Knowledge of deer responses to hunting pressure may affect the duration, intensity, and framework of hunt programs designed to maximize population reductions. We investigated the effects of archery hunting on deer movement and activity patterns in an urban-residential landscape. We compared deer activity, home-range size, shifts in diel core-area use, and fidelity to home ranges between hunted and unhunted deer before and during a 9-week archery hunt. We monitored 28 radiocollared does for a 24-hour period each week from April 1995 to December 1996. During the hunt, 4 of 5 hunted deer and 4 of 4 unhunted deer remained within their annual home range. Home-range size for hunted and unhunted deer was similar between the prehunt and hunt periods. However, clay home-range size expanded at least 3-fold for 2 of 5 hunted deer during the hunt compared to the prehunt period, presumably from increased human activity associated with hunting. We detected changes in deer movement patterns during the hunt within 2 weeks of the 9-week hunt. Significant shifts (<10% overlap) in core-area use between the prehunt and hunt period occurred for 4 of 5 hunted deer during the day and 3 of 5 hunted deer during the night. There were no significant shifts in core-area use for unhunted deer between the prehunt and hunt periods. Three of 4 unhunted deer did not shift either their day or night core-area use between the prehunt and hunt periods. Collared deer killed during the hunt used the hunt zone more often during the prehunt period than collared deer surviving the hunt. Day use of the hunt zone by hunted deer was less during the hunt period than during the prehunt period. Night use of the hunt zone was similar between the prehunt and hunt periods. Archery hunting had no effect on home-range size. Although most deer exhibited a strong fidelity to annual home ranges throughout the 9-week hunt, deer shifted core-area use within home ranges. We suggest that a series of short, intense hunt periods, separated by periods of no hunting, may decrease deer responses to hunting pressure and increase vulnerability during the hunt.
