jan bowhunting - mature doe or 1st year doe

[ARO]

i was sitting in the stand tonight, and got to thinking about late season hunting. i thought do i really want to shoot a mature doe, that probably has two little ones growing inside, or should i shoot a first year doe, which would probably be better eating, and most likely has not be breed.

does anybody else think about this stuff?

[Twanger]

I do. Here's what I think. 99% of does get pregnant. Even many of the first-year fawns do. Doe fawns and button bucks are hard to tell apart... so... if you want to make sure you take a doe, you should kill the biggest antlerless deer in a group of deer in the late season. It's very very probably a doe. You have much poorer odds if you shoot a small deer - it's probably a 50% chance that it's a button buck. Sure, she will probably be pregnant, but given the 99% rule, it doesn't really matter if you shot her before or after she got pregnant. The affect on the herd is the same. Killing a doe at any time removes 3 potential deer from next year's herd. That's why shooting does is so effective for herd control.

However, if finding a fetus in the gut-pile bothers you, you should probably not hunt does after Jan 1.

[penaltybox]

Twanger, I agree with your point. Does it make a difference if you shoot that doe in September or January using your 99% rule? Not really since she has the potential to and probably will have 2 fawns next year. This late in the season, I prefer to err on the side of caution and take the larger deer under the assumption that it is the most likely to be a doe. However, I still look real close to make sure that it's not a he which has dropped horns.

[freedomrules3]

i look at it a bit differently myself. i do agree that a doe shot in sept or jan doesnt make much difference. i'm not so sure that 99% get pregnant but that isnt what i really think about.
i think more on the lines of genetics, after all it takes 2 to tango so to speak, and both the doe and buck are involved in the genetics of the offspring. my theory is if the bucks and other offspring are what you want in a particular area then shoot the young does. this way you preserve the genetic strain that is producing a certain type of buck in the area.
if the bucks and offspring are starting to become not so special then i concentrate more on the mature does in the area. my theory is if the genetics kind of suck then you may be able to change things around somewhat by shooting the older breeding stock does and they get replaced with a different genetic strain.
just because a good buck mates with a doe doesnt guarantee another good buck if the doe has inferior genetics built into her.the does play at least 50% by theory in the passing on of a good genetic strain.
if your satisfied with what your seeing then shoot the young does. if not then take the older ones out as much as you can . you can play a significant part in changing the genetics of a certain area imo. of coarse there are no guarantees that the new genetic strain will be any better, it could make things worse. especially in an area where there is a high interbreeding rate.
would you agree that if a particular doe breeds some very nice deer, healthy, large sized, or heavy horned, you would be crazy to take the breeding nanny out. if she is dropping less desirable fawns then shoot her out. i always have the future bucks on my mind even when shooting does.
don't yearling doe tend to drop 1 instead of 2 ? i always heard their first year they tend to lose at least 1 fawn.
so yes i think about such things but in a slightly different way .

[Twanger]

Rick - that's a very interesting perspective!

[tailnbone]

At this point in the game I'm ready to shoot a 30 lb deer, throw it over my shoulder and walk out of the woods.

Nah. It would have to be a mature doe. I always pass on the little ones so they can atleast get a taste of life for a couple of seasons.

[davep]

Does bred their first year usually throw a single fawn.Triplets occur occasionally,but twins are the norm.
As far as your resident does throwing good bucks or not,does usually drive their male progeny out of their home range.So maybe you should shoot your neighbors does if you're not happy with your bucks. ;D
Since bucks have the larger home range,there will be some overlap anyway.I occasionally cull the poor bucks,though it always pains me to use the tag that way.It seems to have paid some dividends,but pressure here ahas increadedso dramatically,it's now at the point that if I don't kill them,somebody else will.There is no "next year" for most of the bucks.

[campkingmd]

Aro,

Like it matters to you.!! lol

[ARO]

charlie brown, then you no what i talking about. last weekend of jan 2005,
and i quote"who wants to bet on the biggest doe tonight, i shot a nice mature doe"

them 50# 1st year does with there hair all puffed up, sure do look bigger from the stand sometimes, dont they!!!