Just Couldn't Bring Myself To Draw On Her

[Four Season Whitetail's]

It was a joke Four Season's, I'm sorry that your sense of humor has yet to come to maturity in you, though from previous posts of yours I shouldn't be suprised.

Yeah, Sorry didnt see the little yellow guy and your right, You wont see a post like that. Kind of a sick humor but to each their own i guess!!!

[NYbuck50]

ive seen alot of YOUNG fawns with their mom's still this year, im wondering if that means the doe's will come into rut later?

[biggamefish]

You did the right thing. I always say if something tells you to let it go and you do you did it for a good reason. No one knows how anything will end up. Like someone said that might feed your family next year or be a state record in a few.

I always say never second guess your judgment or gut feelings.

[88GW]

I passed on the same situation this year twice. One of the fawns still had spots on the very top of its back. It was licking momma's face at point blank range from me. Enjoyed my time observing them for over 10-15 minutes before they moved on.

[Five Seasons]

i've never been able to draw on mothers with fawns either. i think you did the right thing. there are plenty of deer in the woods.

[josephmrtn]

i would pass... i would feel sorry for the fawn

[Doc]

Anyone know what the theoretical percentage of mature does without fawns is? I kind of think it might be real, real small. So where does that put our responsibility to trim the female part of the herd. If everyone is passing does because they may have fawns, then it may actually be true that bowhunters are exclusively "buck hunters". I heard a DEC official at a "State of the herd" public meeting make that statement once. Maybe he's right. And of course the DEC counts on that doe harvest to meet their responsibilities of controlling deer populations. So that thought doesn't exactly endear the DEC with bowhunters.

Maybe we feel better when gun season comes around because the doe harvest numbers seem to spike then. But really, the fawns are still only a few weeks older than they were during the bow season. Actually from what I've seen lately, there are already a lot of fawns who are on there own. The rut is pretty efficient at busting up these little family units. So, I wouldn't worry too much about fawn survival without the mother.

[shawnhu]

It's a little different when a fawn is on their own vs still with mom, although they may be the same exact age. it's not about if they can survive on their own without mom or not, it's about how the individual feels about watching the little guy witness mon getting shot.

[Doc]

That darn Disney has gotten into all of our heads. There is a term that escapes me that is about assigning human emotions to animals. Disney was a master at exploiting that. I really don't believe that the fawn sits over in the bushes weeping about it's slain mother. In fact, most of the reactions that I have seen between does and their fawns is that "it's every deer for itself". They all take off in different directions. But I have to admit that I know how that stuff can work on your mind. Lol .... I'm not completely heartless.

But I still wonder how we are supposed to do our population control responsibilities if we refuse to shoot does that have fawns.

[SteveB]

Great post Doc.

Hard to believe how many hunters really project human emotions onto deer and other animals.

[crappyice]

Disney also does a great job at ruining the image of hunters. The movie "Open Season" was banned from my house after hunters were as beer guzzling gun wielding morons. Even my kids said during their limited viewing, "that's not what you and uncle bill look like when yor hunting!"

I agree though that its a survival of the fittest world out there..how many mama's were saved because their doppy fawns ran haphazardly into the field in front of an impatient hunter? I don't think mama hung around to grieve..she boogied to find cover!

[Zag]

I did see a fawn last bow seasona round this time. It still had its summer coat and spots. I got video of the farn because id never seen that before.

[CRACKER]

We pass on does with fawns. Sometimes it hard to find one without, you end up taking it thinking it was alone and when you get up to it a fawn runs away.

Sometimes it end up being a button buck, although if you have time you can usually pick them out from the does.