JRW

hafa8pt,

Sometimes they' re easy to pick out. Other times not so simple. When in doubt, a small pair of binoculars makes it easier.

JRW

NorthJeff

Until there are too many bucks running around...I' ll keep passing them up!

Also, a couple rules of harvest.
*don' t shoot a lone " doe"
*wait for 3 or more and shoot the largest

Our neighbors in the thumb area were Menonites. We had unlimited doe tags in the area, and a ton of deer. They shot nine deer for the season in 1997-7 BB' s, and 2 does. We shot the same number, but 8 mature does, and 1-2.5 year old buck. Were we lucky, or the only ones that cared?

With all the deer available, to me, there was no excuse for what they did. Mistakes deffinently happen, but if you make it a priority to not let it happen, the odds are pretty good it won' t.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan
Protection of yearling bucks + Populations maintained below the carrying capacity of the land + Adequate sex ratios = QDM

parker1

Yes without a doubt. In bow season its easy to identify a small button buck. In rifle season in Pa they now have a two week doe season instead of the old three day season. This difinitely helps in chosing only a larger size antlerless deer to harvest. Our buck to doe ratio is terrible here in Pa and we definitely need to pass on the small button bucks ..................

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Mike42

Let them walk this year and the next couple. And yes you can tell the difference. Interesting information from Maryland.

kansaswiderack

My personal rule is adult deer only. Spikes and doe fawns lack quantity of meat and really are not that difficult to take because of their lack of weariness. Locally they have been on a deer reduction push which allowed us to shoot as many as 5 antlerless deer per year. I think it has worked and possibly to well. I will be limiting myself to one adult doe and hopefully one large buck next year. All button bucks can grow into big old boys given enough time and yes you can identify them with a little observation.

hafa8pt

I will admit that I feel dumber than a post and just as blind. I have put full sized bino' s on deer that were in the 35-40 yard range, in other words out of my bow range, and could no tell by the head alone if they were bb or doe. Having a chance to glass the plumbing isn' t always feasible. I also admit that I can' t count points like some of the hunters that I' ve run into that told me they saw a nine point running through the woods in a snow storm jumping brush piles in red brush 150 yards out.
[&:]

jsager

yep.........

BuckAlley

Yes,Yes,Yes. I let them go every yr. No matter what season I' m hunting. Not just button bucks, but fawns in general. Its easy to identify them even if alone. Simply look at their face. Fawns have that short young face. Another reason why I pass them up. You' ll only average around 18lbs of total meat after butchering a fawn. Why bother I say, let them grow another yr, and at least get some more venison off them.

huntforlife

yes i would let it pass I must admit when i first started out i shot a few bb' s but after a few years of hunting i would let it pass now