Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Just wanted to see everybodys choice on when to shoot does, before the rut, or after when they potentally have fawns.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

I like to fill the freezer with a doe early in the season, and then focus on getting a buck.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

To me the whole point of shootingdoes is to fill the freezer and thin the doe population so the bucks have to move more and be more active when it comes time to find a doe to breed. Im not sure about the rest of yall, but by the time season starts Im in serious need of fresh venison. In my opinion, shooting does after the rut does nothing for you that year as far as managment goes. If you shoot them before the rut, for every doe you shoot it makes the mature bucks look that much harder and potentialy making themself be seen or giving you an opertunity.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

They do not have fawns until about may.:DBut they might be pregnant after the rut.

You better get them when they are standing in front of you. The longer you wait the more educated the does become also. They can get real hard to kill when they know you are hunting them too. Not only the bucks can pattern you but the does will too.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Good post JMBuck, in my experiance a mature doe willbustyou long before a buck will. Ive been busted before and move my stand to a different tree and watched as the same doe walks out starring up in my old tree looking for me.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

i chose after simply because it is more pleasant to clean and dress a deer in cold weather vs HOT september weather. not saying ill for sure pass on an early doe, but i bet my does wont come until later on like end of november early december. not rushed to clean them by hot weather, so you can take your time, and not sweat like a hog while doing so. and yes, i know hogs dont sweat;).

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Anytime the opportunity presents itself unless of course ahog (buck)is working in the area;).

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Before, during, AND after.....:D:D

No, early and late are the best......Leave the rut for your buck......

Before
 

I picked before because ill take anything i can get this being my first year.

RE: Before
 

I said before because the does wont be pregnant before the rut time. They cant get pregnant if their not alive to go into heat.
My .02
Ryan

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

BOTH, I am in a CWD unit where it is earn a buck.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

This statement youjust made, got me burned last year an I missed an oppurtunity on a mid 140 to 150 class buck last year, because of a mature doe [:@][:@][:@][&o]but he is still around I think an he will be back through again an I hope I am there, when he does make the trip.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Whenever I get the chance, and when I'm confident a bruiser is'nt following her!

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

If i have a group of doe's coming in early in the morn then i will not shoot i,ll let them go because i don,t want them to know i,m thier , but after a week i,ll wait till i,m about to get down which is around noon and if thiers a lone doe coming down the trail and i have a good shot on her i,ll take her then i won,t go back to that stand untill the rut kicks in it,s work for me so far

RE: Before
 

It really depends on the property I'm hunting. On some tracts, I generally like to put a Doe or two in the freezer early and then buck hunt. However, on most tracts I prefer to stack 'em in the late season.

RE: Before
 

I like to tag my doe within the first week. It gives me that much more time to "scout" the bucks from stand and find one I want. Plus it's a heck of a lot easier to pass those does in the rut without a tag

RE: Before
 

For me its brown or down for does. I dont care if its big or small. But bucks its a whole different story.:)

RE: Before
 

this is a subject that really burns my ass. i jus dont understand it.
Normal season- sept 15 bow season here in md people say if im goin huntin this early im only shootin bucks. ok fine guy shoots big 8 pt. he didnt breed this year. come december smoke poles out an everyones after meat now cause they havent got a deer yet. here comes ol doe boom 3 deer dead. i jus dont get it. i know it been like this forever an it prolly wont change
What i think should be- shoot the does before nov 10(close enough) after november 10 bucks only! i know i know that buck has spread his seed in his past years but give him one more year. he might of spread it but u mighta shot the doe that he bread. ......... thats jus how i see it. an i gotta honestly call my self a hypacrite cause come oct 1st an that buck steps out theres no holdin me back i wanna shot an come dec 27 an no meat in the freezer im lookin for the first doe i can find. [&:][:@]

RE: Before
 

I wish I could get the business (doe thinning) taken care of and sit back and relax (buck hunt). Man thatwould bring with it a sense of accomplishment.

RE: Before
 

The biologists would tell you to shoot them early,because it places less stress on the bucks to service all the doe's if there are less of them.I don't like fouling up an area by the disturbance involved in shooting a doe if I think the area holds a good buck.Typically I shoot doe's later in the season,actually most often I am filling doe tags with a rifle or muzzleloder.

RE: Before
 

In NJ, you need to shoot a doe before you shoot a buck, so that answers my question, but once i shoot my doe, i keep on shooting them, cause like it was mentioned earlier, the less does you have around, the more the bucks have to move to find their partners, the more opportunity that they will run by my tree.

RE: Before
 

tsoc:

While I agree with everything you wrote......I have to look at "disturbance" in a per-anuum sense. I don't think it'll be that much of a disturbance to their area......if I look at it as I'm really looking at buck hunting these areas......2....maybe 3 years down the road.

It's a tough row (mentally)to hoe.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

Yes ... I'll shoot a doe within the first week of the season maybe two if I have more than one antlerless permit.
In the area I hunt in we have more does than bucks anyway so it wouldn't hurt to thin the herd down a little but I wont shoot a doe that has fawns still with her.

RE: Shoot does before or after the rut??
 

From now on, I'm shooting the first doeI see early on in the season. Last year I let several walk early in on, and then went the rest of the season without a good opportunity.

RE: Before
 

I'll take a nice doe before or after. Although, I prefer to have some meat in the freezer early to take the pressure off.

RE: Before
 

BEFORE

RE: Before
 

I didn't see a choice for both. I will shoot does both before and after the rut because we have so many does, I don't believe shooting one that is bred is going to make a difference.

RE: Before
 

The area I mostly hunt in WI is an "Earn A Buck" area so I must first take a doe otherwise I usually wait and go after the does during gun season.

RE: Before
 

well i added both for those who shoot does at both times.

RE: Before
 

If a doe walks into my shooting range I am going to tag her. Even if it means no buck that year. I love the meat.

RE: Before
 

any time of the season for me i voted both






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RE: Before
 

Just my 2 cents, but I prefer to take a doe early, so that the bucks don't spend too much time attempting to breed with her when she's not going to be around. I've always justified it as making sure those that get bred make it through to keep my deer population healthy. But who knows.