Some fawns can reproduce .. hence the Dec 1st hunt or the 2nd rutQuote:
Originally Posted by Quack_Kills
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Some fawns can reproduce .. hence the Dec 1st hunt or the 2nd rutQuote:
Originally Posted by Quack_Kills
I agree, except I would go to the point of saying only bucks and fawns with buttons, a female fawn this year becomes 2 deer next year.Quote:
Originally Posted by justinmch
Mind you all this may change on the last day; but so far all does and fawns have walked by me.
There's nothing wrong with shooting fawns. I really don't understand the shame (or shaming) that seems to follow shooting them. Some of the fawns that I've shot stand out in my memory more so than anything else, big bucks included.
One was my first "Northern deer", running full tilt in front of the dogs. It was with a doe but I only had time to get the sights on the deer in the lead, which ended up being the fawn. In that particular camp, I think it was only the 4th time I had ever actually seen a live deer. Pretty sure I was 21 and that was probably my 10th year of "hunting" for the week of rifle season. The first few years were just sitting on the watch with my Dad. I had shot other deer around home by then but your first "Northern deer" is a special one.
Another was about 5 years ago. It was public land, heavily pressured, two weeks of rifle season and one week of ML season had already passed. The deer were almost entirely nocturnal. I had set up bait and a really well-hidden ground blind 30 yards away. The way things were set up, I only wanted to open one window in the blind. I spent many hours over many days staring out that one little window when finally, in the last hour of daylight near the end of December, a deer stepped out to the bait. 30 yards is my maximum comfortable distance with a crossbow but I made a good shot. When I found the deer, I realized that it was a button buck. I thought it was a doe when I pulled the trigger but I had worked pretty hard for that deer and I was just as happy with the fawn.
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that if makes you happy and it's legal, shoot a fawn and be proud of your accomplishment. If you take no satisfaction in shooting a fawn, then don't. If you want to pass and extend your season in hopes of tagging a bigger deer, then do it. But all of this talk of "managing the herd" as hunters is pretty unrealistic. Unless you're talking about large tracts of private land, passing on legal deer in the spirit of management is only creating an opportunity for the next guy when that deer hops the fence to the next property, or wanders a couple of hundred yards across crown land into another guy's setup.
Shoot what makes you happy. Save the management decisions for those who get paid for it.
Good post GW11
x10. No shame what so ever in taking a fawn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilroy
A fawn is a legal deer and nobody should be ashamed of killing one. Right now our herd at the camp is beyond depressed so we don't even shoot does and likely won't for the next 5 years. But if our numbers were up we would take them. I won't shoot a doe with a fawn but would not hesitate to take a fawn. The doe likely will give at least one fawn the next year and possibly 2 fawns. The fawn if it survives the winter usually won't produce a fawn itself. The fawn will consume as much "scarce" winter feed as a fawn producing doe. This whole macho gotta kill a trophy buck mentality will be the end of hunting. I blame Wildtv for this mentality where they only shoot well fed and protected private land deer.
From my perspective it actually helps in depressed area's. ie: We had a guy leave our camp to go to another camp because we weren't 'serious' hunters. At his new camp he went into a drought for the next 5 yrs without killing a deer because he could only shot 'Trophy' Bucks (camp rules). He ended his dry spell last year when he thinks a young 4 point he passed on a couple of yrs back developed into a nice 8 point (the camp minimum) so it was OK to shoot.Quote:
Originally Posted by terrym
As a result of that camps rules...a rather large area where it's located, the doe/fawn population goes untouched, this makes excellent hunting on the surrounding properties. Even the not ready to shot bucks wander away during the rut, less competition, and they get gladly hunted by other locals.
Unless of course Terry you meant, the controversy surrounding the whole concept of Trophy Hunting will be the end of hunting, then I agree...the YubeTube videos will eventually see our privileges withdrawn.
Well said terry. I haven't even applied for an antlerless tag for at least 5 years. Prior to that I had several I didn't use that I had ample opportunities to fill. Maybe if the herd rebounds well I may use one somewhere down the road.Quote:
Originally Posted by terrym
I also have no qualms tagging a fawn, easy to handle alone, easier on the herd, and quite tender and tasty.
Yes that's what I mean. Harvesting only bucks from a population standpoint will increase the herd, not what I'm getting at. Look everybody is entitled to their own reasons for hunting but this growing trend of looking down on hunters who kill does and fawns will only help the anti hunters who show trophy hunting as a negative thing. I actually don't think trophy hunting is bad at all but it shouldn't make the rest fell like they are doing something negative for shooting tasty young deer.
Given a choice as I had last year between doe and fawn, I'll take the fawn every time if the shot is good. They do taste the best IMO.