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LIVE from the saddle 2023

Skunkworkx said:
Self imposed...but I won't take a doe until October due to fawns. Just never know where they are or if they have.
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Just wondering…why does the presence of fawns change your perspective on shooting does in September? No judgement, you do you. Never heard this practice before though. Yea, I’ve heard of not shooting does in December/January due to being preggo with fawns, and I don’t really subscribe to that myself, but I’ve never heard to let them walk in Sept. and I’m a curious sort so gimme the deets if you’d be so kind, without derailing us too much.
just to be clear, I can’t shoot anything until October anyway. But come 10/1 no female deer is safe on this property.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Just wondering…why does the presence of fawns change your perspective on shooting does in September? No judgement, you do you. Never heard this practice before though. Yea, I’ve heard of not shooting does in December/January due to being preggo with fawns, and I don’t really subscribe to that myself, but I’ve never heard to let them walk in Sept. and I’m a curious sort so gimme the deets if you’d be so kind, without derailing us too much.
just to be clear, I can’t shoot anything until October anyway. But come 10/1 no female deer is safe on this property.
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Not sure I get this either. I think they're done nursing(?). They can fend for themselves at this point. IMO.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Just wondering…why does the presence of fawns change your perspective on shooting does in September? No judgement, you do you. Never heard this practice before though. Yea, I’ve heard of not shooting does in December/January due to being preggo with fawns, and I don’t really subscribe to that myself, but I’ve never heard to let them walk in Sept. and I’m a curious sort so gimme the deets if you’d be so kind, without derailing us too much.
just to be clear, I can’t shoot anything until October anyway. But come 10/1 no female deer is safe on this property.
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I want to be sure the fawns are weened and on their own...Years ago I shot a doe that was a late breeder and had fawn full of spots , but did not see until too late... so I don't do that anymore.
 
Skunkworkx said:
I want to be sure the fawns are weened and on their own...Years ago I shot a doe that was a late breeder and had fawn full of spots , but did not see until too late... so I don't do that anymore.
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Makes sense. Wish I still had this problem of deciding to shoot deer in September at all lol. Been seeing some nice velvet bucks and fat nannies! With fully weaned fawns :wink:
 
Swampwalker said:
Not sure I get this either. I think they're done nursing(?). They can fend for themselves at this point. IMO.
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They certainly can fend for themselves but even without spots, you know how many times I’ve shot a lead doe and the fawns stand they’re wondering what’s going on? Last year I shot a big doe during gun season on an evening hunt and the spotless fawn tried to suckle the doe as it laid dead on ground. It didn’t take off until I got down from the stand and started walking toward it. Even then it only ran about 60 yards. Usually in those circumstances I’ll just shoot the fawns too if I have enough tags but I had enough meat. The fawns fit better on the grill anyways!
 
I must be getting soft in my old age. I passed on a doe last opening weekend here in Maryland. I couldn’t get myself to shoot her because their was a fawn with her. The fawn had already dropped it spots, so it was already weened, but I just couldn’t pull back on her. Back in the day she would have been taking a ride in the truck. Lol.
 
Shapeshifter said:
I must be getting soft in my old age. I passed on a doe last opening weekend here in Maryland. I couldn’t get myself to shoot her because their was a fawn with her. The fawn had already dropped it spots, so it was already weened, but I just couldn’t pull back on her. Back in the day she would have been taking a ride in the truck. Lol.
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And I thought shed antlers were hard to find.....I never even heard of someone finding a dropped fawn spot in the woods before
 
woodsdog2 said:
They certainly can fend for themselves but even without spots, you know how many times I’ve shot a lead doe and the fawns stand they’re wondering what’s going on? Last year I shot a big doe during gun season on an evening hunt and the spotless fawn tried to suckle the doe as it laid dead on ground. It didn’t take off until I got down from the stand and started walking toward it. Even then it only ran about 60 yards. Usually in those circumstances I’ll just shoot the fawns too if I have enough tags but I had enough meat. The fawns fit better on the grill anyways!
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I always aim for the lead doe, BECAUSE the subordinates don’t freak out like when you shoot a younger member of the group and the mature does go absolutely bat guano. I shot a pretty old doe last year, had four deer with her and they all kinda just hung out for a minute or two after the initial “where’d mom go?” Even had three bucks come in and sniff where my doe was standing less than 5 minutes after the shot. Same happened with the mature buck I shot last year. He ate an arrow, took off, and the whole herd just kinda confusedly let him pass and I had to spook a few off before I could get down.
 
Weldabeast said:
And I thought shed antlers were hard to find.....I never even heard of someone finding a dropped fawn spot in the woods before
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The fawn spots are scent free so if you find enough of them you can put them in with your hunting clothes and it will help you go unnoticed in the woods. They only last a day or two on the ground though. Squirrel love to eat fawn spots.
 
You bleeding hearts would really be in trouble in alabama. Since our rut is so inconsistent from November to March (yes throughout that time period and sometimes past it) you can have spotted fawns walking around in December and January. There is basically always a chance for them to be pregnant or carrying spotted ones in tow. The state must be ok with it though, unlimited doe tags at 1 per day and spotted fawns are fair game too.
 
gcr0003 said:
You bleeding hearts would really be in trouble in alabama. Since our rut is so inconsistent from November to March (yes throughout that time period and sometimes past it) you can have spotted fawns walking around in December and January. There is basically always a chance for them to be pregnant or carrying spotted ones in tow. The state must be ok with, unlimited doe tags at 1 per day and spotted fawns are fair game too.
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When the government wants deer dead, they want ANY deer dead. Fawns are easier pickings. Based on my conversations with DNR and my own textbooks on wildlife conservation, I’d bet your hard-earned Pittman-Robertson dollars that the sharpshooters we always hear about primarily target fawns. Limitless doe tags, second (and even third) buck tags, extended seasons, all great. But if you want to eliminate some mouths in the soybeans, start popping them when they start popping out, so to speak. And pregnant does, as bad as this may sound, are a two-for, even three- or four-for-one shot. I think overall your DNR is more than ok with it at this point.
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
When the government wants deer dead, they want ANY deer dead. Fawns are easier pickings. Based on my conversations with DNR and my own textbooks on wildlife conservation, I’d bet your hard-earned Pittman-Robertson dollars that the sharpshooters we always hear about primarily target fawns. Limitless doe tags, second (and even third) buck tags, extended seasons, all great. But if you want to eliminate some mouths in the soybeans, start popping them when they start popping out, so to speak. And pregnant does, as bad as this may sound, are a two-for, even three- or four-for-one shot. I think overall your DNR is more than ok with it at this point.
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Yea they have been heavily critiqued for mismanaging the deer population. Add in CWD and Baiting permits and it’s a cluster.
 
gcr0003 said:
Yea they have been heavily critiqued for mismanaging the deer population. Add in CWD and Baiting permits and it’s a cluster.
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It’s all such a gray area and division is to be expected no matter what. I give a lot to my state wildlife agencies every year and I stay informed on what is happening to the best of my ability, but yeah it’s a cluster. Always. My own best practice the last couple of years has been to put my time and money into the causes I believe in, try to listen to both sides of the arguments in our community between hunters and literally everyone else, and I self-regulate/educate with what I and the neighbors believe to be sound management within the laws as they’re written. There’s always going to be a lot behind the scenes that we critique on a stage, better or worse. I just like venison and antlers and being outside and I want that for my grandkids’ grandkids’ grandkids.
 
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