Taking does

[Sitsbytree]

Personally, I like taking does. But recently, I've heard some crazy talk about why some will not take does. For me, it'll similar to catch and release fishing, because there's no limit. I lack the skills to take a doe every single trip. So, I save my 2 bucks for something really worth pulling the trigger on. There's kids that hunt our club and I'd much rather they take the 8-point. I'm too cheap to pay for a beautiful mount anyway. That being said, there's an 8 & 10 point I'm watching for; I'm not without vanity. But I do wish to let my bucks grow into 4-6 year olds. As for filling my freezer, does do that great and help me manage my buck to doe ratio. I'd never tell or ask the 13 year old hunter to pass on a spike or 4 point. But adults, maybe we should consider more does.

 

[Sitsbytree]

When I say no limit on does, I mean not one I'd come remotely close too.

 

[Ski]

When & where I take does depends entirely on the property. I absolutely will not kill a doe on my Ohio place because deer numbers overall are low and I'm trying to recruit more does to live on the property. But one of the places I hunt here in TN I could kill several does per season and not even dent the population. So I kill a lot of does there.

 

[Sitsbytree]

When & where I take does depends entirely on the property. I absolutely will not kill a doe on my Ohio place because deer numbers overall are low and I'm trying to recruit more does to live on the property. But one of the places I hunt here in TN I could kill several does per season and not even dent the population. So I kill a lot of does there.

Makes sense. I'm over run with does. I guess I just assumed everyone else is too.

 

[Griswold]

Personally, I like taking does. But recently, I've heard some crazy talk about why some will not take does. For me, it'll similar to catch and release fishing, because there's no limit. I lack the skills to take a doe every single trip. So, I save my 2 bucks for something really worth pulling the trigger on. There's kids that hunt our club and I'd much rather they take the 8-point. I'm too cheap to pay for a beautiful mount anyway. That being said, there's an 8 & 10 point I'm watching for; I'm not without vanity. But I do wish to let my bucks grow into 4-6 year olds. As for filling my freezer, does do that great and help me manage my buck to doe ratio. I'd never tell or ask the 13 year old hunter to pass on a spike or 4 point. But adults, maybe we should consider more does.

If population control is your goal than yes by all means kill more does, if someone is just wanting a few deer in the freezer than i hope they kill whatever makes them happy! Someone killing two spikes or two four points with their buck tags doesn't affect me in the least

 

[mike243]

I have seen 3 deer in the woods and all have been small bucks i normally take the first deer through thats legal,

 

[Sitsbytree]

If population control is your goal than yes by all means kill more does, if someone is just wanting a few deer in the freezer than i hope they kill whatever makes them happy! Someone killing two spikes or two four points with their buck tags doesn't affect me in the lea

If population control is your goal than yes by all means kill more does, if someone is just wanting a few deer in the freezer than i hope they kill whatever makes them happy! Someone killing two spikes or two four points with their buck tags doesn't affect me in the least

It's a newly formed deer club / lease. We stepped into this lease with some nice bucks. However our doe ratio is too high, and one guy, I regret letting in is passing the does for small bucks.

 

[deerhunter10]

Up until maybe 4 or 5 years ago I would have never and didn't even let kids take does on our home place. We didn't have the numbers. No we can kill a few but still not crazy numbers. We have some other farms we take 8 to 15 off a year. We kill them at the end of the season. Maybe kill a couple during bow season. Just our preference. But every place is different. And everyone goals are different.

 

[Griswold]

It's a newly formed deer club / lease. We stepped into this lease with some nice bucks. However our doe ratio is too high, and one guy, I regret letting in is passing the does for small bucks.

Do you have buck rules in place? If so , than he needs to go. Sorry i missed the part on deer club, i was just speaking in general

 

[backyardtndeer]

Not sure why, but deer density here really isn't great but buck to doe ratio is actually not bad. I let my girls kill whatever they wanted when they were young, and they killed does. I killed several here and there for the freezer over the years, but now would rather watch them. Wife killed her share too. It's been a while since we have taken any does. That said we have a nosey old nervous nanny around who knows too much. She pegged me in a stand a couple days ago but never blew or took off, she then went on and stared at a couple of my cameras. Good one for my son in law to kill if he can ever get his crap together and get here to hunt.

 

[Crappieaddict]

In our region we are allowed one doe during gun season.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I don't mind killing does and will do it where it's needed BUT there is still a lot of the state where does don't absolutely need killing. One of my properties hardly has any deer and can't take doe harvest but yet it is 1/2 mile from a 3 doe a day county TWRA regs, TWRA actions, and poachers have about taken out the deer in some areas. My county could honestly go without doe harvest for some years.

 

[Jcalder]

In our region we are allowed one doe during gun season.

I wish that was still the case for us

 

[Jcalder]

I don't mind killing does and will do it where it's needed BUT there is still a lot of the state where does don't absolutely need killing. One of my properties hardly has any deer and can't take doe harvest but yet it is 1/2 mile from a 3 doe a day county TWRA regs, TWRA actions, and poachers have about taken out the deer in some areas. My county could honestly go without doe harvest for some years.

People that don't understand it will never understand the struggle. Not everyone is covered up in deer. This bas been a better year for sightings than usual, but I don't have but maybe 1 "big" doe. I've got a couple average does and some absolute littles. Seen 3 the other day that wouldn't make a good sammich. Pitiful.

 

[Remi]

One property I hunt I try to take on doe per year off of 600 acres. The other has quite a few more deer and I'll take 2-3 off of it typically. The one place has never came back from the last big ehd die off in 2017.

 

[DayTrader]

If we're over run by doe like last year, I will freezer them. Took 5 doe and a button buck that I thought was the largest doe out of five that walked in - oops! But, he was going to get kicked out of the area next season and not available to me, so I got over it. But, I proved to myself this year that if you let the doe (2) walk, the buck is, likely, coming in a little while. As to bucks, I was at the point this year, with meat in the freezer from last year, that if I'm not willing to mount it, I don't want to shoot it.

 

[BSK]

It's a newly formed deer club / lease. We stepped into this lease with some nice bucks. However our doe ratio is too high, and one guy, I regret letting in is passing the does for small bucks.

Do you have written harvest rules? If not, I HIGHLY suggest you write some! All hunters on the same property need to have similar goals. If not, hunters are hurting each other by following different harvest guidelines. I've seen a lot of clubs and leases in my management years. The ones that fail are the ones that have no agreed upon harvest rules, and especially, no agreed upon goals.

 

[BSK]

Harvesting does to control population growth and balance the sex ratio is an inevitability in most clubs/lease. I say "most" because I have seen unique situations where does are being removed on surrounding properties by various means. Those various means could be hunters or could be something as simple as traffic accidents.

 

[Snake]

When we first got the Iease in Giles anything goes . Small bucks or does . Given a few years of whack and stack we kinda slowed down ( being from east Tennessee) but seeing alot of deer spolied us . But we aged and secured other places so we became more selective . I learned alot about buck activity on that small tract ( 93 acres ). At first there wasn't much hunting around us but one year that changed and we'd hear shots about every hunt on bordering property. Doe populations decresed but we still had a good number using our property especially once gun hunting started. Once that happened our quality of bigger bucks drastically increased. I really couldn't figure it out at first but enjoyed it . But I finally figured it out It was because we had sufficient doe population were the surrounding properties didn't and during rut you just didn't want to miss being in the woods . Our place had virtually had no good fields or food plots , not many good oaks but we had one great advantage...cover !! Thick areas throughout the property . Once place probably 10-15 acers impenetrable. So we almost quit killing does except if someone asked for a deer we knew . So no doe management even though during the rut we'd see more but they brung the bucks . Our actual doe to buck ratio except during gun season was pretty even . During archery we even quit making the trip. The lease we had in Lincoln was almost identical but not alot of does at anytime . Bucks would cruise through during rut looking for does . That place must have been a route the bucks used is all I could figure out because it had nothing special as far as food sources. Sometimes it's just how they property lays according to deer travel .

 

[Lost Lake]

I took two does from our place a couple of days ago, and doubt there'll be another taken. I've just started seeing more of them in the last couple of years there.

 

[megalomaniac]

I need around 600lbs of live deer weight annually (250lbs for me, and another 350lbs for friends).

If we kill 3 200lb mature bucks, we dont need any more meat. If we dont kill any big bucks, we will need around 6 does on average.

But on most years, my immediate family ends up with 1 or 2 mature bucks, then either 2 or 4 does to make up the difference.

My properties have a high deer density, but are still under carrying capacity, so no need to whack and stack does like cord wood, especially since fawn recruitment is less than 25%.

Its better overall to kill does early, but we do just the opposite. Focus on bucks early, then late December to fill the remaining meat order to hit 600lbs.

 

[easy45]

Does are what typically fills our freezer because we only kill mature bucks but where I kill those does depends on the property. We kill no does on our main farm because thanks to the management of the land that surrounds us deer numbers are really low. I will however kill a few does on my two smaller places with steadier herd numbers.

 

[BSK]

How many does to take is always going to be a site-specific answer. Some properties may need few does taken. Some may need a lot of does taken. All depends on the local situation.

 

[redblood]

im overrun with does, seriously overrun to the point the last farmer gave up my crop lease and the new one only can plant corn. i just dont like shooting deer with a gun. so i try to kill 10 or so after tagging out to pass the time. I have 8 left to go. pretty much can kill a couple on most trips but usually dont because of the work involved.

 

[redblood]

When we first got the Iease in Giles anything goes . Small bucks or does . Given a few years of whack and stack we kinda slowed down ( being from east Tennessee) but seeing alot of deer spolied us . But we aged and secured other places so we became more selective . I learned alot about buck activity on that small tract ( 93 acres ). At first there wasn't much hunting around us but one year that changed and we'd hear shots about every hunt on bordering property. Doe populations decresed but we still had a good number using our property especially once gun hunting started. Once that happened our quality of bigger bucks drastically increased. I really couldn't figure it out at first but enjoyed it . But I finally figured it out It was because we had sufficient doe population were the surrounding properties didn't and during rut you just didn't want to miss being in the woods . Our place had virtually had no good fields or food plots , not many good oaks but we had one great advantage...cover !! Thick areas throughout the property . Once place probably 10-15 acers impenetrable. So we almost quit killing does except if someone asked for a deer we knew . So no doe management even though during the rut we'd see more but they brung the bucks . Our actual doe to buck ratio except during gun season was pretty even . During archery we even quit making the trip. The lease we had in Lincoln was almost identical but not alot of does at anytime . Bucks would cruise through during rut looking for does . That place must have been a route the bucks used is all I could figure out because it had nothing special as far as food sources. Sometimes it's just how they property lays according to deer travel .

cover trumps food, every time. no one is thinking about a big mac when bullets are flying by your head

 

[deerhunter10]

but usually dont because of the work involved.

This is why a lot of managed properties for big deer get so many does. Its work. We have families that want some. And some years we will donate them to hunters for hungry. But its still work involved.

 

[Bone Collector]

When & where I take does depends entirely on the property. I absolutely will not kill a doe on my Ohio place because deer numbers overall are low and I'm trying to recruit more does to live on the property. But one of the places I hunt here in TN I could kill several does per season and not even dent the population. So I kill a lot of does there.

This^^^ I try to explain to people all the time. Each property is different. Too many folks think "I'm in Middle TN, so I can whack and stack does on any property, because there are a ton of deer..." Is this true sometimes, sure, but it depends on the property and the deer #'s.

 

[Chiflyguy]

I was down to my last package of ground from last year
I shot a doe

 

[Bwhnt86]

The numbers are low where I hunt, so I don't usually take any does.

 

[redblood]

This^^^ I try to explain to people all the time. Each property is different. Too many folks think "I'm in Middle TN, so I can whack and stack does on any property, because there are a ton of deer..." Is this true sometimes, sure, but it depends on the property and the deer #'s.

Absolutely. And i have a property in the unit L inwoukd never shoot a doe on. There are always a low number of does, but always an ancient buck or 2