• Help Support TNDeer:

Doe poll

How many does did you harvest this year?

  • 0

    Votes: 70 43.2%

  • 1

    Votes: 42 25.9%

  • 2

    Votes: 23 14.2%

  • 3

    Votes: 9 5.6%

  • 4

    Votes: 6 3.7%

  • 5+

    Votes: 12 7.4%
  • Total voters
    162
0 but not for lack of trying. Step dad is old school so he acts funny when we shoot them. I guess he doesn't see the correlation between us shooting 4 or 5 a year for a few years and the sudden increase in 6 points and larger. Gotta let them spikes live!
But this season, any doe I had a chance at was being followed by a buck, and I could not convince myself that an even larger one was further behind..
 
1 Not enough when they are eating the bark off trees. Saw plenty of Does and some Good Bucks . Actually called someone in need and gave her away thinking I would shoot a few more. Just one of those years everything was moving in thickets .
 
None. We didn't see enough on our place to warrant shooting any. Used to always see decent sized groups in late season, but not so much anymore. We see way more bucks than does.
 
4 does from 3 different properties. My son killed 2 does. My daughter killed 1 doe from Yuchi. My freezer is full and I was able to give a few deer to the following:
-next door neighbor who wants to hunt but was only able to do so once this season
-close friend who does not hunt but his family eats venison; he also happens to own a small parcel of property where we hunt 😀
-my dad who had two shoulder surgeries and was not able to hunt this year until the very end of season and did not kill a deer
 
Currently at 5, spread out over 3 counties, and I have given them all to neighbors/friends/family per their requests. I may shoot 1-2 more as I have a local fireman that just ask me for some venison if I was still able, and I could use one for my freezer. I typically kill 3-5 does "most years", but some years just 1-2, all depending on the circumstances of that particular year/season.
 
I ended up killing one early Dec. I knew I had only a couple of days of hunting left. It kept my streak of 26 years of killing a deer a season a live. I actually watched her and another for almost 25 mins feed before I decided to pull the trigger.
 
Two for me. We killed 12 bucks & 26 does off our place this year. Might be another 1-2 of each during Juvi this weekend. Based on herd survey's the past 6 years we've tried to take 2 does for each buck killed.
 
tellico4x4 said:
Two for me. We killed 12 bucks & 26 does off our place this year. Might be another 1-2 of each during Juvi this weekend. Based on herd survey's the past 6 years we've tried to take 2 does for each buck killed.
Click to expand...
How many acres is that property?
 
I basically do the Carnivore diet trying to control my sugar and run through deer meat pretty quick. Use a Hot Topic warmer in the work truck for the deer meat, steaks, or pork chops.Lost 35lbs doing this and was able to come off Metformin. Had planned on putting as many as possible in the freezer but life gets in the way sometimes. Didn't practice with my old bow as I should had and that cost me, lost one 🙄 and brought one home. Excited to go after them with the new Hoyt this season, hopefully restock the freezer again.
 
redblood said:
Me either. I onky shoot them with a bow, if they are big and if they dont have a fawn with them
Click to expand...
Maybe BSK can chime in on this but here is what I was taught. Fawns are born at a 50/50 buck to doe rate for a set of twins. The thought being if you orphan fawns then there isn't a momma doe to run the buck fawns off, thus having a better chance of retaining the bucks on your property. Now if a young buck fawn is orphaned and takes up with another momma doe then nothings changed. If wanting meat I've always tried to take a doe with fawns IF the fawns are old enough to be on their own based on what I've mentioned. If the fawns are to young and obviously dependent on momma then the doe gets a pass. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but this was the mindset years ago. Again, hopefully others with more knowledge on the subject will chime in.
 
8 total for me. 6 while hunting 2 with my truck. Would have taken a couple more but the weather turned to Antarctic conditions and I sat a few days out. 6 to 8 is about my annual goal. Right now starting a stew with my last pack of stew meat from previous season. No buck this year, didn't see anything I wanted to shoot.
I usually do not pay any attention to fawns after they are out of spots but I look for big fat does and that is often does that didn't have a fawn on them last fall.
At the same time, to argue against the point of not taking momma does, it seems to me that based on data of health at conception producing better bucks, does that had a year off would / could be better positioned to produce better offspring!?!?!?
 
Shanman said:
Maybe BSK can chime in on this but here is what I was taught. Fawns are born at a 50/50 buck to doe rate for a set of twins. The thought being if you orphan fawns then there isn't a momma doe to run the buck fawns off, thus having a better chance of retaining the bucks on your property. Now if a young buck fawn is orphaned and takes up with another momma doe then nothings changed. If wanting meat I've always tried to take a doe with fawns IF the fawns are old enough to be on their own based on what I've mentioned. If the fawns are to young and obviously dependent on momma then the doe gets a pass. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but this was the mindset years ago. Again, hopefully others with more knowledge on the subject will chime in.
Click to expand...
This is correct. Fawns are physically weaned at 6 weeks, although they will continue to display nursing behavior long, long afterwards (and that is more about maintaining the physical relationship than for nutrition).

Orphaned button bucks tend to stay on their birth range. Non-orphaned button bucks are usually driven away by their mother either in their first spring (1 year old) or in the fall (as yearling bucks).
 

Latest posts

Back
Top