Did you know that the deer can live virtually anywhere, including the urban areas surrounded by cities and crowds of people?

Over the past few years, the populations of these adaptable ruminants have been on the rise in many cities. You’ll even hear cases of the animals raiding gardens and flowerbeds, and running in front of cars. This has turned their rare sightings into routine occurrences.

While this might be a disappointment to the homeowners and motorists, it means a great opportunity for the urban bow hunter to bag that monster buck.

Before you attempt to take down any deer in the urban places, make sure you go through the following tips and tactics for urban bowhunting.

5 Tips and Tactics That Will Make You An Expert Urban Bowhunter:

Pause a moment!

Before we discuss the expert tips and tactics for urban bowhunting allow me to tell you a few details about it:

Due to the obvious reasons, it’s not advisable to hunt with a high-power rifle. Imagine firing around homes? The sound of the rifle alone will scare the neighbor and promote them to call the police. A stray bullet could even make matters worse.

That being said, you’re always advised to use your bow and arrow for urban bowhunting; it’s not only safer but quieter compared to the rifles. And bowhunting is a great survival skill to have if SHTF.

In fact, most local municipalities and game departments consider bowhunting as the most appropriate method of controlling the deer population in the urban areas.

Now that you know the right urban hunting process, we can move on to our discussion….

1. Start By Locating Your Bowhunting Zone

The first task you should do in your urban bowhunting mission is checking for favorite lands to hunt in (and seeking the landowners’ permission to do so).

Locating favorable hunting areas isn’t that hard, especially if you have bow hunted before. Look for river corridors and thick creeks, patches of woods, etc., that are likely to hold a deer. Don’t ignore the 5-acre track – it can as well hold a deer or two.

If there are houses nearby, don’t forget to ask them who the landowner – you might be surprised that they’re actually the owners of the land.

Most state governments now have websites where you can easily track down the landowners. Alternatively, you can plan a trip to the courthouse to track the owner.

As a side, always be polite and presentable when seeking permission from the landowner.

2. This Ultimate Scouting Strategy Will Get You To Where The Deer Is:

If you do your scouting well, you’re sure to move to where the deer actually is.

When scouting urban areas, make sure you look for the likely covers and food sources. The deer tend to look for thick vegetation where they can comfortably hide, bed, and even get food to eat.

As for the food sources, look for features like – dogwoods, honeysuckle, oaks, and soft mast forms.

Another proven tactic involves setting up an ambush around a garden where the animals have been raiding.

Scouting for the deer highways, you might also find the buck on the move.

With just small, wooden areas, the deer moving between patches might be limited in their choices. In other words, they’ll prefer walking in areas that offer some cover as they move from one to the next.

3. Urban Bowhunting Calls For Accurate Shot Placement

True! Keep in mind you’re hunting in claustrophobic environments – sometimes a few yards from the garden edge and near houses.

What do you think would be the outcome if the wounded deer you’ve just shot runs with an arrow on it?

To perfect your shot placement in urban areas, you better start practicing with targets in a setup similar to the urban environment. Usually, the deer to approach within 10 yards, so you ought to practice at close ranges.

Sometimes you can fire a bad shot, making your tracking job lengthy and harder. The blood trail might lead into properties you don’t have access to – and in worst cases, into neighboring developments or yards. This means you’ll have to do some cleanups and start knocking doors to seek permissions to track your deer.

Again, be polite when seeking permission in such scenario.

As a bonus tip:

Always remove your camo and leave your bow in your truck before you approach any landowner to increase your chances of being granted permission to conduct your tracking job on their lands.

You never know, you might even gain new hunting zones as a result of interacting with the nearby landowners!

4. Be Patient!

It doesn’t matter the area you’re hunting in – hunting remains a waiting game even in urban areas.

Not only do urban areas provide you with decent hunting place, but they can also give you an opportunity to harvest a trophy buck. In these regions, you’ll find fewer hunters hounding the bucks, and the hunting pressure is quite low. This translates to the animals living for more years (and developing a bigger rack).

Picture yourself setting up on a travel corridor. With subdivisions all over your hunting area, you’re dead sure that the travel routes used by the deer are limited.

As such, you just need to remain patient in your climbing tree stand – the ideal tree stand for urban bowhunting – knowing that a monster buck will eventually come through.

Your patience will ultimately get rewarded!

5. Be Prepared To Remove Your Kill As Fast As You Can

After following all the tips and tactics we’ve discussed above, you’ll end up with a successful urban hunt, with a deer on the ground.

Depending on the visibility of your hunting areas, you might consider removing the whole animals and field dressing in a remote location.

You simply don’t want to leave behind bloody drag marks on someone’s property or leaving the gut pile there, or even the neighborhood dog taking a share of the pile before heading for a couch at home.

Additionally, don’t attempt to remove or drag your kill when your neighborhood kids are out waiting for the bus!

Such things might compromise your hunting permission.

Final Verdict

Bowhunting deer used to be confined in the large tracts of farmlands and forests. But these days are long gone. Today, as an avid bow hunter, you’ll like it more hunting the big game in urban areas, in someone’s yard!

Keep all the above tips and tactics in mind when setting out to bow hunt in an urban area and you’ll surely harvest that monster buck.