I always wonder about folk’s perception of the amount of does on their property. When people come back to camp from their hunt they may report “I saw 12 does”. OK, does that mean you saw 8 antlerless deer in one group and 4 antlerless in another, and deemed them all does? Or did you see actually distinguish 12 known does from their 4 month old fawns (of which, 50% will be bucks)?
I think when most folks say they saw a doe, what they really mean is they saw an antlerless deer. When they go to shoot one they pick out the mature doe to shoot cause it’s bigger, which is fine, but the observation error never gets corrected.
Uneducated hunter sightings are the worst way to get a count on does.
You hit the nail on the head in this.
Also was it 12 “antlerless deer in 1 group or did you see the same group of 4 multiple times. I tell my guys all the time that there is a difference in the number of deer actually seen and deer sightings. Some of my guys see 3 deer cross a plot and then a few minutes later the same deer cross the road going to the plot and they count 6 deer. No you saw the same 3 deer 2 times. The same guys will count a deer that crosses the county road either to or from the stand as a deer seen during that hunt. No that’s a deer seen, not a deer added to the number of deer seen during the hunt. Deer seen from the stand is deer seen during the hunt. It all depends on how people interpret deer sightings. We are by fan not overrun with does but we have plenty and the few we kill definitely does hurt the numbers. We could probably kill a few more but I can’t get some of my guys to shoot a couple because they usually kill all they want in Texas or Missouri.
It's hard to kiss the lips at night that chews your a$$ all day long.
