First of all I am very new to bow hunting, not hunting, just bow hunting. I have noticed in the show, a few times guys are shooting does with fawns trailing them. Is this a good practice? Seems to me that the fawns would have a rough road ahead of them w/o mother. Maybe they will be just fine, but I would like to see what everyone thinks or knows about this.
Most mature does will have little ones especially early in the season. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't have any. I try to not shoot does that have little ones with spots. If I see a big fat mature doe early in the season and I don't see any little ones with her, I will probably shoot one for some meat in the freezer. If I see a little one with her I will give her a pass.
As this being only second year of bowhunting I've asked and talked about and researched this question more then anything else. The conclusion I've come to is based on your overall goals. I live and hunt in Kentucky which means I'm able to hunt as early as September 5th, which also means 90% of the does that have fawns have spots and the majority of the doe population does have fawns. At the end of the day what I want most is the best thing for the herd which means balancing out the adult sex ratio and reducing mouths on the food plots to increase the amount of forage for the big boys come later winter. It really sucks to think about killing a quote unquote mom to leave her quote unquote baby as a sitting duck for predators but at the end of the day that's part of life, as stickthrower said just because you don't see the fawn with them doesn't mean they don't have any. I found myself in this exact situation October 1st of this year and with her were twin button bucks, I shot the mature doe and just last week ive got trail cam photos of the same pair of twin button bucks doing just fine.
The Spots "rule" is a pretty good one. If the fawns make it to hunting season, they are no longer dependent on the doe for nourishment even though they are still traveling with them.
I have friends that would shoot the fawns because they are a more tender meat. I myself would shoot the doe if the herd was at it's carrying capacity and I want to keep the herd healthy. If I need more deer in the herd, I don't shoot does for any reason but that's just me.
I typically look the shoot does with two button bucks. My thinking is that she will eventually push them out of the area so they don't try to breed meaning two less bucks that will stick around the area. But if they don't have spots they should be just fine most of the time they will find other deer to stick around!
I follow the "spot rule" as well. When bowhunting, sometimes you shoot the doe and the fawn sticks around . Best of both worlds if it fits the management program. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk