early Does?

[Robhuntandfish]

when bowhunting do you take an early doe first?  I always seem to look for that early doe to fill the freezer with at least the one deer, then concentrate on a chance of a good buck.  It of course doesnt always work out that way.  And last year it was great to be able to do that cause it did work out and i had a chance to try for a nice buck and got real close to that a couple of times.  But it also foiled me that same day I shot the doe, had another doe come in 20 minutes later with a nice buck on her tail.  I mean right on her tail sniffing it.  She walked right by my stand and even stopped and squatted, so i thought for sure the buck was coming.  Instead he was in the brush near where i shot the doe and he mustve got wind of her blood on the ground (heart shot) and he never came thru.   

but was wondering what most do - take that early season freezer queen and that way can worry less about the meat and more about the big buck later?  For me i am going to take that first big doe all the time and even if it means later in the season cause the main goal is to fill the freezer first. Or do you just hunt for that buck and take a late season doe or just do that during gun season?  

[mowin]

In my area, it's easy to get a doe or two during the tail end of rifle or late MZ, so I rarely take a doe during bow. However,  there's been a few times were the head doe would always figure out something wasn't right.  Some of those old does are a lot smarter than any buck thought to be. I've been known to get so made at her, that I would hunt that doe, and if she gave me the opportunity,  I was taking it. Few old girls over the yrs became ven sausage.  

[dbHunterNY]

we try to take any doe early before the rut kicks in. less doe for the bucks to chase. you're not shooting a doe that bucks spent energy on chasing and breeding. your freezer is full early which takes stress off to allow you to enjoy the rest of the season more with one less obligation. fresh venison at deer camp before opening day of regular season gets some fired up is gives you some gratification. despite bow is much harder to take a deer with deer get pressured as the season draws on. also younger deer like button bucks start to become harder to tell apart from doe. as the season rolls into December we've even had a hunter take a 2.5 yr old buck that shed it's antlers thinking it was a huge doe.

[nybuckboy]

I like to wait til late season gun to take my doe(s). I'm of the belief that that resident doe I kill early may be the doe that brings that mature buck by me in early Nov bow season. I know it all comes down to how much time and land access each hunter has as to how you decide take a deer but that is how I think any way.

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

when bowhunting do you take an early doe first?  I always seem to look for that early doe to fill the freezer with at least the one deer, then concentrate on a chance of a good buck

I used to but the way it is has been the last few years my policy has changed. Now I take what I can, when I can, and look for a trophy during gun season. Lately the objective has been just to see a deer during gun season.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Never take a doe in an area you think you have a chance at a good buck in. At least not in early season. They have been having it pretty safe all year and then like you said...He smelled something!   

[G-Man]

If I have a big buck on a early summer pattern I won't take a doe and concentrate on him.

If I don't have a target buck figured out I take the 1st adult doe( preferably one that has twin button bucks) asap. Usually withing the 1st week. My effort then goes into patterning a target buck. I have meat inthe freezer as they say. And its well removed from rut. Bringing the ballance closer to 1 to 1 and seems to make the rut better. 

[Meat First]

"Meat First" duh...

[Just Lucky]

I wait to take a doe. This was the first year in about 10 years that I shot a doe. Took 2 from different pieces of property I got permission to hunt. I leave the doe to lure the bucks. 

[fasteddie]

I will take a good size doe at the 1st opportunity . I passed on 4 different 4 point bucks with the hopes that a big boy or large doe would come by . It never happened . 

[Doewhacker]

Early late and in between. But only on certain properties, it’s nice to have a choice of where as opposed to having to take one given the chance. I know some spots produce far greater number of doe. Ideally I shoot as many as I can with bow then save a tag for late ML season because I like it so much. 

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

Early late and in between. But only on certain properties, it’s nice to have a choice of where as opposed to having to take one given the chance. I know some spots produce far greater number of doe. Ideally I shoot as many as I can with bow then save a tag for late ML season because I like it so much. 

i do have one spot that seems to be just a doe factory - only had one 6 point on trail cam there.  Real small 12 acre prop that i can only bowhunt.  Hoping to take that first doe there 

[BigVal]

Never shot a doe with my bow, usually hunt horns through bow but just my preference. 

[REDNECK4LIFE32]

Where I hunt I like to take a doe because it could be the only deer you see all season hunting the Adirondacks. Meat is meat cant eat them horns. So yes putting down a doe early makes hunting alittle easier knowing you got meat for your freezer.

[NonTypical]

With a 4 month season, I try to not shoot a doe until late December or January. Like FSW said, I don't want to add any pressure or scent to an area where I'd like to harvest a mature buck. 

If I was only hunting upstate with a shorter season, I'd probably wait for gun season. 

[ATbuckhunter]

I try to take a couple doe or fawns before the rut starts going and i focus on bucks. Although if a doe is regularly using a certain trail, ill try not to shoot that one in hopes she'll bring a buck in behind her come the rut. I actually don't like taking does after the rut. 

[Moho81]

I'll take a good sized doe first. I don't have nearly as much time to hunt as i'd like so to me every time out is an opportunity to fill the freezer.

[crappyice]

With a 4 month season, I try to not shoot a doe until late December or January. Like FSW said, I don't want to add any pressure or scent to an area where I'd like to harvest a mature buck. 
If I was only hunting upstate with a shorter season, I'd probably wait for gun season. 

And yet this season I shot a doe with fawns on Halloween in an area where we have two nice bucks. Two days later from the exact same tree my buddy took one of those bucks. Just saying


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dbHunterNY]

lot of comments about screwing up buck hunting by shooting doe.  regardless if i have a good buck in the area or not my goal is to take around a quarter of the adult doe we're seeing, whether that's by me or someone else. it'd be counter productive for me to continue to let doe populate, in fear of ruining a chance at a buck. they're eating and competing for the same resources. when those resources aren't there the does and bucks will prefer somewhere else. summer patterns are often different than during prime time hunting, often with different stands. i do try not to fill early season tags out of the same stands or as deep into cover that i'd be when hunting later into the season when the stages of the rut are noticeably kicking in. not all properties i hunt allow me that luxury, which is even more reason for me to fill a doe tag early and get the heck out of there to let things rest. i've done so with plenty of success. early season i'm filling a doe tag with an adult doe as fast as possible or hunting a buck that's on an obvious pattern.  otherwise i'm saving my efforts to scouting while giving the deer space. if i'm that worried about population growth and over harvest i'm not shooting any fawn. i've done the last weekend freezer filling missions with an empty freezer, because i passed doe and waited. despite successful, they still suck. dragging doe through snow drifts or hunting deer that have been hunted and/or probably now shifted to in-accessible or otherwise  aren't huntable. not debating anyone about their own situation, just stating what works for me.

[NonTypical]

3 hours ago, crappyice said:

And yet this season I shot a doe with fawns on Halloween in an area where we have two nice bucks. Two days later from the exact same tree my buddy took one of those bucks. Just saying


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes it can happen. But I'd rather keep the odds in my favor when hunting a 3.5-4.5 yo old buck. When I'm hunting a mature buck, I try to follow a long list of things that will help minimize alerting him to my presence. One of them is walk to my tree and walk out. Not to be walking all over the area. If I shoot a doe, I'll be spreading plenty of scent around. A very mature old buck may not tolerate any scent left behind by me in his core area and go nocturnal quickly. However, younger bucks will act much differently. Do older bucks make mistakes and still get killed? Sure they do. But killing one is hard enough, and if you want to consistently harvest big bucks, you need to have the odds in your favor as often as you can. 

That is why I pass on does until the late season.

Edited March 26, 2018 by NonTypical

[Four Season Whitetail's]

6 hours ago, NonTypical said:

Yes it can happen. But I'd rather keep the odds in my favor when hunting a 3.5-4.5 yo old buck. When I'm hunting a mature buck, I try to follow a long list of things that will help minimize alerting him to my presence. One of them is walk to my tree and walk out. Not to be walking all over the area. If I shoot a doe, I'll be spreading plenty of scent around. A very mature old buck may not tolerate any scent left behind by me in his core area and go nocturnal quickly. However, younger bucks will act much differently. Do older bucks make mistakes and still get killed? Sure they do. But killing one is hard enough, and if you want to consistently harvest big bucks, you need to have the odds in your favor as often as you can. 

That is why I pass on does until the late season.

Yup...And keep on checking those trail cam;s and watch the size of the bucks drop over time.  One of the quickest ways to change a mature buck.

[moog5050]

Most seasons I have taken a doe opening weekend of bow.  This season it didn't happen.  I am not opposed to an early freezer filler.  Makes waiting on a nice buck a bit easier.  We tend to hunt different stands early season to avoid the concerns some identified.

[NFA-ADK]

We tend to pass doe in the area with the largest number of big bucks, simply put they are the best bait!  

[mlammerhirt]

Obtained the rights to hunt a new piece of land mid August last year and only had minimal time to scout and run cams....we decided as a group to hold off on does and try and hunt horns. Well as the season came and went we got eyes on a few nice bucks but for one reason or another no shots were taken. We would see random does here and there, but really didn't get a good idea of the doe population until January when we stumbled upon a very good group of 20 plus yearlings and doe.

This year the plan has been tweaked a little....we need to thin he heard a bit and will try and take a doe each during bow(3-4) guys and maybe a few late season as well....we need to drop the doe:buck ratio a bit to start a friendly competition among the big boys!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[nyslowhand]

If you've got the does around in any significant #s, take one early, put in freezer and the 1st blood pressure is removed. Chances of seeing a BB the early (SZ) part of October is pretty slim, so getting a doe out of the way while the weather conditions aren't so extreme is easier. You have to decide if the local population &/or your chances at a BB chasing a doe dictate removing a doe from that equation. Might even find it feasible to remove a 2nd anterless critter once gun season gets under way, depending on your bow season sightings.

Edited March 30, 2018 by nyslowhand