Deer hunting is filled with hot-button issues. In some crowds, shooting does is one of those, and many hunters are found on one of two extremes. In some circles, it’s more than expected to fill not one doe tag, but many. To them, it’s a necessity for maintaining proper population densities and ratios. In other circles, killing a doe is akin to shooting an endangered species.

There are numerous reasons why antlerless harvest can spark such heated debates. At its core, shooting a buck removes one deer from the herd. Shooting a doe removes one doe plus any future offspring she would have produced.

Furthermore, in some parts of the country, deer numbers are declining. Of course, that isn’t true everywhere. Still, should we consider a ceasefire on antlerless deer? The answer is yes, no and maybe.

When to Shoot Does

There are numerous reasons and scenarios why hunters should shoot does. Not everyone finds each or any of these reasons to be true for their personal situations. With that being said, many hunters do.

The first and most obvious reason is if a hunter wants to fill the freezer with meat. That alone is plenty enough reason to pull the trigger on a slickhead. When that’s the case, it’s important to answer certain questions before doing so, though.

First, does the area permit antlerless harvest? Second, does the current season allow doe harvest? Third, is the current deer population density healthy enough to support doe removal? If the answer to all three is “yes,” greenlight that slickhead and let it fly.

Of course, there are additional reasons and times to shoot does. Doing so helps maintain a healthy herd density and keep it below the area’s carrying capacity. If the area is overpopulated, taking the proper number of does can decrease the number of deer to the desired level.

It also helps balance buck-to-doe ratios. In turn, that produces a more condensed rut timeline. Fewer does are missed during their first cycle. Plus, rutting behavior is more visible because bucks must move more and work harder to find estrous does.

Since the rut is more condensed, does tend to conceive during their first cycle, which produces a more consistent fawn drop. In tougher regions — whether climate or predator related — this helps more fawns survive to adulthood.

When Not to Shoot Does

Just as there are reasons to shoot does, there are also reasons to not shoot does. Again, these situations might not apply to some. With that being said, an increasing number of hunters are finding themselves in these scenarios.

Of course, not so long ago, a lot of hunters couldn’t remove enough does from the landscape. In some places, that isn’t true anymore. Nowadays, the worry is too many does are being removed, especially on federal public hunting lands (such as national forests) where land management is virtually nonexistent. In such places, if the deer herd density is too low, hunters shouldn’t shoot does. They should harvest bucks only.

Another reason to call off the doe killing is if the fawn recruitment rate is too low. The fawn recruitment rate is measured by the number of fawns per doe that reach maturity. If the fawn recruitment rate is 1.0, that means one fawn per doe survives to adulthood and is recruited into the deer herd. Likewise, if a recruitment rate is 0.5, it takes two adult does to raise one fawn to maturity.

In most states, fawn recruitment rates continue to decrease. As habitat quality declines, and predator populations such as bobcats, bears, wolves and coyotes increase, it’s taking a significant toll on the fawn crop. According to 2017 data reported by the National Deer Association (NDA), the two states with the lowest fawn recruitment rates were Rhode Island (0.20) and Oklahoma (0.30). On the other end of the spectrum, the only state left with a rate higher than 1.0 was Kentucky.

According to more recent research by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the University of Georgia, some parts of northern Georgia have fawn recruitment rates as low as 16% (0.16). “Evidence points to low fawn recruitment due to high predation rates as being the direct cause of population decline in northern Georgia,” said University of Georgia’s Adam Edge. “Simply, not enough fawns are surviving to join the adult population. Predation accounted for 81% of all fawn mortalities, primarily by coyotes and secondarily by black bears. Bobcats took a few fawns, as well.”

While reducing or completely halting doe harvests might be enough to offset poor fawn recruitment rates, once these rates get so low, it’s no longer effective enough to prevent annual deer population decline. “Where fawn mortality is high (due to predation) and habitat is of poor to moderate quality — like the southern Appalachians — antlerless harvest restriction is not enough to recover populations by itself,” Edge said. “As of 2020, antlerless harvest was completely restricted on most public hunting areas in northern Georgia, including national forest and wildlife management areas, due to deer population decline. Our study still projects deer numbers to decrease on national forest lands by an average of 3.5% annually.”

Obviously, once deer numbers get so low, and fawn recruitment rates plummet to certain thresholds, habitat improvement and predator management (along with a ceasefire on doe harvests) are necessary for stabilizing and eventually increasing deer population densities. When hunters find themselves in these scenarios, it’s very important to not fill doe tags, even if they can.

Making the Call

Deciding to shoot a doe, or not, can be a difficult decision. But it isn’t one to make in the field on a whim. Deer hunters should know what they plan to do when they trek into the outdoors.

Of course, there are markers that can help hunters gauge whether they should be harvesting more does, or not. Pre-season and post-season trail-camera surveys can help estimate a deer herd density and buck-to-doe ratio. Obviously, if hunters are struggling to even see deer, filling doe tags isn’t advised.

When hunters do harvest deer (including does), they can weigh them and compare these to the average carcass weights of similar age classes. Generally, this data is produced and provided by state wildlife agencies. Hunters can use that information as a benchmark to determine if their deer herds are healthy, gaining access to enough food sources, etc. If the deer weights are lower than the area average, it’s time to remove more does. Plus, consider a plan to improve the habitat and increase available food sources.

All things considered, try to establish a game plan for the season. Determine how many does you should shoot, what age classes to focus on, when the right time is to fill tags, and anything else of importance.

Sometimes, the game plan might even mean identifying which does are better at producing fawns. According to recent research, doe maturity might have less impact on successfully raising fawns than originally thought. Usually, the most successful does are older does. Other times, these are younger ones. It seems that some young does are habitually more successful than even some adult does that have more experience.

“It’s interesting to see that 47% of our females recruited 75% of our fawns from 2008 to 2019,” said Auburn University’s Tristan Swartout. “These 47% of mothers were consecutive recruiters and produced most of our fawns. We define ‘consecutive recruiters’ as females who recruited fawns two straight seasons at least once in their lifetime.”

Due to these factors, making the call on whether to shoot a doe, or not, isn’t always an easy one. Answering whether we should stop shooting does, or not, isn’t a clear-cut, surface-level decision. It takes extensive studying, thought, and planning. The answer is different in every situation. But in some situations, yes, we should stop shooting does.