Most guys would never admit to shooting a yearling on purpose...you're the first one. There are a lot of yearlings shot every year though. just take a look at the pickup beds at the hotels and restaurants after the first day of hunting. I use the same trick in pheasant hunting with a bunch of guys. I always tell the younger guys who are impressed with the long tail feathers that they should take the bigger birds with them. The younger birds with the short tail feathers are much better on the table.
I shoot fawns
I tell it like is. I have 1 deer liscense its a buck. I will enter more drawings for tags in different areas. I hope to have 2 doe tags. One of the does I shoot will be a fawn. Some people call them yearlings but they are only about 6 or 7 months old so to me they are still fawns. I do this for 2 reasons. 1. It is some of the best eating you can find. 2 I leave a big healthy doe to breed. If there are two fawns toghether I will take the smaller one. It will most likely be the doe. My wife and I have shot twins: the meat from the doe can be lighter in color and a little more mild than the button buck. Yup the wife shoots fawns too. But then shes a tough German farm girl and she does what she wants.
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Old Hunter; nothing wrong with the fawns!!! At my father inlaws place there are so many deer there that he can no longer maintain crops, plant gardens have a flower garden, and has lost most of his young apple trees! I have taken many yearlings out of his land and let me tell you!!!! that is some of the best tasting venison out there!!! It seems to have hellped to maintain the population somewhat but most of the does around his farm keep having triplets!!! There are many night while eating dinner we would look out the window an see anywhere from 30 to 40 deer grazing in hisd hayfeild! Many bucks that are 12pt usually one 14 a couple 10 many 8 few 6pt but many many doe and yearling. The jerky made from yearling rump is the best!
Anyway wish you much success on your hunts(the wife too)
Anyway wish you much success on your hunts(the wife too)
:******: What makes you want to shoot little baby deer? you could be killing a future monster buck without knowing it, just don't let it happen again, you're the kind of guy that gives deer hunting a bad name, as far as the leaving a big doe to breed mindset, it's not practical, there are too many does period in many units, so why not shoot something that you are sure is a doe, ??? instead of a fawn that could be a buck.. bucks are what we need, not does, everyone wants a buck, nobody wants to shoot does, and when most people do get buck tags, they end up shooting a one or two year old buck, whats the value in that? if you want meat, get a doe tag, if you want a mature buck, hunt a mature buck.
i'm not saying everyone has the chance to shoot a mature buck, but the more small bucks we leave, the more monsters we have in two ta three years....
i'm not saying everyone has the chance to shoot a mature buck, but the more small bucks we leave, the more monsters we have in two ta three years....
Why does his decision to take game give deer hunting a bad name? Remember some hunters aren't after a trophy.bowhunter said::******: What makes you want to shoot little baby deer? you could be killing a future monster buck without knowing it, just don't let it happen again, you're the kind of guy that gives deer hunting a bad name...
The reason is, 
uke: if you shoot baby deer, it gives yourself a bad name because, it's hardly ethical, would you go hunting for baby birds?
They aren't near as smart for another. I've seen a lot more fawns up close than anything....
But, believe what you want to believe, maybe what I said was a bit judging, but I just don't think it's reasonable to shoot fawns.uke:
uke: if you shoot baby deer, it gives yourself a bad name because, it's hardly ethical, would you go hunting for baby birds?They aren't near as smart for another. I've seen a lot more fawns up close than anything....
But, believe what you want to believe, maybe what I said was a bit judging, but I just don't think it's reasonable to shoot fawns.
uke:
I dont think there is a problem with shooting yearlings, especially if he is hunting for meat purposes. It is a well known fact that the younger the animal, the more tender the meat (ie veal).
Some people hunt for meat, and I am one of those people. I almost always get a buck tag in a unit that doesnt produce monster deer, and I generally dont fill that tag. Its the second draw doe tag that I fill. I love venison, especially the good tasting stuff!!
Some people hunt for meat, and I am one of those people. I almost always get a buck tag in a unit that doesnt produce monster deer, and I generally dont fill that tag. Its the second draw doe tag that I fill. I love venison, especially the good tasting stuff!!
Bowhunter I would venture to say that trophy hunting and the lenghts people go to put a wall hanger in the den has done more to hurt the image of the deerhunter than someone taking a deer of the year.
I have never seen a full grown man or woman hanging out the window shooting at a yearling, but I have seen this when that animal has horns. Not to mention that with tropy hunting comes more commericalization and less opportunity for those that are do it yourself hunters. I heard of a promotion in Bismarck a while back that gave away a guided hunt, the recipeint was told not to shoot a certain buck on the property and did so anyway and the promoter got a hefty bill from the service based on the value they placed on this animal in the commerical market. I do not have all the details and I may be incorrect on this but it still illustates what I have said.
Percepcition and reality overlapin most cases so there is some validity in your thought process, but when you harvest that big doe it may also be the one tha has the right genitics to match up with the buck to produce that trophy.Deer are similar to cattle in that the doe affects the size of the offspring and what it will grow to also. Birth weight ,instincts, the amount of milk she has etc. So before you bash someone that is making a decision on what he wants to put his tag on, I would look at what trophy hunting is doing.
I have never seen a full grown man or woman hanging out the window shooting at a yearling, but I have seen this when that animal has horns. Not to mention that with tropy hunting comes more commericalization and less opportunity for those that are do it yourself hunters. I heard of a promotion in Bismarck a while back that gave away a guided hunt, the recipeint was told not to shoot a certain buck on the property and did so anyway and the promoter got a hefty bill from the service based on the value they placed on this animal in the commerical market. I do not have all the details and I may be incorrect on this but it still illustates what I have said.
Percepcition and reality overlapin most cases so there is some validity in your thought process, but when you harvest that big doe it may also be the one tha has the right genitics to match up with the buck to produce that trophy.Deer are similar to cattle in that the doe affects the size of the offspring and what it will grow to also. Birth weight ,instincts, the amount of milk she has etc. So before you bash someone that is making a decision on what he wants to put his tag on, I would look at what trophy hunting is doing.
Ron... :thumb: You hit the nail on the head!!!!
Look at the commercialization that has happened in Texas, Bowhunter! $2500.00 on up just to shoot monster bucks that are technically "grown" for trophy hunters. Their management practices are to harvest what most hunters would call once in a lifetime bucks but the outfitters consider them inferior because they lack the genetics of the real monsters that bring in the big dollars. Not my idea of hunting! It is awful watching one of those monster buck shows when all they are concerned about is the size of the rack. Most of the time when they approach the dead deer they show the guy nearly wetting himself saying "Man! Check out the size of that rack!!!!" They never mention that most of those monster bucks are very unpalatable! Seems like a waste to shoot something that you would have to choke down just to hang on the wall! But hey; to each his own. :beer:
Look at the commercialization that has happened in Texas, Bowhunter! $2500.00 on up just to shoot monster bucks that are technically "grown" for trophy hunters. Their management practices are to harvest what most hunters would call once in a lifetime bucks but the outfitters consider them inferior because they lack the genetics of the real monsters that bring in the big dollars. Not my idea of hunting! It is awful watching one of those monster buck shows when all they are concerned about is the size of the rack. Most of the time when they approach the dead deer they show the guy nearly wetting himself saying "Man! Check out the size of that rack!!!!" They never mention that most of those monster bucks are very unpalatable! Seems like a waste to shoot something that you would have to choke down just to hang on the wall! But hey; to each his own. :beer:
Good golly..Ron Gilmore said:Bowhunter I would venture to say that trophy hunting and the lenghts people go to put a wall hanger in the den has done more to hurt the image of the deerhunter than someone taking a deer of the year.
Deer are similar to cattle in that the doe affects the size of the offspring and what it will grow to also. Birth weight ,instincts, the amount of milk she has etc. So before you bash someone that is making a decision on what he wants to put his tag on, I would look at what trophy hunting is doing.
It doesn't matter how old the doe is, a young doe has the same genetics she will have when she is a year older, two years older, forever.....
I don't remember saying the people should go to fool measures to kill a big buck, in fact, i didn't say anything like that at all. all i said was, shooting fawns is not even close to a reasonable thing to do as a hunter.
And I'm not bashing anyone, I said he can do whatever he wants, it's just not very wise.
As far as your idea on how the trophy hunting has done as much to hurt the image, I think you have at least half a point. I realize that there are many freaks out there that would do anything to kill a big one, thats not what I'm saying we should do. I'm saying, that we should let the young deer grow up, and then we will have some decent deer at least in the herd.
And as far as the guy that shot the buck that won the hunt, he should have listened to the outfitter, outfitters spend a good deal of time keeping there deer herd healthy, if you shoot a deer that is bigger than what you payed for, yes, you are screwed, thats why he shouldn't have shot the deer. :eyeroll:
The way I wrote that I expected to get a rise out of someone. Bowhunter you gave me the opening. I appreciate your ethics about the bucks. It shows you care. Remember I said I shoot the little one if possible. This is always the doe. Now I dont think farmers kill off their best bulls at the end of the year . They keep them to breed again and again. If you guys all shoot the biggest and the best bucks you are killing your best breeding bucks. Last year I shot a little fat buck. It had a poor set of antlers. One side was a funny little palmated fork and the other was a small 3 point. I looked at him in the scope saw the funny rack really didnt want to end the season in one hour so I wasnt going to shoot him. Then I realized how fat this little pig was. Bang he is in my freezer. I just left a big monster buck for you to shoot. Pretty generous of me. The big bucks draw hunters Idont like that. The big bucks dont taste nearly as good. Hopefully this year I will shoot a fat buck about 2yrs old(with a bad rack)a doe about 2 or 3 yrs old and 1 or 2 fawns.Iwill try to take all doe fawns. I do shoot baby birds also. Some of the doves that I shoot barely have any feathers.. I hunt early duck season and many of those ducks are very young. Early goose young and dumb.. yum yum yum they are soooooo good eating. Good luck
i agree with bowhunter. there is no ethic to shooting yearlings. Hunting is a sport period. NOT one of us relies on our fall deer tags to survive!! Along with being a sport it is also about population control, so why the hell not do it right and pick off a mature doe or buck!
bow hunter1 You talk about population control I will buy 12 deer tags for my family. 3 of those will be archery tags. I would guess we will fill all of the gun tags if we hunt hard. My wife will likely fill her bow tag. She has more time Ispend evenings scouting geese. So If we shoot 10 deer thats population control. I dont want to eat 10 big deer. I want a few fawns so I have some super fine eating. I eat everything that I shoot. I quit hunting crane because I think they taste like crap. I dont shoot things and give the meat away because I believe that It is usually wasted. Non hunters seldom utilize the meat. It sits in their freezer for 1 year and then they throw it away. The homeless shelters dont really like it that much. They get govt meat. Let me educate you a little. Alot of thoes doe fawns are breed the first year. They may be smaller but can and do come into estrus the first year. This is why the rut of bucks continues so late young does are just starting. So in reality I am shooting a semi mature offspring producing doe. This is population control. Who are you to judge how big a deer a person should shoot. You are a little short on information. Get over the bambi thing. Also clean the puke off your shoes.
I don't believe ther is anything wrong with shooting fawns either. They do taste the best and they will be the first ones to die if we have a hard winter.
No one can deny the fact that yearling taset better, the meat is softer and smells better. The bigger dear stink, and the meat is so tough that you might as well make sausage out if it........
Take the big ones guys......that saves the smaller better tasting one for the people who actually keep the meat.
I was at the trap range today and herd a couple of guys talking about the 2nd, 3rd ,and 4th tags had to be in today. They were talking about place that they give there deer to....Why do some of these people get 4 tags and only keep 1 deer.
Posted: 26 Jul 2003 00:45 Post subject:
Besides what ETHICAL about going for the trophy Buck. Sure it's great to harvest the bigger deer but if your only going for "The Big One" There not a hole lot of ethics in it......only bragging right in the bar at the end of the night?
Mav....
Take the big ones guys......that saves the smaller better tasting one for the people who actually keep the meat.
I was at the trap range today and herd a couple of guys talking about the 2nd, 3rd ,and 4th tags had to be in today. They were talking about place that they give there deer to....Why do some of these people get 4 tags and only keep 1 deer.
Posted: 26 Jul 2003 00:45 Post subject:
With out population control, comes diseases and imbreading . Making a weaker gene pool, or we find more deer on downtown Fargo running through windows.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i agree with bowhunter. there is no ethic to shooting yearlings. Hunting is a sport period. NOT one of us relies on our fall deer tags to survive!! Along with being a sport it is also about population control, so why the hell not do it right and pick off a mature doe or buck! german you say? yeah i figured your ethics would be pure german!
Besides what ETHICAL about going for the trophy Buck. Sure it's great to harvest the bigger deer but if your only going for "The Big One" There not a hole lot of ethics in it......only bragging right in the bar at the end of the night?
Mav....
Yes, indeed, some of us DO rely on our fall deer tag to survive. This is my families only source of meat. Some of us are not privileged enough to go to a store and purchase beef for the high prices.bowhunter1 said:i agree with bowhunter. there is no ethic to shooting yearlings. Hunting is a sport period. NOT one of us relies on our fall deer tags to survive!! Along with being a sport it is also about population control, so why the hell not do it right and pick off a mature doe or buck! german you say? yeah i figured your ethics would be pure german!
However, a $20.00 tag is affordable, especially when you are able to process yourself.
Yeah I bet.............. :eyeroll:Yes, indeed, some of us DO rely on our fall deer tag to survive. This is my families only source of meat. Some of us are not privileged enough to go to a store and purchase beef for the high prices.
However, a $20.00 tag is affordable, especially when you are able to process yourself.
well good for you buddy :lol:bow hunter1 You talk about population control I will buy 12 deer tags for my family. 3 of those will be archery tags. I would guess we will fill all of the gun tags if we hunt hard. My wife will likely fill her bow tag. She has more time Ispend evenings scouting geese.
and please make a little more sense next time. Alot of thoes doe fawns are breed the first year. They may be smaller but can and do come into estrus the first year. This is why the rut of bucks continues so late young does are just starting. So in reality I am shooting a semi mature offspring producing doe.
thanks!:eyeroll:
makes more sense than me I've eaten pheasants that cost me a $100.00 a forkfull
Old hunter, It is absolutely impossible to know the "genetic potential" of a buck until he is 3.5 years old. And a 3.5 year old is not a mature buck either. a 5 year old is totally mature. That goofy fat little buck you shot was more than likely a YEARLING . I'd almost put money on it. 1.5 years old. Most 1.5 year olds have little racks...not spikes. When that "cull" buck you shot would have turned 3.5, he probably would have had a 16 inch spread or better and went over 120" boone/crockett points. But you certainly put an end to that. Almost EVERYONE i hear that says they shot a junker says the same thing. "I just took a bad one out of the gene pool"..(patting themselves on the back to justify shooting a baby) That is just laughable. Right. As far as shooting a yearling female, thats fine, nothing wrong with that, a female deer is a female deer. :eyeroll:
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