Hunting hard....

[Turkeygirl]

Well on my mini-break till Thursday. This was the first morning I slept in...11 hours!

Seen a few deer but nothing close enough for a shot. At the neighbors land where we were Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, I saw a big buck about 300 yards away in a field on the neighbor's land, and 1 doe 50 yards away. Back home saw nothing. Hunted hard morning and evening last 3 days so I took the morning off. Will go out this afternoon, just trying to decide if I'll hunt home or hunt the college property in the makeship ground blind....might give it a go, been told there's lots of deer. The college is doing QDM so they want us shooting only mature does and bucks with at least 3 points on one side of an antler.

How do you guys tell an adult doe from a yearling? I find that difficult sometimes in the heat of the moment. My only way I thought was an older doe having a larger, longer face and a youg doe has kind of a shorter, thinner face, thinner legs?

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Got this from the QDM guide.

The fawn's forehead and nose are shorter in comparison to the adult doe's head. The relative shortness of a fawn's face is the most critical identifying feature. Fawn behavior differs from the adult doe; fawns are more playful, naive, inquisitive, and in the buck fawn's case, more aggressive. A buck fawn may be the first anterless deer you see because he is less wary and more inquisitive. The "nubbin" buck has developing antler bases or pedicles (immature antlers) that are difficult to see early in the season but are easier to detect later, particularly from the side.

Use these tips to harvest an older doe and avoid harvesting a buck fawn:

• Do not harvest an antlerless deer that appears alone. Adult does rarely travel alone. Does and fawns normally travel together in social groups, although it is often the buck fawn that enters an opening first. Wait until several deer are together and then look for obvious size differences. Harvest one of the larger antlerless deer.
  
• Later in the hunting season, it is not uncommon for "orphaned" twin fawns to feed in food plots. Probability dictates one will be a buck and one a doe. In this situation, it is easy to mistake the buck fawn for an adult doe, since it is normally larger than the doe fawn. The doe's head normally is more rounded on top between the ears, because the buck's head is flattened by the presence of the pedicles. Close inspection with binoculars looking for the pedicles or antler bases helps avoid harvesting the nubbin buck.
  
• Watch the behavior of deer. Fawns are playful, curious, and not as wary as adult does.
  
• Examine the head of deer; check for pedicles on buck fawns, particularly from the side view. Pay attention to obvious fawns throughout the season; look for indications of pedicle development. Do not wait until you are ready to harvest a doe to look for differences between fawns and adult does. Do not harvest antlerless deer with short noses or foreheads.
  
• Look for "wear and tear" signs that typify mature does (for example, ears that appear too short for the head, a swayed back, and a sagging belly). The snout of an adult doe is relatively longer than a fawn's. An adult doe's body is rectangular shaped, while a fawn's body is square shaped.
  
• If you are not sure of the ages, wait to harvest an animal when you can make a more positive identification.

[Tominator]

Well

How do you guys tell an adult doe from a yearling? I find that difficult sometimes in the heat of the moment. My only way I thought was an older doe having a larger, longer face and a youg doe has kind of a shorter, thinner face, thinner legs?

Fawns are usually with momma. Another way I can tell is to look at their ears. Fawn ears are huge in comparison to their heads. Their noses look pointier too.

[RangerClay]

I've hunted long enough to spot the difference quickly and I use the size of the face, especially the length of the nose.

Here is a neat article that I found.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/articles/doemgt.cfm