I begin patterning my dink in late February.
I do this by looking for the sickest, frailest looking pregnant doe that I can find.
Chances are high that a sick frail doe will have runt of a fawn. After that it's just a matter of getting a bullet into said fawn.
I try to get them earlier in the season, early archery or muzzleloader preferably. Faded spots can carry you a long way in this contest. And you definitely have Better chance if you get them before they fatten up for winter.
-Jake
Nice try to get someone chasing the wrong prey. Everyone that knows anything about deer, knows that a sick, frail impregnated doe controls the “X” and “Y” chromosomes by nutritional stability that causes a unintentional shift to the female sex of the offspring. Go ahead and send all the other potential D-a-T competitors on a wild doe chase, real deer hunters know it takes lots more than what a frail doe can produce to create a true Dink-A-Thon masterpiece...