Doe or Buck?

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  • outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    At this point in my life, I get to hunt enough to wait for a decent buck. If my freezer were near empty, I’d take a decent doe in a heartbeat, and have done so plenty of times. I will let smaller bucks walk.
    :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Yes.

    Now that I’ve got a small property with lots of deer moving through it, I don’t shoot small bucks. By small I mean less than what Maryland would consider of limited points. Which right now is less than a 5-pt.

    I am way more about meat. Bigger deer means more meat though. Learning. But in generally I’d just shoot larger deer. I’ve got enough opportunities I don’t need to shoot a fawn either. Generally pick the biggest one out of the herd and shoot that one, unless real early season. If a fawn still has its spots I generally skip momma if she’s the biggest and go for the biggest doe that doesn’t look like she is with fawn(s).

    I am certainly looking for big bucks. But not skipping over a decent doe or even a medium buck for one.

    Public land I might consider a decent sized deer if any gender when hunting it. Still pass obvious fawns and probably spikes. Might shoot a big fork.

    Passed a fawn I had a shot on early muzzleloader on public land. Would have shot her momma if I’d had a clear shot, but no go. She turned and started trotting staying in thick stuff and passed the fawn who gave me a nice broadside shot between two trees for about 15, 20 seconds before she noticed momma was trotting off and ran after her.

    Had a nice doe in the freezer from opening day. Ended up not really seeing much at all the rest of the day and the next. Went home and shot a doe on my property that evening. Looking for a big buck now. I might add another doe in the late season if I get no luck on any bucks in November or December.

    I’d really like to process one deer myself this year (haven’t yet).
     

    AlphabetSoup

    Member
    Oct 28, 2019
    67
    Meat at present, because I'm hunting public land with limited time in my life to scout and chase a "monster buck". Best I've seen on PG county in two years has been an 8 pointer (that I would've loved).

    So I'd love to get one, but I know it'd basically have to be dumb luck at this point... And the kids are giving me a hard time that we've been out of venison for several months now.

    Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    I used to want a nice but too, but mainly focus on personality anymore.

    Yea, my butt seems to be getting smaller. The wife said it seems to be a marriage transfer thing she noticed. On the older couple the man's a$$ always gets smaller, even if his belly gets larger and the man's a$$ seems to transfer to his wife.

    Yea, I meant to say Rack. A nice rack of on 2 legs or 4 legs is just as nice. You can politely stare and drool at the 4 legged one though. ;)
     

    Archeryrob

    Undecided on a great many things
    Mar 7, 2013
    3,064
    Washington Co. - Fairplay
    I am way more about meat. Bigger deer means more meat though. Learning. But in generally I’d just shoot larger deer. I’ve got enough opportunities I don’t need to shoot a fawn either. Generally pick the biggest one out of the herd and shoot that one, unless real early season. If a fawn still has its spots I generally skip momma if she’s the biggest and go for the biggest doe that doesn’t look like she is with fawn(s).

    I am certainly looking for big bucks. But not skipping over a decent doe or even a medium buck for one.

    I shot an 8 point and he's in the fridge now. My daughter and I broken him down and into meat lugs Saturday. The 4.5 gallon Rubbermaid ones and used two. I almost couldn't get the lids on. Even the largest mature does don't take that much room. This was not a huge buck either.
     

    SavageShooter

    Active Member
    Jan 10, 2014
    644
    Arbutus, MD
    W MD & WV & PA mountain hunter here. I only take bucks. the only way I would take a doe is if she was wounded or something and wasn't going to make it through the winter. I crossbow, muzzle load and rifle hunt. Nothing wrong with taking a doe or two. Remember does are the ones who have the fawns. I think too many does are taken in MD. The bag limit is to lenient in section B. I guess I'm old school I started deer hunting in WV at age eight with my uncle now I'm sixty three. Back then rifle was only one week buck only no does at all. Don't even get caught with a doe back then DNR took your rifle, fined you and no hunting for at least the next year.
     

    GutPile

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 4, 2016
    3,218
    W MD & WV & PA mountain hunter here. I only take bucks. the only way I would take a doe is if she was wounded or something and wasn't going to make it through the winter. I crossbow, muzzle load and rifle hunt. Nothing wrong with taking a doe or two. Remember does are the ones who have the fawns. I think too many does are taken in MD. The bag limit is to lenient in section B. I guess I'm old school I started deer hunting in WV at age eight with my uncle now I'm sixty three. Back then rifle was only one week buck only no does at all. Don't even get caught with a doe back then DNR took your rifle, fined you and no hunting for at least the next year.

    The issue with region b is that you can't hunt the areas that are truly overwhelmed with deer. Thanks mostly to the outdated 150 yard rule that will allow a hippy soy vegan to refuse permission to what otherwise would be a suitable archery only property.
     

    KIBarrister

    Opinionated Libertarian
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 10, 2013
    3,923
    Kent Island/Centreville
    Meat but I have passed a number of small does this year.
    Deer Tacos
    Venison Chili

    Yes, my kids say Deer Tacos cause Venison Tacos just sounds strange to them, sorry

    Mine call them “Bambi tacos”

    I hunt for meat. If I happen to get horns, that is icing on the cake but I don’t look for it. I have a guy I hunt with that has gotten so obsessed with bucks (and struck out on them several years in a row), that he barely wants to hunt anymore. I just don’t get it...
     

    jtb81100

    Ultimate Member
    May 28, 2012
    2,234
    Western HoCo
    First few days of firearms season I'll hold out for a buck (get the meat and something for the wall). After that, if it is brown it is down.
     

    Pushrod

    Master Blaster
    Aug 8, 2007
    2,979
    WV High Country
    The doe/buck ration is way out of whack here in my area. Way too many does and too few bucks. I'll hunt for large bucks until after rifle season is over (I mostly bow hunt) and then will take a large doe if I don't get a buck. I'll only take an older buck (3+ years), but not too many of them survive that long around here.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    The doe/buck ration is way out of whack here in my area. Way too many does and too few bucks. I'll hunt for large bucks until after rifle season is over (I mostly bow hunt) and then will take a large doe if I don't get a buck. I'll only take an older buck (3+ years), but not too many of them survive that long around here.

    WV just gets hammered. It's one of the few states where if you don't hunt, you're in the minority. Not to say there aren't some big bucks out there, but if you're hunting public land, it's tough to find them.

    I have a buddy that keeps saying we're going to go hunting on his dad's farms near Marlinton because they're thick with deer and he has it posted, but that's not materialized in the 3 years he's been promising, so who knows.
     
    My hunting club has a strict policy concerning shooting bucks...Only mature animals with at least 8 points and antlers that extend outward past it's ears...Almost none of the bucks we have seen on cam or in person meet those requirements...

    Luckily for me i'm a meat eater and hunter. I have no issues whacking a few does. Last year I killed 5 deer, all female. So far this year I have one on the books and plan to take at least 3 more. Maybe more since now I can legally hunt with my 350 legend, Glock G20 and/or my High Point 10mm carbine AND there is a primitive weapon weekend in Feb where I can break out my old Lyman Deer Stalker side lock. Took my very first deer with that muzzle loader...actually looking forward to using it again.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,815
    I never got the "antlers out past the ears" requirement. I've taken 4 YO deer in the high 140s that didn't meat that requirement.
     

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