I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Allright guys,here goes...I' m gonna share my shame w/ the board. Last night I had a perfect 10 yard shot on a fat, mature doe and I couldn' t take her. She was practically begging to be put in the freezer but I let her walk....Here' s why: she had twin fawns w/ her. They were standing 10 or so yards behind her just watching and I couldn' t do it. Sure, they were big enough I guess, they had no spots..but I' ve heard horror stories about people having to shoo fawns away from their fallen mama' s and I couldn' t do it.

I' m sure the deer in my lease will vote me Hunter of the Year and make me a nice persimmon pie for my kindheartedness. There were a million good reasons to take her, extra meat, population control,etc. and only two little brown reasons not to.

My wife thinks I' m the sweetest thing, but my bow won' t speak to me. Is there anybody else out there that would have let her walk?

I' m not some tree huggin' peta member either, I' ve already got one doe in the freezer this season and hope to get another...just not one that' s a single mom.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I hear where you are comin from Dorr. I did that same thing quite a bit early season, because every single doe that I saw had twins and two doe and triplets. I just couldn' t bring myself to shoot mom at that point. Although at this time of the year, the fawns are plenty big enough to take care of themselves. Mom won' t even let them suckle for a second. I saw a fawn come up to mom and Sat and try to suckle. Mom was havin nothing to do with it. In fact, she kicked the fawn in the side to get her away. Thought it was pretty dang funny and almost laughed out loud. You' ll get a whack at another doe this year I' m sure.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

One year during gun season, I dropped a doe with two " littler" does, and they ran off about 30 yards and just stood there after I got down from the tree. When I started dragging her out towards them, they finally took off. It didn' t really bother me too much, but since then I' ve done this several times. I figure why hurry, lots of does around, and sooner or later a loner will come through.

You know it' s all those Walt Disney subliminal messages... :)

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I havn' t had the desire to pull the trigger on a doe since I started - 20 yrs ago

So I hear ya man:D

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I would have done the same thing. A couple years back I shot a doe in rifle season and did realize she had 2 fawns with her. When I got up to the mom the faws were standing next to her and would not leave I had to chase them away. I have no problem killing deer and usually never feel bad about it but that experience made me feel terrible. Since then I let em walk if they got fawns, if they dont though........whack em.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I smell what you' re cookin' . A few years back I shot a doe during gun season and the button buck that was with her ran straight out into an open field and stopped to look back. I think I know what Vietnam was like after that. Guns started blasting from every direction. I took cover and that poor little buck bought the farm. If I had let the deer pass in the little thicket I was in then neither one would' ve been noticed by the other hunters. I haven' t shot a " mom" since then.

In my opinion you deserve credit for your decision. And I agree with your wife - you' re the sweetest thing! Your bow will get over it.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

i would never shoot a doe if there was fawns with her[&o]

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' ve done it several times, once taking out the fawn as it came back to see where mom was (taking a dirt nap). There' s no shame in letting her walk. If you think about it, it can really get to you. The other bad memory I have is of cutting the throat of a wounded deer. I about had tears in my eyes and had to look the other way, apologizing the whole time.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I with you!!!!!

I did this about three weeks ago. I actually had my girlfriend out there with me. I let her use my climber to just watch. They were about 8 yards away...broadside. I though the same exact thing. I may have taken her if my girlfriend was' nt there. I' ve heard the same thing about shooing away fawns.


J

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' ve passed in that situation too. The one time I didn' t pass was when I didn' t see the little ones until after I shot. By then it was too late. I did feel a little weird about it but the following spring I saw the two in the same area. They were doing well and growing up.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' ve never let fawns be a reason not to shoot momma doe. It' s no big deal if you can' t do it, that' s a personal decision. In my area I' d almost never shoot a doe if I didn' t shoot ones with fawns. Yea sometimes they hang around a bit, but that' s life.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Call me a softy, but I feel a little remorseful after every harvest. It is part of the reason I prefer to harvest mature animals. They did their thing and are soon to be more susceptable to mother nature anyway.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I shot a cow Elk a few years ago that had a good size calf with her. She dropped about forty yards from my stand within seconds of the shot. I climbed down from my stand and went to gut her out and noticed her fawn hiding and watching. I felt bad until I ate my first steak.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' d have let it pass too. And also, if she raised twins this year, she might raise twins next year, which is good if you have low deer pops. I killed one doe this year and felt bad , because my two and a half year old girl comes out and looks in the back of the truck and says " oh she' s so cute, deer sleeping, wake up deer" and I' m like go back in the house while I wake the deer up and let it go. Makes me consider shooting only bucks.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I would have dropped her. I feel absolutely no remorse when I kill an animal. I feel bad when I see them dead along the road.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Personally, I have no problem shooting a doe with fawns. By this time of year they are old enough to support themselves. Besides, they will probably find a new group of does/fawns to hang out with at least until the does run them off anyway. I rarely see does without fawns where I hunt anyway.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Studies report that " yearlings" have a better survival rate when cut from their mother early. True? I don' t know. If true, why a better survival rate? I don' t know. Maybe learning early to survive gives them an edge. Hard to say.

However, to shoot or not to shoot for the reason as given is the person' s unquestionable right.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I can' t either. A lone doe, yes, a momma, no.

I guess we' re softies...

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Im right there with you, Id have absoulutly no problem creating some orphans.:D

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Its hard to do for sure sometimes.But almost every doe you see has some smaller deer tagging behind. and if you shoot a lone doe,lots of times it is a button. Up here when you see 3 deer ,usually there a mom and her youngins. and when I see the herds of like 10 plus ,how do you determine which deer belongs to which deer? I would of hardly ever shot a doe if I only shot mature doe alone. But yes it does bother me sometimes.but that is nature. Not only that ,what else really gets me is to watch the young deer play and run around like kids in the fields. I just cant shoot a young deer anymore.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

i dont shoot them early when most have the fawns w/ them still, if i needed the meat to feed my family thats different but i still have meat from last year in the freezer, and one more doe on my land is one more doe going into heat drawing the boys i really are out there for so i wait till late season!

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I would have done the same. You did the right thing.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I hunt bow and rifle.During bow hunting I only shoot bucks.But during rifle if i have a doe tag I use it.I haven' t ever shot a momma with her kids.Don' t think I ever will.But I think we are all getting soft.Twenty years ago it was common to kill the doe the fawns and anything else moving[:o]

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

knuckle head, pull it... i would have

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I don' t blame you either for not wanting to do it. I myself have had to scare a fawn away after shooting the mom; I hadn' t seen the fawn until I shot and the doe had " ducked the string" so she got it in the spine. I couldn' t get another arrow in her from the stand, so I got down to go finish her as I couldn' t stand to watch her do the " crappie flop" as we call it here lol. Once I was down the fawn came out from behind a tree.....I felt bad, but that little one got a whole lot of education in a matter of a minute. NOW....here in roughly the southern half of Wisconsin; we do NOT have a choice in the matter. If we want to be able to hunt for a buck; we HAVE to kill a doe FIRST. I finally filled my " Earn a Buck" tag tonight...WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO haha You' ll get another chance at a doe yet; it' s early and GOOD LUCK!:D

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

It is personal, you did what was right for you. Nice job.
I' d have shot her and thats personal too.

Greg

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Hey you need to do what you feel is right, I won' t stick a doe with spotted fawns, but I will stick one with brown fawns, I have let more little ones walk than you can shake a stick at, I don' t know, they are just so stupid sometimes, I don' t have the heart to kill them. We all have our own soft spots!

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' m the same way- doe with a couple fawns walks. Doe alone I drop. Call me a softie, but I hate hearing fawns bleat after I whack their Mom.... I' ve had that happen enough for one lifetime. Where I live, there are so many deer that it' s no problem to wait for a solo doe. If I lived where deer were more scarce, I might feel differently.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I am leaning towards the softie side too I think.
A loan doe i would drop, a doe with larger fawns, I might drop if she is fat and the fawns look to be old enough to make it on their own.
But this year I have seen a couple of does with fawsn that BARELY had the spots off, looks like they were born late, and I wouldn' t even consider shooting them.

Yeah big softie here too.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

This may sound bad to some of you, but I have not been in this situation however If I couldn' t shoot the big doe I might shoot the small one. I read an article saying that the big mature does know what there doing and if you shoot a smaller one it doesn' t have as much affect. They are the tastiest ones. I have shoot one small one and I didn' t feel guilty or anything. I feel the same with a big buck as a small deer. I thank god for letting me harvest the animal and I pray it had a swift death. Then I butter em up and throw them on the grill!!!;)

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

there' s no reason to shoot a doe with fawns. If your looking for good eating, then take the fawn and leave the doe.Steve

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

SUCK IT UP!!!!! It' s not fun, I don' t get off on it, but understand and see it for what it is. You are taking the role of a predator, a role not to be taken lightly. I' ve shot does with single fawns, twins, and even triplets. They are animals, albeit beautiful creatures, but animals that need managment for their own good! Waiting for a doe without fawns for me is like waiting for my lucky lotto numbers to hit. If they are female, they are bred, and they have fawns. I respect yours and others human emotions but think you need to dig a little deeper and cowboy up and do your share for proper and sound deer management.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Oh man I must really be a cold blooded hunter. Not only would I shoot the doe, but I would have shot the fawns too. I have done it before while rifle hunting. I guess I am like the mafia. I' ll kill the whole dang family if I have enough tags. Population control at it' s finest. I don' t feel bad about it usually.

I wish more hunters would suck it up and kill some does. It is too easy here in Minnesota. There are way too many deer and the DNR does not force any hunters to shoot the females. It is all optional. Most hunters are looking for that " rack" so they will often leave their tag unfilled rather than shoot a doe. I like the way it is done in some other states where you have to earn a buck tag by killing a doe first.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

If the little ones were healthy, I' d arrowed the mom. There big enough to make it on their own. that way some big ol buck won' t be beating them in the head when it comes time to make it with their moma.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Thanks for all the replies. Good to know I' m not the only one that failed the " Ultimate Predator" test. As for shooting fawns, I' m not gonna be the guy that checks in a 30 pound deer. I can just hear my processor now, " You want me to try and process that thang or just feed it to my dog for a snack?" Plus it' s not very economical. 20$ for a tag, 45$ flat rate to process it, 8$ for the broadhead...10 or 15 pounds of meat.

Don' t get me wrong, I' m all for sound management practices. I' ve taken a doe each of the last 3 years and they' ve made good chili. There will be more chances for me to top the freezer off.

On a different note, this board is great. There are a lot of us new bowhunters who on here and a lot more who just read but don' t post. It' s a great place to learn from people who' ve been there and done that.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Soft? YESSSS;) Just kidding DORR:) It is a personal choice and it is neither right or wrong, it' s a choice. I would have shot at least the doe and possibly a fawn too. Don' t start figuring the cost of the meat though or you' ll get sick and probably quit hunting period:D I' d guess somewhere around a hundred dollars a pound by the time you get all your expenses in there;) Do what you are comfortable with. If there are that many deer in the area maybe some of us can come and help you control the herd:D;)

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

Early in the year I let the does w/fawns walk, but now would would think twice about pulling the trigger[:-]

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I too must be part of that heartless bunch, but pass a doe? In fact, my local DNR " official" told me to target does with fawns. That would constitute three kills for deer management! (assuming that the fawns couldn' t make it through the winter) I agree, to each their own. If you hunt for scores, fine. As NorthernMN said, this area is doe rich (total population) to the point that is is going to become unhealthy. I' ve passed some does this fall, but not because of the fawns, but because they were small. This December, she might become dinner. As for what the processor will say...... cut your own. You' ll save money and nobody will complain about the size when it' s on the grill!!;)

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I' ve done it... I would do it again... but I respect your opinion.

RE: I couldn' t pull the trigger...
 

I let a doe go that had this year' s baby hanging tight to her side, and when they stopped, the fawn was licking her and the doe reached back and licked the fawn back. I had a beautiful close (bow) shot at the doe, but didn' t take it. Doesn' t bother me to be soft-hearted. I never told anyone until now, though. LOL