Matriarch doe vs. Mature buck- who is smarter?

[MichiganMike]

Doe pic.jpg

Not sure how to do the vote app on here, but would like to see everyone's thoughts and take on this one. This should be fun! Mature doe vs. Mature buck- who's smarter?

[nchb]

During the Rut it’s not even close: those old does are impossible to kill compared to an old buck.

As all of us men who have been teenagers know, mega-doses of testosterone tend to make a fella careless!

[Dewey]

I say mature doe by a long shot. Not only does she have to worry about her life but her offspring as well. Easily the smartest deer I have encountered over the years were old does.

[Hawthorne]

Mature buck. The little ones cause the doe to make mistakes because they have to eat

[greenhorndave]

Yeah, I was going to add that a boss doe looks out for a herd, not No. 1 like a buck.

I couldn’t tell you how many does walked past me when turkey hunting this year before boss doe picked me off.

[G-Patt]

I always seem to get picked off by Big Momma.

[mipubbucks24]

I say mature buck because in a lot of instances a mature doe gets a pass, after 5/6 passes she is not going to be as concerned with hunters as a mature buck that has every guy in the woods hunting them. In my opinion a mature buck is a completely different animal, whereas a mature doe will be bedded and spending time with most of the other does and younger deer, making her easier to find and kill. Smarter is probably not the best word, I would say cautious/weary. They are both smart to survive to maturity, they just do it in different ways.

[<DK>]

I say mature doe by a long shot. Not only does she have to worry about her life but her offspring as well. Easily the smartest deer I have encountered over the years were old does.

Agreed. I can still hear one blowing right now

[venisonassassin]

Yeah, I was going to add that a boss doe looks out for a herd, not No. 1 like a buck.

I couldn’t tell you how many does walked past me when turkey hunting this year before boss doe picked me off.

I agree with this statement right here. If they have a few years on them those old matriarch does are sharp. Hard to tell sometimes though, those big old bucks will stand still and scan an area for an hour before moving.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

There aren’t many doe shot around me. There are some big old donkeys running around and there is usually one devil doe that makes quite a challenge. Not to say you can’t shoot a buck after being blown at but my confidence in the hunt drips significantly after I get blown at. When it’s a devil doe and she does it for 15 min I get angry and I will cut her down if she gives me the opportunity at that point. They are real smart but I’m going with the mature buck because every time things go south with me on one of them. Generally he disappears. The doe will keep coming around even if I was pounding a spot.

[Bentstraight]

I would say a mature doe is more likely to pick you off up in a tree, but a mature buck is harder to pattern and kill

[MNarrow]

Mature buck. I feel that a mature doe will give you one opportunity (the first opportunity) but from then on she knows exactly where you are.

[greenhorndave]

After thinking about it, I would have to say mature buck because they usually don’t have the benefit of having a herd of eyes around them. Solitary creatures need to have extraordinary survival instincts.

But mature does can be a pain in the patootie as I said earlier. They’re great at what they do, but probably not as good as an old buck.

[Edcyclopedia]

She is the blow-triarch of the herd...

[getoutdoors_sjr]

Just like men and women, each have their strong suits.

As mentioned above, I always seem to get picked off by the lead doe. BUT I will say this, a lot of times after they've presented a shot. Whereas the mature buck hopefully wouldn't have had that opportunity to bust me.

I think the bucks have better survival instincts, the lead does have a broader idea of whats going on because they are looking out for more than just #1.