Pennsylvania Game News - July 2019 - 54

This provides numerous opportunities
for willing archers to give suburban
bowhunting some serious consideration.

MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT

Deer densities often are higher in
the pockets of useful habitat found in
suburbia, and a smaller percentage of the
local residents hunt there.
As a result, more antlerless deer
licenses tend to be allocated, providing
ample opportunity to get out and fill a tag.
Bucks have a chance to reach maturity
in suburban settings because they seldom
are pressured, which leads to some really
impressive racks.
I'll never forget the time I crossed
a creek to access a tiny Montgomery
County tract and rousted three giant bucks
from their winter beds. My eyes almost
popped out of my head.
While suburban bucks can be wary
at times, holding tight to smaller
home ranges, they still make mistakes
occasionally. And smart hunters can cash
in and harvest a real trophy.
Suburban deer tend to key in on
nontraditional food sources, such as
hydrangea bushes, vegetable gardens and
ornamental shrubs, much to the dismay of
property owners. Those losses can make
gaining permission to hunt an easier task,
since your efforts could reduce property
damage.
Hunting close to home also is
convenient. Some days, when I'm
working late, it's nice to have a nearby
stand to slip into for the last two hours
of daylight and still make it home in
time for dinner. With a young family
waiting on me, hunting shorter periods
better suits our schedule and allows me
to get out more often. But transitioning
to suburban settings warrants a shift
54

in thinking compared to mountain or
farmland archery bowhunting. Huntable
properties in suburbia usually are much
smaller, requiring a slightly different
approach and greater tolerance.
Suburban bowhunters must accept
they'll need to put up with things that
aren't issues on larger tracts of land. While
hunting my own plot and other suburban
properties, I've had neighborhood dogs
walk right under my tree stand, even chase
away deer while out for a leashed stroll.
On the other hand, there have been
times when incessant barking nearby
tipped me off to deer movement just
before dark.
I've also had neighbors roll up on an
ATV and dump horse manure within plain
view of my stand, observed kids playing
and yelling in a backyard just over the
hill, and had another hunter crawl into
his stand 25 yards from my property line
with only 30 minutes of legal shooting
time left.
The crazy thing is that in each instance,
I was fully convinced my chances of
seeing a deer were slim to none. But more
often than not, I was pleasantly surprised
to see flickers of movement materialize
soon thereafter - even on days with lots
of commotion.
Suburban deer are used to dealing with
people, and they often will tolerate more
disturbance compared to deer in more
rural locales.
Still, once they recognize they're being
hunted, they can become elusive fairly
quickly.

SUBURBAN SETUPS

Deer can be pushed out of tight areas
easily, so hunters should pay attention
to how they access and leave hunting
properties, as well as use wind direction
Pennsylvania Game News - July 2019

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