For you buck hunters...what's your opinion on killing does?

[Vincent Vega]

I realize this is a little late in the season but I was talking with someone at work today about his hunting club and apparently they've got several opinions regarding killing does. Let me start by saying his club has minimum size restrictions on bucks and it seems most of the members are more interested in putting a buck on the wall than filling the freezer.

They basically have two different thoughts:

Thought 1: If there are less does then the bucks have to move more to find the does increasing the likelihood they will cross paths with a hunter.

Thought 2: If there are more does then more bucks will be attracted to the area during the rut. If a hunter finds the does they are more likely to find the bucks.

So what do y'all say?

 

[BIKER13]

I shoot a doe early as possible.I call em bait.Hate to shoot one after the rut at all.And really hate to shoot a first year deer any time.

 

[the_great_white]

Fewer does means more competition among bucks and they'll travel more to find them.
More does, they don't have to travel far or compete much.

 

[Kman]

Fewer does means more competition among bucks and they'll travel more to find them.
More does, they don't have to travel far or compete much.

This and it keeps your freezer full!

 

[sambo77]

If I take a doe I like for it to be in the early part of the season. Lower amount of does means bucks are on the prowl more. Honestly managing doe population is one of the most important parts of quality deer management.

 

[fattboyzz]

If it's brown it's down !

 

[MRH]

In my neck of the woods we have a good doe population, so an early season freezer filler is the way to go for me if I kill a doe.

I don't believe in filling all 10 of my doe tags. That's just my approach and the reason why is a doe can only breed once a year, but any buck can breed 10-15 times, or more. Take out the does and the deer herd dwindles dramatically. Thinning them out is one thing, wiping them out is another.

For this reason at most times and in most cases if I am hunting for meat I would rather take out a young buck.

 

[olerambler]

haven,t shot a doe in years main reason with all coyotoes preying on fawns diease EHD alot of greedy folks really how many deer year can u eat a year The deer Numbers in North east ga have been on the decline for past 5 to 10 years same thing with turkeys alot things happening diease wise we don,t have a clue about 2 bucks a year is enough

 

[batoncolle]

A 1 to 1 ratio is supposed to be natural, and since us males tend to find ways to get ourselves killed more often, you should ideally shoot more does than bucks. But GA's 10 to 2 potential harvest ratio is way out of whack I think.

Me personally I just like to watch deer for the most part, and I only shoot 2 each year. When the big buck does eventually show up, it makes it all the more enjoyable.

 

[Rolling_trip]

A 1 to 1 ratio is supposed to be natural, and since us males tend to find ways to get ourselves killed more often, you should ideally shoot more does than bucks. But GA's 10 to 2 potential harvest ratio is way out of whack I think.

Me personally I just like to watch deer for the most part, and I only shoot 2 each year. When the big buck does eventually show up, it makes it all the more enjoyable.

Got to agree. However, growing up in Worth county, south GA, most everyone tried to fill their tags to help farmers out and to get invited back. Things have change a lot down there now with al the Florida hunters paying big money to hunt 1-2 weekend a year.