I go with the biggest one in the bunch when shooting for me. I don't really care about age these days. Every time I try and shoot what I think is an older one, she picks me off, LOL
IMO, that would be a little past "mature", Bruce. But hey, everyone has their own taste when it comes to the ladies.
Sorry, just having a little fun. For me, once they are out of spots they are all mature enough to shoot.
Age plays a role for me sometimes. I would not have shot a calf elk if given the chance. Depending on where I am hunting and how big it is, sometimes I will shoot a big “fawn”. (6 month old) I will always shoot a normal sized 1.5 old doe. If given a choice of several does under me I will try to shoot the biggest, unless another one that isnt that much smaller gives me a shot first.
Generally, anything 1.5 or older is good with me, if I know a particular doe, it might change as well.
If possible I try to shoot 1 1/2 year old does. I think they are the most tender and tasty deer in the woods. They're not that hard to tell from a fawn or older does.
Troy, Does herd dynamics play any role in your decisions? I read an article somewhere that stated wolves were ripping part younger animals wherever they have been reintroduced. If that's the case, I would tend to let younger animals walk and target more advanced aged animals. Am I wrong thinking this way? I went back and dug up the article, if anyone cares to read it: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/news/story?id=2286863
Yep, passed on a very small cow elk this year. She was probably a yearling. No spots, but would rather let her grow up a year or two.
Let's think past the date of the kill, Wilbur. Let's look at 1 yr. from the date you "would have" dropped the string on your choice of either a young cow or an adult cow (your choice). Which animal is more (statistically) apt to be alive in one year? Which cow is most likely (if she's alive) to drop twins? What "herd dynamic" are you striving to achieve?
I'll shoot a first year doe before an older doe for a couple of reasons. Easy to clean and the meat is really tender. Secondly, an older doe will more than likely have twins and a first year doe won't have any. Also, when the rut comes around I would rather have a doe that will come into estrous on my property than one that will not.
Personally I wont shoot a fawn but man are they tender. I have one in the freezer right now that my son just shot. I try and target the Does that dont have Fawns in tow, but If im not able to find one, I will wack one with a Fawn. Age dosent matter to me on the Nannys, But if I do have an old matriach and I get a shot, its on baby!!
They're good questions Jeff, since conservation is part of the equation for me. My answer to your last question would be " A healthy reproducing herd-one capable of sustaining itself with help from man if needed". In Colorado, our herd is healthy and needs to be thinned...we can afford a management mistake or five. Any age cow/calf is fair game here. We don't have wolves yet... and there are plenty of elk. That's not the case in Montana and parts of Idaho and Wyoming. From what I've read, the elk population has taken a severe hit. This is mainly due to the unchecked and forced reintroduction of wolves. Moreover, I don't see any relief for the elk in the near future. A Federal judge just slammed the door on the individual states and their self management pertaining to wolves . If the wolves are hammering the young and old, then It makes sense, at least to me, hunters should not be doing the same to the middle aged breeding group-those animals between two and nine years of age. I'm not sure the elk in these regions can afford the slice and dice from every direction. One super bad winter and we've lost the whole lot. It doesn't happen everytime, but there are occassions when observations can be made on herds-since elk tend to be gregarious. It's easy to tell which cows have calves and which cows are barren. Therefore, I'm consciously gunning for the cows that are calfless first. I hope they're in such a state because they're past their prime. I admit, it's a roll of the dice. I would gun for the calves second. My last choice would be healthy breeding cows. If it came down to the latter, I doubt I would hunt elk, there. I'm curious to know if Troy has seen the affect of wolves.
