Shooting Doe

[Lilly001]

I leave the old does alone. Best mommas.
I shoot buttons before any does.
But my land is small and I like to keep the doe family’s intact.

 

[Jim Boyd]

I am pretty sure it does not matter.

Mother Nature fills in the blanks pretty well.

I don’t care how they go or what size they are, as long as they go.

We can’t get a plot over lip high, generally.

 

[Full Draw McGraw]

If you're shooting does to reduce the population then shooting the older does would be my choice.
1. I'm not saying i believe this is true, but there is pretty common belief that older does are more likely to birth twins. If that's true you're getting greater impact for each kill. Remember that this is about reducing the population.
2. I think much of the time the old does are the worst parents. Think about it, they got old by sending their little ones out first into the plot to get shot if a hunter is present and by not getting into fights with coyotes over their fawn. In short, they get old by looking out for themselves.
3. I think they blow more.

 

[sportsman94]

I often shoot old does because I believe they are smarter and more likely to wise up to shots in a location. Meaning, they may be more likely to associate that area with danger and not use it in daylight or try to pick you off every time they are there. Plus, if I shoot an older doe the younger ones seem to be more frequent users of a plot. I figure it’s good to have a sure thing as far as does conditioned to coming in there every day and not being overly cautious about wind/scent. Might bring a buck out eventually.

 

[kmaxwell3]

I have been thinking about this also. I always wanted to shoot the big doe. But she usually has twins. So why not just shoot a small buck with same body size? I know we need to keep the ratio between the buck and doe.

 

[HermanMerman]

If I’m shooting does, I want the most output of meat I can get. It takes the same amount of time and effort for me to drag out the processing equipment and cut a small one up as it does a bigger one.

 

[antharper]

If I’m herd thinning as the title says I shoot the first one I see and the next and so on . But I don’t really have that problem so I usually look for one that’s alone

 

[antharper]

And I do enjoy a nice fat fawn or 2 to be in my freezer

 

[kmckinnie]

 

[bfriendly]

If I’m shooting does, I want the most output of meat I can get. It takes the same amount of time and effort for me to drag out the processing equipment and cut a small one up as it does a bigger one.

Agree 100%….bigger slabs slice into more jerky!

 

[01Foreman400]

The biggest ones I can find.

 

[WOODIE13]

It all depends for me. I will take an old dry doe or a young button head.

Processors like for you to drop off the smaller ones, less meat, less time, same money.

I do up ours myself so that doesn't matter

Taking a young one has less impact that a mature one from what I have been told.

 

[DynamicDennis]

Small ones taste better. Its time now for those bonus 120# buttons too..

 

[GregoryB.]

I was told by WV DNR that taking Doe’s early in the season also leaves more browse for the other deer later in the season thus making a healthier herd as well.

 

[SC Hunter]

If I'm shooting deer to thin the herd and lower numbers due to carrying capacity at its max I'm shooting the biggest doe I see. A bigger deer eats more than a smaller deer thus leaving more groceries for the rest of the herd. That's just my way of thinking on the situation.

 

[nadrumcapt]

Which doe to take depends on your management objectives. There is some research where does were tagged and followed for a few years. What they found is that some does are better at raising fawns than others. When they could uniquely identify the does, they found that particular does raised twins to the fall each year while some others did not raise fawns to the fall year after year. What this says is that age is not the only factor in their reproductive potential. Don't get me wrong, age matters with younger does tending to produce fewer fawns than older does. But his about differences in reproduction of mature does.
So what does that mean to us hunters? If you are trying to limit or reduce the deer population then you should target the does that have fawns. They are known reproducers so are likely to produce more fawns the next year. As long as the fawns don't have spots, (and some with spots) they don't need her anymore so don't worry about taking a doe with fawns.
But, if you are trying to increase the deer population or just trying to not have much of an impact on the population but need the meat, then select a doe that does not have fawns. Just because she doesn't have fawns this year does not mean that she won't in the future but she is not a known reproducer.

Here is a link to a summary of that research: https://www.bowhunter.com/editorial/which-doe-to-shoot/465799

 

[175rltw]

I usually like to shoot them somewhere else. Somebody else’s does or WMA does. I like mine to think they live in a sanctuary city so they never get keyed up and act spooky or visit only at night. I’ll shoot a couple in Michigan on the last sit of the trip and never think about it other than which ones are closest basically. But I like seeing deer when I’m hunting and if the does aren’t hanging out- where I want them to be hanging out- it doesn’t bode well for seeing bucks either usually

 

[johnpoulan83]

I use to shoot the older 125 Lbs plus does but when coyotes came around I figured these older doe would be able to raise there young to evade the coyotes. I guess at the end of the day I'm over thinking it and there better in my freezer than a coyotes belly or roadside ditch.

125 pound doe is a giant, I haven’t seen one that big in Georgia ever

 

[BOWFINWHITT]

Anytime you see one!

 

[Deernut3]

125 pound doe is a giant, I haven’t seen one that big in Georgia ever

Probably because you've never hunted with me