Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Damage Hunt, doe and fawns?

I own a property on the Arkansas River here in CO. We are getting overrun with whitetail deer. Myself, and two other neighbors, got permission for a damage hunt for does this season.

Last night, I sat near a field just next to the river, and around 5 pm, a doe and her two fawns emerged from cover into the field, first around 150 yds. away, then they worked their way towards me to around 30 yards.
I know this is a damage hunt, to try to reduce the number of deer in our corn crops, but I just could not do it! Maybe I'm getting old, but I'm not sure I would have ever done it.

What would you all do, just curious? No judgement here.

Well I eat lots of deer, so I would have shot

Being over run with deer, having a "damage hunt" and then passing deer seems counter productive

Bang, bang. Sorry, what was the question again?

Bighorn,

I'm with you. I can't shoot a doe with fawns.

When having to do similar, I target the yearling does. I understand some things just need to be done for herd management but perhaps it's best to get a trusted father looking to get sonny (or daughter) a couple deer under his/her belt and let them at it.

Whether they let you know what they've taken is up to you.

The Fawns will melt in your mouth.

Doe first then the others.

I have no qualms with shooting a doe that has yearlings. I tend to see the yearlings return to feed in the same spots for the rest of the season, so they must do okay. Once they can outrun a coyote, they are good to go down here. Plenty of stuff to eat.

And I've also heard that it is best to take the yearling does when culling numbers, as the bigger does likely have more experience with productively raising fawns. Still, it is hard for me to pass up a big-frame, horse-headed doe when I need meat for the freezer...

You either want to stop damage or you don't. Your call.

Having just completed a population reduction, I can say that shooting the bigger older does who are already dropping twins works. They don't eat as well as the younger does with just one fawn. Fawns (6 month old or less) eat the best by far..

Does can and do drop twins very late in life. They usually start at 3-4 YO and continue until they die or they become malnourished and one or both get resorbed. About five or six years back I killed a very old doe. Somewhere on the high side of 10. Chops and tenderloins were OK, but the rest made good burger.

The way to do it is to head shoot the doe first and then wait for the fawns to come back. They usually won't stay gone more than a few minutes. If you're quiet and patient, the fawns will lie down next to her and you can head shoot them to preserve that meat.

If they aren't spotted fawns (I know you didn't say they were), but if they are out of spots, we will take a big doe with yearlings. Not sure you are going to get much accomplished if you don't want to shoot a big doe because she has a couple of little ones with her. We kill the big does all the time, and it is very very common to see the little ones come back to the plots week after week, none the worse for wear.

If we had to conduct a damage hunt to control numbers, as long as they had no spots, then if it's brown it's down.


Clyde

I would take as many as I could process and freeze.and then some.

With corn prices being as low as they currently are, the deer probably aren't doing all that much monetary damage.

If you decide to shoot some of those deer, you could give the meat to an organization like farmers and hunters feeding the hungry if you don't want it.

www.fhfh.org

Bighorn-----I would love to get a whitetail doe. I'm in Durango. PM me if there is a chance. Bob

I couldn't do it either.

Find a cold-hearted hungry bastard to do your dirty work for you. No shortage of those, I'm thinking.

The HHH program in VA encourages you to take mature deer, no doubt to maximize the meat output for the dollars paid for processing.

I usually give 2 or 3 deer per year to Hunters for the Hungry. I'd probably give them a couple more if they'd let me keep the tenderloins, but they only take whole deer carcasses.

I don't shoot does with fawns, early in the season. So that means I don't shoot does early, because all the grown girls have fawns. The young deer are still learning from their moms, and I want all the does I can get around the rut. Do your killing late in the season...

Down here TPW has a program thru their Lottery Hunts called Private Lands and offer however many Hunts as the bio guys and the LO agree on. These are short 2 1/2 Day and 1 Full day hunts and the TPW bio guys run the Hunt just like it was any other Lottery Hunt on the State SP's SNA's & WMA's they manage. One of the locations I looked at to enter an App for had umm a small # of assignd blinds & compartments, but had 8 Hunt Dates scattered over a 2 month period. Might be something to think about as a way to accomplish you herd reduction goal. Another part of the TPW Lottery Hunt program is dedicated to Youth Hunts as a seperate series of locations.that require an adult partner but only allows the Youth to pull the trigger.

The usual App Fee for an adult in a laundry list of available Hunts is $3 & $80 Permit for the lucky hunter for the two 1/2 day & 1 full day hunt period , or $3 for the App Fee and more $'s ($120 ??) Permit Fee or a 5 day ( two half day 1st and last & 3 full days)...and the Private Lands is $10 for an App Fee and ZERO $'s for the Permit Fee.

I'd really like to see this Private Lands program grow substantially rather than using paid pro shooters to shoot mega #'s of WTails at a time to effect a herd reduction program....and leave 'em lay.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

It's a hunt to reduce deer numbers. I agree with Miles. Start with the doe and work your way down. Head shots if at all possible.

If you really do feel bad about it, then shoot a fawn first. There won't be any ongoing "suffering" of any type at that point.

Harvest all of em in my opinion. My only hesitation is being unable to identify button bucks.

I've got two young boys that'll pull the trigger on as many as you'll let them! Sounds like a great opportunity, if possible, to get some youngsters a deer.

PS- If I had a problem with the deer, I'd have no trouble shooting them.

The quota will be filled by the end of damage season. I'm not the only hunter. Shooting fawns? Nearly impossible to distinguish buck from doe. The whole point of shooting females is to take them out of the breeding pool.

I've seen enough does without fawns on my trail camera to know they are out there, in abundance! Probably fill my tag this weekend.

Ultimately there is only one person to make happy on any given hunt.

Or the doe walked in front of the camera and the fawns went behind it.

I prefer the meat of mature deer to that of the younguns. Also, as mentioned, a lot of button bucks get killed by indiscriminate shooting of antlerless deer. Last year, I shot two does, but was able to watch them long enough to positively indentify them as such before lowering the boom. Late in the season, button bucks can sometimes be as big as their mamas, if born early.

Some years ago, I read a piece that said young bucks that were orphaned had a better survival rate than the ones that stayed with mom until Spring. Forget the details and explanation, just recall the conclusion.

I must be getting soft too , that is not going to happen.

I have done a lot of damage work for my neighbor. First off, young white-tailed deer fawns survive pretty well when they lose their mother. I have seen it a number of times, so that is a non-starter. I have seen them standing right beside their mother eating corn, so they know what to eat at an early age. If you kill the mother first, many times you can get the whole family, as the fawns do not panic. Damage hunts are for the purpose of removing deer and the fawns go, too. They are fantastic eating, easy to kill and drag easily.

The first three years that I killed deer for my neighbor, between his permits and my regular season permits, I kill 124 deer, a number of which were delicious fawns.

Exactly ! I don't know why so many hunters can't understand that 'antlerless' doesn't mean they are
all Females !! I refuse to shoot fawns just for that reason. Every button buck you kill is an ANTLERED
buck you'll never hunt or kill.

BTW, a yearling is not THIS year's fawn. 1YO is a yearling.

Jerry

Our damage control hunts start in November and end in February. Sometime you shoot a doe carrying fawns. Shot one several years ago that had twins. It made me sick gutting her. So basically took 3 deer. I told my partner not to mention a word to my wife as it wouldn't be a pretty out come.

Unfortunately, that is the best case scenario-killing three for the price of one. People are missing the point here. A depredation hunt is for killing deer. It is not only for just killing does, although that is the main focus. I do not kill bucks (except for culls), as my neighbor does not want them killed (has an outfitter), They are, however, perfectly legal. I could not care less, as I am past worrying about antlers at any time, but to each their own.

Depredation hunting is not for everybody, because of the fawn issue. It bothers me a bit, but I also understand the purpose of the hunting that I am doing and by me doing it, both my neighbor and I know that the meat is being taken care of. Many people don't want to hunt when it is 90 degrees.

Here in TX if you take a doe in late November or December, it's a pretty safe bet that they are pregnant. And probably 85 % of does have twins. And fawn survival rate is typically 50 / 50. And 90 % of the time, the doe has one male and one female fawn.

And if you do shoot a doe that's pregnant, and the purpose of the hunt is herd reduction, than that's the best possible outcome. And the point of herd reduction is to have a healthy herd that does not exceed the carrying capacity of the their range or habitation.

And culling bucks for herd quality is a totally different aspect of deer management. Most hunters don't realize that the female or doe has almost as much genetic influence as the buck in determining antler quality and growth. And good forage and protein supplements help, but are not as important as the herd genetics.
Just as all spikes don't grow to be big spikes, and you will never have mature "trophy" bucks, if you shoot every 3 year old 8 point 16" buck you see.

My point is don't sweat the small stuff. Lots of variables affect herd management, more so than killing one doe pregnant with twins.

Filled my damage tag last night, on one of the biggest, fattest whitetail does I have ever seen! Came off the river right at sunset to feed in the soybean field. 150 yd. chip shot. (No fawns present, BTW........)

In Finland (and probably other Scandinavian countries) you shoot the doe/calf first as they usually won't survive the winter without mom there to help.

Knowing what winters can be like in Colorado, I'd have shot the fawns first, then, if given the chance, the doe. That would be 3 out of this year's herd and possibly as many as 6 out of next year's.

Shoot the lead doe, and get the others while they are standing there looking confused. Or, if they run off... Just wait a few minutes, they'll probably be back.

-Jake

See if one can round up some first timer kids, and start them out right. You'll be a permanent fixture in their memory banks.

The property I hunt for damage control is not the same place I hunt for Bucks. The Landowner does not give a hoot what deer I shoot and neither do I. The goal is to reduce the numbers and after the first couple of weeks they get pretty damn spooky.

I'll happily knock a fawn right off its mother's tit.

When hunting for herd reduction I purposely will shoot a fawn for every mature doe I take. In my head it keeps the age classes of the herd balanced. Where if I shot 4-5 mature does a season I feel it disproportionately effects that age class.

I'm w/you Bighorn...just can't bring myself to shoot a doe or fawn. powdr

IMO ( for what that's worth ) your approach/reasoning does have merit.

I have only done culling or attempted herd management on small scale. IF I had property that I could control the deer population, I'd sure give your
philosophy serious exercise a few years to see the results.

I have NO control on properties contiguous to where I hunt so I can't truly manage the deer population.
I know from my observation and my family who lives there that there are WAY more 'does' than bucks. I have no
compunction about killing Does.

As to fawns, there isn't enuff meat for ME to waste a tag.
Does are the deer 'producers' or manufacturer.

IF we could distinguish buck/doe fawns, I would shoot doe fawns. We can't !!

IF you want more bucks -- don't shoot buck fawns !

Jerry

I will not take a doe with fawns unless:

The fawn(s) appear to be thriving and eating on its own OR

I can genocide the whole family.

I take damage control hunts seriously.

As for the fawns, get a couple of ziplocks and get to work.

I do the same, not easy work but whack the lead doe first. 22 wmr between euevabd ear then pick off all her fawns and any other does. Same for young bachelor herds on depredation. One falls on feed pile and the rest kick him to move him. Just time it right and you can kill 5-6 at a clip. Doesn't really dent the 50+ in the field but keep it up and the numbers drop plus you can go a decade plus without buying beef. It is heartless but I have seen Farmers shoot hundreds in the stomach small caliber and let them run off. Horrible yes, illegal no and it's their livelihood. I take depredation seriously and consider it killing not hunting. I am doing the Landowner a favor and if I pass on any legal animals I am not fulfilling my commitments. Even if I trophy hunt the same land. Each season I am there for a ourpose and sometimes it requires me to do things that are ruthless or counter productive. If you have qualms about shooting button heads or mid summer bucks and they are legal depredation animals make it known to the Landowner and explain why. Some understand, some don't but it spares heart burn later. IMHO and worth what was paid.

JWall speaks of managing bucks I think. In depredation it's herd control. Kill eldest breeding females will drop numbers. Younger deer less likely to produce twins, triplets and keep live. It will drop herd numbers, that is your purpose on depredation. It's hard for those like myself even in the frigid north with low numbers. Go south of the Mason-Dixon where there seem to be 50 in every field and 4 month seasons and it's all about controlling numbers/crop loss. It tends to change your opinion.

SBHooper, I remember years ago sitting in my climber along the same question. 104 degree NC heat streak and about 5 pm sweating in my mask hoping for some does to pop out. I killed one and had to rush to clean in 95 degree weather. It sucked, Landowner let someone from the State College grow in the field and deer devastating crop. It was more of a feel good deal but I saw it as an opportunity to give Hunters some good publicity and usefulness. It worked out but was a hard miserable deal.