Doe management

[chowder]

Probably too late to start in on this but I hope people haven't left taking a doe till the end of the deal once again! Good article in this months "Deer & Deer Hunting"on Doe management. Remember if you hunt in a farm land MU, where the taking of does is encouraged you will greatly improve the growth rate of all deer(bucks included) because the carrying capacity of the unit is limited by the winter browse. It's not considered "macho" by many but most experts argue that archers should take the first yearling doe that presents itself b/c this has the greatest impact on the total breeding capacity of a doe group for years to come + w/ a bow you are much more likely to be able leave a button buck alone. Now that the deer herd is pressured it's much more difficult to take a doe. Up untill just this week around here the 2 1/2 yr old bucks were considerably easier to kill than the 2 1/2 yr old does. Now that the rut is over(in my high elevation part of 7M) and even most of the yearlings bred, movement will decrease and the presence of even a single doe is much less likely to lead to a buck sighting and you should take that doe if you have not all ready. I have taken solitary does many times w/ both bow and firearm and then taken a good buck shortly after, and the other way around as well. After the shot don't expose yourself- sit tight, it's amazing what can happen next! Taking a doe does not deter a determined buck, especially in archery season. At least twice I've arrowed bucks sniffing a doe that I killed moments before! If you are a truly experienced hunter- leave the young bucks alone and kill a doe, after all it's "hunting season" not "any buck season".

My comments are directed at those hunting farmland MUs w/ high probablities for DMPs.

[salmonite]

agreed, My family took 5 does off of our property this year and not one buck! the 5 does doesn't even put a dent into the popluation though. Muzzleloader week i will 15-20 does at a time hearded up.

I hunt in 9h in wyoming county.

[perch predator]

took a 3 yr old doe this morning

[bringley]

I took 5 doe this year and I am looking forward to eating my way to the bottom of the freezer.

I doubt this will affect the land we hunt on considering the number of does we saw in archrey season. We spotted over 20 in the clover feeding in one afternoon.

[chowder]

At some point in the distant past I hunted one of the farms we rent for growing crops on with a guy who had some kind of QDM qualifications. The farm we hunted was roughly 200 acres w/ 55 acres in woods, the balance was productive hay land and he figured 5 to 6 does should be taken off that per year.

[perch predator]

took another 3 yr old yesterday afternoon. 1 more tag for bow, but maybe I can get my girlfriend to pull the trigger.

[chowder]

Went out w/ a couple guys w/ empty freezers yesterday. I put a bunch of does in front of them @ 40 yds. 2 shots . zero deer. We try another piece and before we can start we got 5 does at about 270 yds, I look at the guys and they gesture to me "yea get us one!". I hold 4" high on the biggest doe, touch it off- done! High 5s all around! Get over there and it's a large fat button buck Must have been a group of skippys, boy do I feel like an ass...

[seasquirrel]

Always my fear when shooting a doe. It can be tough to rule out a button buck. Dont sweat it, it happens. Awesome shot by the way. You make that shot with the front stuffer in your buck picture? Or was that a rifle barrel on that gun?

[chowder]

I took the State land Buck w/ a 50 cal Traditions muzzle loader w/ open sights. My doe management tool is a Winchester 70 XTR in 7mm mag w/ a factory bedded barrel & Leupold scope. I bought this gun used from a local fellow who was very short on cash when I was less so.I've gotten comfortable w/ it to 300 yds though I don't think I've shot a buck w/ it in over 3 years. Like I said above, the only time I can be 100% sure on passing buttons is during bow season, or if I'm in a stand(w/ a downward view) at close range. I'm trying to manage does on over 700 acres so I make some mistakes from time to time but it's better than letting these does get any further out of control.I really only have afternoons available to hunt (2:30-5) so I take quite a few early w/ the bow- it's getting tougher at this point in the season for sure b/c there is a lot of pressure around (but not many deer killed )