Matriarch Doe Harvest

[SpacemanSpiff]

26 minutes ago, Fletch said:

On ag land where you have tons and tons of doe I doubt it would matter. My properties are small and absolutely no ag.

Good point. I never considered it myself. I bet planting some greens would be very beneficial. 

[2012_taco]

I never really put that much thought into it? If i'm filling a doe tag and have the choice between 2 does, i'll definitely shoot the larger doe as i'm looking for the meat, so the bigger the better. I haven't noticed any change in their patterns as they tend to go where the food is. maybe they will start using a different route? but that's why we scout. I have heard that if you take out the mother of a young buck that he will never really leave the home range, as that's all he's ever known. I don't know if this is true but I like the idea that next year that buck will be near one of my stands! 

[dbHunterNY]

the family farm is a doe factory as it's mostly hay/alfalfa fields that get cut later in the hay season. we've always limited doe harvest to keep good numbers of deer. for the past several years i've also run a qdm co-op that takes really good records and we even send in incisor teeth for aging on top of panel aging jawbones with one of the top deer biologists in the country included. i've experimented for even longer with doe harvest.  if you want to minimize impact on the population you leave mature doe alone unless they seem underconditioned and ancient (8.5+ yrs old). those mature doe from 4.5 to 6.5 or so crank out more deer. shoot young doe 1.5 - 3.5 yr olds. just be sure to watch for button bucks.  if you're a same stand often kind of hunter or have pretty small parcel it helps to keep the older doe directing traffic. deer attract other deer especially doe during the rut. take them early and only from the same areas easily accessed.  my best buck spots i make a point to pressure the doe very little.

[SWEDE]

Good points. After we took the 1 big doe that run seen no does on it the rest of season where before it was a highway. Maybe one of the 3.5 does will take over this season. 

[ATbuckhunter]

I try not to because like others said, it can mess up patterns. Ive seen it happen. I have shot the lead doe, but it was  in a spot where they're not going to change they're patterns due to food and bedding being so close. I also get so many doe tags that I don't ever need to try to shoot the biggest doe out of the group for meat

[BizCT]

Maybe a change in patterns could help ??

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I prefer the 1:1 buck/doe ratio. It sucked years ago hunting catskills and seeing 18 does for every 1 buck


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[crappyice]

I prefer the 1:1 buck/doe ratio. It sucked years ago hunting catskills and seeing 18 does for every 1 buck


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Yeah I HATE seeing deer when hunting!




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[Daveboone]

I go for the biggest doe I can find. They eat just fine. It may change pattrns for a bit, but there are a number of them around at any given time that it certainly doesnt hurt the areas herd.

[dbHunterNY]

I prefer the 1:1 buck/doe ratio. It sucked years ago hunting catskills and seeing 18 does for every 1 buck


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What we've found being able to monitor herd the way we do on QDM co-ops is that you really have to hammer the doe population to get 1:1 ratio, which isnt even needed. 1:3 is still fine. Also found that you end up chasing every buck harvest with knocking down doe to try to keep things balance to 1:1. The deer population then ends up taking a hard dive in numbers. Food for thought.

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[TreeGuy]

I prefer the 1:1 buck/doe ratio. It sucked years ago hunting catskills and seeing 18 does for every 1 buck


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Well then, you know what you have to do this year.....

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[BizCT]

Yeah I HATE seeing deer when hunting!




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I’d rather see 1 deer per year and it be a nice buck than see 10 does everyday and pass them up. The first one gets the blood flowing and I videotape it and draw on it for practice. But I’d hate to hunt those fields where you see a ton of does every night and no bucks


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[BizCT]

Well then, you know what you have to do this year.....

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Bring you another doe mount from the 90’s for good luck again?


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[wolc123]

On 9/10/2020 at 9:08 AM, Daveboone said:

I go for the biggest doe I can find. They eat just fine. It may change pattrns for a bit, but there are a number of them around at any given time that it certainly doesnt hurt the areas herd.

That is what I have done for many years.  If that big doe is part of group, the reactions of the others is interesting, after she gets dropped with a shoulder blade shot.  Usually they hang out, rather disoriented for a bit, providing a great opportunity for a double (with a repeating firearm).

Most of the times that happened with me, I only had one antlerless tag, and/or my ML, so the double was not an easy or legal option.  There were a few gloryous occasions though, where I was able to send a button buck to deer heaven, along with his mamma.  It dont get no better than that.

Edited September 12, 2020 by wolc123

[Daveboone]

Ya know, I have seen that affect many times also...the younger deer appearing to almost be in shock. A fair number of those incidences were at close range. I wonder if they arent sort of overwhelmed by the muzzle blast and cant put together what happened. I have seen other mature does in the same group respond the same way, especially at dusk.

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, Daveboone said:

Ya know, I have seen that affect many times also...the younger deer appearing to almost be in shock. A fair number of those incidences were at close range. I wonder if they arent sort of overwhelmed by the muzzle blast and cant put together what happened. I have seen other mature does in the same group respond the same way, especially at dusk.

I will never forget my first Adirondack deer, which was the lead doe of a group of 6 or 7 antlerless deer.  It was up on a ridge in some oaks, and they came up to feed on acorns, on opening day of early ML season.  The spot was very remote, way off any main highway or any public access.

I doubt those deer had ever seen a hunter before.  Even after the muzzle blast from 20 yards away, and taking a bullet thru both lungs, the leader had no clue what hit her.  She just stood there staring at me, until her legs started to wobble, and she fell down over the edge of a cliff.  The others just stood there watching, and did not move until I got up from my seat on a rock, to go after her.

I located that spot the year prior, when I heard deer snorting up on that ridge in the morning while I was fishing from a rowboat in the lake down below. They must have winded me.  The morning that I fooled them the next year, I had a favorable wind.