Back,in the day when we were on DMP, they recommended killing the previous years does vs the more mature does. I've got a lot of deer and need to put a doe or 2 in the freezer. We also have a lot of coyotes and believe they are taking a lot of fawns since I see a lot of mature does without fawns.
What is the current management thinking on killing 1 1/2 yr old doe vs mature doe. I don't shoot does with fawns present. I can be selective since I hunt a lot and have lots of opportunities. Like to get it done early in the season.
I'm sitting here with muzzle loader watching 3 does and I'm about to let the 1st one that gets within 100 yds make the decision for me

I have always been told the younger does eat more then the mature doe. If you killing them to help with the habitat then you want to kill the younger doe.

Way over thinking this. Shoot a doe if you need to. Which one don’t matter.

I very rarely shoot a doe. I saw a little fawn yesterday in NW Pike county that might have weighed 8 pounds, covered in white spots..

10-4. I've gone soft hearted in my old age. If its got a big old rack, I might still be mad enough to whack them. I was on my home place, kind of like shooting pets, but they do eat good

So you’re saying or yearling doe, or a old mature 3+ years old are the same? Don’t matter which one you kill if you have the option?

Yep. Doe is a doe. Kill it

Yep. Dead's dead. Shoot one, load it. head home, eat.

The little ones eat the best.......

Shoot the mature, wiser, more likely to snort and have doe offspring doe's....Leave the young tender ones that the big bucks love to love...

If you shoot a mature doe with fawns you may upset the hierarchy temporarily. No big deal. The fawns will be fine. Worrying about their well being is more of an emotional decision rather than a scientific one. They’ll restructure. If you shoot a young doe (1 yr old) you’ve killed a deer that had its most productive life ahead of it. In the long run it don’t matter. They’re all reproducing and having fawns. They all have a place in the social structure. From a food stand point, a mouth is a mouth. If they need removing, or even if they don’t, and you just want one for the table, pull the trigger and don’t second guess your decision.

I like Matt’s way of thinking

I usually shoot the biggest with a firearm and best opportunity with a bow. We don't shoot any after mid December. Won't take one out if she has spotted fawns or are by themselves with any fawn because I will be feeding the yotes so to speak if I do,

Personally, I dont think we have enough deer around here to kill any does. How would one go about figuring out the deer population in a particular area in order to come up with a doe kill recommendation? We personally havent killed a doe in 4yrs, and I try to plant more food every year. I have a reasonable goal in mind, as far as what I would like to see on a regular basis, if not daily. Does are being killed around me and I cant control that. I am talking about a small segment of land, not a 5000acre lease. Pretty large expanse of woods on one side, sparsely residential on the other. Again my question is: in an area like I have described, how would one figure out a good doe kill recommendation.

I shot one this morning. Had a group of 5 come across and I shot the heaviest one. I'm still stress free.

:thumb up

I agree with the fellas that said “don’t matter” and the guy saying “little ones eat the best”.

It ain’t like anyone is really making a dent in the population

I will shoot any doe that come by that has a decent size to her. Simply cause the little ones might be a button buck and they aren't worth the $ at the processors for 40 lbs. But the thing That will a doe shot instantly is if she sees me or blows at me. The smart ones gotta die. I want stupid deer.

Ron,

I have read some articles on this in various deer hunting magazines.

IIRC they basically said that 3.5 yo and older does were the best breeders and best passers on of survival tactics for younger deer.
So the authors of those articles were suggested that it was better to kill the younger does - yearlings and 2 yo.


I have never read that these older does more often had does instead of bucks, as someone mentioned up thread.
I would like to see some literature on that.

I think Matt is obviously right that "herd dynamics" eventually equalize out.

For me, with the processor fees so high now it only makes sense to kill the biggest doe, and hopefully it is also smartest fussiest spotter doe.

Any doe is a good one.

I’m right there with you Ron. Don’t pull the trigger like I use to.

When I shoot a doe (rare on my lease) I always try to shoot the old doe that will stand and stomp and blow for 30 minutes when she sees something out of place.

That one gets shot EVERY time on my place. I ain’t putting up with that.

x3...

I had the crosshairs on that one Saturday at about 30 yds but I decided to give the ole girl a pass, I just didn’t need or want the meat, there will be more to come. She was just doin what she knows.

I shoot the biggest doe in the bunch. Unless there are spotted fawns. A biologist said that brown fawns can live, but spotted fawns may not.

It has to be worth the work to field dress and process.

We don't shoot does on our place at all. The population had been way down for several years so we stopped killing them in hopes that it would bounce back. We've been enjoying looking at deer so much lately that we've just kept that practice. I go hunt public and shoot whatever doe gives me an opportunity when I want to fill my freezer, which in turn keeps pressure off of our private ground until the rut.

yup; took one out years ago that literally blew at everything - squirrels, frogs, birds, etc. - things returned to normal after she was eliminated

The biggest one you see, more meat.

We seem to have plenty of does at our club. I had several opportunities during bow season, but I didn’t really need the meat so I just watched/videoed. We used to take about 40 a year and the population held steady. We are not shooting as many any more but probably need to. I have actually seen more bucks than does so far during gun season.

I either try to take out the old smart doe or the young doe with no fawns. I won’t shoot one early in the year if I think it has fawns.

Pound for pound, the little ones are the best value, but I don't like shooting them, mainly cuz you can make a mistake and shoot a yearling buck. If you can avoid that, then taking a "non breeder" out takes a mouth out of the herd that eats more pound for pound than a mature doe, and produces nothing. And they're tastier.

This is why you take your time, use your binoculars to study the deer's head and body, and then make a decision. Good binos and patience can prevent a lot of "Damn, it's a buck" situations.

I have a piece of property we don't kill anything off it but mature deer. Period. That's not for everyone and I get that.

However.... There is no reason to kill does over bucks or spikes or anything else. A deer is a deer. A spike is one deer that will never get any larger. A doe is possibly 2-3 deer you won't have next season. If you have plenty of deer and want to shoot does blast away. If you don't better exercise some trigger control.

But - understand one thing. Mother Nature will set the correct balance. You can't do that with your rifle. Were we don't shoot deer we have plenty of deer, almost 1 to 1 ratio, strong rut and enough big deer everyone has the opportunity to shoot something with a rack even the kids. Most of them are shooting a very nice deer for their first deer and that is hard to come by.

If you want to blast a doe every time you go hunting that's great I hope your neighbors enjoy having you around.