Does With Yearlings

[redfox33]

I was out hunting when a doe came feeding through.  Right as I scoped her and cocked the hammer I noticed a "small" yearling trailing behind her.  I let her walk and nothing else came through but my hunting is far from over.  I go back and forth on this. 

So I guess....Shoot OR Not Shoot is the question?  What are y'all's view on it??   

I already have some meat in the freezer for this year but would like one more.

[SDS-GEN]

Shoot, yearlings are old enough to be on their own and probably were on their own for a couple of days during the rut when mama kicked them out to have some fun.  In fact I'd have shot the fawn, best tasting deer in the woods.  Or, if I had two tags, I'd have popped mom and hoped the fawn stuck around long enough to get shot as well.

[AtlLaw]

I try to put a yearling and 3 does in my freezer each year.  A couple of weekends ago I had a doe with twins in tow walk under my stand.  The only reason she isn't Bambi burger right now is because she was smarter then me!  And one of the yearlings would have been right there with her if I hadn't already killed one.     Anyway, the yearlings are quite capable of taking care of themselves by this time so that aspect is not at issue.

I don't think there is a right or wrong to your question.  You let her walk, for whatever reason, you did the right thing.  If you had popped her, you did the right thing.   

[Casull]

I've shot does with fawns (they are fawns and not yearlings, as yearlings are deer that are 1 1/2 years old and many of the does you see with fawns are yearlings), and while it's a little sad (to me anyway), if I was putting meat in the freezer, I would do it again.  So, go for it and enjoy some good eating.

[bilmac]

Should use the right terminology here. An animal is a fawn calf or whatever until it is a year old, from 1yr to 2 it is a yearling I assume you are talking fawn, because by this time of year yearlings would be almost adult size and no question about being able to survive on their own.

I keep having this discussion with my soft hearted pastor. Trust your professionals. If shooting nursing does would doom the fawns to die, then the doe season wouldn't be open at that time. Those guys are not idiots. We used to try specifically for a fawn each year too. We wanted them because we would save the hams whole for roasts.

[AtlLaw]

Should use the right terminology here. An animal is a fawn calf or whatever until it is a year old, from 1yr to 2 it is a yearling I assume you are talking fawn,

Of course y'all are exactly right... I just chose to ignore the verbage as it was obvious what the OP was talking about.  But I compounded the act by using the term myself!     The incorrect use of words is unacceptable when done by one of my baby lawyers so, Redfox, we are hereby admonished!   As penance you must now read the book "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.    I don't have to do anything because I knew I was wrong...     

We wanted them because we would save the hams whole for roasts.

That's exactly what I do!     One for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas... or Christmas and New Year's... or whenever I get a chance to cook one!   

[Mohawk]

As has been said, go ahead and take the doe. The yearling will be fine. On our place the buck yearlings are already separating from momma. Does usually hang around the first year or two but no longer dependant on mom.

[redfox33]

Thanks guys, question answered.  "IF" they walk through again my freezer will be full.  One of the main reasons I didn't shoot was that I already had meat in the freezer and I had that uncertainty about taking her.

[hunt-m-up]

Nothing wrong with not taking the doe if you're uncertain. Myself I've had to practically chase the fawn away after dropping the doe. I like the doe fawns or yearlings for the freezer, not always that wary old gray colored doe.
Around here they would prefer we take the does and that the fawns don't make it through the winter as a way to control the population. With the snow cover and temps at -10 and under already, we could see some winter mortality that we haven't experienced for awhile. I'm hoping to cause some winter mortality of my own in a week during the late MZ season. 

[Graybeard]

If fawns do not have spots they are old enough to be eating and finding food on their own. They might not have yet learned all of life's lessons that it would be good to have learned from ma by then but that just makes them easier targets for you next year.

If they are buck fawns shooting the mom will mean he will hang around that area as mom won't be there to kick him out and run him off to find a new home for himself.

I've always been a pretty indiscriminant predator. Ya know iffen it's brown it's down.

[Land_Owner]

I've always been a pretty indiscriminant predator. Ya know iffen it's brown it's down.

And so are many of us - no doubt about it - I can be counted in that category, but not guarranteed.  We have the choice not to shoot as an alternative and I choose that sometimes too.  Circumstances dictate the need.  No harm no foul.

[.308sniper]

Im with grabeard on this one if its legal its goin down.

[tree rat]

little ones are easier to drag if you have far to go, and taste better. so for me a doe and a fawn, the fawn is going home with me, and the the doe can go about her bussines of making another fawn for me next year. the only reason for me to shoot a buck is to brag ( and I do not care to kill to brag, I can do that with a camera ) but antlers do make usefull drag handles!! if they are huge!

[Varmint Hunter]

I'll shoot a doe if I just want some venison but not if fawns are in attendance. I would never shoot a fawn even if I had no venison.

Like many other hunters I am predominantly focused on mature bucks anyway. That's just the way I hunt.

I'm fine with whatever anyone else does.

[TribReady]

This is a classic example of "to each his own"   It seems most guys here are fine with everyone else's choices, which is the way it should be, so we are not a divided hunting community.

In my case, I definitely will shoot does, with or without fawns present.  After harvesting the doe, if the fawn sticks around, I'll often take it also. Or I'll shoot a fawn if it's late in the season and we still need some meat. I passed on fawns this year (shot 2 nice does though) just because they were REALLY small. If they're relatively tiny, they get a pass from me everytime. You can tell the early births and the later ones pretty easily.  No matter the size, the fawns will be fine, they don't need the doe anymore.

[Mack in N.C.]

i dont shoot does with fawns or the fawns but thats me...........gb mentioned the mom teaching the lessons to the fawns.....thats why i dont as i want the mother to teach them for a little while longer..problay doesnt matter but i like to lean on letting them learn a little more........i am not talking yearlings i am talking fawns......some here have  or can be born in the summer.......i will shoot that big old doe that spots me everytime though........a big ole doe is a lot smarter than a lot of deer......if you need the meat shoot one as its your call....mack

[lil_hunter12]

if it is legal ill shoot a fawn or 2 everytime doesnt bother me best eating ive found yet is a young deer that may weigh 45 or 50 pounds.

[deernhog]

I shot a old doe with twins and could not run them off. They stayed as close as 5' until I was finished field dressing her and one bleated the the whole time. Never again for me. I watched a doe with twins several years later paw out snow for her fawns to eat wheat.  Let her walk without a minute of regret. I hunt for enjoyment and just would not have enjoyed that. To each their own though and I would not have faulted anyone to shoot one of them.

[kevthebassman]

I whack 'em and stack 'em.  If I'm able, I'll try for the fawn too! 

[Mohawk]

I shot a old doe with twins and could not run them off. They stayed as close as 5' until I was finished field dressing her and one bleated the the whole time. Never again for me. I watched a doe with twins several years later paw out snow for her fawns to eat wheat.  Let her walk without a minute of regret. I hunt for enjoyment and just would not have enjoyed that. To each their own though and I would not have faulted anyone to shoot one of them.

  I respect that. I shot a button buck a few years ago and had "mom" follow me for 300yds as I was dragging him, snorting all the way. I thought it was a doe, buttons didn't break the skin, and hunting open sighted, no optics. We call her Grandma now, she's still around, still having fawns. She has a split left ear, easy to recognize, and still cocky! But, she makes some very good eating offspring. She is a blessing......

[Remmy]

Today at about 3:30 i shot a doe. Seems to me it hit a little high, lung shot and i saw it double back with a bad limp but not alone. There was a large fawn with spots following. Will it survive alone?

Now i waited about thirty minutes before trailing the doe. Little blood just a fleck here and there until it stopped then there would be a saucer size amount of blood, bright red. It laid down at least 6 times in a mile in heavy brush heading down into a gully with even thicker brush. I lost the trail and needed the daylight left to find my way out.
Tomorrow is Christmas so i can't go back and pick up the trail. Will the deer still be good to eat on the day after Christmas?

Would this amount of blood be a sign of a good hit?

[skylar957]

Shoot em all,Big or small,Buck or doe, They Gotta Go.

[bilmac]

It probably wasn't a good hit or you would have her in hand now. I kind of doubt she will be good after a day and two nights, depends partly on the temp.

[TribReady]

I agree, alot depends on the temps there.
If it were me, I'd find some time today (CHRISTmas) to duck away and get out there and recover that deer.

[deernhog]

If I shoot em I find them or wear out my boots looking for them. Sometimes you don't find them but you owe it to the animal if you can go back today at all. Hopefully you will find her.

[Mohawk]

  A high hit usually means the majority of the blood stays inside. Once made a high lung hit with a .280 and it took 4 of us to find it over an hour-and-a-half. Deer only went 30 yds in south Texas brush country. When we found her and rolled her over, blood poured from the exit wound like a fountain. Only had a few drops on the trail during tracking. That's when I learned, hit them low......Hope you found it. Don't worry about the fawn, it will be fine. God said many years ago in the book of Exodus, that we are allowed to take animals for food. He didn't mention age, weight, etc....He just said we have to eat them, or at least it be used for food. And that's what sportsman do. That is very fair! Wildlife ain't Disney, and it ain't no Bambi movie. Deer, and other wildlife, know survival from birth til death and nothing else.  Not many humans can make it 500yds with a broken hip and femoral artery damage, but I've chased one, and it still hopped the barbed-wire fence to make it's escape. Carry on my fellow hunter!

[bilmac]

Well said Mohawk

[Graybeard]

Today at about 3:30 i shot a doe. Seems to me it hit a little high, lung shot and i saw it double back with a bad limp but not alone. There was a large fawn with spots following. Will it survive alone?

Now i waited about thirty minutes before trailing the doe. Little blood just a fleck here and there until it stopped then there would be a saucer size amount of blood, bright red. It laid down at least 6 times in a mile in heavy brush heading down into a gully with even thicker brush. I lost the trail and needed the daylight left to find my way out.
Tomorrow is Christmas so i can't go back and pick up the trail. Will the deer still be good to eat on the day after Christmas?

Would this amount of blood be a sign of a good hit?

Sounds to me like you did not hit the deer where you think you did. To answer your last question first no that does not to me sound like a good hit. What it sounds like to me is a leg wound. If so the deer will survive just fine even if it loses that leg as a result of the hit. Deer are perfectly capable of making it with only three legs.

The dark red blood is a normal sign of a hit in muscle not in the heart/lung region. The limited bleeding reminds me of a leg hit deer I followed once for well over a half mile before the bleeding totally stopped. The deer had never slowed down the entire time. My arrow hit a limb and was deflected from the chest hit I as aiming for to a hit high on the leg. I had hopes it would lay up and let me sneak in for a finishing shot but the wound was so minor it didn't even slow up. In my case there were no spots where it stopped to rest and bled in larger pools as it just never stopped to have a blood pool.

[jpred1]

On the fawn shooting, it depends on a lot of things. If your finances are hurting and you need meat , by all means get some food.Here in Bama some fawns will have spots up untill gun season and maybe a lil longer , all depends on DOB.After being blessed to live in central ala and having good jobs so far, I wont take a doe with lil ones. Just seems a lil wrong when you cannot run off baby.We have enough deer here here to pick and choose and have time for many hunts. Some people do not have the opportunity to hunt 20-30 times a year , so good luck to all.Im lucky enough to just have to walk out the back door and ease up to my lil greenfield and watch em.Seen 11 hen turkey ,3 does and an smaller 8 pointer yesterday morning.One doe this eve, heading back tom. to try that buck with my encore pistol, he wouldnt give  me a good shot yesterday.

[ms]

I was out hunting when a doe came feeding through.  Right as I scoped her and cocked the hammer I noticed a "small" yearling trailing behind her.  I let her walk and nothing else came through but my hunting is far from over.  I go back and forth on this. 

So I guess....Shoot OR Not Shoot is the question?  What are y'all's view on it??   

I already have some meat in the freezer for this year but would like one more.

I let them walk now. But when I was younger I was dumb for killing the mother.