Taking does with fawns

[Bitmap]

I was out last week and saw two different whitetail does, each with two fawns. They were weaned but still following their moms around like little kids, watching and learning.

I can take two whitetail does but didn't shoot either of those. My thinking is that the fawns, even though they were nearly grown, still had a lot to learn about survival from their mother.

Am I wrong about that? Should I shoot a doe that still has last years fawns following their mom around or should I not?

[hogdogs]

I can't vote! I go both ways on this call and not only the hollow freezer is important to me... If the doe is a little scrawny gal she may be weak in genetics and needs culled just like a buck and if she is a honkin huge slob doe she is packin a ton of meat around. If the fawns are obviously big enough to wean then I may make a tougher quarry out of that fawn if he hears a boom and momma falls over dead... Tough call I can only make when I see her and the young..
Brent

[simonkenton]

I won't shoot a doe with fawns.

[leadcounsel]

The ethics of hunting is to kill ethically and to kill only what you can eat/use and nothing more.

By killing a doe with fawns will likely result in the fawns not surviving.

[fisherman66]

Any of the three will do. A yearling is equipped with the tools of survival and it will still belong with the gregarious group of does with yearlings. If I see a doe with three yearlings I will take one of the young to take some of the stress of the mother. Veniveal is plastic fork tender.

[sureshots]

Since you could have killed both Does it don't sound as if they were very good teachers for the fawns. My advice to you is, if you need the MEAT fire away, if you don't, let them walk.

[Brian Pfleuger]

By killing a doe with fawns will likely result in the fawns not surviving.

At least in my area this is only true if they get themselves shot. There are few, if any, natural predators and fawns still nursing during hunting season are rare indeed. The vast majority no longer need their mother for survival, beyond learning to stay away from hunters which, if I'm deciding whether or not to shoot HER, they are obviously not learning well anyway.

[Bitmap]

I may make a tougher quarry out of that fawn if he hears a boom and momma falls over dead...

A couple of years ago a nice plump doe came out of the trees near me and I shot her. The her fawn came out of the trees, saw her running and followed her. I hadn't realize the fawn was there. I sort of had to shoo the little one away when I got to the doe. The next morning a big buck came out of almost the same spot in the trees and there was that fawn following the buck.

If I see a doe with three yearlings I will take one of the young to take some of the stress of the mother.

I wondered about adoption. In at least one case both fawns seemed to belong to the doe because the doe had a bunch of black hair on her head and in a stripe down her back to the tip of her tail and both fawns had the same mark. The other doe and fawns were just plain reddish brown all over like I would expect a whitetail to be.

BTW I chose not to shoot any of them. I'm hoping to meet up with them again in a few years.

[ZeroJunk]

In this area it is rare for a doe not to have fawns, whether you see them or not. The rut tends to get them scattered around a bit. I have passed on a doe during bow season because the fawns were simply to young. But, even if you do kill the doe the fawn's biggest enemy in this area is a car.

[JonnyReb]

Can't do it...

[kayakersteve]

The fact of the matter is that if a doe has a fawn late in the season, the fawn will likely not survive the winter either way - With or without its mommy. I dont typically shoot a doe with a young deer, but if my freezer were empty and it was the end of season....Hmm - Take the doe or if I have two permits, take them both! (just kidding about both!)

[BeCoole]

Does chase away buck fawns when the rut starts to prevent the little runts from trying to breed them.

Ever wonder why every time you see a lone fawn it's a buck? Or why when you see a group of fawns, they are all bucks? I read a study that concluded because of this that if you wanted to increase the number of bucks in your area, the best thing you could do was shoot the does.

The reason being is that fawns are stupid little creatures without a lot of experience. When the does drive them away, they are driven into unfamiliar territory and they don't have any of the hiding places that their mother's showed them before they were expelled. This greatly increases the likelyhood that they will fall victim to hunters, predators, and autos.

So, if you want to increase the survival rate of young bucks, kill the does.
The fawns will survive.

[wpcexpert]

By killing a doe with fawns will likely result in the fawns not surviving.

This late in the season??? No way. We aren't talking about fawns still draggind the placenta. By now, they are 5-6 months old. They aren't fawns anymore, we coincider them yearlings. They will be just fine. If that were the case, with as many folks that do shoot the doe, deer numbers wouldn't be steady climbing.

I'll shoot the doe everytime. By now, they are nothing but smaller, younger, more tasty deer.

Like someone else said about the yearling bucks, they still seem to survive. But the reason behind killing the doe wasn't for the safety of the buck. The primise behind killing the doe with a yearling buck is so the buck will stay in your area. Yearling bucks have been tracked up 17-18 miles from their birthplace after weening from mamma. The average was like two miles that they traveled away. So, most of the bucks that are on your property, may have never been born there. They have come from surrounding areas.

[texfar]

For me it depends on what stage of fawn it is. We need to occasionaly thin out does' here to keep the numbers down. Our climate here is not bad in comparison to other places so weather is not a problem and they travel around for the most part in herds. If the fawn is out of spots and good sized, I will consider shooting the doe, but most of the time I find does without fawns. Depends on the year too. Changes all the time around here for what ever the reason.

[garryc]

I've shot the doe in this situation, and I've shot both the doe and the yearling too. I see no ethical problem. Just like I will shoot a female ground hog with a rifle then her little ones with a pistol, them little one eat pretty good.

[Art Eatman]

Opinions: If you have so many deer that "thinning" is needed, the deer have pretty much become "rats with hooves". When culling, you take whatever's handy. About the only ethics involve the usual clean kill and butchering.

When actually hunting, I generally prefer to pass on a doe that has fawns still hanging around. If there are enough does around that it's appropriate to shoot one, there's most likely one or more without fawns...

[indy245]

It's a judgement call for me as well. This year I shot a doe then her fawn stood up out of the tall grass. I would have passed had I seen that the fawn was there, the fawn looked real small. In our area when you get a doe draw they add two licenses for a total of three tags, deer are numerous in our area.

I would prefer to take a doe without a fawn but I will shoot one that has a fawn if I feel that it is a good kill.



Indy.

[texfar]

Art, that puts it more in in line with my thinking and is, just not put that way.

[Kreyzhorse]

I would pass on taking the shot. Ethically, I think its the right thing to do.

However, as Art mentioned, if the heard needs to be culled, it needs to be culled and I have no issue if any one took a doe that had a fawn.

[ken22250]

by the time hunting season is in, the does are old enough to survive on thier own, and usually another doe will "adopt" the fawn.
ken

[texfar]

What I will note is that with our mild winters or whatever, you will see spotted fawns nearly all year long. Buck will mate whenever possible. Familiar???? Rut is different.
Ken

[ZeroJunk]

As usual there is no one size fits all that will work for all areas. Here in NC the number of does in heat will peak about the first half of November, if they are not successfully bred they will come in heat again in December. So, you can have fawns in the fall that are a month or more younger than others. If they still have spots in bow season they were part of the second rut. Regardless, their chance of survival is excellent with or without the doe. Hunters don't want to kill the little critters and the winter is not going to get them. And yes, if the next twenty years is anything like the last twenty we are on a collision course with over population. There was about forty in a ten acre bean field about a mile from the house last night. If I decide not to take a doe with a fawn it is for sentimental reasons and I don't try to make any logic out of it.

[Crankylove]

Even if it is the last day of the hunt and my freezer is empty, I won't shoot a doe with a fawn, or a cow with a calf. Partly due to how I was taught when hunting with my grandpa, and partly, I guess I don't want to shoot the momma when she is still caring for her young.

[sserdlihc]

I have let countless does walk when followed by fawns. Great ethical call on your part!

[kingudaroad]

A fawn is not a yearling, but many a yearling will still follow around with the momma. I will not shoot a doe with a fawn, but won't hesitate to shoot one with a yearling hanging around.