Does,young or old

[buckseeker]

My huntin buddies and I try to control our doe to buck ratio the best we can, but I have wondered if we should only harvest mature does or leave them for the bucks to breed? or does it really matter if they are mature or a few years old?

[buckee]

well, as far as buck/doe ratio goes, it doesn't really matter which doe you take to achieve your goals, ...However .... Taking a young deer that looks like a doe, could easily bag you a nubber-buck by mistake and besides that, there is not as much meat on the young ones.
So, why not go for a mature animal. More meat, more challenge and less chance of error

[billygoat]

The other thing about "mature" does, is that they are typically the animal that will have triplets (or twins), where as your 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 year old, will most times have a single fawn.

In my case, I like to take the 1 1/2 y.o doe, for two reasons: The meat is awesome, and they typically don't have fawns at there side.

So how do you know what a 1 1/2 y.o looks like... wait for a group of deer... preferrably one with mature does and their fawns, then look for the deer that is between them in size!

[Smitteken]

I say whack the mature does. Its the older does that run the young bucks off. And they'll bust you as quick as a mature buck will.

[TexasDeerHunter]

If your ultimat goal is to improve the genetics of your herd, then you should focus on harvesting mature does only. By selectively harvesting bucks and doe you should see an overall improvement in antler developement in 2-3 years, providing the nutrition is there. If you cull out bucks that are inferior and have reached an age of at least 4.5 years and older doe's then you rapidly improve what is called the genetic frequency of your herd. Typically the mature dominant bucks do the majority of breeding, therefore it is most likely that the recent offspring have a closer genetic link to the larger bucks in the herd. By letting the young doe, which most likely have good genetics, breed with bucks that are geneticaly superior then you have created a greater potential for better antler development. Keep in mind that it takes Age, Genetics, and Nutrition for a buck to reach his full potential. The lack of any one of these factors can create a barrier that can keep a buck from reaching his full potential.

[BowJoe]

I agree whole heartedly with TDH. I think you should look at doe harvesting the same way you do buck harvesting. They've had their chance to help the herd and now they have grown wise enough to teach the young bucks how to bust hunters as well as the does in a doe herd. I don't mean to say that I want stupid deer but they are hard enough to out smart as it is. Also, it gives the younger does a chance to develop faster if you don't have a doe with triplets every year which means even less food for the herd as a whole. Not killing a wise old doe in a group of younger does is only helping to educate the wise old doe. And what do does bring by our stands? Everybody say it with me now.....DOES BRING BUCKS BYE OUR STANDS!!! LMAO. Kill a doe feed a hunter.

[buckee]

DOES BRING BUCKS BYE OUR STANDS!!!...YES, YES, and a big YES

[BowtechTurkeyHunter]

I try and shoot the does with 2 yearling that way I figure I am helping my deer heard once she drops twins the chances of her doing it again are increased she may even drop triplets... but if I shoot a yearling I have increased my chances of shooting a button buck.
On our property in Iowa there are so many does I dont worry about hurting my chances of seeing a buck simply cause I ahve so many does already.

[Tominator]

If your ratio is 1:1, shoot the mature ones. Healthy mature ones around here can drop triplets sometimes. Yearlings usually only drop one fawn.

Shoot the mature ones.

[MonsterBuckMatt]

if you want more deer shoot the young ones because the old ones can have more than one