Hell yes fuzzy ! It is the same. I like watching does too, I especially like watching it brown on the grill ! Did the OP ever have a man card ? This is a girly question.

I think it depends on what your goals are for that property. I like seeing deer when I hunt and want more deer. I had this exact situation yesterday and didn't shoot her. She was a perfect candidate to shoot....old doe, no spots on fawns. My though was that if she can keep to fawns alive is this coyote invested state I want her breeding on my property.

Hunt legal and tell your buddy to go butt a stump.

This. Both were tasty!

I won't shoot a doe with a small yearling. If it's 50# or so I will under they get a pass. I feel they have a better chance surviving the yotes with moma around. Now my wife will hammer momas ass as long as they don't have spots.

Pre-breeding = only one deer, the doe

Post-breeding = doe, fetus, possibly second fetus - multiple deer, multiple mouths

This^^^^ is why I shoot them with no hesitation. A buck fawn will be booted out of the local herd by momma once it is big enough and it is forced to relocate elsewhere. Think of it as nature's way of preventing inbreeding. The logic is simple, if momma is dead, they do not get booted from the herd and should be more likely to remain in familiar territory. I have specifically killed does before simply because they had what appeared to be twin knotheads with them. I'd like to think that's two more bucks that stay on our lease instead of moving down the road one day.

I'll shoot the yearling. Reason is because the doe can breed and have fawns this year. If its a doe fawn then it will be probably next year before it breeds. Honestly I'm to the point where I could care less if its a fawn buck. If you've got "too many" deer then shooting the mom would probably be more beneficial.

Heck, imagine if we no longer had grocery stores and hunting was the only way of food. I don't think anyone would be grieving at all except for the fact that you didn't take the yearling too

Man this is confusing. A yearling buck in north AL could weigh 130 pounds this time of year.

Everybody say it with me.......FAWNS!

Ok, semantics aside, seems like I'm not in the minority. I shoot does this time of year first so I can fill the freezer before I hunt horns during the rut. If I had other options (ie- doe in the field without "fawns", she gone!), I would take them. All I saw on opening weekend was a doe with two fawns, so unlucky for her. I'm sure the fawns are fine, and we are at a point where we're trying to take a lot of does.

I did feel a little bad, when they kept standing around and looking at their mom, but not bad enough to lose any sleep over it.

i dont do it,I feel like if she breeds and is able to raise the yearling/yearlings she's a good momma and wanna keep her around. I'll just wait till one without a yearling. i've heard they run the buck off thing, but I dont think she runs them into the next county. I think they find the bachelor group and hang-out.

As far as managing the herd:

Pre-breeding = one doe plus the fawns she would have dropped

Post-breeding = one doe plus the fawns she would have dropped

Either way, the doe and the fawns she would drop in the future are out of the equation.

fuzzy
maybe I can clarify, I was thinking the same as you, then I realized he may be saying a pregnant doe eats more. Just guessing though.

I won't shoot a doe with a yearling. There are enough doe that loose their yearlings for different reasons before hunting season to shoot.

I actually prefer to shoot the yearlings for meat. They eat way better than the big ones.

Goodman deer biologist agree that the doe runs the male off to prevent him from breeding siblings. If it was only into a bachelor group this would not be prevented. Studies have proven bucks on your property were not born there .

clem your argument is laughable. Are you serious ? Both does when killed are only one mouth. It doesn't matter how many she will have. If she is dead its still one mouth.With your thinking he would be killing 10 mouths if she breed ten more yrs.

I knew an old man who has since passed on that would only shoot yearlings for that reason, and they were easier to drag out of the woods.

how far do they make them go?

Keep the responses coming. I'm making a nice long list of fawn killers/fawn momma killers that will never ever get permission to hunt my land. Carry on.