How to hunt deer in the city

All across the country, just beyond the shadow of big-city skylines, white-tailed deer populations are flourishing. Get serious about suburban whitetails and learn how this type of hunting is like no other.

Where to set up

For the most part, suburban whitetails are just like any other deer when it comes to certain needs and wants. Food is of the utmost importance, but even an extremely lush field of clover, soybean or alfalfa will see few deer if there is no adjacent cover. And the dirtier and nastier the cover, the better the chance it will harbour some good bucks.

Since suburban deer are at times quite visible around such areas, however, don’t be surprised if other hunters have already staked them out. Not to worry, though: some of my best spots are areas that most bowhunters would not give a second glance.

During the rut, overgrown fencelines and drainage ditches in open fields between areas of heavy cover can be awesome spots to waylay big bucks. My best bow kill to date-a 165-inch gross nine point-was taken from a ground blind at a distance of 15 metres as the deer made its way down a ridiculously small drainage ditch through a cut cornfield. This when the nearest heavy cover was almost a kilometre away. I can’t help but wonder how many times he was seen by the occupants of any one of the half-dozen houses I could see from my blind.

Ditches and fencelines are great spots to take bucks during the rut, in many cases because the deer are much less likely to be disturbed by your presence. That’s because they’re only passing through as they travel from one spot to another. You won’t see as many animals as you would if you were hunting over a feeding area, but chances are those you do spot will be wearing some headgear.

Just remember, bucks like to travel through these areas with the wind in their favour. As a result, I like to hunt these spots with a diagonal wind. For a north-south fenceline or ditch where the deer like to travel on the west side, a southwest or northwest wind is great. That situation prevails when a busy road or houses are found across the field to the east of the fenceline or ditch.

Tip:

Many of our capital cities boast bowhunting bonuses—including extended seasons and bigger bag limits—just a short drive from downtown. As always, though, make sure you double-check your local hunting regulations and municipal bylaws before heading out. (Note: the information below pertains to white-tailed deer, unless otherwise noted.)