Never seen this behavior before

[Tweeter]

Several years ago on opening of muzzleloader I shot a big doe that was with another doe, I could have shot her too, but she was full of milk when I field dressed her and after I drug her 300 yards her fawn came chasing me bleating. I squatted in the sage grass and slapped him on the butt to run him off. But that and the last time I cut a does throat is the most saddened times Iv had in the woods.

 

[Setterman]

Y'all getting soft in your old age

Maybe, and I'm okay with it. I spent years riding in the truck bed with a spotlight guy shining deer and shooting every one we saw while running depredation permits in Alabama. Never felt anything close to remorse back then.

Now at 47 with more deer dead by my hands than I can count I definitely have lost the edge to a degree. Hell I barely deer hunt now, and definitely have no interest in killing does. That incident 7 years ago got to me.

My dad always told me I'd lose the killer instinct someday and he may be right. It only applies to Does, for bucks it just takes a special buck for me to pull the trigger and I feel no sadness at that point.

as far as turkeys the fire still burns hot. That one won't fade

 

[TheLBLman]

. . . . . . Haven't had the desire to kill another doe as a result

Trying to avoid the experience you described is much of why I prefer taking female deer in late December & early January. I realize the fawns will do just fine earlier (if they have lost their spots), but like you, I prefer to take mature doe that don't have a fawn (and do this sometimes in October/November), or else take them later, when the fawns are already much more on their own anyway.

I feel really good about shooting & eating mature bucks & does.
Just have no desire to shoot younger ones unless it's absolutely necessary for herd management or population control.

 

[Snake]

Y'all getting soft in your old age

Call me soft as well , of all the deer I've been fortunate to kill I killed one once that had a fawn with it . Sad it just kept coming back so I took it upon myself to never kill one with a fawn any more . That was one thing I said I would never do and I hadn't seen that fawn before guess it was hidden and when it's moma didn't come back for it he started looking for her . Bout shed a tear , I mean at times when they don't die pretty much immediately I feel pretty bad .... but I've kept hunting so I get over it quickly . I rarely shoot a doe any more especially during bow season when fawns are still really young . Ok hit me with your best shot I'm a softy !! ☺

 

[Popcorn]

Ok hit me with your best shot I'm a softy !! ☺

LOL ! I love it!! You guys are great. LOL

Even if I dont share your feelings I cant knock you for having them...

eewww
there, I said it lol

Just Kidding, Im ok picking up the slack
lol

 

[Henry]

When I butchered chickens (the gateway to butchering other farm animals and deer?) for the first time I apologized to all 50 plus of them as I cut their throats. It was horrible. So...
I'll admit to being soft, but some day I might be hungry so I need to learn and do what I need to do now so I don't go hungry later.
Bucks now, does later if still have room in the freezer.

 

[Chickenrig]

I'd have to ask why anyone would think deer can't grieve death. Many other mammals do, including cattle and elephants, etc. Why not deer?

They do grieve, i put down my male catahoula back in Oct. i also had a female mixed breed the same age(14). She went into such a depression after that . She quit eating,being social,playful, wanting to go outside that she shrivled to nothing and i had to put her down 3 weeks ago one of the hardest things to do

 

[Ski]

They do grieve, i put down my male catahoula back in Oct. i also had a female mixed breed the same age(14). She went into such a depression after that . She quit eating,being social,playful, wanting to go outside that she shrivled to nothing and i had to put her down 3 weeks ago one of the hardest things to do

Over summer I had a bulldog die of cancer. The other bulldog laid on her bed and wouldn't eat, then died a couple days later of no apparent physical ailments.

Animals grieve. I have no idea what they feel or how, but I recognize that it happens, and can empathize. I love hunting. I love venison. But I take no solace or joy in killing. It's a means to an end, nothing more. None of that prevents me from doing it, though. My drive to hunt and eat wild game outweighs my empathy for the animal. I am a predator. They are prey. It's the natural order of things.

 

[BuckWild]

Anthropomorphism, associating human traits and emotions to anything non human.

Perfectly normal part of being human.

As for killing a doe and a fawn and thinking the fawn is grieving, no way that is happening. It's more about association and familiarity. That doe is all that fawn has been imprinted with since birth. Nothing more than that.

But with that being said, as I get older, I often find myself torn between killing or not killing an animal. I've been hunting for 50 years. Sometimes something in my head just says don't do it.
Maybe it's my way of coping with my own mortality...who knows. The human brain and your soul are magical and mysterious things. I can't explain it.

I can watch two or three does feeding through an oak flat and just marvel at the complexity of life, but at the same time, know with all my heart that if any creature, animal or man, threatened me or my family, I would not hesitate to end their life on the spot.

I've often thought that a hunter values all life more than others because they know just how fast it can be taken away...

 

[dogsled]

I shot a doe last year after Thanksgiving in a large group on that same property I mentioned in the start of the thread. Double lung shot, she ran about 30 yards before dropping. I sat for about 15 minutes before going to track her. When I got to the carcass a yearling jumped up from some brush nearby and ran away. Field dressing her I realized she was still lactating, so I assume that was her offspring and was still nursing. After that incident I won't take a doe in a group that has any yearlings and try to wait later in the year.

 

[dogsled]

know with all my heart that if any creature, animal or man, threatened me or my family, I would not hesitate to end their life on the spot.

I've often thought that a hunter values all life more than others because they know just how fast it can be taken away...

I agree with you here. In a me or them situation, you don't have a choice and I would not hesitate. I think as an ethical hunter you have to think about the outcome when you pull the trigger. I won't take a shot anymore unless I am pretty confident that it will be a clean kill, I hate to think that something runs off and suffers.

A neighbors brother that hunts their property has lost more deer than anyone I know. Seems to happen every year. They are land locked and have to use the road across my place to get in and out. I don't know if he just can't shoot or will shoot at anything moving that is brown with no concern for shot placement. My guess is it is both. Either way I won't hunt with him or allow him to hunt my property.

 

[Lost Lake]

I shot a doe last year after Thanksgiving in a large group on that same property I mentioned in the start of the thread. Double lung shot, she ran about 30 yards before dropping. I sat for about 15 minutes before going to track her. When I got to the carcass a yearling jumped up from some brush nearby and ran away. Field dressing her I realized she was still lactating, so I assume that was her offspring and was still nursing. After that incident I won't take a doe in a group that has any yearlings and try to wait later in the year.

This is me. I don't blame or cast aspersions on anyone for doing different for any reason.

The last doe I took was from a group of four that were all mature looking. No younger ones with them. Kinda rare to see that really.

I know, I'm getting soft, or soft headed maybe.

 

[RockMcL]

I shot a doe last year after Thanksgiving in a large group on that same property I mentioned in the start of the thread. Double lung shot, she ran about 30 yards before dropping. I sat for about 15 minutes before going to track her. When I got to the carcass a yearling jumped up from some brush nearby and ran away. Field dressing her I realized she was still lactating, so I assume that was her offspring and was still nursing. After that incident I won't take a doe in a group that has any yearlings and try to wait later in the year.

I personally try to wait till December/January for does but unless you shoot an outcast doe there is an extended family and another doe will take them in. I am privileged to live surrounded by deer and have observed fawns adopted when their mothers are killed by car or predator many times.

With that said I avoid the early does for multiple reasons. If I need one I don't hesitate though.

I was taught by example and teach my offspring by example and words. Nothing wrong with feeling the weight of taking life. That feeling is there for a reason.

 

[Popcorn]

I was taught by example and teach my offspring by example and words. Nothing wrong with feeling the weight of taking life. That feeling is there for a reason.

Now this I can agree with. I never fail to take the time to thank nature, the deer and God for the gift of the harvest. It's also a sign of a conservation minded hunter.

 

[BSK]

Have seen similar behavior before.

My wife's step dad told me that he killed one and watched another buck come in and try to fight the dead deer.

I had a 2 1/2 year-old buck try to fight a dead 2 1/2 that I had shot 30 minutes earlier.

 

[BSK]

I shot a doe last year after Thanksgiving in a large group on that same property I mentioned in the start of the thread. Double lung shot, she ran about 30 yards before dropping. I sat for about 15 minutes before going to track her. When I got to the carcass a yearling jumped up from some brush nearby and ran away. Field dressing her I realized she was still lactating, so I assume that was her offspring and was still nursing. After that incident I won't take a doe in a group that has any yearlings and try to wait later in the year.

Just remember that all does that successfully raised a fawn will still be lactating during deer season. We use the percent of harvested does that are still lactating as a measure of fawn production and rearing rates. Fawns are weaned at about 6 weeks of age and can survive without momma's milk. But that doesn't mean they won't stop trying to nurse. In addition, a fawn nursing from it's mother is an instinct built into the species to keep the bond between mother and offspring strong. For this reason, fawns will attempt to nurse (which keeps milk flowing hence the mother still lactating) long, long after the fawn is weaned. I got video this week of a big button buck still trying to nurse from momma. He was weaned months ago yet he's still at it due to instinctive/behavioral drives.

 

[Omega]

I took a doe last week Sunday, DRT, that had two yearlings with it, both ran off but one decided to return so I took it too. I had thought it a little bigger, but it wasn't, so it will be nice and tender I'm sure. I've seen many times that traveling companions will come back and have taken a few pairs this way when I am trying to fill my freezer or get an extra one for my friends. It is a bit sad sometimes, but it's just a part of nature, and I am playing a part in it.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Just remember that all does that successfully raised a fawn will still be lactating during deer season. We use the percent of harvested does that are still lactating as a measure of fawn production and rearing rates. Fawns are weaned at about 6 weeks of age and can survive without momma's milk. But that doesn't mean they won't stop trying to nurse. In addition, a fawn nursing from it's mother is an instinct built into the species to keep the bond between mother and offspring strong. For this reason, fawns will attempt to nurse (which keeps milk flowing hence the mother still lactating) long, long after the fawn is weaned. I got video this week of a big button buck still trying to nurse from momma. He was weaned months ago yet he's still at it due to instinctive/behavioral drives.

The morning I killed my second deer of this season(8days ago), a fair sized fawn was trying to nurse from a doe. She let it for a few seconds until she saw the buck, that I would end up shooting, closing in.

 

[ROB]

I have read that, in areas with lots of mature bucks, yearling buck may participate very little in breeding and, after their mom's disperse them, often join yearling bachelor groups. I think it's possible that is what happened with these two bucks. & the second one was just checking on his pal, the one you shot.