Gun Kill Figures Are In

[Jslotter]

That being said, if you want meat - go for it, I wish more would shoot does.
.

Seeing does has been rare this season. Im settling for what I can this year because of it. Good property, time to hunt, is getting more hard to come by.

[windsor]

I shot a small 6 pointer yesterday on public land near my house. My only regret is that he wasnt a bigger doe. I need to fill my freezer and he is the only deer I have seen since returning from up north last weekend. On public land, late in the season with tags to fill, its brown its down. Last weekend on my friends private land, that is an entirely different story. Had to pass on everything I saw. Had the scope on 2 small bucks and 5 does but had to let them walk because we are practicing q.d.m on their property.

[pgchambers]

I shot a small 6 pointer yesterday on public land near my house. My only regret is that he wasnt a bigger doe. I need to fill my freezer and he is the only deer I have seen since returning from up north last weekend. On public land, late in the season with tags to fill, its brown its down. Last weekend on my friends private land, that is an entirely different story. Had to pass on everything I saw. Had the scope on 2 small bucks and 5 does but had to let them walk because we are practicing q.d.m on their property.

Are the doe numbers way down on that managed property? I wouldn't think passing up does would be part of the plan, otherwise. Congrats on the buck, BTW.

[windsor]

Are the doe numbers way down on that managed property? I wouldn't think passing up does would be part of the plan, otherwise. Congrats on the buck, BTW.

No, that is what was so frustrating about hunting there. Their land is doe bedding heaven. My friends notion of QDM is to only shoot big bucks. I tried to tell them the best ratio is a 1:1, but they are of the mindset that every doe shot now is worth 3 deer later. I totally understand their mindset though. Their area has been hit hard by EAB over the last few years. Their deer sightings have dropped signifigantly since they bought the place 8 years ago. They want to see 20 deer every time in a stand just like their "good ole days", right now they see 5-6 on average. I love going hunting with those guys, but for a meat hunter like myself, its hard to pass on big does especially when their property is well stocked with them.

[gunther89]

In our area a couple neighbors and us decided we weren't gonna shoot many does to get the doe population back up to what it should be. This year I passed many does during bow hunting and a few during gun season as well. As far as we know only 2 does were shot during hunting season in our area which means next year our doe population should be getting back to normal. I can't complain one bit for deer sightings on our farm in Sauk county. I passed up numerous small bucks looking for something bigger and we noticed more deer around this year than in years past. Next year is looking good.

[umpiremark]

" ...but they are of the mindset that every doe shot now is worth 3 deer later"

This is slightly flawed thinking. I understand you're trying to get the total population back up, but doing it by exclusively shooting big bucks only is minorly flawed.

The matriarch doe you passed on has two fawns this coming spring. One a buck fawn, the second a doe fawn. When breeding begins, she will chase that buck fawn away and later in the winter he will disperse to a new summer range. Bah-bye tiny buck. The doe fawn will mature, but because the matriarch dictates the breeding/bedding area, the doe fawn (especially if pregnant) will disperse farther away from her and maybe off your property. The young bucks who wander in and out of your property (and your neighbor's) looking for "dates" will likely expand their range and get shot by someone else.

I may not be 100% in my thinking as well, but I believe the deer we pass today might be burger for a hunter down the road, soon.

Change the attitudes of your camp to shoot does with fawns, especially a buck fawn. He's gonna stay closer to your property once momma disappears and hopefully mature there. The doe fawn will breed and rear her young closer to your property because momma's not taking prime bedding area.

I'm no deer expert, but that's my two cents. If hunters in your group want to put meat in the freezer, changing the attitude of fellow group members to allow the matriarch (the biggest doe on your property, usually with twins) to be freezer meat, isn't going to ruin the herd. You bought the tag, using it how you see fit for you and your family has to be your choice; not the groups. But in the interests of the group's dynamics, sound reasoning has to win out as well. Shoot a few does.

With EAB, anything brown was down to get that buck tag. The herd couldn't recover. It's like locking the doors in a school. With all the kids inside, no one sees them outside anymore. By just locking the school marm in the principle's office, we see lots of kids playing in the playground. I know, I know, that's a very weak analogy, but you get my point!

My two cents ........

[Jslotter]

Thats an interesting theory Umpiremark. Its hard to guess what a free ranging animal will do in the course of a year. Hunting pressure also plays a big role on the deer activity. The size of the property too. An adult buck has at least a 5 mile radius core area during the rut. But, I have seen bucks settle for a few acres and stay there during the rut. I think they go somewhere where they can be dominate and decide to stay. I hunted a private piece of land this year from a friend. There was an old doe running around with triplets this year. I could have nailed her twice with a bow this year, but the landowner wants her around to produce more deer for the land. And, the land is getting scarce of deer because of coyote problems. There are trappers in there now taking care of that problem. Also, if the land you hunt has little to no pressure year round from hunters. I think you win. The deer will know and take refuge on your side of the fence, and probably stay there to raise their young... That is my opinion.

[pgchambers]

Very good points by everybody. I will add one more thought. Having a lot of does will indeed increase sightings, and it will also keep the bucks around. However, when a mature buck doesn't have to work to find a doe to breed, he won't. Getting that buck up and looking for does during the rut has its advantages. I realize it takes property large enough to still contain him, or he will search right into someone else's arrow. We don't have a lot of land, so we try to coordinate with the neighbors. Over time we will all get our cracks at the big guys. There are definitely a few grumbles about not seeing enough deer in our area. For me personally, a few sightings of mature bucks trumps a ton of sightings of younger bucks and does, but I understand why others don't share my view.

[windsor]

Well, whatever we didnt shoot this year will only be bigger next year.

[Chainsaw]

With the doe population seemingly increasing in my hunting area(We have 30 acres connected to 150 total hunting acres) we chose to shoot 1 1/2 year old bucks for our freezer deer simply because the meat is less fatty. The EAB really cut down on our deer herd, so we decided to not shoot smoothies for this immediate period. We saw a lot of bucks this year, no biggger ones though.

The neighbors seem to shoot the does and keep on hunting no matter what. No problems with them doing what they want on thier property. We probably balance each other out.