Horns mean nothing to me. Yes, if I have a shot at a full-grown doe at 7:30 AM of opening day I'm taking the shot. Does eat a lot better than bucks. I am not a trophy hunter. I enjoy the many aspects of hunting, butthe basic function is to take an animal home to eat. I may regret that my hunt might be over so early, but I've also gone through a whole season without a shooting opportunity.

It used to be that deer populations were low and only bucks were allowed to be taken, on the understanding that -- within reason -- taking bucks did not affect populations (the surviving bucks would just have to do double duty servicing the does to keep the birthing train rolling, a burden which the surviving bucks are only too happy to accept). Today when constraining deer populations to target levels is important, very often shooting does is not only permitted but encouraged, witness the "earn a buck" program the second respondent cited.