If she can have all fours on the ground while sucking the teet.....well....you know what happens to her if she is 25 yds or less.

I prefer to give them a chance to gain some size. If I'm gonna spend the $$ to have her processed I want to get a good amount of meet off it. Otherwise I feel like I'm wasting money.

I love it when people brag that they shot a "big doe"

Not saying that shooting a mature doe is easy, but in my mind, if I shoot a doe, its a doe.

Pretty much any doe that is within range could be taken.....I don't know....whatever trips my trigger at the time.

Bigtime,
Have you ever harvested a deer with a bow? If I read your post correctly, no, correct? Good to hear you want to shoot a doe!!!I would wait to make sure it was not a button buck, so 1 1/2 years would be a sure fire way to know it's a doe and not a young buck. That is if you really care or not. Personally, I could not shoot a fawn either.

Hell, I'll shot it even if it has spots. Good eating, but I do usually try to stick w/ them at least 1.5 yrs. old that way I don't risk busting a button buck.

If you are after your first bow kill, I wouldshoot the first deer that doesn't have spots and that presents a shot.

A BIG part of bowhunting begins AFTER the shot and the sooner you get started the better bowhunter you will become.

My first bow kill was a young and dumb spike. The only thing in the woods that day that was dumber was me.

But since then, I have progressed to where I only target the "alpha" doe. She is the one in the bunch that is usually trailing the others and a lot more wary and wood savvy. I do this because the challenge makes it more fun and I have plentiful deer and shot opportunities.

But again, if I was you, I wouldn't worry what size the deer is, buck or doe, until I got a few bow killsthat include successful and timely recoveries under my belt.

Good luck this season.

If she's old enough to breed... then she's old enough to bleed, whack 'er! I not a big fan of shooting fawn but a Doe is a Doe.

For me, im gonna she has to be at least 2 1/2 years old or more, and have no little ones with her. Ive shot does ranging from 2 1/2 - 6 1/2 years old according to teeth charts. My cousin shot one we called Scar that aged 8 1/2 according to charts. He hit her 4 years prior and made a bad shot and left a long scar all the way down her side. I have never seen a bigger doe. Ill see if we still have pics of that old lady and post them, she was the queen of the woods and she let all the other does and fawns know it by beating the crap out them.

Look.....I'm one of the most mysoginistic (towards deer - look that one up) deer hunters you'll ever meet.

If it's female...and in range.....it's a target. Period.