good choice?
 

Im hunting and a doe with two fauns gives me a shot. I decide not to shoot, the fawns looked very reliant. Would they survive w out her this early in the season?

depends why your hunting?
 

for food?
then not worth the risk,
judgement call,
save it for a more worthy doe,

for population control?
then you may be taking out three,

Another doe will adopt the fawns.

I would shoot the doe and then take both fawns while they just stand there looking at their dead mom.

Don't listen to the last two posts.

Those fawns assuming they were born at the average time in the spring are already weaned, and will more than likely be run off if they are bucks by early next month. So they are completely independent by this point. Now yes, you will see female fawns with a more mature doe late in the season. It is possible that this is its mother but more than likely it is a mature doe of no relation since female fawns are often separated from their mothers during the rut.

P.S.
another doe will not adopt those fawns at this time of the year. It is too close to the rut and those fawns don't need milk. They have been weaned. Now, will the probably herd up with another mature doe? Yes. But thats what it would be, a "herd", because that doe would have no maternal instinct toward the two incoming deer.

i think you did the right thing i dont shoot any doe with young fawns. now if there is a big doe with a yearling and a fawn i will shoot the yearling but not the fawn or the big doe

i know its wrong but i lol when i read this

^ Agreed, it gave me a good chuckle as well...

I dont know about whitetail fauns but Here in Utah mulie fauns are fully independant at a year old. Dont take this for granted because I dont know how old they are.

I talked with a biologist last year about population control and such he said that if a doe has a button buck following her its fine to shoot the doe and that the young buck will stay within the homerange of his mother, when a doe runs off a male fawn he usually seeks his own territory not always but often. as someone else said fawns and does usually get seperated during the peak of the rut according to him.just my second hand $.02