I’ve mused through this through many times because my house backs up to a city park and a wildlife park. The biggest deer ever caught on my camera was in my backyard (see Mr. Ten Point and his girlfriend below). Even with mechanical broadheads and great shot placement, he’s going to run, and you never know which way. If you’re in a subdivision, he’s going to bleed on the neighbor’s driveway. Dragging a deer across a lawn makes a pretty clear trail right back to your house. You can't load a 120-150 pound deer into a truck bed without somebody seeing you. Everybody has outdoor cameras now. And thanks to that NextDoor app, everyone in town will know what you did.
I enjoy hunting, but if I harvested a buck illegally, I don't think my conscience would allow me to celebrate it, even if I did manage to get away with it.
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