TOPDAWGWOOFWOOF

Guys,

Had a good friend of mine harvest a healthy doe last weekend on the famil farm in North Florida. Respect. She weighed 122 and was healthy.

I had a few friends tell me not to harvest does so late in the season b/c they are already bred. My theory is to take does when you can to keep the population in balance. Thoughts?

I understand she may have been carrying young ones when he harvested her, but still I believe in taking does liberally for the better of the herd overall.

Would like to hear what others think. Good luck this weekend. Only 2 left.

3Ddepression

It is my firm belief that the herd benfits from being in balance. If you have harvested bucks before and did not have the option of picking certain individuals of deer, then your way is, in my opinion, the best way to keep a balanced herd. If you would have had an option to pick nonproductive does, that would have been even better, but sincethere is onlytwo weekends left I would not haverestricted my hunts.

So... congrats to you and your friend.

Iassume that the doe did not have fawns that was depending on her skills to survive the winter? If your friend shot the doe from her fawns on purpose, he will be cursed for all eternity. The winter in florida is perhaps not a bottleneck.

James B

When deer populations are high like they are in my unit, you must harvest doe even if the are already carrying thei young. If the population gets much higher, they will be destroyed for causing to much damage to crops and haystacks. Also desease will take its toll if population gets to high. Mother Nature will even things out if hunters do not.

TOPDAWGWOOFWOOF

Thanks for those 2 intelligent responses, guys. I concur with each of you and feel comfortable about taking does even with 2 weekends left.

The doe had 2 fawns with her, but I have watched that same doe and fawns all season and they are not depending on her. They just followed her all over the place. I have watched the young ones grow, watched them eat wheat and oats we planted, and I gave my friend the "OK" to go ahead with the harvest. The doe needed to be taken and was a healthy deer. Must take the adult does in our area in order for herd balance.

As a side note, we have seen a great difference in rut activity and bucks sighted since we got the property and started harvesting does and letting young bucks walk. We are about 5 or 6 years into a pretty good program and it was a lot of fun watching bucks chase does this fall. I had rarely seen that in season's past.

Thanks guys!

buckhunter14

I don't know if this is the case, but in many northern areas people are begining to shoot WAY to many does. It is absolutely out of hand in my mind and isn't the "only" option for the deer herd. This is in Northern areas. I have no experience with southern areas and again this is JMO....

superstrutter

I personally don't like to shoot does after the rut, but that's just me. I'm not offended in any way if somenoe else does. That is their choice. I like to take my does in October with my bow and muzzleloader. Once gun season opens I'm pretty much buck hunting. I'm not saying I wouldn't shoot a doe in gun season but I try not to. I do agree that you must take some does.

cardeer

Like abortion ,sorta

timbercruiser

Not sure what part of North Florida you are in, but in the panhandle area they are just now in the rut. In early season most of the does have very small spotted fawns with them that won't survive on their own, so there is not necessarily a good time to harvest does unless it is late in the hunting season.

3Ddepression

The fawns are my only concern here. A large part of our harvest isfawns but shooting their doe is a real taboo.I shot a fawn that came alone this season, and it weighed only half of what itnormally would have. I guess that fawns would havelearned enough survival skills this late in the winter, andsaving doesis perhaps in large a matter of tradition.

Is it mating season now? Id thought the fawns were to be born in late spring so that they´d have a good summer ahead of them. When are the whitetail fawnsborn?
Whendo whitetailreject their fawn? Is it when new ones are born?

kevin1

Pow ! Does taste the best .
The county I live inrecently raised the bag limit on them to 8 , next year I plan to take as many as I can .