Shooting A Doe With Fawns? (Should/Shouldn't I)

Ed Smurf said:
I hunt late season muzzeloader where there are high concentrations of deer. Hunters there are encouraged to take any deer. I personally have seen a doe with 2 fawns which were hard to distinguish from the mother. Like it or not those fawns are legal. Plenty of coyotes around also...to take care of the fawns during the winter. Antlers are nice but you have to boil them a long time.
Click to expand...

i have struggled to find a decent recipe for antlers too
 
Papaclaude said:
Why would youpass up a shot at a cow with a calf? Calves have very low survival rates in the first place. That's why, until the last couple of years, you could always shoot a calf, whether you got a tag for a bull or a cow. Calves and fawns are fully independent by the fall. Bears aren't until their second spring/summer.
Click to expand...

Population. The moose numbers in the WMU where I hunt are way down. If they are with mama still, this may give them a slightly better chance. If I remember correctly the quota is 20 tags for 13,000 square km.

You can still shoot calves so long as you made your donation. The season is just two weeks later now so if someone with a cow tag takes a cow with calves, the others can't take the calves.
 
verminaard said:
Population. The moose numbers in the WMU where I hunt are way down. If they are with mama still, this may give them a slightly better chance. If I remember correctly the quota is 20 tags for 13,000 square km.

You can still shoot calves so long as you made your donation. The season is just two weeks later now so if someone with a cow tag takes a cow with calves, the others can't take the calves.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're hunting in WMU 28? If so, talk to some residents about the herd numbers. They may disagree with the "experts". If it's 28, tag numbers are way down, but not herd numbers.
 
I agree as well that you did the right thing. I wait until the last few days of the season and even then am reluctant to take a doe. let alone, one with fawns. Sell the rifle and buy meat, if you need it that bad.
 
To the OP,
Shoot or don't shoot a doe with fawns is question personal ethics. That is what made your decision for you more than a question of right or wrong . If you are to scientifically reason it out shooting of does or fawns is based on herd dynamics and population densities. If we hunters are supposed to be true stewards of wildlife and conservation we would have a an understanding of whether we have a healthy population of deer is our given area and make a decision to shoot does or fawns based on that info more than personal ethics and or emotions.

Now after typing the above statement. What makes us human to to be able to have and show emotions, sympathy, remorse reveverance, love etc... if your heart speaks louder to you than your brain when you hunt then listen to it , do what feels right to you and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or feels about your decision. You are the hunter, you are the one that decides to pull the trigger and you are the one that lives with the decisions that were made after the bullet or broadhead finds its mark.

I truly believe if you do that you will always make the right decision for you!
Cheers to you for the decision you made to not shoot. If you had shot, I would have said congratulations on a successful hunt!
Good luck this season
CDN1
 
thepolinator said:
shoot the fawn? I hear it tastes better.
Click to expand...

This actually has the least impact on the herd numbers, ( I use the Ontario hunting guide as my source, they were talking about moose, but the same will probably apply to deer)

In a harsh winter, the fawns are least likely to survive. If it were an issue, there would be a rule. ie: Hunting Black Bear in Mb; It is illegal to kill a cub (approximately 20.5 kg or 45 lbs) or a
female black bear with cubs.
 
I seen two fawns yesterday morning that were the size of a fox .still had spots. Hard to believe for the first week of October.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
To the OP,
Shoot or don't shoot a doe with fawns is question personal ethics. That is what made your decision for you more than a question of right or wrong . If you are to scientifically reason it out shooting of does or fawns is based on herd dynamics and population densities. If we hunters are supposed to be true stewards of wildlife and conservation we would have a an understanding of whether we have a healthy population of deer is our given area and make a decision to shoot does or fawns based on that info more than personal ethics and or emotions.

Now after typing the above statement. What makes us human to to be able to have and show emotions, sympathy, remorse reveverance, love etc... if your heart speaks louder to you than your brain when you hunt then listen to it , do what feels right to you and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or feels about your decision. You are the hunter, you are the one that decides to pull the trigger and you are the one that lives with the decisions that were made after the bullet or broadhead finds its mark.

I truly believe if you do that you will always make the right decision for you!
Cheers to you for the decision you made to not shoot. If you had shot, I would have said congratulations on a successful hunt!
Good luck this season
CDN1
Click to expand...

Nicely put.
Quite possibly the best worded ( possibly the most intelligent ) response so far on this post. Managed to get to the heart of it without proclaiming " You are right because I think the same " or " You wrong because I see things differently "
Gets to the basic question; is it ' Heart over mind ' or make the decision to perform a somewhat more biological response to game management and go ' Mind over heart '?
Personally; I'm a softy, that may seem a contradiction when viewing my posts here...I know.
I don't just get to see does and fawns when I'm hunting, if I grabbed some binoculars I could likely see them right now. Don't have a 'Stack Yard' to protect, so I'm not cold hearted about the matter either.
I just am a touch removed from the Emotional side of it as they are an everyday sight.
Baby calves are very cute too, but they get weaned about now and eventually end up in your shopping cart. So the fact that a doe with fawns is fair game, is a valid choice IMO.
All things being equal I'd take a young Buck or a dry doe, but I can also realise that a doe with older fawns is a fair and responsible choice as well.
 
You did the right thing IMO. I got drawn this year for 2 antlerless mulies, all the big mature does seem to have fawns with them this year so I took a 1.5yo doe instead, not as big but sure is delicious. If it came down to it, I'd rather shoot a smaller doe or a fawn than shoot a big mature doe with fawn(s).

Its up to you, deer aren't like moose, fawns have a better chance on their own as they can hang around other deer, moose calves on the other hand are pretty much f&cked...

That's my opinion, but in all honesty do what makes you happy as long as it's lawful. At the end of the day we're not all lucky enough to have great hunting grounds, before I moved to Saskatchewan, hunting in some areas of Quebec was pretty hard, for some shooting a big mature doe is the equivalent of shooting a big mature buck. Do what makes you happy and proud, whether you hunt for meat or antlers!
 
blauber said:
Uhhh...no, deer generally over winter in herds. Never ever read, seen or heard of deer expending calories running each other off. Shortage of what, grass? They're ruminants and last time I checked grass grows pretty much everywhere.
Click to expand...

You must be very new to the game if you don't think deer experience shortages of food. Both a high population and heavy snowfall are prime examples that can and do lead to deer dying due to starvation. Combine the two and you're almost guaranteed to have substantial winter kills.


This thread is full of misinformed hunters who need to do a bit more research about the animals they hunt before spewing misinformation and looking down upon those who're apparently more informed.

Unless they're born unusually late in the season or the hunting seasons starts very early in your area, the fawns will have a fully developed digestive system and will have been eating forage long before hunting season begins. By the fall they'd also have the necessary skills to survive on their own whether you're talking about finding food or surviving predators. There's a reason why deer season opens when it does and if the fawns were doomed if the doe was killed there would be specific regulations against harvesting does with fawns.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
To the OP,
Shoot or don't shoot a doe with fawns is question personal ethics. That is what made your decision for you more than a question of right or wrong . If you are to scientifically reason it out shooting of does or fawns is based on herd dynamics and population densities. If we hunters are supposed to be true stewards of wildlife and conservation we would have a an understanding of whether we have a healthy population of deer is our given area and make a decision to shoot does or fawns based on that info more than personal ethics and or emotions.

Now after typing the above statement. What makes us human to to be able to have and show emotions, sympathy, remorse reveverance, love etc... if your heart speaks louder to you than your brain when you hunt then listen to it , do what feels right to you and don't worry about what anyone else thinks or feels about your decision. You are the hunter, you are the one that decides to pull the trigger and you are the one that lives with the decisions that were made after the bullet or broadhead finds its mark.

I truly believe if you do that you will always make the right decision for you!
Cheers to you for the decision you made to not shoot. If you had shot, I would have said congratulations on a successful hunt!
Good luck this season
CDN1
Click to expand...

Well said!
 
nitro-express said:
This actually has the least impact on the herd numbers, ( I use the Ontario hunting guide as my source, they were talking about moose, but the same will probably apply to deer)
Click to expand...

That policy has been brought into doubt and is now regarded as a serious error. It's being cited as a primary cause of Moose population drop throughout the province. Calf seasons and adult tag availability has been greatly reduced in most WMU's with full implementation to be complete by fall of 2017 which doesn't bode well for Moose hunting in Ontario for many years to come.
 
Personally, I wouldn't, but I'm not trying to survive by putting meat on the table. I can always hunt another day. As already noted, if you question yourself, like most things in life then the answer is likely don't do it, if no questions, go ahead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom