RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

When you clarified and said 7 month old deer then it sounds better, that is a yearling.. I call any deer over about 4 months old as a yearling. Fawns are (to me) spotted or recently spotted little deer.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

A yearling is an animal between one year of age and two years of age. A 7 month old deer is a fawn. You can call a 4 month old fawn a yearling if you want to, but I don't know a deer manager in this country who calls a 4 month old deer anything other than what it is, a fawn.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I agree with KoBear if it's legal and it is not going to waste shoot it grill it and enjoy.I would never shoot a deer with spots but I have shot a few young deer and enjoyed the meat very much.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I would shoot the fawns hell thay taste better but yeah there the frist to die up hear in the north plus it takes one less mouth off your land to help the outher deer make it past the winter plus if that gets bread it will keep getting having smaller and smaller fawns

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Let the fawns grow.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

everyone says "fawns are the best meat", the classic way to church up shooting a bambi. all the bucks i shoot seem to have tender meat. a good rule of thumb is if its smaller than your dog...DONT SHOOT

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

ahh shut up kill the fawns they taste good, just no button bucks. There is no difference in my oppinion if you kill the fawn now or wait till its older its still a doe!

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

you are my new best friend!!! lmao so many people are sayin shoot them who cares, their the first to die, but it doesnt matter!!!!!!! let them freakin grow!!!!!

"everyone says "fawns are the best meat", the classic way to church up shooting a bambi. all the bucks i shoot seem to have tender meat. a good rule of thumb is if its smaller than your dog...DONT SHOOT" (ReDoT)

i am agreeing 100% with both of you!! i stopped coming to this thread because just from reading this i feel bad for the fawns......you can call me soft or what ever, but imagine if you were a Doe and you were with your fawn, and then the fawn gets shot, then what??? if everybody get into the habbit of killing young deer because they taste good, then the population with decrease rapidly what ever thats my opinion idc what you think
goodluck and dont shoot the small deer!!!lol

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

A question for those opposed to shooting fawns: Are you opposed to eating veal and lamb also? Or is it a “macho” thing to not shoot fawns? The only reason I’ve seen for not shooting fawns is the false argument that it will negatively impact the herd.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Whats a deer manager?

What are the qualifications?

What are the certifications?

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Man, I was on my way to the hunt yesterday morning (in the dark) thinking about getting a tasty fawn.. and then next thing I know I had to hit the brakes because there was a fawn in the road. I could have knocked it over with my car, but couldnt do it.

I wound up shooting a nice doe that morning. I am not saying I would not shoot a fawn.. maybe if it was my first chance to get meat for the season. It is not easy to hunt public land.. I have never bagged more than one in a season. Since I have already gotten one I think I would pass on a fawn the rest of the season.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Just my opinion, but we have a small section of woods in front of the house. It is home to two doe and three fawns. We don't disturb them. Next year, maybe.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I've taken does that were pretty small on 2 occasions. Both last days of the season with nothing to show for it. I took them and didn't feel real great about it but knew I had meat in the freezer and was doing some good to thin our deer populus. The previous poster that mentioned taking "spotted deer" being illegal is not the case here in WI. Per WI DNR:

Note:

open deer season, however, to keep the antlers or spotted hide the hunter must

contact a Warden within 7 days of tagging the deer and request written authorization.

The spotted hide and velvet antlers may not be sold or transferred to another

person. Albino and white deer may not be harvested without prior written authorization

from the DNR (albino and white deer may be harvested and possessed in the

CWD DEZ,

the DNR within 7 days of tagging the deer to obtain a Possession Authorization

Receipt to retain possession of the deer).

No. I would likely pass on anything that had spots.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I'll never shoot a moma doe with her little ones again. To many times the little ones stay bout 40 yards away from thier mom waiting for her to get up. It's almost sad.

So I'll shoot a yearling now. The mature doe will not stick around and the other yearling that was with here will follow the mature doe. Easier to drag, clean butcher and they taste better.

OR

If you see a Doe with 2 button bucks, you best be killing the doe. Those bucks won't get booted off of thier home area with the mother dead and you'll have 2 more bucks hanging around the next year.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

[/align][align=left][/align][align=left]Don't know about other states, but it is illegal to take spotted fawns in Louisiana, any day.[/align][align=left][/align]

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

That is also what I would do, but what's the story about the bucks not getting booted off? Do the does run the bucks off?

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Yep. It is designed to reduce inbreeding. The mother doe will run off a male offspring eventually.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I took a doe this year without seeing the fawn. Where I hunt if the winter doesn't getthe fawnsthen the wolves will they don't have the mental ability to survive on their own. If I would have had another tag I would have shot the fawn too because it wouldn't go away. I'm gonna try avoiding that situation as often as possible because it's pretty sad. Hopefully my neighbors will be lookin for a tasty fawn this year cuz they're good meat hunters.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

its not that i think shooting fawns isend of the world( i dont like it tho), i just take pride in knowing thati can pass deer up as well, not shooting the first thing that walks by. some people shoot @ anything that moves.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I’m not talking about shooting anything. I'm talking about passing on does and lesser bucks, and taking the prize meat of a young deer.

And if we are in the position to keep the herd healthy because the natural predators can no longer do the job. What sense does it make to take the strongest of the herd; the older does and the biggest bucks? Isn’t taking the smaller, weaker members of the herd the best for the overall herd?

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Most reponsible hunters will take the appropiate shot. A doe with a fawn behind is not it. I have yet to see a fawn tag and am opposed to taking them. If you feel this is the best way to manage the herd and removing fawns ( spotted young ) is necesary in your area, then by all means shoot away. It simply is not in mine. We are stewards, we have a responsibilty to maintain our resources. I have seen the argument about car kills, wolve kills and starvation. None hold water where I am from. Take only legaly sanctioned bucks and does and leave the rest to grow.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

The big doe I shot Thursday was still lactating, but the doe with her was big enough to be considered grown. If I had seen the smaller doe alone, I wouldn't have guessed her to still be nursing.

In Louisiana it is illegal to shoot a spotted fawn, but if it's legal where you are, it's your tag to fill.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Just a personal thing, actually the wayI was brought up. I do not shoot fawns nor do I shoot does with fawns. I have no quams with others doing so though.

As far as quality of meat, the best deer on average for me has been dry does. Though I must admit I have ate some very tasty mature bucks as well. The worst wt was actually a yearling doe I shot a number of years ago in early bow season.

I never read all the post so i am sure this has been adressed already but fawns are suppose to have the set skills or ability to survive alone once their spots have turned.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I’m not sure how people are relating 7 month old fawns as “spotted fawns”. I don’t know if there is a deer season that is active April, May, June? But by the time Michigan’s deer season starts, there are no “spotted fawns”. If you did see a spotted fawn in Michigan in October or later, you can bet you are looking at a deer that will be killed by the Michigan winter.

I’m not sure how I would react to a “spotted fawn” if I saw it in November? The logical thing would be to take it, but there is definitely an emotional cringe factor to doing so.

And just an update: I had a large doe with 2 fawns (button, and doe) with her under my stand Monday. 20 yard shot on the large doe and button buck were available, but I wanted fawn doe! She never gave me a clean shot… so I still don’t have my fawn meat.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I have no qualms about shooting a fawn, but I would never pass up a doe to shoot the fawn. The only times I'll shoota fawn is if it comes through alone, or in a rifle hunting situation where I can't really tell how big the deer is, or ina rifle huntingsituation involving running deerand I didn't have time to be selective.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

The problem with shooting a fawn that is by itself is that it is usually male fawns that travel alone.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

I wouldn't shoot a fawn with spots, but speak for yourself on the "This is not 1880 where we hunt to survive. This is 2007 where we hunt for sport".
I beg to differ. I am disabled with disk disease, nerve damage, and possible MS. I have been fighting for Disabilty Social Security for over 3 years. I am not eligible for food stamps because of a pot conviction I got when I was an ignorant teenager 20 years ago. If it was not for hunting, I honestly believe I wouldn't survive. The main source of meat I have in my freezer and I eat almost everyday comes from the deer, squirrels, rabbits, etc. , that I harvest during the winter months. I have been so hungry I have eaten raccoon and possum. I think you are more than a little bit "off base" with your "witty" assumptions!! I am lucky I can still crawl into the woods. You might be surprized what you would do if you where in that position.

chris

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

WHACK 'EM AND STACK 'EM!:D

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

fawn meat tastes much better hands down. JMO.... I would rather shoot a young one to a large doe any day just for meat... but typically, I buck hunt.

RE: Shooting Fawns?
 

Sorry to bust your balls like this. But where I live a deer of any age is legal. Not everyone lives in Texas. It sounds like you may need to get out they house and go do some hunting or something. JMO

chris