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Piebald deer- To shoot or not to shoot

I shot a piebald button buck 5 or 6 years ago (it was 7, I just looked). Filmed the hunt too, but something happened as all the video was black. Looked fine in the viewfinder, but I digress.

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I shot a doe on opening day of bow season and while tracking her I had a neighbor hollering from his 1 acre at me on my 205 acres. It was dark and hot so I pretty acknowledged his barking and told him to stfu. He called the cops, lol.

Cop shows up explains to the dude that it’s deer season and since dude admits I was nowhere near his land he tells dude he’s SOL.

Cop hollers for me to come talk to him. I tell cop I’m following blood and he needs to come to me. So he does. Helps me track and in the process tells about the “albino” dude has been seeing in his yard.

Made my mind up right then that the rest of my season would be devoted to killing that damn deer. Two days later I did.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
That's interesting. I've never heard any bad luck associated with killing a piebald. Bad luck for the piebald, I guess.
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Yeah, well…….there’s a group of folks, some of ‘em members here, that will go to their graves convinced that my killing of “The Spirit Fawn” resulted in some less than stellar circumstances in the deer woods…..
 
dalton916 said:
Yeah, well…….there’s a group of folks, some of ‘em members here, that will go to their graves convinced that my killing of “The Spirit Fawn” resulted in some less than stellar circumstances in the deer woods…..
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I’m not saying I believe it, I’m a Christian so I tend to believe God gave us game to hunt and kill to have dominion over and there is nothing I know of in the Bible that says you can’t shoot piebald or albino deer. For me personally it’s just out of respect for what my Dad said so many moons ago now. I’m certainly not judging anybody who has or who would…. And like I said earlier If a beefer of a piebald buck walked by me whilst bow in hand I’d have a super tough time not loosing a broadhead at it.
 
woodsdog2 said:
I’m not saying I believe it, I’m a Christian so I tend to believe God gave us game to hunt and kill to have dominion over and there is nothing I know of in the Bible that says you can’t shoot piebald or albino deer. For me personally it’s just out of respect for what my Dad said so many moons ago now. I’m certainly not judging anybody who has or who would…. And like I said earlier If a beefer of a piebald buck walked by me whilst bow in hand I’d have a super tough time not loosing a broadhead at it.
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Yeah, I get that. It totally makes sense to give them a pass if that's what your dad taught you. For anyone who has strong feeling about not shooting a piebald, I would love to hear what the story/myth/tradition is. I don't mean this to be argumentative. I have no strong opinion either way. I'm just curious since I have never heard any mention of bad luck associated with them before. I find this sort of thing interesting. It may be a regional thing, since I have never heard any mention of it around here, and we have plenty of superstations, lol.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
Yeah, I get that. It totally makes sense to give them a pass if that's what your dad taught you. For anyone who has strong feeling about not shooting a piebald, I would love to hear what the story/myth/tradition is. I don't mean this to be argumentative. I have no strong opinion either way. I'm just curious since I have never heard any mention of bad luck associated with them before. I find this sort of thing interesting. It may be a regional thing, since I have never heard any mention of it around here, and we have plenty of superstations, lol.
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Oh I didn’t take it that way at all. And I certainly don’t have a problem with someone who did shoot one or would even like too. I’m fascinated by Indian Lore as well. Senecas are the Native tribe in and around my area. Actually they exterminated the Erie tribe which was the specific tribe with settlements right where I live. The Senecas are part of the Iroquois Nation. That is the tribe where the legend is allegedly from. Part of my fascination stems from the fact that my great grandmother on my father’s side was a full blooded Seneca.
 
Yes, I was pretty familiar with the white buffalo's significance, especially to Native tribes but I did not know the significance of coat coloration extended to deer. Interesting.
 
It depends on the situation.. I've seen 2 in my life. I'm 53. In NJ, 25 years ago I had a Piebald doe come in just before daylight one morning. Very freaky seeing that white object moving through the woods and not knowing what it was! I was like " ***?" Anyway, She stayed till past daylight so I could see what it was. Definitely cool to see. It was buck season so she was off limits but if it was a buck I would've dropped it. I moved away 23 years ago but my old hunting partner still hunts that area. He says that genetic trait is still there. He saw that doe and several others over the years. Here in MT, 3 years ago we moved to the edge of town, we have deer in the yard all the time. We see a Piebald doe in the yard frequently. She's at least 4 1/2 years old. She's off limits. We enjoy watching her and her little ones. When guests come over, she's a conversation piece. We've yet to see any of her offspring produce that trait but hopefully we will see more.
 
NMSbowhunter said:
That's not a bad stage to be at. I sure had a lot of fun when I just started out and would put an arrow through the first legal animal. If you aren't careful, you can get caught up in the big buck race and miss out on a lot of fun.
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100% truth.

I typically get a statewide which is good for any deer. Then a season choice river antlerless which has a bonus tag. So 2 does while I watch for that trophy.
 
A buddy of mine saw one not 3 miles from my place last week. He said it was at the tail end of a line of 5 doe and that it was almost solid white.
 
Any thoughts on Melanistic deer? I saw one in PA amongst a group of 9 does. It had really short legs. Weird.

I saw a Piebald doe in MD last year. Neat, but I've seen the white deer on Seneca, so it didn't feel as rare as it probably is.

I think any legal deer that's exciting is a good one, decide accordingly.
 
Thr one i had on camera a few years back would have gotten a hole in him quick if i had an encounter that presented a shot lol
 
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