Early Season Does

[Culvercreek hunt club]

3 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

  And further as part of my stream of consciousness, mom may push a bb out anyways so maybe its best to kill a mom with a bb and the bb becomes a Big Buck one day and stays around.   lol   T

Actually that is sound and there is science to back that up. 

[moog5050]

2 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Actually that is sound and there is science to back that up. 

Big dilemma - mom has a doe fawn and bb - ugh decisions, decisions.   lol  Choot her.

[NYBowhunter]

1 minute ago, moog5050 said:

I would think either will draw a buck in.  Perhaps one benefit to shooting the lone doe is that the mom with fawns is teaching the fawns that this is the home area and they will stick around and teach the next generation.  The lone doe might not have that influence any longer.  Then again, the does may stick around anyway.  And further as part of my stream of consciousness, mom may push a bb out anyways so maybe its best to kill a mom with a bb and the bb becomes a Big Buck one day and stays around.   lol   That's my non-scientifically backed thought.   In sum - kill moms with a single bb, then lone does, then moms with doe fawns.

 

One more caveat - if you hunt the same area as Wolc, a single bb has no chance so go straight to option 2.

 I thank the lord everyday that my bb's are safe from wolc.. To be honest, with only 40 acres ,  there is no doe, bb, buck or any deer for that matter that will not wander off my property. Thats just reality. I have shot old lead does in a group, huge does in a group and it really doesn't affect my ability to hold and attract new ones and new groups.

[moog5050]

Just now, NYBowhunter said:

 I thank the lord everyday that my bb's are safe from wolc.. To be honest, with only 40 acres ,  there is no doe, bb, buck or any deer for that matter that will not wander off my property. Thats just reality. I have shot old lead does in a group, huge does in a group and it really doesn't affect my ability to hold and attract new ones and new groups.

In all seriousness, I only hunt smaller parcels, but still prefer to leave the big ole lead does as they will still view your 40 as part of their core area and hopefully pass that off to the girls.

[NYBowhunter]

4 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

In all seriousness, I only hunt smaller parcels, but still prefer to leave the big ole lead does as they will still view your 40 as part of their core area and hopefully pass that off to the girls.

Yeah I guess, but whenever I see a huge doe my mouth starts to water and all I can see are huge steaks..lol..but yeah again for me I never had an issue of other does filling the void of one's I shoot. 

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, Belo said:

heck man I know the season you and I had last year and all the hours we put in and I totally agree. I had one at 22  yards slight quartering away on 10/1, then a whole family group at 20 broadside. I decided it didn't feel right, then saw no deer Saturday night and now I wonder haha. I do subscribe to being confident in your setup and knowing what you're going to shoot, so to fling one on a whim isn't a good idea either. So for me, if I'm not feeling it, it's not happening.

My old man just laughed as it's 10/5...

After I shot the doe on sat morn . I got back in the stand and 7 more came thru and I was so close to sending another one. That way my meat was set for the year by 10/3 as I like to get two deer for the freezer every year.  Then all the time left to look for a buck I like.  And my buck standereds are usually 5 pt or better.  At least that is what I try to do.  I am certainly not in a great buck area, but try not to take a small one.  I passed up 3 easy shots last season on smaller bucks. 

That being said doe taste good , tags do not. Looking to take another if I can . 

[Nomad]

I’ve taken them early in bow, and other times not at all . I haven’t shot a doe in bow in years , just waiting for a decent buck , I figure I can take a doe almost at Will in gun season , if I’m lacking meat .

That said last night I put a doe tag in my pack , thinking of if it’s the right stand, and time I may shoot a doe now . I won’t take one in my thicket because I don’t want to go making noise and stomping all around in there , I won’t take one at the  beginning of a sit ,although that might change .

Only reason I’m thinking of an early doe is Costanzas’s turn around time in early bow is 1/4 the wait of gun season , plus I want to can another 20 pounds of venison, so a doe now would fulfill those two things . 
 

Tomorrow’s stand is near a slope so  that’s an easy drag, and I can get the truck close as well , so stay tuned .

[NYBowhunter]

This is a typical older lead doe in my area, kinda hard to pass up all that meat.

[Robhuntandfish]

14 minutes ago, Nomad said:

I’ve taken them early in bow, and other times not at all . I haven’t shot a doe in bow in years , just waiting for a decent buck , I figure I can take a doe almost at Will in gun season , if I’m lacking meat .

That said last night I put a doe tag in my pack , thinking of if it’s the right stand, and time I may shoot a doe now . I won’t take one in my thicket because I don’t want to go making noise and stomping all around in there , I won’t take one at the  beginning of a sit ,although that might change .

Only reason I’m thinking of an early doe is Costanzas’s turn around time in early bow is 1/4 the wait of gun season , plus I want to can another 20 pounds of venison, so a doe now would fulfill those two things . 
 

Tomorrow’s stand is near a slope so  that’s an easy drag, and I can get the truck close as well , so stay tuned .

you need to shoot one!  Didnt you just say in the live thread you were eating Tuna casserole? You must need to refill that freezer!  lol 

With all the deer you have over there one doe cert wont be missed. 

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, NYBowhunter said:

Let's think of this logically and from a physiological perspective, I really don't get the concept of letting does go that have fawns as opposed to shooting lone does.  There are a few reasons a doe will be alone,  but for the most  when she becomes receptive she will chase the fawns  away to begin breeding, so wouldn't it be best to not shoot the lone doe  as opposed to one with fawns?  I have never witnessed a doe being dodged by a buck and then fawns in tow. It doesn't matter to me as I will shoot a doe with or without fawns if thats what I want at that moment. But if I had to choose I much rather shoot a doe with fawns and leave that lone doe alone, as more then likely it will be that lone doe that will draw that buck in. Of course if there's a smaller then usual fawn  or one still holding spots and is with a doe, then I would pass.  But most fawns in my area I have seen are big enough to fend for themselves come October.  Heck I have two fawns that use my property as thier core area, always see them feeding together since beginning of September and they are never with mom.

you're spot on, most of this years fawns will be find this time a year. I think it's just a mental thing. I shot a large breeder that was part of a group of 6 with the MZ many years back and had the fawn come back in while I was gutting her bleating and stuff. It was rough... but life it rough.

[Five Seasons]

49 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

Big dilemma - mom has a doe fawn and bb - ugh decisions, decisions.   lol  Choot her.

yes that is the right answer for what it's worth, I just think it's fun to ponder. Like every decision in life we make, until we can peek into the infinite parallel universes of us... we will never know for sure

49 minutes ago, NYBowhunter said:

 I thank the lord everyday that my bb's are safe from wolc.. 

lmao!

[phade]

First day not hunting since the opener.

I targeted does Saturday AM and had five come in and I pulled a rookie move letting my arrow hit a vertical branch as I moved into position. They didn't see me but responded to the noise and got out of there like a firecracker string went off. Have to laugh. All of the evenings, I've passed too many to count. Ended up passing the largest buck Saturday evening I've ever passed and was a miserable SOB until last night when the target buck came out on my right side and left me with no chance to get a shot off. If I had shot Saturday I wouldn't have had that same opportunity/encounter. Stick to your convictions I say. I'll shoot a doe in the AM on the weekend or possibly a Fri/Sat evening if I have time to process and I have no confidence in leads on a buck. It'd be hard to kill enough does with bow to impact the population/rut.

I do think alot of people discount the chance to get a buck early; if you're smart about it, it's a real opp. The largest NYS typical bow buck for the season might already have been shot on Oct 1 in Monroe Co. Early and late season are real chances to take bucks.

[Nomad]

2 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

you need to shoot one!  Didnt you just say in the live thread you were eating Tuna casserole? You must need to refill that freezer!  lol 

With all the deer you have over there one doe cert wont be missed. 

Wife makes a mean tuna casserole ! Still have about 15 pounds of venison,  ground / sausage  in freezer , 15 or so, pounds of chicken and 50 or so pounds of canned venison and chicken on the shelves. Should get 30-40 pounds of Elk from my buddy in a couple weeks , well if he does his part ! 
 

Of and 15-20 cans of tuna .

If the time is right I’ll take one , perhaps .....

[dbHunterNY]

Took one Saturday afternoon. Would've taken more. Better for breeding ecology and doesnt waste buck effort if you take a doe early. When the rut hits pressure is off the doe and you're only hunting bucks. I deal with warm weather by boning it out right away and getting it in the fridge. Somethinf to be said with no pressure to get meat when you're hunting older low odds bucks vs setting up for max opportunity on doe.

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[coonhunter]

I just save mine for gun season and let the kids and women get some shooting in. I have killed enough deer not to feel any pressure about killing one. But the beginners like, and I think need to kill some deer and enjoy the success to keep them interested and in the yearly game. 

If I haven't killed a buck , I usually stick a doe the last couple days of bow season to get our yearly supply of venison.

[land 1]

It all depends i cut up my own deer so i normally wait till theres a stretch of cool weather so it can hang a few days and i have some free time, also certain stands i wont shoot a doe out of if i feel the big one is using that area regularly,,,,,,,

[wolc123]

5 hours ago, Belo said:

yes that is the right answer for what it's worth, I just think it's fun to ponder. Like every decision in life we make, until we can peek into the infinite parallel universes of us... we will never know for sure

lmao!

 

 

 

5 hours ago, NYBowhunter said:

 I thank the lord everyday that my bb's are safe from wolc.. 

What wmu are you in ?  I am due for one this season, since the last was my off year.  My standard practice of taking the largest antlerless deer from a group, at the earliest or any opportunity, has yielded close to 20 bb's thru my 38 deer seasons.  

Only 2 were outside of my home wmu of 9F.  First was my first gun kill, in Allegheny state park and second was my first bow kill in Darien.  Several got my second bullet after mamma got the first.   The majority were by themselves, and just happened to show up at the wrong place and wrong time. 

An example of that was my only late ML season kill. I watched him stand up in the standing corn that I was glassing from my bedroom window.  When he walked to the edge for a mouthful of turnip greens, I slid up the window and dropped him there with 5 minutes of legal daylight remaining.  It worked out well because I did not have enough time after work to change into my hunting clothes, but I did throw on my vest with backtag before capping the load to make the shot legal.

It is strange that after 20ish bb's, I have yet to kill a doe fawn.  I did eat one that a neighbor gave me a couple years ago. It tasted just like the bb's, just smaller.  Seems like a waste of a dmp to me.

Edited October 5, 2020 by wolc123

[left field]

Can someone school me on family group disruption?

There's a group of seven does and older fawns that are coming into my "backyard" every day. This is the largest group I've ever seen here and I can sit on my back porch and the young ones will come into 20 yard range. I was going to shoot my ML yesterday and had to shoo them away from the target. Of course, my wife has named them.

The oldest doe will pick me up and stare me down. What happens if she's taken out? The middle ones? The smallest are a little too small to shoot.

[GreeneHunter]

I'm not actually a Bow hunter , crossbow yes so when crossbow opens I'll take the first Deer in range with a - hopefully - successful shot ! I'm meat hunting always !

[crappyice]

Can someone school me on family group disruption?
There's a group of seven does and older fawns that are coming into my "backyard" every day. This is the largest group I've ever seen here and I can sit on my back porch and the young ones will come into 20 yard range. I was going to shoot my ML yesterday and had to shoo them away from the target. Of course, my wife has named them.
The oldest doe will pick me up and stare me down. What happens if she's taken out? The middle ones? The smallest are a little too small to shoot.

I hope she named them Chili, Empanadas, Wellington, Sausage...


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[doebuck1234]

Really hope for an early bow doe.first one in range,im sending it.havent gotten a doe in 5+ years,always a buck and i cant eat the antlers!would also take the pressure off so can hold out for a PB buck!

[Marion]

I hope she named them Chili, Empanadas, Wellington, Sausage...


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Mmmmmm Empanadas!!!!!

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[TACC]

I hunt a doe rich population on public land on LI and will take a doe early, but prefer to pass on does with small fawns. In October, if I see the fawn, the doe typically will get a pass, not always, but generally. Last year, on my first sit, I drew on a doe (with a decent sized fawn that appeared fully weaned). She was spared by a small 8 who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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I agree, personally any season i have fawns/first year deer with a doe i hold off.

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[Trial153]

I fill my antlers tags early in an area and properties that I dont buck hunt on anyway, I make it a non issue

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[sodfather]

I’m not opposed to killing doe’s especially on our lease cause it is completely over run by them. During the rut I would pass only for the reason of hoping she was in heat and would draw a buck in .