WT Does. Shoot and eat, or not?

[IronNoggin]

Their fawns probably died prior to the fall, in these cases tou speak of. That is what the research says, according to biologists. They can and typically are fertile for the entirety of their natural lifespan.

Believe what you wish.
I believe in what I actually see & experience on the ground.
BTW - I am a retired biologist, and I put no gist to your opinion.
Seen FAR too much to the contrary.

Cheers

[KootenayKiller]

Believe what you wish.
I believe in what I actually see & experience on the ground.
BTW - I am a retired biologist, and I put no gist to your opinion.
Seen FAR too much to the contrary.

Cheers

I don't mean to discredit your anecdotes, I'm sure there is truth in them. I'm just sharing what I heard on the podcast. If I remember correctly, they mentioned that female deer become less productive after 7-8 years, but that true infertility before 10-12 years is rare. Some does can even continue reproducing beyond that age under good conditions. Not many make it to that age, so most of them die before they reach infertility. If you're dealing with the small percentage that reach the golden years, then I guess it makes sense that you'd see more 'infertile' ones like you have witnessed. Maybe some of those you've seen 'skipped' a year, but still had the capacity to give birth? Who knows, I find it all very interesting, good to keep an open mind.


Went out for mule deer today, but ended up taking a big fat white-tailed doe instead – in honor of this thread!"

[Redthies]

Nice job KK! Pics if you got them?

I went out too, and contrary to this thread, had a buck in my scope, but I couldn’t be 100% sure he wasn’t a mulie. I know. But I went through the check list:

1. Antlers- He was a spike with branches just beginning, but looked very vertical to be WT.
2. Color- He was more “mousey” coloured like a MD, where our local WT of this age tend to be a bit more “rusty”
3. Tail- At first he was bedded and looking straight at me. I watched him through the scope for 30 seconds, he made no
attempt to move, so I did a doe bleat type noise, and he stood up, but stayed 100% straight on. Another 20 seconds
and I was 90% sure he was a WT, but only when he turned and jumped/bolted did I see his tail. Yup. WT. No shot.

Would have been the easiest load out of my life, and probably a fantastic eater. I’m commending myself for the restraint to not shoot anything I wasn’t 100% sure of, (and will always err to the cautious), but I’m kicking myself for not trusting my gut a little bit. Tomorrow is another day. I’m just stoked on how many animals I’m seeing this year!


Beauty night to be out there!

[KootenayKiller]

Nice job KK! Pics if you got them?

I went out too, and contrary to this thread, had a buck in my scope, but I couldn’t be 100% sure he wasn’t a mulie. I know. But I went through the check list:

1. Antlers- He was a spike with branches just beginning, but looked very vertical to be WT.
2. Color- He was more “mousey” coloured like a MD, where our local WT of this age tend to be a bit more “rusty”
3. Tail- At first he was bedded and looking straight at me. I watched him through the scope for 30 seconds, he made no
attempt to move, so I did a doe bleat type noise, and he stood up, but stayed 100% straight on. Another 20 seconds
and I was 90% sure he was a WT, but only when he turned and jumped/bolted did I see his tail. Yup. WT. No shot.

Would have been the easiest load out of my life, and probably a fantastic eater. I’m commending myself for the restraint to not shoot anything I wasn’t 100% sure of, (and will always err to the cautious), but I’m kicking myself for not trusting my gut a little bit. Tomorrow is another day. I’m just stoked on how many animals I’m seeing this year!


Beauty night to be out there!

She wasn't huge, but good enough for me and I extracted every morcel of meat! The heart and lungs were turned to soup, dropped on the spot. Will make some good eating and definitely adult. Hopefully help out the mule deer. This was at 1800m elevation. Not sure why but my pictures are always small when I upload them.



Now... one tag left for a mule buck.

[GreyDog]

There are those who say that hunting does won't impact whitetail populations. Unless the hunting pressure is insignificant, it most certainly does affect populations. The wide open hunting of does in combination with the high fences, in my part of the East Kootenay region has probably reduced the whitetail population by 70% or more, over the last 10 years or so. For the first few years after the opening of the open doe hunting, the buck to doe ratio was much better and I saw many more bucks chasing fewer does. Now, there are much less of both. In general, I think shooting of does can be a good thing, but on a limited basis. From having thirty deer in the field at night, we now have three. That's a pretty significant reduction. GD

[jlirot]

I'm headed out tomorrow and will be concentrating on finding a whitetail doe. I'll take a buck over a doe but I saw a few does 2 weeks ago so I'll be hanging out in those spots.

Now if those 2 4x4's I saw 6 weeks ago would just show up....

I seem to see quite a few does wandering around without fawns.

[walks with deer]

Umm whitetail fawns taste the best..

[walks with deer]

There easiest to get after someone shoots the fawn.

[high horse Hal]

On that note, do you prefer shoot the big one, smaller yearling or do you care? Basing the question on whether or not there is higher likely hood that one or the other will survive the coming winter. I’ve seen a lot of one big/two smaller deer groups, which I presume to be momma and the twins. Which would YOU shoot, presuming there are more than one with a clean shot?

from a biologic point of view, I don't think it really matters
WT tend to live in groups with a number of maternal does to take care of the extended family so an orphaned fawn isn't really an orphan

On the pure numbers side, there is no such thing as 'saving' bucks or does or fawns, they still have a natural mortality that is far higher than the hunter take
Hunters tend to give themselves too much credit in what they think is an impact of any deer species, imo

I get it, its that 'feel good' sentiment about hunting that some need to justify what they are doing
Reality says its small potatoes in a big crop
yes, over-harvest on a small localized group can have an impact on tht group, but when considered against the larger picture, its a big country that never sees a hunter and game does as well as it can

[jlirot]

BTW - I shoot the larger one. I've shot yearlings before (not in BC) and there's not very much meat on them. I'd rather take a big fat doe than a little skinny yearling.