[Rancher]

We have a stand that I would say has an abnormal amount of does. I’m sure some were button heads and maybe small spikes but out of the 13 deer I counted in 1 picture none had racks.

I plan on letting my 2 boys take each a doe out over the next 2 weeks and was wondering what size (if any) would be best to harvest? With a club rule of 80# minimum on does we know we can’t shoot a fawn so would you target an 80# doe or a larger 115-120# doe? Or does it really matter talking from a habitat standpoint.

Bucks this year are non existent but that’s for a whole other post to discuss! haha

 

[Stringwacker]

Rancher, I don't think it really matters this time of year. This years 80 pound doe is next years 100+ plus pound deer. I've never really understood the minimum doe weight thing. Frankly, on my place I would rather shoot a 65 pound yearling this time of year that maybe isn't carrying a fawn .....instead of a larger impregnated doe.

Of course the risk of shooting a nubbin is increased when you shoot a smaller does.

 

[ksullivan259]

StringWacker, I can answer the minimum weight question. Most clubs want to protect the button bucks and this is a helpful way to keep people from accidently shooting 1. People shooting does are typically shooting them to collect the meat. 100lb doe will yield more meat then say a 50lber so this should also help govern some of the shooting smaller deer. I personally like to shoot the oldest doe with longer nose, darker hair, usually done producing fawns

 

[Rancher]

Yes the weight thing is for protection of button bucks. In the long run I feel that hurts us as a whole club cause every hunter is shooting the larger does and in my opinion is your best breeding or more healthy does. Heck as of last week I still have a fawn with spots. Typically don’t get fawn pics till mid sept and always have fawn with spots till end of November to early Dec. our buck to doe ratio in my opinion is so outta whack it’s almost comical.

Gonna bring up trying to get a biologist in the off season to the board members of club so we can maybe change some things around.

 

[Stringwacker]

That's kind of my thought Rancher. In trying to protect nubbins, your implementing a rule that protects an age class of doe .....which is needless. Nubbins, in most instances, are legal and I DO understand the reasoning not to shoot them; but the rule should simply be don't shoot a nubbin and let the hunter decide what doe he/she wants to shoot. If Nubbins are the holy grail to your clubs success then just put a fine on them; but don't protect a legal doe in an indirect effort to do so. It has nothing to do with the doe. At my club a mature doe is about 80-90 pounds. We rarely see one over 100. As far as needing to kill one for more meat at 80 vs less meat at 65...sometimes the only chance a fellow has for a deer is the 65 pound deer. Less deer meat Vs zero deer meat wins by a mile. To me, that is strictly an individual decision in this regard on what doe to kill. You don't have a lot of bowhunters talking about minimum doe weights.

Now understand; if that is the rule of a club (80 pound doe minimum) then that's the way it has to be. My club of 4500+ acres that I helped start nearly 40 years ago never has had a minimum doe weight rule nor has the subject ever even been brought up. Nubbins have no fine but we rarely ever kill one by accident. No need to over react when it does happen. Nobody kills a nubbin on purpose.

 

[jlt]

This is what I have heard for a while and it makes sense to me. If you have poor habitat and too many deer kill a mature doe that will eat more food and likely produce 2 fawns. If you have great habitat and a healthy deer herd do the opposite.

 

[Stringwacker]

This is what I have heard for a while and it makes sense to me. If you have poor habitat and too many deer kill a mature doe that will eat more food and likely produce 2 fawns. If you have great habitat and a healthy deer herd do the opposite.

The voice of reason......

 

[randywallace]

This is what I have heard for a while and it makes sense to me. If you have poor habitat and too many deer kill a mature doe that will eat more food and likely produce 2 fawns. If you have great habitat and a healthy deer herd do the opposite.

That's what the QDMA folks recommend: Which Doe Should You Take? | National Deer Association

 

[Rancher]

It’s Weyerhaeuser land with a few private tracts of hardwood around the area. This particular stand is in about 6-7 year old planted pine of 40 acres.

I’m gonna pull the last couple years of log books to see if body weights have gone up or down last few years.

jlt this makes perfect sense what you said and I’d say it’s ok, not great habitat. This area was sprayed roughly 6-7 years ago.

 

[jlt]

I’m pretty sure that’s where I read that. Probably the same article Randy posted.

 

[peewee]

Personally with our states population I don't think it matters. I try to harvest the largest doe but I aint holding back on a 1.5 year old if I want meat. This past weekend I was invited on a doe hunt in the delta. Saturday morning I saw 18 doe, 2 spikes and a nice 2.5 year old buck. The first group of does (5) that came in in I killed the two largest does (both weighed 129 pounds). I watched two other young doe walk up join the pack of 3 doe (which included a large doe) and walk off.

 

[rt8]

...This past weekend I was invited on a doe hunt in the delta. Saturday morning I saw 18 doe...

I need better friends...

 

[mossyman]

I haven’t seen 18 different does all year…

 

[W]

In most cases, the doe to shoot is the first one that gives you a good shot.

 

[canebrake]

If you have too many does it really doesn’t matter which one you shoot. Where I hunt I don’t have too many. In that case I would shoot a younger doe. She is less experienced and less likely to raise fawns.

 

[gun dawg]

I shoot the big ones, they have the most meat.