When to shoot a doe

[PK_]

If you are hunting bedding, Shoot the doe and blow the grunt call a couple times and then shoot the buck when he comes out to see what’s going on, if he doesn’t come he probably isn’t there.

If it’s rut and you are on a travel route shoot the doe after she walks by and is quartering away this will help to make sure the buck on her trail still walks right on by.

If you haven’t shot more than 1 deer in a season imo you need to shoot as many as you can, whenever you can (provided you can utilize the meat).

Good luck. Get bloody. Have fun.

[Ghost Hunter]

When I first started all I wanted was a deer in front of me. You need get some behind you. There are a lot of things that can happen from time you release that arrow an it hits where you think you want it too.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

If you’re after your first archery buck I can’t think of a better way to ensure your confidence is strong and you’re riding high then to have a recent archery kill Under your belt. Shooting one early is probably a good idea in this case.

Otherwise 4 scenarios come to mind.

1. I Do a Hunt/scout in a given area and don’t see the sign I’m looking for And don’t have time for a plan B. I may pull the plug on the buck hunt and setup to shoot a doe

2. I may be successful shooting a buck with shooting light
Left. A doe appears, she may also die.

3. A doe totally spoils my hunt. She’s blowing stomping etc- dead

4. I hit a point in the season where I’m not sure what my next move should be and winds are limiting my approach. Screw it, take an easy hunt, regroup and shoot a doe while you’re at it.

Best of luck

[may21581]

Why not do both at the same sit? Ive done this a few times. Shoot a doe earlier and leave her lay. A buck comes out take him too. Just put a good shot on her so she don't go far. Also don't use a lighted nock for the doe as i think we can all figure out why. Ask me how I learned this! This is a good tactic around the rut. Outside of that I have no experience pulling it off.

[SEMObowhunter]

When they blow, they die

[HeadHunting]

I think what matters here is what type of hunting your doing in consideration of a couple different factors. If you are hunting a pre-set location that you hunt a few times a year, then I would refrain from killing does there. I have had experience killing both bucks and does on a pre-set location but it is rare and I have experienced more, that once you disturb the area with a kill, your sightings will drop dramatically for some time if not the rest of the season.

If you are hunting more of a mobile set, then to me what comes into play is what is your investment in the area as far as scouting goes. Have you pre-scouted the area and believe the area to be somewhere where you have a higher than normal chance to kill a buck. If that is the case then like has been mentioned in previous replies, I would refrain. If you scouted your way in, confident in your scouting ability and found definite buck sign, setup to kill a buck then I would refrain from killing a doe there.

If it is more of a travel corridor where you found some deer sign and are not sure or confident in the sign being buck sign, then fire away, especially if you do not plan to hunt the area multiple times.

If you really want to kill multiple deer a year, you have to spend some time knowing the areas you want to hunt. Know if the area is good for does or bucks. Some areas may be good for both but understand that is the exception and not the rule. Generally your travel corridors between bedding areas and food are a great area for killing does. It keeps you far enough from buck bedding as not to disturb the area while accomplishing your goal. Additionally as was also mentioned on here it gets you some needed time going through the motions of killing a deer using archery equipment and your setup so you are ready to make that buck kill.

Good luck!!

[Groundpounder]

funny you say that pk. that's exactly what I did last year. doe came in from behind me. shot her, she ran in the opposite direction that I knew the buck was bedded, I blew a couple soft grunts, 5 min later he showed up and got shot. it helps that I was in very thick cover.

I shoot deer when I have opportunity to, period. hunt for bucks, kill for meat. no need to separate the two.

[Sneeek'n'Around]

For me its not a decision i make before i leave the house. Its day to day or hunt to hunt. Tho i usually intend to take a few does threw out the season, its a in the moment when the opportunity arrises, but also considering other factors, like weather hot or cold can i hang my harvest to age or does it have to be cut with in hrs, size of deer or just as simple as time of yr like around the rut, during that time thats the last thing on my mind.

[Huntress13]

I figure I can shoot does during gun season if I have to, but thats just me.

That said, I typically have doe groups standing right in front of me in the morning, so early season if I was shooting a doe, that is when I would do it.

[TNhunter80]

Every person has a different approach. I have shot does from early season to a couple weeks before season closes. Now my preference is to try to get meat before breeding occurs. More than likely a doe gets a pass from me late season. If my daughter wants to shoot one, she can as she has never shot a deer.

[Jonny]

Why not do both at the same sit? Ive done this a few times. Shoot a doe earlier and leave her lay. A buck comes out take him too. Just put a good shot on her so she don't go far. Also don't use a lighted nock for the doe as i think we can all figure out why. Ask me how I learned this! This is a good tactic around the rut. Outside of that I have no experience pulling it off.

Nothing better than fresh bait during the rut

[G-Patt]

I intentionally go for does early season and target dropping white oaks close to known doe beds. I like to get one of them in the freezer before intentionally targeting bucks. Nothing better than starting off deer season with meat in the freezer. If a nice buck happens to walk by before a doe, then that's an awesome bonus. However, if I'm targeting a specific buck and hunting that area where I'm hoping he'll be when a doe happens to walk by, I don't shoot the doe. By the time I'm hunting bucks, I usually have a doe in the freezer, and there would be no point for me to shoot her. I only take a doe and buck a season, and after that, I'm hunting other animals or fishing.

[NorthStar]

If you are hunting bedding, Shoot the doe and blow the grunt call a couple times and then shoot the buck when he comes out to see what’s going on, if he doesn’t come he probably isn’t there.

If it’s rut and you are on a travel route shoot the doe after she walks by and is quartering away this will help to make sure the buck on her trail still walks right on by.

If you haven’t shot more than 1 deer in a season imo you need to shoot as many as you can, whenever you can (provided you can utilize the meat).

Good luck. Get bloody. Have fun.

This is really solid advice for anyone new to Beast-style hunting. Using my experiences, the tactics discussed on this forum will not put you on more deer. It actually puts me on less deer then sitting over a open food source or even on an obvious pinch point. Its easy to lose interest or even confidence hunting this way. If you have not shot and killed enough deer(hard to put an exact number on it) with your bow, I would strongly suggest not passing on deer when the opportunity is there. But again, this is just one guys opinion here...

[may21581]

Why not do both at the same sit? Ive done this a few times. Shoot a doe earlier and leave her lay. A buck comes out take him too. Just put a good shot on her so she don't go far. Also don't use a lighted nock for the doe as i think we can all figure out why. Ask me how I learned this! This is a good tactic around the rut. Outside of that I have no experience pulling it off.

Nothing better than fresh bait during the rut

Totally agree! As long as their not stomping and blowing at you carrying on in a alerting way I have seen no negative impact on buck hunting. Most times the does are out long before the buck anyway. Now this setup is closer to food sources and not in buck bedding though.

[mauser06]

Short answer.... whenever you want.


You have no idea if/how it'll effect anything else. You have no idea how the rest of that hunt or future hunts in the area will go.


If you want to shoot a doe, shoot her when you see her.


I've shot several critters and not long later a buck of some sort came in. I shot a long beard and a mature buck from the same tree within an hour. Left the turkey lay after the shot. Buck came right in and worked a scrape till I shot him.



If I had to pick a time, I'd shoot them later in the morning in a spot I didn't plan on going back to. My last archery doe was that scenario. The one prior to her made me mad...a nice buck was chasing her....the buck didn't meet the antler restrictions. I was already at full draw expecting him to be legal. Saw he wasn't. She stopped broadside 15yds away. I was at full draw, disappointed about the buck and had a doe tag so I shot his girlfriend lol.