Which Doe Should You Shoot?

[lovemylegacy]

Good read...still gonna shoot the 1st doe in range.

[LWD]

Shooting the younger ones makes sense for the reasons described in the article and because they can be easier to shoot than the older, more experienced ones. But I wouldn't obsess over it since telling a doe's age from a blind is as much art as science. And in some areas you can't kill enough unless it's an MLD property. Years ago when I was hunting SW Jack county if everyone on the property limited out on does, it wouldn't have been enough. In that situation where carrying capacity is as much a concern (or more) than herd management, an airstrike would be better.

LWD

[dbraud07]

Good information here, thanks to all.

[DFWPI]

LoL, for me its the first one that presents a shot.

[Artos]

why am i getting an error mesage??

edit...neat site amigo but still not seeing your article??


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I liked this gem...

Breeding Behavior of Male and Female White-tailed Deer Relative to Age Class
Jason A. Sumners, Randy W. DeYoung, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Stephen Demarais, Mickey W. Hellickson, Kenneth L. Gee, and Robert A. Gonzales

Although the breeding system of white-tailed deer is commonly described as a dominance-based hierarchy, recent studies have documented the breeding success of all age classes of bucks in white-tailed deer. It has been suggested that the breeding success of young bucks is the result of exclusively mating with young does, while older bucks concentrate their efforts on mature does, presumably because these does are more experienced and more likely to recruit one or more fawns. Additionally, older does may not tolerate mating attempts of younger bucks, preferring to mate with dominant bucks. The occurrence of multiple paternity in many white-tailed deer populations indicates that female choice may play an important role in determining the distribution of buck breeding success.

We are sampling litters of fawns and assigning paternity using a panel of genetic markers. Our preliminary results indicate that yearling bucks successfully mate with does of all ages. The mean age of female mates was 5.1, 4.8, and 5.0 for 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5+ year-old bucks, respectively. Additionally, we documented 2 incidents of multiple paternity involving yearling bucks.

The breeding success of young bucks may be restricted to the peak of the breeding season when the most does are in estrous and mature bucks cannot monopolize access to all does. The lack of an association between buck age and doe age is more evidence that overall male-to-male competition may not play an important role in gaining access to does. This ongoing research should provide further insights into breeding behavior and success of while-tailed deer.


In Progress
Factors Influencing Male White-tailed Deer Breeding Success (preliminary)
Aaron M. Foley, Randy W. DeYoung, David G. Hewitt, Mick A. Hellickson, Karl V. Miller and Ken Gee

Previous studies have made it clear that it is difficult to predict which male white-tailed deer are breeding. One way to better understand which males may be successfully breeding is to examine possible breeding strategies employed by individual males. Movement patterns, body condition as measured by body fat content, testosterone levels and stress levels are possible factors explaining which males are successful breeders.
This study is being conducted on a portion of the King Ranch. Each autumn, 16-21 males are captured via helicopter net-gunning and fitted with GPS radio-collars which will collect locations every 15-20 minutes until March of the following year. Age, rump fat measurements, and antler size will be recorded for each male captured. Furthermore, fecal samples and DNA sample will be obtained from each individual. About 30-50 fawns will be captured each year and DNA techniques will be used to determine how many, if any, fawns were sired by the collared males.

Analyzing movement patterns, testosterone and stress levels, and body fat measurements in conjunction with breeding success will help us better understand the breeding system of male white-tailed deer among age classes. To date, we do not have enough parentage assignments to assess how movements, testosterone and stress levels, and body condition affects breeding success however some movement data has been analyzed. More information can be found at (insert link).

[Peyton]

Looks like the link is broken

[Artos]

Looks like the link is broken

cliff notes??

[Porterhouse]

Good stuff and pretty interesting. I used to think I was "a doe is a doe" believer but I will pass on does I know from prior years if I know they like to throw twins.... So I am really selecting for older does and killing the unproven does or does that are by themselves early season.

[rtp]

I didnt get to read the article but my plan this year is to kill doe fawns and does without a fawn.

[ChadMR82]

The one that stands still long enough......Hunting with traditional gear I am not too picky. Good read though.

[mysticguido]

I have always taken any age DOE... If You keep the number of DOEs down, You will get more BUCKs fighting for them..... Fawns = Tastey, DOEs = Great Food. I hunt for Food so All DEER are game/FooD

[EastTexasMan]

I try to identify older does that don't have a yearling with them. I call 0.5 year old deer that have lost their spots yearlings, but some people don't.

[garyn13]

The first one to walk out without a yearling no matter what the age is

[Flattopjeff]

Thanks for the link, always looking for good info

[TexasLongball]

Thanks for posting. Interesting read.