I hate to ask this and I don't wanna sound like trouble but is that baby deer legal to shoot?


Suz

I know Suz, hard to throw them back like you can when fishing.

Suzanne wrote:

I hate to ask this and I don't wanna sound like trouble but is that baby deer legal to shoot? Suz

There are states back east with so many deer you HAVE to kill X number of does before you can get your next buck tag. Its a pretty wild concept for people out here in the West but they really do have that many deer in places back east.

Back in the late 80's a friend lived in Alabama and they had a "per day" deer limit. If you tagged out every day, hunted the extended seasons I think you could end up with 90 deer a year.


-DallanC

Suz, here we manage roedeer using these rules:

- you count +/- the roedeer in your area (bucks/doe/kits)
- you take 25 % of your total = your total amount to harvest
- this 25 % you devide in: 50 % kits (<1 year old) and the rest so that when all your labels are used, the number females equals the number of males.

You see that you should have at least a master degree befor you can hunt roedeer here

(and don't forget that you'll also loose a number each year due to harvesting machines, poaching, car accidents, drowning, ...)

And because many hunters like a trophee, you'll try to shoot the female as kits, little or no does and then the bucks (most of the time with rather badly shaped antlers to keep them from breeding in an effort to get mighty record trophees in older bucks at the end)

By the way: at the time we are allowed to shoot kits and does, the difference in height between the mother and her daughter is about 1-2 inches, what makes it rather challenging not to make mistakes. Luckely not only size matters you can also see some differences in their shape and their behaviour.

Suzanne wrote:

I hate to ask this and I don't wanna sound like trouble but is that baby deer legal to shoot? Suz

Suz,

my apologies to you if it bothers you that I shot this doe...

Yes, it is legal to shoot does here in Oklahoma...

I shoot maybe one or two bucks a year but, I much prefer doe's because I think the meat is much better than that from a buck. The bucks I kill, I process the meat and give it to families that need it. I'll keep 2 doe's for my family and any after that, also goes to other families....

D/S

you have to even out the herd or you will end up with big trouble/problems. if your herd is male dominant...you have a great time hunting during the rut/roar as with competition between the males they will be vocal and scrapping to get to the "ladies"..the population is stable as the does number controls the number of fawns/calves born each season.
if however you have a female dominant herd...it only takes 1 randy buck/stag to service 50ish does/hinds/cows
herd numbers can increase very fast as lots of fawns/calves each season
you also have the double edged sword if you are after a trophy buck stag/bull in that with less males around they get shot younger so arent as big/old
and also the lesser males get to breed/pass on their genes as its not just the strongest males that get to do the funky chicken!!!

It's not that you shot a doe, they're legal here too, but the size of it. It's obviously shorter than your rifle. I would find it hard to shoot a deer that small. A dead doe is a dead doe I guess it doesn't matter what size. I've been on doe hunts before and passed up shots because I didn't have the heart to shoot such young deer. That's just me. Maybe that was a rhetorical question on my part without thinking about it. When it's legal to hunt does they don't say how old anyway, just never thought of it.

Suz

yearling deer get a hammering over here..silly spikers get it the worst from now (spring) onwards. mum kicks them off as she has new born to look after and they like all teenagers have bottomless pit for a stomach so they go out taking risks to eat and often get eaten in turn before they grow up/learn better. the young hinds have a better time of it as mum lets them hang around and so they get the benefit of her wisdom.

Suzanne wrote:

It's not that you shot a doe, they're legal here too, but the size of it.

Will there be 20 pounds of meat for the freezer?

slimjim wrote:

Suzanne wrote: It's not that you shot a doe, they're legal here too, but the size of it. Will there be 20 pounds of meat for the freezer?

Probably so...

At 600 yds., I could not tell the exact size of this deer. I just knew I wanted a young doe for better eating....

Looked huge through the optics....

If you live in an area with any real winter, its the small ones that starve first and yes they are better on the plate. I would take that youngster.

heres a Kiwi who knows how to shoot. one of the best clips Ive seen with the sunlight making bullet visible.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np9GCFbLZ_Q