woodsie hunts for the weekends.
I hunt a lot of back yard deer. Most of the neighbors know I'm hunting. Be respectful and courteous to everyone you encounter while hunting, it goes a long way.
I would kill em and go get em. If they issue permits to bowhunt surely they know they all won't drop wear they were shot. Some of the best bucks hang out in the hood
I should add I hunt mostly weekdays in the morning. To much activity on the week-ends.
Hard to come by a free place to hunt in my neck of the woods....i'd be all over a deal like this
If you don't care where they end up then go for it. I'm sure you've already taken safety into consideration. If its safe and legal and wouldn't end up with too much bad press, Id go for it.
I'd say kill'em!
Here in NJ if you don't hunt "yards' than you almost don't hunt. As long as you can make a safe(not endangering anyone but the deer)shot than by all means. And in some areas camo means polo shirt, dockers pants and boat shoes suberban deer are use to it ,camo would just upset the neighbers(ask anyone on the golf couse how deer act towards them LOL) Just don't gut in the area, and try to limit the drag/blood that shows. I 2nd the week day hunt fewer eyes.
I think I'd talk to a few of the neighbors, let them know you're thinking of doing some bow hunting and see what kind of response you get and then go from there
Ive popped a few in my backyard.They taste the same.
My specialty! Although I am no expert, this is where I'm hunting or I'm not hunting! Huge urban deer problem, yards get destroyed and people want rid of the deer. It's legal and the urban deer population is out of control. I have one friend that begs me to hunt them and I am eager to assist. In my yard I'll hunt the AM on weekdays, everybody goes to work and school, less people to deal with. Shoot with confidence and a sharp broadhead.
I should add that I have been shooting only doe, and nobody seems to get excited with a dead doe. It seems that antlers add to the "excitement" and that's when "eyes" notice and problems arise. That's not to say I won't shoot the big 8 if I see him, but it appears more "deer management" of you are culling the herd of a few does. Of course, offer any that ask what your doing, the opportunity to feast on some fresh, natural, no preservatives added, no steroids, etc.... venison.
I smell fried backstrap already.
Whack em'! my favorite deer to hunt!!
explore the outer areas and they make the decision. I personal as stated hunt backyard bucks in Jersey to.
i'd be on it like white on rice! an afternoon hunt may be a better deal, so when you do stick one you'll be tracking in the dark, so maybe it wont be so obvious. asking the neighbors may be a good idea, but it also may get them to say NO. dont ask, dont tell in my opinion.. go kill! i killed a buck several yrs ago (on my buddies in laws place) while i smelled hamburgers cooking..
All day every day :)
I hunt "backyard" deer every year, and they are no easier to hunt than a mountain deer imo.
Educate the neighbors then grill em a strap
The thing about neighborhood deer is human scent doesn't run them off. So it isn't much of a challenge but they are deer and are tasty so that is really a personal call.
Go for it, deer meat is deer meat, and the herd needs trimmed in these areas.
One of our neighbors has a herd of "pet" deer that come each evening to her backyard feeder. She asked me to put down a doe with a broken leg. That doe would probably have made it through the winter just fine, but she really couldn't stand to see it limping. Her front yard is in the city limits and her back yard in the township. I took her down with a rifle at about 20yds while sitting against her back wall, simply because I didn't want it running 50yds and dropping on somebody's front porch.
Really wanted to use my bow and track it a short way with my Dachshund to give him some much needed work. Just couldn't afford the possible bad press.
It's semi rural and legal, the gold fish pond scenario is about the only issue I have with it.
There is an elevated covered playhouse right where they cross!
I say go for it if is semi rural. Deer will usually seek cover when hit, only reason I can see a deer dying in a goldfish pond next to someone's house is that it was gut shot and that was the only water around. We see deer hit by cars quite often laying in people's yards up here! If you are concerned I would approach the neighbors and talk to them! If you don't feel good about thier responses don't hunt it! I have found that they give permits for a reason and alot of the non hunters don't want to hit them with thier cars! I have friends that hunt situation's like yours and they have never had an issue! I know they usually will get the deer out during the weekday and not at night b/c lights in someone's back yard will get a call to the local authority's!
I have been hunting in "the hood" as we call it among some multi million dollar homes all on 5 acre lots for the past 8 years or so and it has never been an issue. I have never had one pile up in someone's yard. They always go for cover and end up in an adjacent woodlot. I started out with 1 property and then over the years have grown it to 12 all in the same neighborhood. As long as all the neighbors understand what is going on it has been great. I share the venison with anyone who want it and usually provide them with a nice bottle of wine to accompany it. I have 'real' woods to hunt in when I want to, but the convenience of going from work to parking the truck in 15 minutes is awfully nice. I think the hood deer are just as difficult to hunt the only exception being that they are more accustomed to human scent. They still smell you, but I think it allows you to get a little closer. There is only one property owner that is a rabid anti that will not allow anyone on his property no matter what. We don't hunt where we think a deer might go onto his property after being shot.
I say go for it.
Deer would have to run 6 miles to find another yard behind my house. :bigsmyl:
Just let them get run over by the cars in the neighborhood. Not me. Mike
See my handle. But mine is not your typical back yard. I have 10 acres and have hunted deer and turkey there for a couple years. I have considered the retrieval from the neighbors yard, and chances of that are slim. Any more, about anywhere you go is someones back yard.
There's a difference between hunting and killing. I don't hunt the deer on my property because they know i'm not a threat to them since i see them almost daily. Just a thought.
I live in a subdivision where everyone has a few acres. I am at the end of a dead end road with nothing behind my house but woods for a mile or so. I could hunt my 4 acres, I see quite a few deer out my back window but leave the deer alone.
Walking 100yds from the house and setting up a tree stand doesn't feel like hunting for me.
If I fall short on putting my yearly deer in the freezer I might mess with the back yard deer. So far all I have to do when I come up short is call one of my deer slayer friends and tell them I need a deer. With a 2 deer a day limit in Alabama and a 3 deer a day limit in Tennessee it doesn't take them long to deliver. Most of us hunt both states.
I voted no because I envisioned actually neighborhoods, like 50'x120' lots. Very bad ju-ju for a dying deer to run across four or five patios before going down cleanly.
On the other hand, 3 to 5 acre tracks, cool neighbors, go for it!
I'm on 5 acres surrounded by 20 and 40 acre and public land and if a nice buck is standing out by my target with a mouth full of my jalapenos, as they are apt to do, thwack!
No.
Treestand-yes
Camera-yes
Bleeding deer on someone's porch-nope.
I've got a herd in my backyard and in spite of eating our veggie garden I won't shoot them. not worth the grief if things don't go right
Yay.
I do it every year on a 13 acre property. It is my local hunting spot.
I will spend weekend hunts at my brother in laws 200 acre farm in NorthEast Missouri.
Funny thing is: I kill bigger/better deer on the 13 acres:
Here is a google Earth Picture of the property. The yellow line is the boundary of the 13 acres.
You can clearly see 20+ houses in this picture.
(http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b101/dubitc/Gregsproperty.jpg)
In a residential area of small lots - no. In NY, you must have landowner permission to retrieve. If they say no, you cannot go in under ANY circumstance. Not for me.
Some of us only have those places to hunt, so if we want to hunt we have no choice. You hunt in the evening and track at night. So far no problem.
Share venison with the neighbors. Great PR for the deer that die off your property.
I'm in the check around with neighbors crowd. You might find it is fairly universal feeling for the need to get rid of a few deer. If you are ethical and responsible it can go a long way to helping win over the non-hunters to the positive aspects of bowhunting. If it is a largely anti-hunting area I would stay away to avoid the trouble and giving the anti's anything they could blow up into a larger issue.
I feel compelled to respond again. My neighborhood consists of mostly 1 acre plots with homes, and larger off limit areas around the neighborhood. Off limit areas are ball fields, parks, schools etc with no hunting allowed. The deer bed down in those areas, then eat out the neighborhood gardens and landscaping. There is almost no hunting pressure and growing deer herds. Road kill was at an all time high last year, I saw at least a dozen road kills within 1 mile of my home. Yes the deer are patternable and you know where to hunt, but this is necessary in order to get on top for a nice close shot and hopefully a quick kill. Most of my neighbors know my intentions, but regardless, my legal right is to hunt them and I do so because my landscaping is also one of the ones that the deer vigorously feed on, and it may be one of my cars that collides with the deer in the future.
If you hunt YOUR area, aprouch your neighbers with the hunt as a public service broadhead or volvo/Bmw the deer is still dead. Point out that you hunt from tree stands thus shots( silent NO BANG) go into the ground, and you're willing to share the High proteen low fat resolt. I'm sure there are some who are tryed of car vs deer pingpong and destuction of pricy landscaped property/gardens and as pointed out the less camo(look like everyone else) the better.
I live in a very rural area and everybody around here hunts so it wouldn't be a problem. My lease starts in my backyard and goes 3k acres to the river.The only thing I would be worried about in a subdivision area would be a bad shot. It happened around here sometimes back where a deer had an arrow stuck in it and was seen by several people. Heck the local news was all over it. To say the least it didn't help our cause.
I have put a lot of backyard venison in the freezer. No PETA people or tree huggers here, any where in my neigbor hood. I had folks over on a lake ridge that had been developed, out of state retiree's knew I hunted, aske me not to shoot deer that were close to their houses, like to see them. A year later and a dry spell, deer came in a mowed down all their high dollare shrubs and landscape and ornamental bushes, my phone started ringing off the wall, folks asking me when I was gonna kill them ***** deer. I have had free range of the whole neighborhood since. I used the back decks and porches as blinds since about every one had tall towering evergreen shrubs on each corner of the 2 story decks, blind and a treestand. Deer were still wild.
QuoteOriginally posted by koger:
I have put a lot of backyard venison in the freezer. No PETA people or tree huggers here, any where in my neigbor hood. I had folks over on a lake ridge that had been developed, out of state retiree's knew I hunted, aske me not to shoot deer that were close to their houses, like to see them. A year later and a dry spell, deer came in a mowed down all their high dollare shrubs and landscape and ornamental bushes, my phone started ringing off the wall, folks asking me when I was gonna kill them ***** deer. I have had free range of the whole neighborhood since. I used the back decks and porches as blinds since about every one had tall towering evergreen shrubs on each corner of the 2 story decks, blind and a treestand. Deer were still wild.
This seems to be the case. They don't want you to shoot the deer until hundreds of flowers,bushes, saplings are completely eaten to the ground, then they want them destroyed! Nonetheless, decimation of the herd is not the goal, just good management. I have found nothing that will keep deer from landscaping except a sharp broadhead. Chemicals / deterrants do not work. They jump over fencing. They are not scared of dogs. In fact, my 90# dog took a kick to the head from a mature doe last year! That made the wife angry and she wants the deer gone. But I strive only to keep it in check.
I voted "nay" because I've got backyard and frontyard deer at my home. The deer are basically semi-tame. They pay me no mind and I can get quite close to them when I mow my grass.
If they have become a pest due to numbers and damage, eat them. It may not be the hunt of a lifetime, but not everyone has access to pristine hunting grounds.
Opposite here in the Bay State from NY. If the landowner won't give permission to retreive then the game warden has to. Of course they try to get YOU permission otherwise they have to do it. Deer are considered the states property regardless of where they drop.
Landowner rights are a priority still in NY.
One of the few things they have right.