hoyt3

I was at the local butchers the other day and there were, as usual, several folks with deer. I myself was dropping off a doe. there was this real pretty little eight there. honestly, I think it was a yearling, but had a great little, and I mean little, rack. no more than say 8" inside. maybe 90# dressed. my doe dwarfed this thing.

there is a sign at the place that says 'we don't save horns'. so, the girl checking the deer in says to the guy 'do you want the horns'. the guy says 'no, they aren't big enough'.

now I tell you this is not the first time I have heard this. I have passed buck after buck in all three seasons here, and I just do not understand this type of thinking. I KNOW there are a ton of does around here because I have shot 9. so, why not shoot a doe instead? anyone else out there run into this?? I just shake my head every time I think about it.

usajag

Before PA went to antler restrictions, I would see this all the time. A lot of people just don't save the horns and might not have a doe tag.

Tut23

wow if that was a yearling imagine him next year or the year after.... i saw news article earlier this year about deer and it was saying a couple years ago that 12 and 14 point yearling bucks were brought into the DNR for check in....

hoyt3

the thing that bugs me the most is that our tags in va come with a minimum of 4 antlerless tags, and you can use your antlered tags for does. you can buy 2 antlerless tags for $12.50. and, you can buy an unlimited amount of tags too.

BTBowhunter

Here in PA we have lived with an attitude of "any buck isjust better than a doe" for decades. Cant even count how many times I saw guys proudly declare "only got a spike, but at least I didnt have to settle for a doe". Thank god our antler restrictions seem to be gradually erasing that moronic mindset.

tschaef

I must have posted this a hundred times but I can't get over you guys that get unlimited tags!
I get one tag when I buy my lisence, and theres a lottery to see if it will be antlerless (any deer) or antlered only, antlerless are like gold up here.
I haven't hunted my favorite spot since I used my tag in October, there are a few areas that I can buy archery only tags for, but I have to drive a ways andam lucky to know a land owner in the area.
As for letting them walk its pretty uncommon up here, not enough deer in the woods to be really choosy.

hoyt3

and everyone cries about the fact that there aren't alot of big bucks around. hmmm, wonder why. I declared war on the doe population this year because it is truely unruly. I have been practicing my own qdm for the past two seasons and this year it paid off. I did see the biggest buck I have seen in va. let five others go, and all the button bucks too. kid up the street shot two bucks I was hoping were going to make it through, and that got me, but hey, it's a deer and I have to understand that. he was happy, and no longer hunts there, so, next year is the beginning of a whole new qdm year...gotta love starting over. one other thing that gets me about folks like the one I mentioned...these big does are the ones that bust 90% of us. shoot them! they are the hardest to kill. a doe with two, and three seasons behind her is very hard to kill. I finally shot a doe this year that was at least 4.5 yo. missed her two years ago. smart girl. they are the ones that educate all the other deer.

BJR224

A little off the topic but hey...hoyt3, how do you know the doe you shot this year is the same one you missed 2 years ago? Just curious.

Lanse couche couche

I would rather shoot a young buck or doe than a big rack. But, like others have noted, people have been ingrained with the attitude that a doe is sometimes worse than nothing. So,as the season progresses, a spike may be looking pretty good for many folks. My philosophy is that if a young buck survives a few seasons, then there will be a big rack. If he doesn't, he doesn't.Think of it as wildlife management that weeds out the stupid bucks.

hoyt3

long story short, I was stillhunting in to my stand and shot at this doe and the bullet was deflected. caught another doe in the vitals, killed her. I couldn't figure out how I had multiple blood trails with one dead deer. well, I trailed her until I jumped her and lo and behold, her tail had a limp spot, about the last two inches or so. this year, opening monday, I get a shot at this doe that had me picked off. I get down and it is a BIG doe. wide, flat forehead and just big. I look at her tail and think, 'that is a short tail, but there is no way that is her'. well, it was. her tail was cropped, and as far as I can tell, the same deer, only 40 yds from where I knicked her two seasons ago. she was at least 2.5 y.o. then. if you want, take a look at her. she is posted on team 11's post in the gun forum, big girl. very proud of that one.