Author: Peyton Fair 9/24/2025

Ever driven through a subdivision and spotted deer just hanging out in someone’s backyard? I have. I’ve been in construction for the past few years, working neighborhood to neighborhood, and it’s crazy how many of these little pockets of woods hold wildlife.

So here’s why I’m bringing this up—my dad recently sent me an article about suburban deer hunting. Now, I know it’s not exactly new, especially with hunters making YouTube videos about it and building social media followings, but the whole idea kind of grabbed my attention.

What surprised me were some of the things the hunters in that article were saying. I won’t drop names because I’m not trying to bash anyone, but they basically claimed suburban deer are harder to kill than the ones out in farm country or big timber. One line that stuck out was, “Despite the derision that suburban whitetails are ‘tame deer,’ both bowhunters say it’s harder to kill one in a backyard than in farm country.” To me, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Their reasoning was that suburban deer are extra alert since people are always outside—kids playing, folks grilling on the deck, that kind of thing.

From what I’ve seen, though, it’s the opposite. These deer are used to people. Homeowners feed them corn, let them chew through their gardens, and basically treat them like neighborhood pets. I’ve been 8 to 10 yards away from big bucks in these subdivisions—close enough you’d think I could’ve hand-fed them. And I’ve even got video to prove it. Deer under hunting pressure in real timber? Totally different story. The smallest movement or a shift in the wind will bust you every time.

So yeah, saying suburban deer are tougher to hunt than farm or wild deer is just ridiculous. Let’s be real—it’s basically shooting pet deer. As hunters, we owe it to each other to be honest about that. If we start letting this idea spread, the next generation might grow up thinking that backyard deer hunting is the same challenge as going after pressured deer in the wild. And that’s just not the case.