I never tasted Fawn before, however I have eaten my share of veal. I belive that veal is raised in a smallareaso that they can't exercisemuch andtheydo not produce a lot of muscle and they are fed differently than regular beef. I would think that fawn would have some decent muscle developement with all of the exercise they get but I am not sure since I have never taken one. I don't think I would even want to shoot one unless it was injured maybe.

JMO

i feel the exact same way but my minum of a deer needs to be atleast 115ish for a doe and over 2 years. buck needs to be atleast 3 and over 175 pounds but thats in ga if i was near bigger deer my standards would go up

my first deer with a bow was a spotted fawn in the second week of sep. I actually didnt no it was a fawn i just thought it was a doe. But it is the most tender meat ive eaten thus far. Not to say im proudof it tho.

Here's what I posted concerning this a few weeks ago.

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If you'll remember....I posted some photos of a few MD deer that a memeber of another site I visit (NC Deer) took while he was working with the MD Nat resources office (Not sure of the proper name for the entity) this past summer.

He'd posted on our state site about his doe he took here, Saturday morning....and how she had a fawn with her. I've been torn on this morally.....so I inquired to him about the question I had.....

Will the fawns survive....if I take out mama, now?

I'm posting his response......along with the response I got from my NCWRC Wildlife Biologist (Sent him the same question, yesterday). The answers cause another set of questions thatI'll delve into after you see them.

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GMMAT, I actually know Chris...we went to this past year's Southeast Deer Study Group together in Maryland. As for shooting does with fawns, they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves. I will say there is a lower chance of survival for the fawns, but it is not because of nutritional deficits caused by potentially removing their mother's milk. They are simply at higher risk of blundering out in front of someone's deer stand or getting whacked on the road without their mother's guidance. The doe I shot Saturday morning was, in fact, not producing milk anymore. She still had evident teets, but they were dried up - probably in the past couple of weeks. Shooting does at the end of the season when the fawns are grown doesn't do you any good in reducing your herd ratio for the current year's rut and also wastes several hundred pounds of food to a deer that could have been killed opening week rather than 3 months later. Shoot away.

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And then....This from our Wildlife Bio., Chris Kreh.


Fawns here in North Carolina are generally born in May and June, and they are no longer dependent on nursing with the doe when they are about 10 weeks old. Though they may continue supplemental nursing into the early bow season, they are fully capable of surviving on their own if the doe is harvested. The moral dilemma is more an issue of perception or misconception, rather than biology. There is no biological problem with harvesting does, even if they have fawns present, during the early bow season. The fawns will survive. I hope that helps. If you would like to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at the number below.

Thanks,

Chris

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The side dilemma I have is......am I "really" doing the right thing by letting does with fawns "pass"? If overall herd reduction is my goal.....why not preserve the food these does will be consuming (if passed on) by taking them out, now? Why not ENSURE they are outof the breeding pool?

These are valid questions.

buckstomper - why wouldnt you be proud of it? you took the time and hundted, just as if it was a doe or buck. you stood still, made a good shot and enjoyed the rewards. i understand and respect people who dont shoot them, but i wouldnt be ashamed of it. just my thoughts.

could you tell the difference between that meat and "regular" doe or buck meat? or was it basically just the same?

I've shot 2 so far but now that I know the diference between a doe fawn and a button buck I will refrain on the little guys. They are great eating,but I agree with Rob that we should save the little bucks!
On the other hand where I hunt noe it's called earn-a-buck so you need to shoot an antlerless deer first. The area is truly overrun with deer at around 45 per sq. mile.

Well......I'm a trophy hunter.......kinda.....I will not shoot a small or immature buck......but I have NO problem shooting a fawn that I can 90% ID as a doe fawn. Matter of fact, I try to shoot at least one every year during the late season. If you ask me, they taste great.

when i say if its brown its goin down that means all deer that aint got spots

YES! This long haired freaky person deffinitly thinks so.
I've had to to deer damage control hunting, have fed my large family with venison for many years. Even my son who has downs syndrom, is 23 and loves to eat will tell you that a young doe is the best venison. A nubber buck isn't quiet as good and any doe is better eating than most any buck. I say I got a buck, he says yummmmm sausage. I say I got a young doe, he says yummmm steak. I say older doe, he says yummmm roast. The kid knows his venison. lol
Read any history about people who hunted to live such as American Indians. The choice meat is the younger smaller deer. Choice hides were the younger smaller deer. The older the tougher the meat and hide. Bucks hide and meat both tougher than doe of the same age and season.
Unlike veal though deer get exersize and there isn't much difference between the meat of a spotted fawn or yearling except that a yearling has a lot more meat. I won't shoot a spotted fawn opening weekend but come Oct. any fawns still nursing are better off in my freezer with there mothers than becoming coyote and wolf bait. A harsh winter, they won't make it. I will shoot the doe first and the fawn if I can. I've seen coyote eat an orfinned fawn alive and won't let that happen again if I can help it. Not pretty but it's reality. If I got to kill it, might as well grill it, the smallest deer is still more meat than the largest rabbit. At least here in Wisconsin. lol I went deer hunting in Fla. and I think some of our rabbits are bigger up here than the deer are down there. I shot a 40 lbs deer down there that was 4 years old. Go figure. They must weigh about 1 lb at birth?
In an overpopulated area such as the area I hunt, taking yearlings is needed and I don't mind filling that roll. Somebody has too. I don't condem trophy hunters, to each is there own. Fact is, the younger the deer, the better the meat. Doe is better than buck at any age but old doe can be as tough as a young buck. Yearlings doe that field dress at about 60-100 lbs are absolute best eating. Any smaller makes little difference, might as well let them grow another month or two unless you're trying to prevent crop damage. Then, the smaller the deer, the more crop damage you prevent.
I heard a guy say he shot a bambi and let it lay after shooting the mother. What a waist and disrespectful. More human than coyote but still a waist. Put a $15 tag on it and call it a big tasty meal. I've got a lot more respect for a hot meal than any set of antlers hanging on the wall. If my sausage meat happens to also have a nice rack, then maybe, but I don't hunt just to put antlers on the wall. That would be disrespectfull to the deer. I'd rather the best looking bucks get a chance to breed the most, if I have to take a buck, I try to take an ugly young one. Knowing I stopped that bloodline is my trophy. My favorite rack is an ugly 6 pointer with a perfect 4 point side and an ugly 2 pointed hook on the other. Now that he's gone and the pretty buck rules, the yearling bucks have gotten better looking racks, the doe are closer to numbers with the bucks and all is well in the woods.
It takes all kinds to make the world go around, even long haired freaky people who hunt deer for venison for him and his family to live on. Yes, people still actaully hunt deer for meat, call me a wack but, that's just me.

I will reiterate and say that under GMMAT's circumstance with too many deer, I would shoot doe fawns. Any doe out of the herd is good under that circumstance.