take the buck or the doe?
 

Ok I got somewhat a survey.

I live in VA and this year we have 3+ weeks of doe season (if you bow hunt it is 5). would you take a buck or the doe and save the buck for this only week of antler only?

this is what I am asking myself. Spotted a family of 5 deer, a buck, 3 does and yearling.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

Tough call. I'd have to base it off of what was in front of me at the time the hammer was ready to drop.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

It would depend on what you see the most of. For me, I see far more does than bucks once the season starts. If I got a chance at a nice buck I would take that first. Then I would have the rest of the time to shoot the more oft seen does as needed.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

If it's what you want then the buck. If it's not, the doe.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

I live in VA, we get 3 bucks there, so what is the problem? If I see a nice buck in archery I will take it, usually better than a 6 pointer, get one in ML season and save a tag for the whole rifle season, which goes till 1 sat of Jan for me, since I live in Loudoun Co. Usually what happens to me is I get three bucks in November, so I am doe hunting all of December. Not so fun but it is hunting. Chap Gleason

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

If your determined to take a buck and he's a shooter take him. Whats to say someone else won't shoot him..........you may never have thatsecond chance at him. Just my opinion.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

Depends on what I see in front of me at the time. If he's a nice, mature deer, he gets the bullet. If he's a young fella, yearling buck, the doe gets the bullet and he lives to see at least another day.

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

Seeing many deer is the one reasonI am in the woods. I like watching them as much as shooting and eating them. Yet, as my father used to say, "shoot all the cows and next years calf crop ain't worth *//>*."

Also what is the condition of the freezer at home? If you are in need of venison, there is nothing better then a young doe for table fare. Also shooting a young doe does not normally damage the herd as much as taking a mature breeding doe out.

So if the freezer is empty, and you want some venison, and have that long to hunt, and can shoot more then one deer, there is nothing wrong with taking a doe early in the season. Getting it on the table to enjoy, and then really hunting hard for the special deer you want to fill your major tags.

A word of warning about State Game Management practices.. Many management practices I believe are mandated by the all mighty dollar. Wisconsin is guilty more so them most states IMO. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources claimed huge herds of deer all over the State. They want to sell hunting license, and if your asked to buy a license to fish in a dead lake you will not sell many license. Wisconsin even allowed hunters to take numerous deer each year. They are still making this claim of large deer herds. I personally do not believe them. In fact we were required to shoot a doe before we could even hunt a buck for a while. Their "Earn a Buck program." All of this of course was justified by CWD, large deer herds, and large deer/vehicle accident incidents. Well the last couple years around my house, in an area where I always saw deer both during season and off season, I saw one deer last year hunting all season... Large numbers of deer can be easily removed from an area. Judge your area well. If you have large numbers, taking a doe is not all that major an influence on the herd, but remember, while you take one or two, so does the neighbor and the neighbor's neighbor...

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

With me it depends upon where I'm hunting and what I'm hunting with...

I take a week each year and hunt our 3 farms in eastern NC, take a couple of buddies and hunt with my brothers, nephews, nieces. friends, etc....
Our purpose on this hunt is to kill 15-20 deer and thin the does...Now, if the bucks are chasing, I'll wait until about Wednesday or Thursday evening to start filling the 150 quart cooler we bring...If I see a good buck (antlers beyond the ears and 8 points or better), I'll take him...Many hunts the field fills up with does and I wait until the last 5 minutes of shooting light and go ahead and kill 2 does....

My theory is that if you are going to get out of the stand and run the deer out of the field, you might as well take a doe and let them run out of the field....Many times I have spooked deer out of a field by shooting and then returned with the truck or 4-wheeler 30 minutes after the shot and run the deer back out of the field...I have also killed a deer out of a field one night, wait for the deer to leave before I get down and see just as many deer in that field the following evening....In other words, I don't think the shot spooks them too bad (especially with a ML), it's seeing you get out of the stand and walking away that really spooks them...

btw...If you are hunting over a field and want to take a couple of deer...On that first shot, put it through the shoulder blade and drop the deer, the other deer won't run far and you can then take another...If you only want to take one deer and have the rest leave the field, shoot the deer behind the shoulder, in the lungs, that deer will run, trying to get out of the field and the rest will follow, leaving the field clear for you to then get down and leave, so you can hunt it again the next evening....

If I'm hunting my lease here in Piedmont NC, if its before the rut and especially during bow season, I'll shoot the first big doe that I have a good shot at...During central muzzleloading season I usually wait because its the 1st or 2nd week of November and there is a lot of prerut activity....

During December, here in central NC I use my flintlock as much as my .243, if I get a good shot at a doe, I'm likely to take her, just depends upon how many I have in my freezer at the time and what mood I'm in....

Late December usually finds me back in eastern NC, and if we haven't taken what we consider enough deer off the farms, I'm back to waiting until the fields fill up with deer and taking either a big doe or a good buck...I have plenty of folks back home that will take deer that my family doesn't need at that time.....Occasionally during this time I will also take a buck that my brothers and I have been seeing if we consider him an older deer with a scrub rack....

RE: take the buck or the doe?
 

Anyone of them will fit in the freezer!:)