coyote#68

I agree kill some of those fawns,look them over before you stick them you can usually tell if they are bucks,if they are just sit and enjoy the sight and if it's a doe fawn,stick it and later on you can sit and enjoy the back straps,if you dont want to shot them then eat a salad,it would be much better with tender venison back straps.I see several good bucks on my farms every year,but I limit out on does and fawns and wait for a goodbuck to fill my buck tag.And as I said in a earlier post they will survive,I have seen it happen year after year.it's called management,fawns dont breed but grown does do,so I kill two fawns to every doe that I take and this leaves two does without little ones to be bred.

Robert L E

Up in Michigan fawns may not breed but in farm country, like Iowa, a doe fawn will usually give birth to her own fawn at about age 13 months. Adult does it thier prime almost always have twins and triplets are quite common.

Fawns can often be pushing 100 pounds and if you do not have a real good look they can be mistaken for adult does. At the begining of the season close to half of the deer in the field in Iowa are fawns.

I advocate shooting them if you are in a surplus population situation. They do taste good, almost like venison veal. I do try to pass on fawns that look like buttons but I don't worry about it too much. I definately pass on young deer that are obviously bucks (like spikes).

Bob

hatcher88

well when I say "fawn" i mean with spots...when they loose their spots i call them yearlings...i dunno maybe its just a term used in the south but shooting a spotted fawn where I hunt is illegal...and we dont have to worry about harsh winters so I look forward to what they will become...not the grocery bag full of meat that you would get off of them...so i would rather shoot 1 larger doe than 2 small does

bryant1

I agree.I just couldn't shoot the yearlings, but it is just my preference not to. I am not try to judge those who do. I would rather shoot old does, when i use to shoot them at all.

Western MA Hunter

I have never shot a mother with spotted fawn... by the time bow season rolls around here, none have spots left.
I will never hesitate to shoot a mother w/ little ones.

coyote#68

if you aim for a certain spot then you can be more accurate with your arrow placement,and they are a lot easier to pack out of the woods when they only weigh about 50lbs or so

RockinChair

On the contrary, doe fawns do breed. Usually in mid-late December the doe fawns will come into heat and will be bred.

USNRETHunter

The fawns will survive and I have taken a doe with fawns, as Robert L E indicated, here in central Iowa, the fawns will likely be having their own fawns the following Spring, and we have many antlerless tags available here.

Something to keep in mind though. After you shoot the doe, the fawns just may hang around and bleat for mama for awhile. Be sure you can mentally handle it. I wouldn't encourage a youth hunter to do it. Yeah, yeah, I can see the responses now ("If you can't handle it, stay out of the woods", "That's what hunting's about.", "Grow some sack", blah blah)...I'm just saying....

mnbirddog

I've shot several does with fawns, and on more than one occasion I saw what I presumed were the very same fawns running around later in the fall. One thing I can say, is that a lone fawn (or a pair) are not near as smart as their mother, so I would expect the mortality rate to increase; very significantly increase if hunter densities are high. As far as knowing what that might do to the herd, I wouldn't expect it to be any different than shooting any other doe.

halfrack VIII

THEY SHOULD IF YOU DONT HAVE HARD WINTERS