Too many deer

[kaizen leader]

How can we start reducing all the deer in these subdivisions? With no dogs running loose and all the salad available they are populating like rabbits. The bleeding hearts think it's because the wildlife is being driven out of their natural habitat but they are wrong. The deer eat everything residents put in the ground, get hit by cars, and are a nuisance. Any suggestions?

 

[BSK]

Only thing I've seen work is a partnership between HOAs and bow-hunting groups. The two work in partnership to allow bow-hunting in the suburban areas while doing everything possible to assure residents they will be safe. Often this takes meetings between the two groups so they get to know each other on a personal level. The two groups then agree on a goal - such as reducing deer densities by "X" amount, which will require removing "Y" number of deer - and the methodology to achieve that goal - how and when hunting will occur, etc.

Suburban deer are a serious problem.

 

[SEC]

Easy answer. Let TWRA discover 2-3 cwd positive deer in that county. In 3-4 years they'll nearly be extinct. At least that's what happened here. #KillEmAllLetGodSortEmOut

 

[kaizen leader]

I'm in a HOA and no problem picking off a few here. My son lives a 1/2 mile away but not in a HOA. He had 32 in his back yard. Those are over and above the 10 to 15 that live in my HOA and are all does. I'm sure this spring will yield 20+ fawns. We get a couple triplets and mostly twins so that could be conservative. I can't deal with as many as I could shoot. During rut the number goes up but I have no idea where the bucks come from. It's a big problem. Oh well.

 

[timberjack86]

I'm in a HOA and no problem picking off a few here. My son lives a 1/2 mile away but not in a HOA. He had 32 in his back yard. Those are over and above the 10 to 15 that live in my HOA and are all does. I'm sure this spring will yield 20+ fawns. We get a couple triplets and mostly twins so that could be conservative. I can't deal with as many as I could shoot. During rut the number goes up but I have no idea where the bucks come from. It's a big problem. Oh well.

Hunters for the hungry?

 

[buckbstr_1]

Seek one!!!

 

[kaizen leader]

Hunters for the hungry?

Most of the deer hang out where you can't stick them. There really are way too many. More than I care to pick off and I can't invite help. I have to be somewhat stealthy. We have some real deer lovers or hunter haters. Same thing.

 

[BigJohnJTP]

A very effective way to persuade the (typically emotionally driven) general public that deer must be hunted and harvested even in urban areas is to give them the "How Do Deer Die?" talk:

"What are the six ways all deer die:

• ½ of all new born fawns die during their first year of life as they provide food for the parents and young families of coyotes, bears, bobcats, and other predators. Without this food source the new born young of these animal's families would slowly starve to death.
• Some deer are infected with deadly diseases like CWD or EHD and slowly painfully die,
• Some deer starve and/or freeze to death slowly during exceptionally cold winters,
• Some deer are hit by cars and with broken bones and other internal injuries crawl off to die slowly,
• Some deer live to an older age (7-10 years) until they become weak and are chased down and bitten to death by predators like coyotes and bears that then eat them for food, and
• Some deer are harvested through hunting during government regulated hunting seasons and are usually killed quickly and humanely with a hunter's bullet or arrow. Those deer are used to feed the hunter's families or provide lean, wholesome, badly needed red meat to many charities like "Hunters for the Hungry."

So if you were a deer, and given a choice, how would you like to die? Keep in mind that if deer numbers aren't reduced in urban areas by regulated hunting there is a chance at least some deer will be hit by someone's car."

Feel free to print his out and hand it out at your next HOA meeting!

 

[Mr.Bro]

Public meeting ,in Hendersonville, and it's usually about 50-50. Half want the deer thinned out considerably. The other half love em and don't want any killed.
Hendersonville has many many deer hunters and very few want to hunt on someone's deck or patio. Bow hunt? Shoot one and have it run out into a school yard to die would not be pretty.
Gun hunts? Well that's out of the question for obvious reasons.
I say let em multiply and let mother nature take its course.

 

[BigJohnJTP]

"The other half love em and don't want any killed." This is a problem that has had extensive not-so-subtle impacts on American society for many years. Emotionally not-directly-impacted-by-current-realty driven "virtue signaling". It's why people vote for "lunatic liberals" until reality hits them in the face. In NYC and Chicago some people are finally waking up when their children are displace to house illegal immigrants, that they are forced to pay for, etc, etc. And Californians are asking "Why the hell wasn't there any water for the fire trucks." It's why Trump was elected by so many different kinds of people in so many different kinds of places because they were finally dealing with reality. I still have a (very) few of what I call "friends from the seventies". They live in a common sense red state and still vote for dumb-ass blue Democrats. I do not waste my breath talking with them any more. You just present them the facts (like I just outlined about deer dyeing) and then look for a way to show them how their emotionally driven decisions and actions are affecting them directly. In their safety, freedoms, health, or wallets.

 

[Mr.Bro]

"The other half love em and don't want any killed." This is a problem that has had extensive not-so-subtle impacts on American society for many years. Emotionally not-directly-impacted-by-current-realty driven "virtue signaling". It's why people vote for "lunatic liberals" until reality hits them in the face. In NYC and Chicago some people are finally waking up when their children are displace to house illegal immigrants, that they are forced to pay for, etc, etc. And Californians are asking "Why the hell wasn't there any water for the fire trucks." It's why Trump was elected by so many different kinds of people in so many different kinds of places because they were finally dealing with reality. I still have a (very) few of what I call "friends from the seventies". They live in a common sense red state and still vote for dumb-ass blue Democrats. I do not waste my breath talking with them any more. You just present them the facts (like I just outlined about deer dyeing) and then look for a way to show them how their emotionally driven decisions and actions are affecting them directly. In their safety, freedoms, health, or wallets.

What the he'll are you talking about?

 

[chris1976]

What the he'll are you talking about?

Makes perfect sense to me

 

[Mr.Bro]

Makes perfect sense to me

Gone from deer in the neighborhood to politics?

 

[kaizen leader]

A very effective way to persuade the (typically emotionally driven) general public that deer must be hunted and harvested even in urban areas is to give them the "How Do Deer Die?" talk:

"What are the six ways all deer die:

• ½ of all new born fawns die during their first year of life as they provide food for the parents and young families of coyotes, bears, bobcats, and other predators. Without this food source the new born young of these animal's families would slowly starve to death.
• Some deer are infected with deadly diseases like CWD or EHD and slowly painfully die,
• Some deer starve and/or freeze to death slowly during exceptionally cold winters,
• Some deer are hit by cars and with broken bones and other internal injuries crawl off to die slowly,
• Some deer live to an older age (7-10 years) until they become weak and are chased down and bitten to death by predators like coyotes and bears that then eat them for food, and
• Some deer are harvested through hunting during government regulated hunting seasons and are usually killed quickly and humanely with a hunter's bullet or arrow. Those deer are used to feed the hunter's families or provide lean, wholesome, badly needed red meat to many charities like "Hunters for the Hungry."

So if you were a deer, and given a choice, how would you like to die? Keep in mind that if deer numbers aren't reduced in urban areas by regulated hunting there is a chance at least some deer will be hit by someone's car."

Feel free to print his out and hand it out at your next HOA meeting!

No HOA problem here. I'm the president.

 

[BigJohnJTP]

When it comes to wildlife and a lot of nature related issues most people are raised without any real relationship with nature any more and never see the growth-life-death cycles. They grow up in cities and suburbs and never gather, grow, hunt, fish, kill, and prepare any of the food they actually eat. They see wildlife as warm-fuzzy-cuddly things and follow the Disney and Hollywood movies and see wildlife as Bambi like creatures with human traits. Its called anthropomorphism. Not seeing the reality of what confronts them. A good example is that when deer herds grow exponentially and have to be reduced people in Northeast Blue cities will often hire sharpshooters to come in at night and quietly cull the heard because they don't want to see it or think about. And they frequently don't do that until deer are dying on the highways in front of them or eating their expensive shrubbery. Many of the political changes that we are seeing are the result of a similar kind of "wake-up" to realty as lifelong Democrats are saying this is insane and does not work! RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, and even some Border Democrats are waking up to the fact that feel-good Democratic Party norms are not sustainable and an uncontrolled influx of migrants will exhaust OUR resources. Maybe feel-good HOA members that don't like the concept of hunting will wake up to the impact of an uncontrolled influx of deer when deer start dying in their driveways.

 

[BigJohnJTP]

Maybe we should just tell anti-hunters that their attitude is "not sustainable." Lefty green bunny-huggers seem to love those words!

 

[kaizen leader]

When it comes to wildlife and a lot of nature related issues most people are raised without any real relationship with nature any more and never see the growth-life-death cycles. They grow up in cities and suburbs and never gather, grow, hunt, fish, kill, and prepare any of the food they actually eat. They see wildlife as warm-fuzzy-cuddly things and follow the Disney and Hollywood movies and see wildlife as Bambi like creatures with human traits. Its called anthropomorphism. Not seeing the reality of what confronts them. A good example is that when deer herds grow exponentially and have to be reduced people in Northeast Blue cities will often hire sharpshooters to come in at night and quietly cull the heard because they don't want to see it or think about. And they frequently don't do that until deer are dying on the highways in front of them or eating their expensive shrubbery. Many of the political changes that we are seeing are the result of a similar kind of "wake-up" to realty as lifelong Democrats are saying this is insane and does not work! RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, and even some Border Democrats are waking up to the fact that feel-good Democratic Party norms are not sustainable and an uncontrolled influx of migrants will exhaust OUR resources. Maybe feel-good HOA members that don't like the concept of hunting will wake up to the impact of an uncontrolled influx of deer when deer start dying in their driveways.

They won't but ignorance is bliss. Thx

 

[Popcorn]

City deer are so accustomed to humans trapping them would be a piece of cake! Relocate to areas where disease has dramatically reduced population and other places devoid of good populations like Tennessee's WMA's.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

A very effective way to persuade the (typically emotionally driven) general public that deer must be hunted and harvested even in urban areas is to give them the "How Do Deer Die?" talk:

"What are the six ways all deer die:

• ½ of all new born fawns die during their first year of life as they provide food for the parents and young families of coyotes, bears, bobcats, and other predators. Without this food source the new born young of these animal's families would slowly starve to death.
• Some deer are infected with deadly diseases like CWD or EHD and slowly painfully die,
• Some deer starve and/or freeze to death slowly during exceptionally cold winters,
• Some deer are hit by cars and with broken bones and other internal injuries crawl off to die slowly,
• Some deer live to an older age (7-10 years) until they become weak and are chased down and bitten to death by predators like coyotes and bears that then eat them for food, and
• Some deer are harvested through hunting during government regulated hunting seasons and are usually killed quickly and humanely with a hunter's bullet or arrow. Those deer are used to feed the hunter's families or provide lean, wholesome, badly needed red meat to many charities like "Hunters for the Hungry."

So if you were a deer, and given a choice, how would you like to die? Keep in mind that if deer numbers aren't reduced in urban areas by regulated hunting there is a chance at least some deer will be hit by someone's car."

Feel free to print his out and hand it out at your next HOA meeting!

You left out that some of those deer killed/eaten by bears and coyotes (whether they hunted it, or the deer survived a vehicle strike but was badly injured) are still alive when the eating begins.

 

[ridgewalker]

A lack of acorns this year put most of our mtn deer down into people's yards and fields.

 

[Mag]

Public meeting ,in Hendersonville, and it's usually about 50-50. Half want the deer thinned out considerably. The other half love em and don't want any killed.
Hendersonville has many many deer hunters and very few want to hunt on someone's deck or patio. Bow hunt? Shoot one and have it run out into a school yard to die would not be pretty.
Gun hunts? Well that's out of the question for obvious reasons.
I say let em multiply and let mother nature take its course.

Ahhhh yeah, I remember this dilemma from years ago. Extensive study took place partnering with TWRA, City Citizens etc. etc. only to dismiss the options presented. I think they landed on adding more Deer crossing signs...

 

[Wooden Arrow]

Gun hunts? Well that's out of the question for obvious reasons.

And they frequently don't do that until deer are dying on the highways in front of them or eating their expensive shrubbery.

some places allow limited gun hunts in populated areas, but all shooting must be done from elevated stands for safety reasons. suppressors on the rifles make it even quieter, as do sub-sonic ammunition. got a few places here where land owners refuse to allow bowhunters access, and they have 8' chainlink fences around their gardens. whatever...

 

[Deer Assassin]

44 mag suppressed

 

[BigJohnJTP]

some places allow limited gun hunts in populated areas, but all shooting must be done from elevated stands for safety reasons. suppressors on the rifles make it even quieter, as do sub-sonic ammunition. got a few places here where land owners refuse to allow bowhunters access, and they have 8' chainlink fences around their gardens. whatever...

I agree. That's the way I hunt narrow urban green belts. Elevated stands for safety and a quiet 12 ga with handloaded subsonic wadcutter slugs that always knocks them off their feet . They go down immediately in their tracks. They go absolutely nowhere.

 

[lol]

How can we start reducing all the deer in these subdivisions? With no dogs running loose and all the salad available they are populating like rabbits. The bleeding hearts think it's because the wildlife is being driven out of their natural habitat but they are wrong. The deer eat everything residents put in the ground, get hit by cars, and are a nuisance. Any suggestions?

Load em up and drop them off in Cherokee National Forest.

 

[102]

I have killed several deer in sub divisions in the past 5 years (Without looking at my records I'm pretty sure 20 is about right). I call it killing because it isn't hunting. At least where I'm doing it. It has been some of the most stressful hunting I have ever done. All bow obviously, so shots have to be perfect, the deer MUST fall on homeowners property, and must be removed off the property before gutting. And ALL of this without detection from the "Karens". Nothing illegal, but I just don't have the time, or desire to deal with upset people because someone killed Bambi.

Funny story...couple years ago I made a double lung shot on a huge azalea eater. She ran around the side yard headed for the front. I sat there about 15 minutes until I heard a back up alarm and noticed yellow lights flashing and reflecting off the foliage toward the direction I last saw her.

Very quickly I climbed down my tree, Took of my outer camo shell, revealing "yard man" clothes, and headed towards the front.

As I peeked around the corner I saw 2 city employees loading up my doe in the back of a dump truck.

I quickly hopped into my truck and pulled up alongside the 2 workers as they began to leave.

I said "excuse me guys, I actually saw that doe get hit and know it is fresh, would they mind if I took it off their hand and donated it to Tennessee Hunters for the Hungry?"

The fellas actually loaded it on my truck for me.

In all honesty...I did see it get hit. By my broadhead!

Nice guys. ( I think they actually knew somehow?)

BY THE WAY, she dressed 140!

 

[BigJohnJTP]

I have killed several deer in sub divisions in the past 5 years (Without looking at my records I'm pretty sure 20 is about right). I call it killing because it isn't hunting. At least where I'm doing it. It has been some of the most stressful hunting I have ever done. All bow obviously, so shots have to be perfect, the deer MUST fall on homeowners property, and must be removed off the property before gutting. And ALL of this without detection from the "Karens". Nothing illegal, but I just don't have the time, or desire to deal with upset people because someone killed Bambi.

Funny story...couple years ago I made a double lung shot on a huge azalea eater. She ran around the side yard headed for the front. I sat there about 15 minutes until I heard a back up alarm and noticed yellow lights flashing and reflecting off the foliage toward the direction I last saw her.

Very quickly I climbed down my tree, Took of my outer camo shell, revealing "yard man" clothes, and headed towards the front.

As I peeked around the corner I saw 2 city employees loading up my doe in the back of a dump truck.

I quickly hopped into my truck and pulled up alongside the 2 workers as they began to leave.

I said "excuse me guys, I actually saw that doe get hit and know it is fresh, would they mind if I took it off their hand and donated it to Tennessee Hunters for the Hungry?"

The fellas actually loaded it on my truck for me.

In all honesty...I did see it get hit. By my broadhead!

Nice guys. ( I think they actually knew somehow?)

BY THE WAY, she dressed 140!

Some urban adjacent hunting areas work very well. Easy access, known deer trails, and permanent stands. Other areas - not so much. I once hunted the side lots of someone that wanted "all the deer killed" because they were eating all her expensive shrubbery. She had placed electrical fence around her flowers and sprayed them with soap but they still came up on their back patio at night and ate everything. We even got a TWRA depredation (?) permit that allowed me to shoot anything day or night and use bait. I took a couple of deer (daytime/archery) there but it was a royal pain. 1) You can forget using a gun anywhere near where people are living after dark or they will go ballistic. It was archery only. 2) She would walk her yappy dog within 30 yards of my stand despite knowing I was there. 3) The two guys that lived next door had secretly hunted that property before I started hunting there and hated that I was there so they put a ground blind up within 20 yards of one of the stands that I put up. And obviously shot into the property when I was not there. They also used corn so that was pointless. The last straw was when I squeezed off an arrow that connected with a small buck and as I was going to wait quietly for a few minutes to retrieve the deer that had run along the property line a little out of sight a guy next door started yelling repeatedly "Did you get one?" and disappeared. When I went to retrieve the deer it was already gone. So I gave up trying to hunt there. Some things just aren't worth the trouble.

 

[CBU93]

I actually reached out to Alan Peterson many years ago to discuss the potential for an urban bow hunters association to work with HOA's and landowners about reducing some herds and maintaining socially acceptable numbers across the state. At the time, there was a large opportunity to do that….i just did not have the energy at the time. Might still be worth investigating for a younger more energetic person.

 

[BigJohnJTP]

A very important aspect (for me) of urban-adjacent hunting that I have implemented is - the survivalist's "gray man principle". (Not the movie!) "The "gray man" survivalist principle refers to the concept of blending seamlessly into your surroundings, avoiding attention, and remaining inconspicuous in order to stay safe and undetected ... " Arriving in head-to-toe camo with a visible gun or bow and a big 4 wheel drive truck is an invitation to "inspection and observation." I drive something inconspicuous like a family van or other car if possible. I make sure I have permission documents to hunt a place, have talked with any relevant neighbors ahead of time when possible, and try to go in and out at low traffic times, like before or after dark if possible. One thing I've found true throughout my life, in business or my private life, is that if people don't know what you're doing – they are a lot less likely to try to interfere with it!

 

[Travis G.]

I would gladly dart the many that walk through my yard. Shoot I would even drive them up to prentice cooper and drop them off
They are definitely getting to be a nuisance on big ridge Hixson