best time of the year to shoot a doe?

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best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby WashingtonCoWiHunter » Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:12 am

What time of the season will you guys harvest a doe or hunt those for sure doe spots over a bucks bed? September to take the pressure off and fill the freezer, really late season in the snow, or just whenever one comes in? or not at all?


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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby lungbuster » Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:18 am

I take does all season long, but find that they are the best tasting in the earlier season, it seems like once they go to a mainly browse diet they get gamier, but even so not to the point they are not extremely tasty! :mrgreen:

The only time I don't shoot does is during the chase phase of the rut as I don't want to kill my "live decoy".
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby dan » Sat Mar 27, 2010 6:51 am

Where I hunt, what I hunt, and when I hunt are decided on a day to day basis... I hear a lot of people make comments about a certain buck they are going after, or a specific spot they plan to be at opening day. I just sit back and wonder how they could already know the wind direction, weather, and pressure before its even close to hunting time... I know you meant that as a general question, but I had to give my 2 cents on it...
As far as a general time to shoot a doe rather than a buck? Any time during the season. I rarely ever target does. I shoot the ones that wander by my buck spots when I feel it won't mess up my buck hunting.
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby PLB » Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:43 am

Never! But if you are on managed land with an over abundance of does which is rare in Wisconsin or you are looking to fill the freezer or gain experience, I would vote for the first week of October. my .02
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby magicman54494 » Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:57 am

I usually wait until muzzleloader season or late bow season. I do it for a few reasons. It's cold enough that I don't have to worry about spoilage. I love shooting my smoke pole. It's a nice change of pace from trophy hunting. Earlier on I don't like to mess up spots that I hope to shoot a buck.
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby lungbuster » Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:11 am

Public Land Beast wrote:Never! But if you are on managed land with an over abundance of does which is rare in Wisconsin or you are looking to fill the freezer or gain experience, I would vote for the first week of October. my .02


Didn't you kill a doe or two last season?????
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby Zap » Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:42 am

Whenever the spirit moves me.

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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby huntinnurse » Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:10 am

Where I hunt now, everytime one presents a shot!!!! Seeing I am limited to does and spikes to manage the land!!!!!
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby PredatorTC » Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:30 am

If i do it, ill do it any time that i know it would mess up any good buck spots...or if its a buck spot i sat multiple times and was unsuccessful
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby tresleggos » Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:28 am

Public Land Beast wrote:Never! But if you are on managed land with an over abundance of does which is rare in Wisconsin or you are looking to fill the freezer or gain experience, I would vote for the first week of October. my .02



o ya i suppose , dont shoot does because there are no deer in wisconsin right...... wtf :roll:
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby WiBowhuntress » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:37 pm

Well I'll take a doe or 2 when the opportunity presents itself. I love to eat venison...and that's the bottom line. Doesn't matter what time of year to me.

I love to hunt big bucks too though!
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Sat Mar 27, 2010 6:21 pm

I'd rather shoot them in the late season even though there is a chance they have become pregnant by then. I don't want to worry about the meat spoilage like I do in early season plus when early season hits I'm all amped up to shoot a monster but you can only wait so long. When the snow starts flying and I haven't released an arrow yet my standards drop and those little yearling does that so naively wander to a corn pile are so tempting. :oops: we hunt mainly private land and the deer are stuck to patterns (aka we dont have any deer without a food source and all the neighbors bait)

My favorite reason for shooting deer in the gun season through the late season is because once the skin is off and the carcass hangs and freezes that frozen tallow and fat just peels off so nice during butchering (i know bad reason)
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Mar 27, 2010 6:30 pm

I will shoot a doe anytime during the season but will be less inclined to kill one during the peak of the rut. I have let a doe go more than once during the rut to then have a decent buck or two following behind her a few minutes later.
Otherwise, if it is close to closing time and I don't plan on hunting the spot again for a buck I will take the shot.
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby UPbowhunter » Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:59 am

We have to earn our buck tag here in Jersey, so I kill one in Sept, Oct, November is for bucks, and I am on a doe mission in January most years to keep the freezer full. This year I hunted a farm where the farmer wanted deer dead so I shot a doe in every month of the season for him except Jan. I gave more deer away this year so I was most nights gona pull the trigger on every doe that came by. People in my neiborhood couldn't get enough venison this year. Sign of the times!
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Re: best time of the year to shoot a doe?

Unread postby Arrowbender » Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:52 am

I always set up stands just for doe killing. I want that to happen as early as possible. Last year a few of the gracious landowners that allow my hunting indicated that they thought we were short on does in the area. I didn't kill one.
I find that killing does in my doe killing areas doesn't seem to affect buck movement at all. There have been seasons that I needed to kill a doe during pre rut or rut and that didn't really seem to affect buck movement either. So I guess my answer would be: try to kill them early but if you like venison kill them when you can.


And threelegs said it best: "wtf"

I hunt WI & MN and I think the WI deer population is Awesome.


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