The opening of urban hunting zones has become a bonanza to archery hunters. If you can get permission to hunt, you may be on some of the best deer areas in the state. There is also a good chance at finding trophy-sized bucks. The combination of minimal hunting pressure on some private property, along with good forage and the deer's chance to get old enough to develop a good rack, can present hunters with excellent deer-hunting prospects.

Here's a look at some of our state's best urban deer units where hunters will do well this season.

INDIANAPOLIS URBAN DEER ZONE
"The urban deer zones were implemented to provide a means of controlling deer populations," said Jim Mitchell, a deer management biologist at the Bloomington field office.

The Indianapolis Deer Zone is not unique in that regular hunting regulations fail to provide hunters with enough opportunities to harvest antlerless deer in sufficient numbers to keep the population in check, according to Mitchell.

A drive through the Indianapolis area would make you wonder if deer can even survive here, but surviving they are. Shopping malls, housing developments and highways dominate the landscape, but in the midst of the urban sprawl are wood lots, fencerows and bottomlands where deer are thriving. Whitetails have developed the ability to hide virtually anywhere, usually within earshot of highways and homes.

But car crashes and crop damage are evidence of the overpopulation problems plaguing the metro area. Farmers lose a lot of crops to deer damage annually when deer numbers increase to disproportionate sizes in limited areas. Soybeans and corn suffer the most, especially in areas bordered by wood lots or river bottoms.

Neighborhood flowers and shrubs have not been immune to foraging deer, either. Some folks in the smaller, outlying areas have resorted to fences and tied dogs to fend off marauding deer, which enjoy munching on the ornamentals and in the garden plots.

To stabilize the deer population in the Indianapolis area, the DFW has formed an urban element to hunting, which benefits area bowhunters immensely.

"The urban zones (statewide) were first implemented in 1996 and were liberalized in 2002," biologist Jim Mitchell said.

"We know that the zones have added some additional harvest, which was the desired impact, but we have no quantitative data on the number of additional deer taken as a result of the zones. I have talked to a few hunters, though, who have found good places to hunt."

A lot of deer have been taken from the counties included in the Indianapolis Urban Deer Zone. In 2003 alone, over 1,200 antlered and antlerless deer were taken, according to the DFW.

Public lands are scarce to nonexistent in the Indianapolis zone, and the only way for hunters to locate prime hunting spots is to ask permission of landowners. Outlying areas around the city offer your best chance at gaining permission to hunt.

Look for areas with wood and brush cover, especially near river bottom areas too swampy to build on. Whitetails will use these stretches for daytime cover and as corridors into other feeding areas. If hunters can gain permission to hunt in spots like these, which are adjacent to crops, they're probably going to hit the jackpot.

An advantage to bowhunting the zone is the apparent fearlessness of the resident whitetails. Many have become accustomed to the presence of humans and getting a good bowshot is probably easier than in other parts of the Hoosier State.

The Indianapolis Urban Zone includes all of Marion County, Hendricks County east of state Route (SR) 267, the southeast portion of Boone County bordered by SRs 32, 267 and Interstate 65, and the part of Hamilton County south of SR 32.