There have been a few posts here about taking does with fawns. I was in the camp (and still MAY be) that thought there wasn't anything wrong with it......but that it still wasn't in ME to do it.

I've seen 2 large fawns in the last 3 days with faint spots and NO MAMA to be seen anywhere. I did have a doe with 2 little fawns in my set on Saturday.....and they VERY MUCH still seemed dependent on their mother (I heard my first tendinggrunt in the wild, Saturday, too......pretty cool). I think I'm now of the mindset that ....if the fawn is almost as big as mama.....it'll be fine (just as MANY of you pointed out, earlier).

Just an observation.....from a 2nd yr. deer hunter.......

Jeff

I know what you mean. When I harvest a doe, I try to take one with out fawns, if I can. I must be softhearted or something. In the late winter(after gun season) I am not afraid to shoot a yearling doe traveling by herself. My guess is moma has been shot anyway.

Ditto, you sound like me. There are plenty of maiden does out there to shoot.

Ya'll got to think tho of us northerners, our sesaons are not in yet, give your does another few weeks and they'll be kicking male fawns off. When our seasons are in, fawns don't need the doe any longer. Now, there are rarities, I've seen spotted fawns suckle a doe in Oct, that's not the norm.

YES!! I forgot to mention that the fawn I saw was a button head. That's VERY important. I couldn't tell about the one, this morning.....but no mama was around.

That makes sense why the button was playing with the buck, now (Tuesday).

Thanks, Rob.

Jeff

I personally don't like to shoot does with fawns. I'm sure they will be OK without mama,.it just doesn't give me a good feeling in my gut. The only time I will do it is on some Federal land where I have to shoot a doe before I shoot a buck. I still don't like it, but I'm not going to lose a chance at a nice buck because of it.

I wouldn't ever give it a second thought.I would just shoot away. If your good and drop the Doe where she stands, you will be able to get shots at the bambis as well.

Biologically, you're better off shooting the fawn anyway, as long as you can identify that it's not a yearling buck. (older does successfully breed better and are more likely to produce and successflully rear a good buck, an older doe has a better chance of successfully surviving a harsh winter, a mom without a fawn has a better chance of survivng alone than an orphaned fawn.) If I'm going to shoot a doe I'll shoot a lone doe, but given the choice of doe or fawn, I'd shoot the female fawn and if I wasn't sure it was female, I wouldn't shoot either. But I have the luxury of being a trophy hunter with herd management in mind. If I had to put meat in the freezer, I'd either shoot them both or take whatever shot presented itself and eat well with a clear conscience.

If you want the bucks to hang aroundyou are better off shooting a doe that has a buck fawn. The reason is that the mother doe is responsible for dispersing the buck fawn out of it's homerange in order to discourage inbreeding. Unless you don't like the inbreeding part.

You heard a tending grunt already?
I think you might be mistaken and calling a doe bleat by the wrong name.
Not too many bucks out there chasing does yet.