farm hunter

1.) How many years have you been deer hunting? 22

2.) How many bucks have you killed? 20

3.) How many of those bucks were spikes or forkhorns? 5

4.) If you were hunting the last day of the season and haven't filled your tags and you saw a doe with 2 fawns coming in from your left and a nice acorn fed 4 pointer coming in from your right and 4 pointers are legal, which deer would you consider shooting? Assuming of course that you have a anterless tag and a tag for the buck. DOE

I'm curious what these answers do for you?

FH

CattNY

Thanks for everyone response. The purpose of these questions was to see the type of hunters that are in favor of AR or QDM. My thought was that those in favor of QDM got their fill with killing young bucks and now wish to take it away from everyone else. I think I've been proven false. We have a lot of die hard hunters who play by the rules. I might put these answers in a spreadsheet to better analyze the data. The purpose of the last question was just curiosity. I'm from the old school of thought and I believe the big doe help those 2 fawns get through the winter. I don't have a problem shooting a big doe if she is by herself, but I will never again shoot a doe with a fawn or two. I just don't need the meat that badly to shoot a doe with small ones by her side.

farm hunter

Its too bad you feel this way. You should do a little searching via google on this topic. You will learn that by Oct, Nov, and Dec - A doe does nothing for her young from the previous year. In fact - in most cases she is trying to free herself from them - and begin preparing for her new offspring.

People tend to give deer "human thoughts" - especially when it comes to caring for their young. Normal, May/June born fawns are absolutely not dependant on their mother any more by October. Fawns with a doe should not be a criteria for passing up the doe - A good argument can be made that these are the doe you want to take.

FH

lost horn

1. 47

2. 28

3. 2 spikes, 1. 3 point, 1. 4 point, last spike 20 yrs. ago.

4. None of them, I will only have a buck tag, 6 points or better.
I guess I will go home empty handed, like the last two yrs. dont need the meat that bad.

lost horn

BTBowhunter

1. 35

2. 25

3. two spikes, two 3's, two forkies (all taken 15+ years ago, don't shoot em anymore)

4. The mature doe and if that legal forkie was a lone, I'd go home empty rather than shoot him. Legal or not.

jhoffman

I am from Western NY - southerntier.

I have hunted for 17 years

I have taken 2, 4 pionters - 5, 6 pionters, 3, 8 pointers - a 10 pointer, - and a 11 pointer.
12 total.

I have taken at least one doe every year since I started hunting, a couple of which were button bucks but not many.

I would shoot the mature Doe instead of the 4 pointer.

This past year I took an 8 pointer on the 2nd weekend of Archery and three doe on in Archery and the other 2 opening Day of Shot gun. All three were mature does. I passed up 8 different bucks opening day of archery and a couple in shotgun. Might have been different if I didn't already have meat in the freezer though.

I try to look at the maturity of the animal not the rack. If it is a 4 pointer but looks like its body is filled out and at least a couple years old I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it but if its young why not let it get a little bigger and save it for next year.

Sylvan

Just a little food for thought. For all of you who are so quick to choose the mature doe remember that odds are you are taking out a buck as well. As in this scenario it is late season it is likely the doe is pregnant and statistically she is carrying 1 of each. I don't mean to hijack your thread CattNY so I will butt out if you tell me to but I'd be curious if you all would still shoot the doe over the buck if the population was way down?

jhoffman

population does play a part. Where I hunt though there are way too many does compared to bucks.

I have an exceptional hunting spot and only because after hunting the same woods for 17 years I have found a place for my stand that has deer comming in and out already but when hunters come into the woods they use the ravine that I hunt in for a get away also. That's why I am usually walking out of the woods with a deer before most of them even get a shot off for the year.

I would still take the doe in my case, but if things were different and there weren't many deer where I hunted maybe not.

WNY Bowhunter

Sylvan,

Theoretically, you're right...on good range a healthy doe will usually have twins, usually a buck and a doe. I kinda think that there are just too many variable in you're question to have a straight up cut and dried answer. No to offend anybody or anything, but the old belief that "if I kill a doe, I'm killing next years buck too"...is one of the primary reasons that the deer pop. is so outta whack in alot of places to begin with. However, it's still you're choice to take which ever deer you want...and it's not right or wrong to kill the buck, the doe or either of her fawns...they will all eat good. The way I look at it, the fawns are old enough to be on the own and taking out mama won't impact their chances of survival. In the case of a severe winter...the fawns will probably die with or without their mother. Personally, I would still take the doe unless I felt that the pop. was really bad off like you said. In that case I'd let 'em all go and buy some beef at the supermarket.

Deer902

1. 10 years
2. 1 buck - 8 point
3. 0
4. shoot the doe

Even thought I've only shot one buck in 10 years I've passed on a couple legal buck every year. As you can see I usually don't fill my buck tag, but my freezer is filled with doe venison.