Doe selection

Some have stated that their preferred buck to harvest is an old buck. When selecting a doe, does the same criteria apply? Typically for me its been if she has young deer with her.

Young doe or oldest possible. I do not want to shoot one who had fawns the year I shoot her as she will likely have more next yr. If one comes out with a group who seems to have 0 to do with the young ones she wins the bullet

So...If its brown its down(without antlers)?

A doe is a doe. If a wad of them walk out I generally pick the largest one but it really doesn’t matter.

I pick the one that looks the mostly likely to stand in the woods and blow for 30 minutes.

I usually just pick the biggest one in the group.

A doe is the best bait in the world. I havn't shot one in 7 or 8 years.

I pick the ones that are the easiest to get to and load up.

Just like when I was single, I usually pick the one that gives me the best shot to take her home.

Winner!

This!

I like it

I prefer the one that's standing in the road.

It depends on what your management objective is. If you are trying to decrease the herd, which is a situation we have been in in the past, you want to shoot the young ones because over their lifespan they will produce more offspring and eat up more food (as will their offspring) than an older doe.

If you would like more deer, shoot the oldest doe because they are closer to being barren, if not already, and therefore not contributing anything to the population. In fact all they do is eat up food that could be feeding younger deer.

If you are content with where your objectives are, like we are now pretty much, shoot the one that looks the tastiest. In other words, the one most likely to drop in its tracks and not taint the meat from lactic acid from an adrenalin rush and running off.

I like what " jwillinfl " said !!!

I go for the singles. If she's got a baby she's off limits.

Jawbone at what age do they become barren? I would think that most does die well before this happens.
We were talking about this the other day and my thoughts were, other than the meat factor, the best doe to shoot would be a young one since it will be a while before she produces where an older doe may already be carrying a young buck.

I wish I could ride you around in the truck to say this to people all day long. I have hunted two places that wanted to fine you for killing a doe under 100 or 120lbs. I argued until I was red in the face that if you are killing a doe what difference does it make! Obviously I want to kill a bigger one if I can because i get more meat, but getting out a $100 when I roll up with a 95 lber was ludicrous. I dont hunt at either one of those places anymore.

The first one that presents a good shot opportunity and will have easy access for an atv/utv. I hate dragging a doe.

There’s no evidence they reach an age in which they become barren. If they’re alive in the wild they can and still reproduce. I’ve seen no higher of a percentage of older does without fawns as I have younger ones. There are barren does, but age is not what put them there.

doe trap equals 100 dollars

Thanks MB.

So what are your thoughts on which one is best to take out and why?

I don’t shoot does ,but I encourage my members to not shoot any with fawns for sure.

+1

I stopped thinning does a long time ago due to coyote problem, but when I shoot a doe for the freezer I always try to take the lead spotter doe. They are usually the bigger older one, and with processor fees being ridiculous now it only makes sense to shoot the biggest doe(s).

I dont shoot does with fawns. I also look for a pair of does and pick the biggest (eliminates possibility of a button buck). Also I look for the easiest one to get it and get out of there. Im not shooting a nanny way back where I have to drag her a good ways. You can put yourself in much more enjoyable scenarios.

I ask the question at a QDMA meeting about 15 years ago, "if a big doe and two doe yearlings walk out which one should you shoot", he said "shoot all three". I didn't buy into that statement, and I think I was right.

A doe is a doe. Their ages are not as important in the social structure as bucks. In bow season I typically choose one that appears to not have fawns, or one who’s fawns have lost spots. They’ll be fine if they’ve lost spots. In rifle season I shoot the first one to act like she’s trying to figure me out, or like others have said, the easiest to load.

This, yes. I don't care if it's old or young, has others with it, whatever. But I'll try to pick the largest if possible.

And yes I'll shoot a doe that has yearlings with it. Fawns with spots? No. Anything else is fair game IF the property I'm on needs any of them killed.

I always pick the biggest one in order to get the most meat.

The one that is easiest to load in truck.

If I remember correctly, the oldest doe killed in Al. was 19.5 and had a fawn that year.

Absolutely you were right!! That statement was ridiculous. The old timers used to tell us not to shoot the does because they are what has the bucks. True that.

I usually go for the biggest one unless another blows. I have a longstanding non-negotiable rule of if she blows she dies when it comes to doe killing

Can't remember, been so long since I've seen one.

what i would do when we could kill two a day . drop her then wait till her daughter or sister came back . lol

I wont shoot a doe but if i did she would be the thickest girl in the bunch. Now my wimmins i like thin

Have a buddy who just shot doe #8 or 9 today. All registered. I wonder what is the most registered on game check. Dude is that much of a carnivore and will eat them all. The last 4 in 4 days have been about 120 pound barren does. With long fur absent of milk bag.

What are the ages on those four does, jallen? Does he yank the jawbone to age them?

My preference is the oldest doe I can see while I'm in the woods, because those old one will bust you in a flash and blow forever, which can ruin a hunt.

I hunt with a guy who always shoots a doe with two yearlings. He claims the percentages are that one of the yearlings will be a buck, and killing the doe mama will keep the yearling buck closer to the ground he hunts.

Clem, its his land and he is seeing about 30 does on 2 acres of a 40 he owns.
dry doe
https://imgur.com/a/oD6Dw

Close up of above dry doe
https://imgur.com/a/mDmQZ

Yep! This man has wisdom way beyond his years.

I don't care how many does your buddy kills. Just glad I don't hunt next to him. But there really is no such thing as old barren does. There will some old and young that may have lost there baby this year. But no such thing as to old, they will have babies untill they die.

I would think its more likely that they lost their fawns early on rather than being "barren".

Young doe, you want the older more established does to stay on you.

Barren was his wording not mine. I have a small tract perhaps one mile from where he is. I routinely see 10 to 20 does on 9 acres (80 percent of trips). I have never seen a rack buck in 8 years on property. So there is something crazy with doe numbers in area.

It is unique that the largest deer were the ones that lost fawns? Seems they would have had the preferred bedding area???

If you really indeed had that many “barren” does on your property that weren’t having fawns at all….. then I would look to that as a sign of poor health and/or over population for the amount of food present. I bet its more likely you just have a bunch of yotes though. It’s also possible that it’s a little of both….. the does had one fawn and it was killed.

If there’s a lack of bucks and that many does without fawns it sounds like a sex ratio problem to me. Could it be coyotes? Possibly. But if you’re seeing that many deer without fawns and very few bucks, they they are not getting bred.

Matt makes a good point too….Maybe there’s a hunting club beside you hammering every buck in the woods……..

Sounds like coyotes eating the fawns

Well this is a rural little lot area with many small tracts. My guess is that the vast majority of bucks are getting shot over corn by every other homeowner in the area. But on my area all of the deer have twins typically.

That is exactly the way it is where I live. Everybody owns 10-40 acres and they kill everything with a horn and most of the ones without. I have 40 acres and it ain't worth hunting. I have run cameras over a corn feeder for 10 years and have got a picture of one mature buck in that 10 years, and I only had one picture of him at 2:30 in the morning at the end of Jan which is the rut here.

Amen. I don't shoot them often, but when I do, they're gonna have at least one hoof on a club road, in a field or on a 4 wheeler trail.