Suburban Deer Hunting Challenges.....
I've been granted the opportunity to hunt on some small tracts and have asked about the neighbours for advice and experiences.....
The most popular seems to be bowhunting with drugged/poison arrows which also just happens to be illegal in our state.
Next is short barreled and suppressed AR types but they admit that there have been some running wounded deer embarrassments including one spurting blood and sprinting through a backyard birthday soiree into a swimming pool.
There are a few who have used their carry self-loaders on surprise targets of opportunity with varying outcomes ranging from a monster trophy that dropped in its tracks to felony arrests from misses and pass-throughs causing property damages and even tragedies.
But the one method I have not heard of in these neighbourhood(s) has been buckshot. Seems that in the same backyard situations, fifty to seventy feet, that area bowhunters experience..... at level from a blind or downward from a tree, buckshot should work as well or better. I have several ancient bolt-action and break-open fowling pieces that can riddle a pizza box at 40 paces with factory (equally ancient) buckshots.
Your thoughts/advices ?
Have you thought about roping one?
![[image]](images/uploaded/202309261418076512e81f7551a.jpg)
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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.
Don't know where you are but...
buckshot isn't legal here in TN. Most urban/suburban hunters around here, if they're not proficient archers, or even if they are, use crossbows. shorter learning curve and very effective at typical "backyard" ranges.
Cross bow is what a lot of folks in the nearest town to us
by Rob Leahy 
, Prescott, Arizona, Tuesday, September 26, 2023, 11:17 (422 days ago) @ pokynojoe
use for coyotes and other varmints. I suspect up here in the hills a certain amount of deer are harvested that way as well. a Shot gun slug would be my preference over buckshot every time.
I have a a couple SBRs in 300AAC suppressed I might consider, IF I can manage to get drawn in AZ, locally. The 30-30 barrel in mt Contender is about to get threaded for a can and THAT is a possibility as well.
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Of the Troops & For the Troops
My “Get Out Of Jail Free” card was issued by….
…..Washington fish & game, to prevent deer from chewing up the expensive fruit trees in my orchard. The state has to pay out the estimated value of a fruit tree based on its productive life span, and that gets spendy fast. So deprivation tags are given pretty readily.
I didn’t have to worry about hunting regulations, but we live on 4 acres, and everyone else around here has a similar size property. The fellow at fish & game strongly recommended a shotgun with buckshot or a bow.
I chose an Excalibur crossbow, which tightened his jaws a bit, but I pointed out that I wasn’t hunting under game laws, I was pretty much given a 007 license to kill. He agreed with reservations.
Once we got dogs, the deer disappeared from the orchard and I was able to store my William Tell weapon of mass destruction. But I will say this, it works like a charm!
Otony
My “Get Out Of Jail Free” card was issued by….
by Slow Hand , Indiana, Thursday, September 28, 2023, 17:49 (420 days ago) @ Otony
When I was in high school I worked part time at a quickie oil change place. There was a slightly older (than me) dude who worked there as a second job. He live a bit out west, in the country and he had a little bit of land. He also has a small tractor and planted exactly the amount of corn so that he could qualify for a depredation permit, or multiple permits so that he could basically shoot deer off of his back porch with a .30-06 (rifles weren’t allowed at the time) all year long he o my did it for free meat so I didn’t have an issue with it, not that it would have mattered to him!