When to shoot does?

[Garrett S]

This.

That answer is easier.

If you own it- property lines. Teach the resident groups which way not to go. Shoot the first big one. Teach the incomers which side is safe. Shoot the last big one.

Don’t pollute buck typical areas with doe hunting and doe kills.

Have even gone as far as gutting deer in certain locations to pull coyote travel that then limits deer presence.

Great TL and maybe Don Higgins take- do not kill does from marginal cover on your ground unless you have to. Treat the residents, especially with poor real estate, best.

 

[weekender21]

When: I try to shoot a few in September then again with the kids in December. That’s been the plan the last few years.

Where: I agree with the property line theory. One exception; we have a road that splits the property. Accessing ground blinds just off the road has been a strategy as well.


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[hillrunner]

That answer is easier.

If you own it- property lines. Teach the resident groups which way not to go. Shoot the first big one. Teach the incomers which side is safe. Shoot the last big one.

Don’t pollute buck typical areas with doe hunting and doe kills.

Have even gone as far as gutting deer in certain locations to pull coyote travel that then limits deer presence.

Great TL and maybe Don Higgins take- do not kill does from marginal cover on your ground unless you have to. Treat the residents, especially with poor real estate, best.

That last paragraph is intriguing to me. What's the theory behind it? Wouldn't the does in marginal cover also be the does that are away from buck typical areas?

 

[Garrett S]

It’s harder to get new ones back in there than sustain those that already are.


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[yoderjac]

I don’t generally ever shoot does I might if I saw a wounded one but otherwise I leave them be but I don’t believe our buck to doe ratio is completely screwed as it is in other states with the ridiculous issuance of multiple buck tags that some states throw at people basically begging to ruin the trophy hunting in those states.

I think location really matters. Trophy hunting is generally not an objective of most game departments. Their general objectives tend to be maintaining the resource and providing recreational hunting opportunities. Some game departments have leaned into QDM a bit with antler restrictions and more liberal doe harvests. They also help landowners with programs like our DMAP to achieve QDM type goals privately. We get 3 buck tags each year, and I find it to be a well balanced regulation. One of those tags is not good in the western mountains of our state. Some counties here have Earn-a-Buck regulations where deer densities are high. You can't shoot a second buck until you shoot a doe.

Trophy management is certainly not one of my objectives, but Quality management certainly is. In our state, in general, restricting buck tags would not impact our herd much but would significantly restrict recreational opportunities. In fact, one major factor that I considered when selecting a retirement location was the hunting regulations.

Having said that, I need to point out that I'm not familiar with current regulations or management situation in other states. You may be right that in some states multiple buck tags may be ridiculous, but that is certainly not the case here.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Booner21]

The.way I've always viewed it; lots of does during rut means dominant AND inferior bucks get to breed. Low doe numbers during rut means the dominant bucks are more likely to breed most of them while fending off the inferior bucks. So.... using this logic shooting does before the rut means all the does breed by dominant bucks will survive and have babies. Shooting does after the rut leaves open the likelihood that that not only did lessor bucks get to do a lot of the breeding but also that any does you shoot might be carrying a dominant bucks babies.

With all that said I think it's damn near impossible to impose any effect of a wild herds genetics (barring high end nutrition and epigenetics).

There was an article I read some time back that tracked offspring sired by buck believe it was in large ranch in Texas. The deer that had the highest breeding value was only 120 inch deer. Defining a lesser buck is almost impossible and in free ranging populations you can bet “inferior” bucks do just as much breeding. Not sure what definition of inferior is.


I usually wait until late season to shoot does to minimize disruption during the time I am trying to kill a buck but I don’t have overpopulation issues currently.


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