I think you’re safe – it’s not rutting season.

It’s a “SHE”, not a “HE”! Tell me they won’t issue a hunting license to you in Missouri.
McCain: Not to worry, I do not get my jollies by gunning down Bambie’s mom.

What f/stop? Shutter speed? Nice capture. I have glass envy.
5.6 1/80th of a second

Nice (pro-quality) equipment. And nice photo, although if I were to critique it (something I seem to do naturally — ) the deer blends into the background too much (although I accept that your backyard may not have a lot of photographic options, and the deer may not be very cooperative in posing) although the short focal length helped a lot, by blurring the background.
McCain: Don, I’ll let the deer know next time I see her that she needs to wear a brighter outfit next time, one that does not blend in as well.
I recently bought a compact camera: Canon SD880 IS. Great photo quality (particularly in low light, indoor settings, which is the main reason I chose it), offers a little bit of wide-angle, “panorama assist” (which is a lot of fun, and opens up more photographic possibilities for difficult-to-shoot subjects) and more megapixels than I’ll ever use. On the down-side, the buttons and menus are painfully complex and tedious to navigate (and I”m good with technology and photography) as is the case with most all digital cameras today.
Anyway, DPReview.com is a good place to find detailed analyses of cameras, if you’re in the market.