I hunt in the mountains of Virginia to get away from it all. That said, I have several properties in northernn Virginia to hunt. I use those spots in the suburbs to fill my freezer, and help control deer population. A lot of people in the suburbs here don't mind hunting because of the amount of deer hit by cars.
That is DEFINITELY sig worthy!!! I would say each person/state most likely tells a different story. I would guess Illinois is more likely to be hunter friendly in general just like places like Iowa, Kansas and so on. The closer you get to bigger cities the less friendly it will get I'm sure. You know I used to live in the burbs too and posted many pics of deer in my yard. I can ASSURE you that the people in that area watched and cared about those deer like family pets. ANY attempts to kill them would have started a war. Honestly they were so tame I would have protected them. Isn't Facebook the way to do that in 2014?? There is a time and place for everything. Blowing holes in deer and leaving a bloody mess behind is not something that NEEDS to take place amongst swing sets and swimming pools. You may have more faith in hunters in general then I do but in my experience you don't have to look far to find a knucklehead doing something stupid especially when the citidiots start grabbing guns. It's only a matter of time before a slug rips through a kitchen or a deer with half it's face blown off or an arrow in it's head ends up on the local news. It's just not worth it. I can't carry my handguns into a bar or on school grounds or a federal building. I know everyone hates being told what to do but sometimes we have to use common sense. I call BS on that on both counts. There is enough public land for EVERYONE to hunt........but that's not good enough for our Drive Thru mentality crowd today. If it's more then 15 minutes away it's too far!! If you love to hunt then drive as far as you need to. If you don't want to drive then buy some land or move. Do you force your neighbors to turn their yards into a golf course because you don't feel like driving to closest 18?? Not only are deer in the suburbs tame they are also trapped. When I can walk up to a 140-150" buck and toss it tomatoes from my garden and shoot my bow while deer watch from a few feet away I will just never believe otherwise. I lived with burbs deer for 10 years..........I know what they are and what they are not. Why do we HAVE to hunt in the suburbs?? Let's be honest about it and not kid each other. The MAIN reason guys want to hunt in the suburbs is they saw or heard of a huge buck in there because they are safe. No one cares about over population.........they see it as a chance to shoot fish in barrel. In other words it's easier........that's why so many guys want to do it.
Gone where??......they are trapped or they wouldn't be there in the first place. Thank you......That pretty much makes my point about as well as it could be written.
If you have to hide what you're doing........you probably shouldn't be doing it Your last comment can easily be translated into "always tells the truth". That seems to bother people for some reason, you'd have to ask them why.
What about someone like me, where I don't have the time to drive the hour or two to public ground, but still love to hunt and spend time in a tree? I hunt 12 acres in the middle of town, and I can honestly say I kill more deer each year on public ground. It's not as simple as just buying more land, not everyone has that option. I'm sure there are quite a few people on here who hunt small tracts of land, who could teach you a thing or two when it comes to deer hunting.
Who said anything about people moving there to get away from hunters or country life?? How many people do you know that live in the burbs would be thrilled to smell cow manure every morning and get woken up by roosters at the crack of dawn?? Would they be OK with trap lines running through their yards and parks?? How about slugs flying and bloody drag lines with gut piles on their freshly mowed lawns?? You think they want their kids and dogs running around where some idiot that's shoots at noises could be sitting in a tree?? The first part is true........the second I've never said. Ask yourself why this bothers you as I have no clue. Not from me..........you expect others to work their whole lives to provide you with something for free??? That explains a lot actually. If you believe what everyone else has and what you don't is due to some unknown force working against you then you are in for a long hard life. Keep blaming luck........you're not alone
How are you killing deer on public ground you claim you don't have the time to drive to?? The truth is you don't WANT to drive that far. Obviously you have public land you can get to but it's easier to jump in the 12 in town. If you love hunting that much then you would figure out a way. I did it.........why can't you?? As with everything in life it comes down to choices we make. If you chose to limit yourself in some way........be it financial, geographic, time.....whatever. Just live happily with your self imposed limitations or do something about it. Just don't expect everyone to bend over backwards to make your life into what you want it to be. It took me in the ballpark of 15-20 years of ridiculous hard work to get where I wanted to be in life. Sorry, but I have zero tolerance for people saying they CAN'T do something or people who do are "lucky". You CAN do it........IF YOU WANT TO BAD ENOUGH. I would love to see you and everyone else with better options if that's what they want.
I go to the public ground on weekends, when I have a break from work and schooling. Plain and simple, you are wrong.. I prefer going to the public ground, because it is more than just hunting for me there; it's a time spent with friends making memories. However, on a tuesday morning I sneak out to the 12 acres, because I merely have to walk out my back door. Who are you to condemn me for that? Answer me this? Do you hunt over food plots? Again, you're wrong, because I simply am not in the right place in my life to buy land. Could I, yes, but like I said, it is not always that simple. Priorities often get in the way, but someday it will happen. Where in any of my posts have I signaled that I expect people to bend over backwards for me? I work hard for what I want in life, and I'm also content with what I have. I'm very fortunate, and I realize this. You just spew off negative opinions about others based off your arrogant views. That is something I have zero tolerance for.
Justin, I couldn't agree more. Hunting in the suburbs is the only option for many people. I lease some land in Jo Daviess Illinois, but I also hunt where I live, on an 11 piece of land with a forest preserve directly behind me. This honestly can be harder than the country in certain aspects. Many deer in the country never see people, so they don't know what to think. Im not saying it is easier in Jo Daviess by any means, but it has it's differences. This year I took a buck from the suburbs, and one from Jo Daviess. However my neighbor hunts about 7 miles from me in town, and he is chasing four deer that we know are 180+. Like you said, if you respect your neighbor's opinions, things should go smooth in the suburbs. I have found that even a very small food plot can greatly improve things on your property in town, as in my area there is very little other food for them. Good luch everyone, hope you found this useful!
Ahh, the ignorance spewed forth by some. I love when some make assumptions about others situations due to their own past experiences. I used to hunt suburban deer quite frequently. They were and still are anything but tame. In fact, the suburban deer that I hunted were at the city limits of Cape Girardeau, where the albino buck was taken. The piece of property that I hunted on was 20 acres that was family owned, and was there long before others started to build around it. Why should my family not hunt that piece of property? Because it's too small? Because it's close to a few other people? Because it may offend somebody? How about this for once.....I, as a hunter, am tired of having to tiptoe around others because they may have their feelings hurt by my choice to hunt for my food. If I choose to legally hunt a piece of family ground that is close to the suburbs, that is my right. I shouldn't have to stop hunting just because the property is small or because others may see a dead deer. If they don't like it, don't look at it. I'm proud of the fact that I hunt and honestly don't care if anybody likes it or not. Why should my way of life be trampled on to appease the feelings of others?
City deer aren't "trapped" in their location, they are there by choice because of low pressure from people and predators and because of food sources. Manicured lawns, ornamental shrubs, gardens, etc...are all fine food sources. To prove that point just look at the pics people post of city deer, they are generally healthy and in high population densities. You don't see many (if any) that look like they are starving and there's obviously enough food and water to support their numbers. Hunting needs to happen because of both conditions mentioned, otherwise you have a bubble that will only lead to a collapse by disease that could well impact all deer. People in these communities generally realize the problems associated with over population and often look to hunters to help control the problem. Where community organizers have gotten hunting approved for those reasons via voters, I have a pretty rough time seeing any argument against hunting those deer with approved methods.
I hit a squirrel with my car once.......does that count? I don't think he died but I think he was hurt pretty bad.
Right......when it's easiest for you to get there. Right.......because it's easier for you. Saying something is true does not equate to condemning. Over??.......rarely. Guess what dude......that's life. Perhaps you missed my statement that it took me (and everyone else I'm sure) decades to achieve our goals. As I said before, just happily live with your self imposed limits until you either make it better or decide that's good enough. Don't expect others to sacrifice so you can have what you want. So now the truth is leaking out LOL. You CAN buy land but choose not to. Again, your limits are self imposed. Not even saying you are wrong.......as you are most likely not. Just glad you're starting to understand it's a choice you make and not just you being "unlucky" Some day you will understand that your first statement makes the second one funny. What "negative opinions" have I expressed??? That I don't like people shooting tame deer in the suburbs?? I would imagine the only person that would see that as a negative is someone who enjoys shooting tame deer in the suburbs. Using your logic.......anyone who disagrees with you is being negative?? Weird.
That is just simply not true. There is MORE then enough public land for EVERYONE to access. They simply don't want to hunt there because it's too far or too crowded.
I've never lived in a city but in my home in the burbs the deer had maybe 20 acres of trees to hide in. I guess if you consider running out into a 4 lane road and just standing in open parking lots an option then they weren't trapped. To me a deer in 20 acres of woods is trapped ESPECIALLY when being hunted. You understand that is just BS hunters make up so they can gain access to these areas right?? I lived in that suburban area for 30 years and the deer were there long before us. Funny how they never exploded into a plague that wiped out the deer population.
