has to be one of the toughest animals to kill. Talk about KEEN scenses! I had one feeding on the edge of a thicket about a half hour before dark yesterday and initially she was oblivious to my presence. I watched as she fed closer to my location with the breeze in my face. I said "when she gets 5 yrds closer I'll take my shot". Well, when she took those few more steps she happens to catch a glimse of this form that just doesn't belong in that leafless tree. She stops, looks up (18ft) at me and starts doing that head bobbing thing. (I knew at this point it was game over) I'm already standing and remain motionless.Then she stomps her foot, snorts, and is gone! This deer had a 6th sense!! I wasn't moving, making any sounds at all, and had the wind with me. I just stuck out to her. She would have been probably my largest doe ever! The thing is, I had other deer around me that had no idea I was up in that tree. I am convinced that a mature/matriarch doe is every bit as tough to kill as a mature buck. I'm wondering how many other folks feel the same way?
That 6th sense gets ya every time, they know or feel their being watched! I look at them as little as possible to try and avoid it! :D
I killed this old girl at 5-6 yards this year. She also did the head bob thing with me, but I had already drawn when she was at 20 yards and closing, so I zipped one through her. Biologist said she was 7.5. Even if she was off and she is only 5.5, she was still old and cagy!
Amen, It's actually one of the most challenging hunts I experience all year. I tend to have a couple of very mature does hang around the farm for most of the year. I usually will pick one out to hunt and see if I can outwit her. Once she's been around and you've not gotten the opportunity at her early, it can be fun and frustrating come december.
In 2007 I had a stare down with an old mature doe for about 55 minutes. I was 20 feet up In a tree, she was 10 yards away. When I saw her coming I got up and ready In case a buck was following her. It was by far the toughest hunt I've ever been through according to my arms and back. I had my bow up and In front of me for 55 minutes straight and didn't move a muscle. I didn't want to scare her In case something was coming behind her. My arms hurt like hell when she finally left, actually I couldn't feel my bow arm. It was numb. I did win that battle though, she finally excepted I wasn't something bad and just moved on but talk about tough. In all honesty I've never had a mature buck give me nearly as much grief as an old mature doe has at close range yardages under 20 yards. Old does have taking the cake there and then some.
There's a reason cagey old bucks walk behind mature old does! Yep... no question about it: they're the hardest animal in the woods to kill for me. That's why I took the time and was proud to write up this kill earlier this year: http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?t=7442&highlight=double+white+throat+patch
If at all possible I try to take as many old does as possible. I have taken a 7.5 year old doe before in the city. I took her two fawns as well. They destroyed my garden and fruit trees and enough was enough. She had a snout of a horse. I view taking a mature doe almost as high as taking a mature buck and feel a great sense of accomplishment after doing so.
"Any hunter worth his salt knows that its harder to take an old, mature doe than a young, ignorant buck" I forget the book in which I read this but its definitely the truth. Old does are very, very sharp and difficult to take! The picture is of an old doe I took this past week. Haven't aged her for certain but she was in that 4.5-6.5 age range.
dido..i had 2 doe's come in , with the wind in my favor....i was serious stuck behind all kinds of tree limbs, up about 20 ft.... they were about 25 to 30 yards away..and the one doe stopped...out of no where...and looked straight at me...it was crazy.... she stopped, looked around, stopped again, and bolted...weird how smart they seem sometimes, but so dumb other times...
Anyone care to guess how old this horse of a doe was? Taken off jmbuckhunter's property... she was almost twice as big as the other doe I took in my double that night, as well as John's -- and they were both what we would have considered mature!
vs, that's EASILY the biggest doe I've ever seen, let alone killed. To say she was a horse is an understatement. I'm still amazed at her looking at the pic even a year later...
I saw some big ole betty's in Iowa.. and a few of those old gals were flat out spooky/jumpy as all get out.. They get hunted harder than the bucks ... unlimited doe tags versus a buck tag or two.. I had to be rock still when any of the old girls came through, no mistakes or they were onto me. Honestly the majority of bucks I saw displayed more tolerance than a few of those old does... My last evening I went out to fill my doe tag and an old bag busted me coming in behind me, I didnt see nor hear her approaching and she caught me move to glance behind the tree.. game over
The largest does in a given herd are typically 2.5 and 3.5yr olds. Size does not = older age in does.
yep...a 2.5-3.5 yr old doe is way smarter and nosier than a 2.5 yr old buck...they will bust if they get enough time to circle you
I will agree that big, old mature does can certainly be some of the toughest deer to kill. Tougher to kill than a lot of 3 1/2 year old bucks. But I still think that bucks 4 1/2 and older are the toughest to kill. Sometimes you never even see them. I have had several encounters such as yours early in and they certainly are amazing. However, every single buck, 3 1/2 and older, that I have encountered that figured something wasn't right, either bolted or slunk off with no questions asked. There was no head bobbing, foot stomping or snorting. They flat out fled the scene without trying to figure out what wasn't right. It seems that most does and young bucks want to verify a second sense that confirms danger. Not so with mature bucks. They don't wait around to verify jack sh***. A lot of times these does have learned experiences with hunters because they were passed on by a waiting hunter who was holding out for a buck. Through these experiences, they have become very wary and good at spotting waiting hunters. IMO, they are very sharp and elusive, but I give my nod to the 4 1/2 and older bucks for being the best at staying alive.
I agree a Matriarch or lead doe is a serious target, I won't however go as far to say that she is harder to kill than a buck. I feel they are more territorial and can be patterned for more of the season. I have played a game with a big old gal for two years now, she is at a minimum 4.5 this year. I have passed her on two occasions with the bow, once there was a shooter in the same bean field, and another time was the night after I had shot a different big ol gal and wasn't really looking to press my luck with my mother in law baby sitter on a second night in a row. She is my primary late season target this year.
I cant say for sure she was the "matriach" doe, but she is BY FAR the biggest i have ever seen in these woods. She came in at last light sneaking around the south edge of a bedding area i was set up on with her fawn. Some of the fawns are almost as big as the does now, but not in this case. She was like a horse walking through the woods.
