Some random thoughts from someone who has hunted big properties, small properties, and everything in between.

The technical stuff. I take a lot of inexperienced people out to thin does during archery season. What I came up with for max lethality. Crossbow with 175 grn inserts and Large Heavy Mechanicals. The swhacker #243 3" cut 150 grn is my favorite. Swhacker #243 Broadhead (3-pk) Lancaster Archery Supply We only take shots inside 20 yards. Only broadside. And preach shot placement of Vital V. NOT behind the shoulder. NOT the heart. Always FORWARD of where you might think. Most deer are lost from being hit too far back. The few that are lost from hitting too far forward, usually live. And the heavy bolt has the power to blow through heavy bone. It's common for us to break the far side leg and still get an exit. Combine good placement with the hatchet sized wound and they never run more than 40-50 yards.

I used to hunt a property right about the 6 acre size. There's no substitute for getting along with your neighbors. Every time I've bought a property, the first thing I do is meet my neighbors. I give them my number and tell them if they ever need to go on my property to find their dog, retrieve a deer, or anything else, to go right ahead and just text me to let me know. Usually, you can feel them out to get a good feeling for how they might take you doing the same.

Someone mentioned placement of your feeder. Agreed on setting up middle of the property. Both so the deer have some distance to run but also so your neighbors arent looking at your setup. Even if they hunt, its best to be out of sight, out of mind.

As mentioned, you need to research what your county says about hunting on under 10 acres. When I looked into it before, I was really surprised. There are some fairly populated counties that dont have the rule and some very rural properties that do. If it's legal and safe, a rifle with high shoulder or neck shots might be a better option.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no laws against air rifle use. IF IT'S SAFE for your area, it's a good option. They are just as deadly as a regular rifle. The 45 cals will give complete pass throughs on body shots and ive seen the 308 ones do the same thing on heads of hogs.

As far as what is ethical or sporting. That's just personal in my opinion. The tamest deer ive ever hunted have been the ones that live on thousands of acres but dont see people or get hunted. We used to hunt next to a 5000 acres buffer zone around a paper mill in La. Those deer were STOOOOPID! Was it wrong of us to put them in the freezer with a vengeance just because they didnt know to be afriad of us? I see the same thing on a large property on the Navasota river. Nobody sets foot on it except when we hunt it a few days a year. For the most part the deer just stand there and look at you, waiting to be shot.

The main property I currently hunt is about a half mile from a neighborhood that holds a lot of deer. No doubt some of them wander across my property. But Im not going to check ID to see what their home address is. I have the property to hunt. I cant afford a large property so I bought in areas with high populations.

With that said, some of the pictures you see of huge bucks being hand fed, yes I agree that's not exactly sporting to pop one of those when no one is looking. BUT, I wouldnt care if someone walked up and put a 22 bullet in a does head to make sausage. Its just harvesting at that point and not that much different than killing a pig or a cow. Dang sure better than them causing car wrecks or spreading disease from overpopulation.

2040huck said:

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My family has 140 acres on Richland Chambers lake. I wont bow hunt it because the neighbors feed those deer. The thought of one of their pets running into their yard and dying is not something I would think would be worth it

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Can I come hunt? It wouldn't bother me.

Dead head found last year