Doe vs little buck rant
 

Just got back tonight from a little hunting trip up in the Steamboat area and feel I have to rant a bit. After a unsuccesful (harvest anyway) elk/deer muzzleloader hunt I went and picked up a leftover doe tag for the area. I hunt on private land, and there are 6 other guy who were hunting the same land all with either sex tags. I shot a nice fat mulie doe on Thurday night and was talking to all the guys that night and they all said that they wouldn' t take a doe since they were waiting for there buck.

Today (saturday) I strolled into there camp and they had 3 bucks hanging up, all little, a spike and 2 little fork horns. So the conversation change eventually to " I shot a buck, you shot a doe, my deer is better than yours. My point has always been that I would rather shoot a doe than a little buck. I was pretty much ridiculed for beening a doe killer. The same thing happens on the land that I hunt back in Wisconsin. My party (4 of us) does some hunting on land of a friend, and the guys that also that hunt there won' t shoot does, but will shoot every buck that is legal. I really don' t get it.

I don' t have a problem with people shooting little bucks, I' ve done it myself. But I dont' get people now adays who are still stuck in the bucks are the only deer you should shoot.

End of rant, sorry

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

I agree with you. A doe is very good eating and I like good venison. A big buck may not chew quite as well but you can hang his head on the wall. A small buck comes in third place. It doesn' t eat quite as good as the doe and you aren' t going to have it mounted.

I can understand that in some areas bucks don' t ever get real big and there are lots of hunters and short seasons. This is where fellows say " any deer is a trophy" .

There are lots of deer and a fair number of big bucks here in Alberta. There are relatively few hunter seriously chasing big bucks here. I have a couple of doe permits and I hope to fill them early in the season then hunt for a big buck or maybe take another doe with my general permit on the last day.

Robin

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

Then those guys will wonder why all they can get in that area are forkhorns and spikes... Those little bucks hanging on the pole won' t grow to be any bigger!

There are only two types of deer I will shoot... one that will hang on the wall, and a verified doe (not a button buck!).

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

The people you mentioned have some pretty distorted thinking. Don' t let it bother you, because obviously they have a few screws loose.

Where I live/hunt, it is bucks only so quite a few young bucks get shot every year. There' s nothing wrong with that, and most people are more concerned with filling the freezer than bagging a trophy. But degrading another hunter for shooting a doe where it is legal is just plain stupid. I would also prefer to shoot a doe over a small buck if it were legal to do so. If a hunter chooses to shoot a small buck and they have fun doing so, then good for them! Same for choosing to shoot a doe. Nobody should consider themselves better than another hunter simply because of the deer they choose to shoot. It is a matter of personal preference.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

I just like putting meat in the freezer. Usually the doe comes first because they are more plentiful. I' d love to have a trophy rack mounted someday but to be honest if it' s legal it' s going in my freezer. :D

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

With all of the scientific data that is published nowadays and all of the deer management articles that have been published, it is my opinion that any individuals who still feel that way are uneducated and ignorant.
Try not to let them bother you and be proud of the decisions that you make.
Take care...

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

what part of wisconsin do you hunt i hunt near antigo. i think it is better to shoot an adult doe because if you let a small buck go, next year it will be a bigger buck and for the most part a does meat is better for eating because they do not go through as much stress during the rut and they dont have muscles that bulge.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

Hey GBhunter, I hunt over by Ladysmith when I' m in Wisconsin. The place that I' m talking about is a private square mile and they have great genetics and nutrition for there deer. We (my group) always see/shot atleast one good buck a year off of that land. I' ve always felt that if those guys would lay off the young deer that the area could easily create a fantastic herd there, but they just can' t let the little ones pass.

The guys that I' m talking about are also all older (50' s-60' s) and it' s just the way they think. It really drives me nuts

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

I am a meat hunter.I will won' t hesitate to shoot a doe.Sure a big buck on the wall is very nice to see but like everybody says they don' t taste as good as a doe.My buddy gets on to me about shooting does and I tell him you have to or you will have way to many.Besides do you know anybody that has a good recipe for antlers.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

When I was a kid people went nutso when they started to allow does to be shot! Everyone was saying, " The insurance companys wanted all the deer dead!" " We aren' t going to have any deer left." " It only takes one buck to breed all the does." ect, ect.

Now we have more deer in Texas than ever before! Oh how things have changed.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

We still have that problem up here, that is why are ratio' s(buck too doe) are so screwed up. I' ld rather see someone take a mature doe then a baby buck why not give the animal a chance to grow, and maybe even have off spring of its own? Some people and laws are wierd, and really make a person wonder why things are like they are. You did nothing wrong, you hunted legal and have nothing to be ashamed of. Morally I believe you might have been more correct, like someone said those dead bucks won' t get any bigger.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

Those little bucks are the dummest deer in the woods.

Don' t let em bother you - a dinker is always a dinker:D

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

Man, I' m with you on this. I will shoot a nice doe over a dink buck EVERY TIME. Last year, I ended the season with all does because the only bucks that offered me shots were dinks. Inform these other hunters that they' re killing all the " seed" bucks for future years and that if they continue to do so, they won' t have big bucks around to shoot in the future. I will continue to pass on the small bucks, saving my buck tags for the big, mature hawgs, but I know that the guy over the hill will probably kill the buck I just passed on.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

I do belive you' re correct in your thinking Jorgy. I would shoot a doe anyday befor I' d shoot a small buck. When I was younger I shot a couple of small bucks. Now that the ice is broken it' s time to be picky. In Maine it' s bucks only unless you' re drawn for a doe permit which leads to the shooting of a lot of small bucks. I wish they would open it up on does and let the bucks grow to trophy size. It sucks to know you let a six or small eight walk just for someone else to shoot it a week later. I guess that is the diffrence between SPORTSMAN or not.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

For years in my hunting area you had a hard time getting a doe tag because of all of the close-minded senior hunters forcing the game commission to hold down the antlerless allocation because the " she deer were the ones that kept the herd numbers stable." Now here in north central PA the deer numbers have climbed substantially since the GC started giving out lots more doe tags!
For years, if you wanted to put ANY venison in the freezer you HAD to shoot a small scrub buck ' cause that' s the only kind of buck there was and doe tags were precious as hens teeth.
I haven' t killed a buck in a couple years, but I normally fill the freezer with an antlerless license or two! My buck tags are reserved for wall hangers only!:D

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

There are those who understand and appreciate herd management and those that don' t. All we can do is educate those who want to know more about increasing the quality of the herd and therefore, their hunting. " Tag soup" tastes better to me than " I wish he was bigger chili" . I also beg someone to argue that taking a mature doe, especially when she is around other deer, isn' t more of a challenge than taking a rut crazed young buck.

RE: Doe vs little buck rant
 

Let it run off your back, taking a mature doe is more of an accomplishment than taking young uneducated buck any day. Not to mention it is good solid heard management, trophy management and tastes better on the table to boot. Horns laying in the shed or garage are just that no need in killing a potentially good sized buck just to say and puff your chest at taking a buck. He wether your a meat hunter or trophy hunter is really besides the point, any hunter who practices DM is to be commended and realize the impact and effect our decisions to have on game.

You did good, they are the ones who should be feeling bad and disappointed in their zest to fill atag with a immature animal which offers no challenge or benefit to the herd for future hunts and generations to come[:@]