Buck vs Doe

I'm 76 this month and when I grew up in NJ we could only shoot bucks. As I got older there were option like a doe day to shoot does. I was taught that when you shot a doe you killed 2 deer for next year, witch there is probably some truth to. Wonder what other think about this and in colonial time what did they think or do. Imagine when hungry they did what they needed. To be clear I have shot doe, not many.

I think we need to shoot does,the ratio is so out of whack, but hay i am no expert,just use to be hunter what do i know.

We shoot does as a family here in South Texas. The quality of the meat is just better compared to a smelly buck though the yield much lees meat. Spikes are ok to remove also. I try to take out old barren does 6,7,8 yr olds.

Back in the day I am sure they killed and ate whatever was available.

I, too, grew up in NJ and began hunting there. I actually took my first deer in PA. My second in NJ.
I hunt for meat, buck or doe taste the same. However, I am reluctant to shoot a doe, specifically because of that procreation factor. We have a long deer season here in TN. I usually hold off, hoping for a buck for about two weeks. After that I'll take whatever shows up.

I have never shot a doe, we had a very bad drought several years ago. As a result of the drought many deer got blue tongue disease and died a horrible death. The population was reduced and under the same theory kill a doe kill two deer for next year, I simply let the does pass by. The population is back, and has been back for awhile. I may take a doe this year, may not. I keep the back strap meat and typically have summer sausage made from the rest of the deer, so young bucks don't matter to me. They are plentiful.

I will never shot a doe during late season. A friend of mine, retired Sheriff, shot a doe 2nd late season. That doe had developing fawns inside her, when he seen them, he said he would never hunt late season again.

Does are thick here in north Arkansas. They are road hazards and eat gardens and flowers. They need to be thinned.

Here in Colorado most all deer licenses are by draw only meaning the wildlife people have determined what kill ratio is acceptable. If doe licenses are available I'm thinking they determined it's ok to hunt them and I will if that's what I want to do that year.

When I first started Deer hunting the season was 3 days Bucks only. I now live in central Kentucky. Our license allows 4 deer, only 1 can be a buck. we can also buy unlimited additional tags for 2 Doe's at a time. Even with this the deer herd continue to increase. My stand is set up behind my garage so I don't have far to go hunting. My nearest neighbor has a body shop and the deer keep him very busy. I will normally have 4 or 5 deer, sometimes more hit on the road in front of my house every fall.

flatcreek said:

I'm 76 this month and when I grew up in NJ we could only shoot bucks. As I got older there were option like a doe day to shoot does. I was taught that when you shot a doe you killed 2 deer for next year, witch there is probably some truth to. Wonder what other think about this and in colonial time what did they think or do. Imagine when hungry they did what they needed. To be clear I have shot doe, not many.

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Virginia has both an early (Sept) and late (Jan) “antlerless” season, which really means doe season. There is so much development, and so many deer, that the state decided to do this to cull the herds and reduce property damage from car crashes, crop damage etc.

Any early or late season does count against your annual license quota (6) (no more than 3 bucks).

Cheers, Andy in VA

Old saying “I know fat call from poor bull’. My rule is shoot the closest if legal. I’m hunting for venison and doe is taster

I’m a bona fide doe shooter! Kill at least one every year.

Over the 60 + yrs. deer hunting here in Pa. , for me , the ratio is about 8 does to one buck. I've always been a
meat hunter. A Greene Co. coal miner's son in the 1950's , was taught to be frugal in hard times , and kill to eat. We ate good. Live in Cerntral Pa. now , and seems to be many deer to eat. Passed up 3 deer too small to waste a tag on in early flint season , so will keep trying. Venison meat loaf is to die for. Last season , got a nice small buck hit by a Buick , near home. He tasted good.

a doe may have 2 fawns, BUT that big dominant buck you take might have been able to breed 3-4 does. do the math.

Too many deer, mean too little food. Would rather have fewer healthier deer than a bunch of skinny underfed ones. Everyone makes their own choices for their own reasons. Kill what you want, eat what you kill. There was a time in our early years of marriage that venison helped us get by. Mamma wouldn't/won't eat squirrels, but rabbit and deer were on the menu quite often.

I'm in North Carolina, from the mid '60s until about 5 years ago, we owned 3 farms, about 850 acres. We raised corn, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. I have seen over 50 deer in our fields, mostly does. I have killed many, prefer them to eat. The only way to control the population when it gets that large is to kill does.

I guess it all depends upon habitat as to how large the population is. In the Piedmont area where I live now, I hunt in the Uwharrie National Forest. These are mainly hardwood forest, pretty open terrain. This means less deer per acre but we still have a very healthy population.

Here in North Carolina we get 2 antlered and 4 antlerless tags. I've cut back as I have gotten older but still try to kill a couple of does per year.

2 shots said:

a doe may have 2 fawns, BUT that big dominant buck you take might have been able to breed 3-4 does. do the math.

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I would say that the buck only breeding 3-4 Doe's is probably very conservative. Even if you take that big one out there will always be another one to take care of those Doe's . I remember years ago a video of two big Bucks fighting over a Doe. While the big boys are fighting if you looked over behind them there was a little 4 point already taking care of business.

flatcreek said:

I'm 76 this month and when I grew up in NJ we could only shoot bucks. As I got older there were option like a doe day to shoot does. I was taught that when you shot a doe you killed 2 deer for next year, witch there is probably some truth to. Wonder what other think about this and in colonial time what did they think or do. Imagine when hungry they did what they needed. To be clear I have shot doe, not many.

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In colonial times they nearly wiped out the deer. Here in Virginia, the House of Burgesses passed a law in 1635 called “An Act for the Better Management of the Breeds of Deer,” which established specific hunting seasons and restricted hunting methods because they were concerned about the tremendous decline in the deer population. New versions of the law passed every decade or so, shortening the seasons, putting more restrictions on doe hunting, making it illegal to sell skins taken out of season… all of these laws specifically exempted farmers who were protecting their crops. And 90% of Virginians were farmers.
By 1775, the situation was so dire that the Burgesses enacted a five-year ban on deer hunting east of Richmond, but when the war started, nobody paid attention. By the early 20th century there were functionally no deer in Virginia. The state started importing deer and releasing them in the 1930s.
Today in the Commonwealth we have an estimated deer population in excess of 1 million- more than twice as many as we had in 1607.
Jay

flatcreek said:

I was taught that when you shot a doe you killed 2 deer for next year

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I suppose that's true at first face–but very few fawns make it to adulthood. For a population to remain stable, a doe only needs to produce two fawns in her lifetime. Six-bits says your local deer population is at its max.

Harvest a doe.

As individuals, I don't think we know enough to let our opinions be our guide. Hunting laws are made by close association with game biologist. They know whats best for the health and numbers in any given location. This applies to all species. Simply do not kill what is not allowed and the animals and game birds will thrive. When does days or weeks are permitted, the game authority knows the herd can not only tolerate the deaths, but it will also be good for the herd.

This morning was our regular firearms opener. I was out with my flintlock on my own small property of just 6 acres. I could have filled my tag at sunrise with a very large doe at 25 yards that was completely unaware of my presence. Between 7am and 8:30am I had numerous adult does and fawns...some as close as five yards. Shooting around me was heavy and my assumption is they were coming in due to no perceived threat. Saw an unusual doe with four white socks like a horse! Another doe had a loose sounding cough, but acted completely normal otherwise and appeared healthy. Never saw that either of those in over 50 years deer hunting.

I will have 18 days to hunt. I only have one tag (though I could buy endless doe tags in this CWD zone). I will hold out for a mature buck and all the experiences that I can have while waiting and watching because that's what I like to do.

When we were raising our family, I usually killed 3 or 4 does annually over the various seasons. My wife and I just don't eat that much venison anymore...one deer does it. In the last few days of my season I can try for a mature doe or I can eat tag soup and still feel great about my season.

Harvesting does is crucial to effective management, but we have large numbers of hunters in my area that flood here from the Twin Cities metro and shoot lots of does, so we are not overrun with deer. This morning was NOT a typical sit. One can sit for a week or more here and not even have one opportunity when using bows or open sighted traditional arms. Might not even see a deer.