Originally posted by Tim:
Where I hunt in PA we have very high numbers, however in the past few years a few guys in our group have been consistently killing "many" mature does and passing on the yearlings. This year we saw a considerable decrease in the number of deer on the property. If you continue to take the mature does from the herd you will eventually feel the effects.
The yearlings are the easiest to replace. The mature does know the best hiding spots, the best areas to winter and the location of the food sources when winter gets bad. A happy balance seems to always work well.
That was my exact thoughts Tim. If too many mature does are taken on a regular basis, your herd structure will eventually get out of wack. It happened on a private lease we had and not because of us taking too many mature does, but the guys who hunted all around us. After several years of killing the crap out of big mature does and passing on yearlings......we began seeing stunted deer. Medium sized does with either zero fawn production or 1 ultra tiny fawn that looked sickly. It wasn't a very pleasant experience to have that happen to an otherwise awesome piece of property.
On the other hand, if there are an over abundance of does in the area then take whichever one presents the best shot.......or like Dwill said, shoot both. It doesn't hurt to take out some of the big does, but just don't over do it.
I only got 1 deer this year and it was a 3 1/2 yr. old 8pt. so I'm still hunting for a doe.......preferrably a small tender one for steaks. In my case, I'd shoot the yearling and let the big doe walk. If the yearling didn't give me a shot then I guess I'd have to pass on both?
That's just me and there's not an over abundance of deer where I'm at......so it's a totally different decision for me.
Ethics has nothing to do with the decision, either one would be great freezer fodder........but herd dynamics does have everything to do with it.