Chattanooga Suburban Hunting

[jaeger1954]

New to Chattanooga. Grew up hunting private land in West TN. I live on Signal Mtn and am thinking about bow hunting in my backyard - live on about two acres that's mostly wooded.

Wondering if many ppl hunt within city limits up here (or around Chatt) - don't want to cause a ruckus with the neighbors. Any insight is much appreciated.

 

[DC219]

Depending on where you're located on Signal, be mentally prepared for LOTS of human activity all around you. I occasionally hunt public state forest there and have had hikers, runners, dog walkers, mountain bikers, dirt bikers, atvs, kids playing, paint ballers, neighborhood dogs, cats and druggies within bow range at every conceivable time of the day. It's nerve wracking. If you're bow hunting a small parcel, hopefully it's not too close to any neighborhoods. A blood trail ending in someone's back yard or driveway could make for a really bad day; especially if the deer piles up in close proximity to one of the many libs that reside there. Happy hunting!

 

[Hduke86]

I can promise you that there's some good deer on the side of that mountain.

 

[lafn96]

You watch Seek One on Youtube? (Nothing to do with Chattanooga, but their channel is based on suburban bow hunting primarily in the Atlanta suburbs)

 

[jaeger1954]

Thanks for the responses - never bow hunted before so just now putting some feelers out. I'll check out the Seek One guys.

@DC219 is confirming my suspicions about hunting on Signal. Having a deer pile up in one of the liberal neighbors yards would be my worst nightmare...

 

[jaeger1954]

My motivation for hunting on my own property inside city limits is to put meat in the freezer - I enjoy processing the deer more than I enjoy the shot.

Don't feel like I have enough time to scout Prentice Cooper and have heard its a very challenging area to hunt (especially for someone new to the terrain like me).

 

[Hduke86]

Thanks for the responses - never bow hunted before so just now putting some feelers out. I'll check out the Seek One guys.

@DC219 is confirming my suspicions about hunting on Signal. Having a deer pile up in one of the liberal neighbors yards would be my worst nightmare...

That's what I was about to mention would be trying to bow hunt on two acres. It's not a problem if your neighbors are fine with the high possibility of a deer running to their property and dying. Also depends on about which area you are hunting on Signal. I deer hunted for years on the side of it with no problems but move up top and you're likely going to cause a stink.

 

[Hduke86]

My motivation for hunting on my own property inside city limits is to put meat in the freezer - I enjoy processing the deer more than I enjoy the shot.

Don't feel like I have enough time to scout Prentice Cooper and have heard its a very challenging area to hunt (especially for someone new to the terrain like me).

Prentice Cooper is a huge tract of land and is difficult terrain for the most part. Much of Prentice Cooper is the side of the mountain and it's very limited access on the side. It gets HAMMERED during turkey hunts and deer hunts that's for sure. The one "benefit" of PC is that it's opened year round depending on what you're doing either hiking,biking, atv, horseback. So there's plenty of time during the year but I will warn you now. If you go out there in the warmer months to make sure your clothing and boots are HEAVILY treated in permethrin cause the ticks are unreal and for the most part the woods off the trails and roads don't get disturbed so don't go stomping out there with high ankle boots at least or snake chaps.

 

[BigRod]

I'm not in the chat area but my advice is to let your neighbors know that you'll be hunting around them and ask for permission in advance if you may retrieve a deer just in case it dies in their land

 

[DC219]

Prentice Cooper is a huge tract of land and is difficult terrain for the most part. Much of Prentice Cooper is the side of the mountain and it's very limited access on the side. It gets HAMMERED during turkey hunts and deer hunts that's for sure. The one "benefit" of PC is that it's opened year round depending on what you're doing either hiking,biking, atv, horseback. So there's plenty of time during the year but I will warn you now. If you go out there in the warmer months to make sure your clothing and boots are HEAVILY treated in permethrin cause the ticks are unreal and for the most part the woods off the trails and roads don't get disturbed so don't go stomping out there with high ankle boots at least or snake chaps.

You're right about the biting insects. You can get eaten alive in warm weather without bug spray. There's a lot of copperheads and the occasional rattlesnake there too. I've encountered 8 copperheads within 50 yards of my house in the past 5 years. I also encountered two large timber rattlers in one morning, 4 miles apart, while riding dirt bikes. The snakes were never aggressive, but you don't want to set a hand or foot on one. Signal has some big bucks too, but they don't come easy.

 

[scn]

Without permission from your neighbors surrounding your property, bow hunting may be tough. You must have their permission to go onto their property to track/retrieve your deer. I've killed a "few" with a bow over the years, and even with great shots where they are dead within seconds, they can travel a long way. Most won't stay on two acres after being shot.

And, of course, the feeders would be illegal to have in operation or any of the feed for at least 10 days prior to the season.

Probably not an ethical (or legal) deal unless your surrounding neighbors are on board with your plans.

 

[Grill-n-man]

The amount of damage and cost deer do in neighborhoods can play on the plus side. Talk to the neighbors, be polite, specific in details, explain about you going to be invisible, and except a no as well as a yes. Also might want consider only hunting for a few hours early or late when most are not out and about. Can be done if one is willing to bend in the winds little

 

[102]

The most stressful hunting I have ever done> PERIOD!

WHY?

Because like scn said...perfectly hit deer can go a long way.

And rarely will you find a property in a subdivision where deer aren't a problem for some, and a source of entertainment for others. Some people don't like you killing their "pets".

Very likely the deer are there because someone is feeding them.

Azaleas, daisies, or maybe corn.

You better learn how to look like a yard worker going into your stand (back porch...)

Hunting in the evening gives you low light to come out.

Gutting on premises is taboo so dragging out a "full" carcass is HEAVY, suburban deer can get large.

I killed a live weight 170 pound doe. VERY difficult to discretely lift a dead 170 weight into a pickup.

I have passed a bunch of slam dunk shots on deer that were angled wrong, too alert, too close to property lines, too early in the evening, too many people around, neighbor outside grilling, headed wrong direction, too quiet (background noises are best to cover release noises, personally I like music, mowers, traffic, and wind).

For some weird reason deer don't like leaf blowers anywhere near them!

I do not particularly enjoy this type of hunting, I do it to help with overpopulation and to fill some freezers. In all honesty it only moves the deer off the person I am hunting and moves the deer to a neighbors.

And hunting suburbs deer (yard deer) is NOTHING like hunting pressured deer. NOTHING!!!

It takes MUCH LESS actual HUNTING skill to kill these "pets" than say pressured deer.

All the skill comes down to shot selection, stealth in people avoidance, timing, people skills in dealing with landowners/neighbors, etc.

Blood trailing is rarely an issue because you BETTER see them fall!

The deer learn very quickly if you are there and where you are sitting. I swear I think they learn to look for my vehicle. I've had to get really sneaky.

 

[Pilchard]

I just can't bring myself to hunt I'm my back yard. There are some great deer that are very much predictable through August but it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment. Either of these would be my biggest deer ever and both could be shot from my master bedroom window during the velvet hunt.

 

[Hduke86]

I just can't bring myself to hunt I'm my back yard. There are some great deer that are very much predictable through August but it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment. Either of these would be my biggest deer ever and both could be shot from my master bedroom window during the velvet hunt.

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I know it can be hard to put down a "pet" when you've watched them grow up but i don't have an emotional attachment to ol Bucky buck so I can come put him out of his suffering lol. That's a great deer by the way

 

[Voldeerfan]

Welcome to the mountain! If you are in the town, you could run into issues with the people out there who like their pet deer. Some of the biggest bucks, based on antlers, have been out there, and around the McCoy property in Walden. PC can be busy in some areas, but several people do hunt there and I have seen some of their pictures of really big deer. Just have to get away from the main trails when scouting. The town cannot legally bother you about hunting, due to a state ruling a few years back, but the neighbors could. Just make sure you are up to date on hunting laws in regards to proximity to other houses, and like others have said, get to know your neighbors and get permissions ahead of time.

 

[Headhunter]

Without permission from your neighbors surrounding your property, bow hunting may be tough. You must have their permission to go onto their property to track/retrieve your deer. I've killed a "few" with a bow over the years, and even with great shots where they are dead within seconds, they can travel a long way. Most won't stay on two acres after being shot.

And, of course, the feeders would be illegal to have in operation or any of the feed for at least 10 days prior to the season.

Probably not an ethical (or legal) deal unless your surrounding neighbors are on board with your plans.

Can't see any reason it would be illegal. He owns the land, so long he shoots the deer on the land he owns, legally doesn't matter where the deer ends up. If the neighbors will not let him retrieve the dead deer, then they can take care of it.

 

[Headhunter]

I had access to prime property in Belle Meade (haven't asked, but I am pretty sure I could still shoot deer there if I wanted to) not my thing. Went there a time or 2 and never attempted to kill what I saw. Just like shooting pets, did not interest me in the least. They stood there and looked at you. I am sure if some were killed they would get educated quickly but not what I care for.

 

[Chickencoop96]

I grew up on the edge of Clinton City limits, but you wouldn't know it just by looking at the area. it just so happened to be semi suburban with surrounding TVA land and cattle farms just inside the city boundaries. So we bow hunted Quite often and we only ever had 1 problem person out of the many years we hunted there. she was un aware that we were perfectly legal to hunt those areas and didn't expect to see a Tahoe with a giant bleeding doe hanging off the hitch haul pulling through the neighborhood. As long as you are on Legal grounds, you should be good. Just be prepared to deal with the "Oh no he shot Bambi call the cops" people.

 

[scn]

Can't see any reason it would be illegal. He owns the land, so long he shoots the deer on the land he owns, legally doesn't matter where the deer ends up. If the neighbors will not let him retrieve the dead deer, then they can take care of it.

I don't think I ever said it was illegal. Just difficult to do in an ethical (or legal) manner unless the surrounding landowners were on board.