Managing deer isn’t that hard. You just need a secondary lease to 80% of the time and only hunt the managed lease 20%. The hard parts the labor involved.

Yeah, doe age structure will play a role………With the coyote scenario on bottom, the green circled area will be your old matriarch does pulling mult-generational trains behind them while the outliers remain as single does or very small groups at best……In the human controlled scenario we could have old doe groups forming across the entire time spectrum due to our indiscriminate choosing of individuals……or probably even worse…..we may prevent there from being any significant female “age structure” at all……which would likely create the highest variability.

Nice piebald. Some of those mature does lose their fawns?

That pic was taken probably ten years ago.....I really dont recall but it seems like there was another little one in the edge of the woods of the frame when I took it.

Allowing things to form this ^^^^^ structure should also make it fairly easy to identify which ones are your peak estrous does and which ones are your outliers……..Your big train groups are more likely to be your peak breeders. I’d say for sure don’t shoot one the old lead does and bust up that structure. If you were gonna shoot a doe then I think I’d choose one of the lone does…….Although, if I knew where there was a lone doe living and doing the same thing every day……that’s where I would want to be hunting during the pre-rut or post-rut (either end of the bell curve time period)……During the peak I’d be where the train groups usually fed…….It could be the same place but these big doe groups are most likely gonna run the show and secure the best resources for them if times get slim………but again, this would be in a scenario where coyotes were controlling population dynamics.

Someone go make a bad shot on a deer so CNC has something to do.

😂😂

He's too busy coloring

I saw a fawn yesterday that was considerably smaller than the other ones on the propery, guessing it dropped late. Should I have shot it? Almost did, the dang thing wouldn't quit blowing at me lol.