Can you? I say yes...does it happen a lot nope. Shoot I think it would be tough to completely wipe out a doe population, unless your initials are EHD.
Painting with a broad brush here, but I think the idea of exterminating does like most TV shows talk about is foolish. Take a couple for the freezer, sure. But for the average hunter, on average ground, taking 5 or 6 does, per hunter, isn't a wise thing. JMHO.
Yes, it can. Game management is not about shooting as many as possible, it is about shooting enough animals to reach the carrying capapcity of the management area.
I think it depends on the total population of deer per square mile and the available forage. Where I hunt up north, there are very few opportunities to shoot a doe (bow only most places and a handful allow a muzzleloader for a very limited season, no rifles though). It's generally frowned upon by the guys in northern zone to even kill one with a bow. These are places though with 5 or less deer per square mile and absolutely no agriculture or mast producing trees, all they eat is briars and anything leafy and green they can reach. In a lot of the midwest areas though, or even at my old camp in PA.........I think it would be really hard to kill too many does. We whacked 3-5 does a year off my place in PA every year and never saw a blip in the total population. Heck I think Jeff (GMMAT) killed something like 11 in a year at his place that one year and never saw a population change. IMHO, if you are seeing 2 year old does without fawns on your property at all.........you have too many does.
I hunted a property a number of years ago, the neighbor decided to get ag tags. He had like 60 acres maybe 10 acres wooded not really any bedding area. The first year 9 does 6 the next. That coupled with us and other neighbors shooting some does. Definitely put a big dent in the population IMO. For the next few season doe sighting were way down. The landscape in that area consisted of 50/50 woods/cover and ag. So yes you can shoot too many does IMO.
During a rifle season about 5 years ago our group harvested 5 does opening weekend. Not wasteful, everyone just got freezer meat. The next season we collectively only seen 2 deer the entire 9 day gun season. This is in central forest land in Wisconsin. Not saying this is the exact reason but it could have been part of it. Very high gun hunting pressure area.
Simple questions ...simple answer YES!! For example in Southern Columbia county NY( 4Y and 4Z)...go hunt there now compared to 10 years ago.
We take a lot of does off the property I hunt, 10 or more a year between us. And have not seen a bit of drop off in numbers. But the deer population here is out of control.
I believe it is possible. At my place the is a drastic lack of does. I have been watching this for three years now. Their numbers are not increasing. Without going into a lot of detail, here are my trail cam numbers for this year. Antlerless: 3 adult does and 2 fawns all year long and sometimes 2 does from neighboring properties will visit. Bucks: Most of the year there were 11 antlered bucks around most of the time. As the rut approached, that number more than doubled. I've got picks of at least 25 different bucks. Three years ago there were at least 5 does around all the time and for the last 2 years there has only been 3 does. This is why I took the buck for meat...... I can't afford to shoot my does. I'm trying to get more does around but it doesn't happen over night.
yes, it is possible. if you ever hunted wisconsin in the 90's and then now after a couple years of bs earn a buck, you would know that you can shoot too many deer. problem is that all the neighbors and the guys that hunt the public land next to my lease ***** about no deer, yet they drive every day of gun season and shoot anything. morons
Happened at a family camp just inside the camp. We had access to over 500 acres (all private). A year after Muzzle loader opened up here we went from shooting 7-8 deer a year to 2-3. Now the last time we shot a deer there was 2009. All the surrounding camps in a the 3000 acres blasted all the does away in muzzle loader and the population plummeted.
