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Who’s taking doe ?

WNYTRPR

By WNYTRPR,
in Deer Hunting

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suburbanfarmer Veteran

suburbanfarmer

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Cory said:

Won’t even raise the bow on a doe ! That’s what brings the bucks in. But do your thing fellas!

Agree, shooting time for a doe was 3 weeks ago or after Dec 8th  unless you have filled your buck tag. Then it freezer filling time.

My one spot in 8N has only 2 doe and 7 different bucks on cameras. 

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mlammerhirt Mentor

mlammerhirt

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Posted
Won’t even raise the bow on a doe ! That’s what brings the bucks in. But do your thing fellas!
Very property or area dependent. I would be doing a disservice to both properties I hunt if I didn't take does throughout any of the seasons. Property management is huge to growing and maintaining big bucks....and managing does is a key factor to having a good buck population.

But do your thing!

Sent from my SM-A716V using Tapatalk

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suburbanfarmer Veteran

suburbanfarmer

Posted
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1 hour ago, mlammerhirt said:

Very property or area dependent. I would be doing a disservice to both properties I hunt if I didn't take does throughout any of the seasons. Property management is huge to growing and maintaining big bucks....and managing does is a key factor to having a good buck population.

But do your thing!

Sent from my SM-A716V using Tapatalk
 

Absolutely property and herd dependent. If you have that many doe, maybe time to get a rookie under your wing and help them get their first deer. Just a thought

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suburbanfarmer Veteran

suburbanfarmer

Posted
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7 minutes ago, Arcade Hunter said:

There's too many does where I hunt, so I would gladly take one.  And like Nomad says... It's going in pint jars!

If I am allowed to hunt by ML season and if you still have some extra to be thinned out by then, give me a shout. 

Have gun/xbow, will travel for cervids :P

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Don_C Collaborator

Don_C

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Posted (edited)

I'm letting them walk. We have some nice bucks in the area and the chase seems to be on. I'll wait until late season if at all.

Off subject, sort of, on my drive to Cleveland Saturday morning we counted 21 road kill deer between Hamburg and the 271 split in Cleveland. ALL but one of them bucks, I would say they are chasing.

 

Edited by Don_C
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phade Mentor

phade

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Posted

Unless I get one this week on a field edge, I may go doeless for the first time in bow season that I can recall. I won't shoot one in Ohio or MO. #1 The price to do so out of state is high IMO, and #2 I don't like losing time in the stand after driving that far.

I've had several opps here in NY but they've all fallen on days that back up to work or driving to Ohio. Since we process our own, I try to make sure I have time to process after. I definitely have an itchy trigger finger though and a pair of old does that are on the radar due to scenting a few stand spots out.

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Trial153 Rising Star

Trial153

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Posted

On one property we aren’t shooting any deer this year, doe or buck hoping to carry over the couple bucks that are remaining. On my house property there is too much indiscriminate hunting pressure in the area, both locals and traveling hunters will fill any tag they or their wife has …. So I am laying off does at home. I may at some point however fill my antler-less tag on my mountain top property because there are no DMPs issued and thankfully with ARs it forces hunters to be somewhat selective.
I do plan on fill my three CT antlerless tags because they are over run with deer in that area.

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50calpeephole Enthusiast

50calpeephole

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Posted (edited)

Tried for a doe yesterday afternoon, it did not go well and I don't know why.  

  

I have many years of riffle hunting, but this is my first year hunting with a bow, but I've been a recreational archer for like 20 years- I'm a fairly reasonable shot, definitely know my limits.

 

Last night I set up a blind in a good spot and chill out for a few hours, doe comes in at 22.1 yards. I line up my shot- 50lb draw weight on a diamond edge 320, 250gr arrow, ramcat 125gr head. I've got all the time in the world on what looks to me like a slight turning away (5*?), but basically a broadside.  

  

Sight is calibrated for 20 yards, I'm guessing I'll hit lower half of the pin, nothing to worry about given the distance. Draw, take a few breaths, release, felt good, hear the smack, I see the arrow hit a little bit off from where I would like, but should have been a solid upper lung or heart, doe does not buck nor jump, does a 180 and bolts. 

  

As I'm watching the doe bolt, I'm noticing a few things that don't make a lot of sense to me. First, the doe's taking my arrow with it, the doe turned 180, putting my arrow on the opposing side of the body, but I clearly saw the arrow angled down behind the front left leg as it was running away, and the arrow seemed to be dangling, as in not penetrated deep and just freely flapping as it ran. I watched the doe run off to a brush line where I lost track, and then marked the impact site and visual loss directions from my seat, took photos of each from my seat, and then packed up my shit in the blind.

 

I get out and start wandering the impact site looking for blood. I know I don't want to start chasing this animal down, but I wanted to set up my base point for my search. After about 20 minutes I find absolutely no blood at the impact site, I decide to trace the exit path. Another 30 minutes of searching the path, absolutely no blood.

 

I go back and start over again, an hour goes by, I come up with nothing but fresh deep hoofprints in the mud from the doe, but no blood. I decide to switch things up a bit and start looking at the brush line for blood higher up than ground level thinking maybe its just not dripping. I check my phone for a time, it's now kicking 4:45 I'm not sure how long I've been walking this brush line but I'm not seeing any blood.

 

Behind the brush line is a steep hill and open timber. I know which deer I shot, I've caught it on trail cameras many times up the hill, I make what I think is the reasonable choice to blindly push farther- I'm now over 2 hours out since the shot and loosing daylight, I do have a thermal imager I use for tracking, if I get into the open timber I can probably pick this thing up assuming it's bedded down. 

 

I head in slow and quiet, and cover at least 200 yards, and sure as shit, I see a deer hop up maybe 60 yards in front of me (about 330 yards form the shooting site). I freeze, the deer looks at me, being on the deer's left again I can see a small dark patch perhaps 3" in diameter on the deer's side. The deer takes a few steps with a very slight limp, and I'm convinced this is my deer.

 

I stay absolutely frozen, and watch. Deer decides to bold and is off into the yonder lands like a gazelle. Time since shot: about 2.5 hours.

 

I searched round where I saw the deer jump up looking for either my arrow or a pool of blood, and again came up empty after about 40 minutes of looking- its now dark out, I was hoping the thermal might show a pool of blood somewhere, but there's no sign of any mortal wound on this deer.

I'm pissed to say the least, but given the lack of penetration and the dangling arrow when it sprinted away I'm left thinking I've hit bone or something to stop the arrow before delivering a reasonable blow. Anyone have any insight on what went wrong with the shot from experience? I don't know if I should be thinking about new heads, I think I probably should have aimed a bit farther rearward, but I also didn't think at 20 yards a bone would flat out stop penetration. Anyone have constructive insight on what I could do better?

 

Edited by 50calpeephole
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wolc123 Grand Master

wolc123

Posted
Posted (edited)
23 hours ago, 50calpeephole said:

Tried for a doe yesterday afternoon, it did not go well and I don't know why.  

  

I have many years of riffle hunting, but this is my first year hunting with a bow, but I've been a recreational archer for like 20 years- I'm a fairly reasonable shot, definitely know my limits.

 

Last night I set up a blind in a good spot and chill out for a few hours, doe comes in at 22.1 yards. I line up my shot- 50lb draw weight on a diamond edge 320, 250gr arrow, ramcat 125gr head. I've got all the time in the world on what looks to me like a slight turning away (5*?), but basically a broadside.  

  

Sight is calibrated for 20 yards, I'm guessing I'll hit lower half of the pin, nothing to worry about given the distance. Draw, take a few breaths, release, felt good, hear the smack, I see the arrow hit a little bit off from where I would like, but should have been a solid upper lung or heart, doe does not buck nor jump, does a 180 and bolts. 

  

As I'm watching the doe bolt, I'm noticing a few things that don't make a lot of sense to me. First, the doe's taking my arrow with it, the doe turned 180, putting my arrow on the opposing side of the body, but I clearly saw the arrow angled down behind the front left leg as it was running away, and the arrow seemed to be dangling, as in not penetrated deep and just freely flapping as it ran. I watched the doe run off to a brush line where I lost track, and then marked the impact site and visual loss directions from my seat, took photos of each from my seat, and then packed up my shit in the blind.

 

I get out and start wandering the impact site looking for blood. I know I don't want to start chasing this animal down, but I wanted to set up my base point for my search. After about 20 minutes I find absolutely no blood at the impact site, I decide to trace the exit path. Another 30 minutes of searching the path, absolutely no blood.

 

I go back and start over again, an hour goes by, I come up with nothing but fresh deep hoofprints in the mud from the doe, but no blood. I decide to switch things up a bit and start looking at the brush line for blood higher up than ground level thinking maybe its just not dripping. I check my phone for a time, it's now kicking 4:45 I'm not sure how long I've been walking this brush line but I'm not seeing any blood.

 

Behind the brush line is a steep hill and open timber. I know which deer I shot, I've caught it on trail cameras many times up the hill, I make what I think is the reasonable choice to blindly push farther- I'm now over 2 hours out since the shot and loosing daylight, I do have a thermal imager I use for tracking, if I get into the open timber I can probably pick this thing up assuming it's bedded down. 

 

I head in slow and quiet, and cover at least 200 yards, and sure as shit, I see a deer hop up maybe 60 yards in front of me (about 330 yards form the shooting site). I freeze, the deer looks at me, being on the deer's left again I can see a small dark patch perhaps 3" in diameter on the deer's side. The deer takes a few steps with a very slight limp, and I'm convinced this is my deer.

 

I stay absolutely frozen, and watch. Deer decides to bold and is off into the yonder lands like a gazelle. Time since shot: about 2.5 hours.

 

I searched round where I saw the deer jump up looking for either my arrow or a pool of blood, and again came up empty after about 40 minutes of looking- its now dark out, I was hoping the thermal might show a pool of blood somewhere, but there's no sign of any mortal wound on this deer.

I'm pissed to say the least, but given the lack of penetration and the dangling arrow when it sprinted away I'm left thinking I've hit bone or something to stop the arrow before delivering a reasonable blow. Anyone have any insight on what went wrong with the shot from experience? I don't know if I should be thinking about new heads, I think I probably should have aimed a bit farther rearward, but I also didn't think at 20 yards a bone would flat out stop penetration. Anyone have constructive insight on what I could do better?

 

As GC says, that sounds like a shoulder blade hit.   With a 50 pound draw weight bow, that is  almost like striking an armored plate.   Been there and done that a few times.   
 

The good news is, the doe has an excellent chance of making a complete recovery.   
 

Almost any crossbow will blast thru a shoulder blade, but you would need about 60 pounds of draw weight minimum to do it with a vertical.   
 

That is a good place to strike with a bullet but not so hot with an arrow.

Edited by wolc123
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