Doe Harvest?


Dawg

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We seem to be on a roll here with the buck threads so let's shift a gear and talk about the slick heads.

When do you try to harvest a doe(s)?

Bow season?

First of gun season?

Post rut?

I know some guys who don't like taking does at all, some who will wait until the last few weeks before deer season ends and some who will shoot one at any given time.

I tend to fall into the "any given time" group. :)

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If im gonna shoot a doe, it will be in early season in September, or late season in January. In between those times I dont go to the stand with any intention of shooting a doe. Even in early or late season, alot of the time I find myself watching the does instead of shooting them. I really rather just let them go most of the time. Usually someone else in my family kills a deer or two so we have venison in the freezer, so I patiently wait for that big buck to walk by and I leave the does alone

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I try to take my share in bow season, after that it's letting my kids or a new hunter come in and take one of my allotted does. Then will hold off during the rut and will take any remaining if needed in late January after the rut with a bow.

I'm not going to lie, I thoroughly enjoy smacking a nanny with my bow, enjoy running her through the grinder and to the dinner plate also. :D

We'll sometimes just designate somebody to come back to the camp with a fat doe to put some backstraps on the grill.

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I am pretty much in the "any given time " group. My goal is to kill two does a year. If I get two in the freezer then I'll pretty much let them walk and concentrate more on killing a nice buck. If I don't get a buck then I'll take another doe later in the season. I will not kill more than three deer per season. Mostly just to try and keep the numbers up a little in the areas I hunt.

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I do most, if not all of my doe killing during bow season. I still get a rush out of killing does with a bow...I don't with any firearm. Since our rut is well into the MS firearms seasons (PW & Gun), there's no better time to put a dent in our club's annual doe harvest goal than during bow season. We usually get close to 1/2 of our club's annual 40 doe kill quota filled before the iron men hit the woods.

BTW Cory...we have some guys (strictly iron men hunters) that won't kill a doe too. Matter of fact the majority of our members that only gun hunt won't kill them. Worse was they complained the bowhunters were taking more than their share of does so a 3 doe limit/membership rule was set about 5 years ago so they'd have their chance before the quota was met. Since then we have come up at least a few does short of our annual goal every year. Last year 3 does short even though 26 were killed during bow season. Sorry...too good of an opportunity to vent!.

Pretty much any time except when I'm bowhunting the hard chasing days pre-rut.

Don't shoot your bait.

I won't during that time either Don but that's well into our firearms seasons.

Edited by Rhino
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I fill a doe tag as soon as possible. After that I shoot any doe that picks me off in the stand regardless of time of year and just about any other time that it trips my trigger. I'm not too picky other than I want the does to be non-fawns. Although I will kill a fawn late in the season just because they taste sooooo darn good!

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I fill a doe tag as soon as possible. After that I shoot any doe that picks me off in the stand regardless of time of year and just about any other time that it trips my trigger. I'm not too picky other than I want the does to be non-fawns. Although I will kill a fawn late in the season just because they taste sooooo darn good!

same here too, normaly i can kill 1 or 2 the first week of bow. but like hoosierhunter said, il shoot a doe in a sec if she picks me off my stand. dont want her to came back later in the season with a buck in tow, and alert him to where im sitting.

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I want to take out those nanny does as soon as possible in bow season. Nothing worse than sitting on a stand and getting busted by a smart old nanny that has you pegged. Does a legal anytime in bow season, only a week here in rifle season and I'm in the anytime group there. In La. I'll fill those tags quick too

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I try to fill as many doe tags as the state allows me. The farmers that I hunt on want the does taken out, so I try to help. These are different farmers in different counties, so if I take 1-2 each year from them, it helps. We're not trying to eradicate deer or anything like that, just keep them in check. 2-3 in my freezer, and 1-2 donated to the FHFH program each year.

I'll shoot a doe anytime one presents a shot....

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I try to fill as many doe tags as the state allows me. The farmers that I hunt on want the does taken out, so I try to help. These are different farmers in different counties, so if I take 1-2 each year from them, it helps. We're not trying to eradicate deer or anything like that, just keep them in check. 2-3 in my freezer, and 1-2 donated to the FHFH program each year.

I'll shoot a doe anytime one presents a shot....

Yep, what he said. ^ Except, he's better at it than I am. :D

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