Which deer do you shoot????

[Carbon Jack]

I always shoot the "volunteer"; the one that gets closest and gives me a calendar pose. You know, a broadside shot you can't miss.

Jack

[waknstak IL]

We have way too many does where I hunt. I am shooting the big one.

[Cory Mattson]

no sage nailed it
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[wapiti792]

I had that situation the other night...a yearling that basically was giving me a slam dunk shot with a big, fat doe behind her. I passed the yearling and the OLD long-nosed doe made me, snorted and blew every deer outa there. My answer: Kill the smart, old doe and let the dumb yearling stay around for next year. We don't have bad winters here and most yearlings are gonna live. Now if that old doe gets near me again, she gets a ride back home  

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

for me I shoot the doe or nothing. i just cant bring myself to shoot babies

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Depends Does the fawn look  chunky or a little boney? I'm not saying that you look at it and all You see is ribs.. Just a thin looking deer.

If it's chunky looking take the Mommy.
If it looks thin take the Young'en

What no-sage said sound good, but some times we have to be as cruel like Mother Nature. This doesn't mean to be heartless or disrespectful to the game We hunt, But to be helpful to the Land and to Nature it's self.

Plus them young'en sure are Tasty.........

[TRAD101]

this time of year I consider the adult doe to be three deer, so I take the fawn.Our population is down around here.

[DV of WI]

This happened to me on Sunday. 2 fawns come out with adult doe following. Passed on the 10 yd fawn shot thinking the doe would follow. Nope she hung up at 30 +yds turned around and went back and the fawns moved out. Next time first opportunity, which ever it might be.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

depends on 2 things:

1. whichever one gives the better shot.
2. What my goals for the herd/freezer are.

[Stumpkiller]

Last day of NY muzzleloading/late archery (this past Sunday for me) at sunset I had a little "roundhead" yearling and an adult doe in range and an antlerless tag in my wallet.  I let them both live and said "Merry Christmas" out loud causing Ma to bolt and the little one to tag along.

If I had shot Ma the little sprout would probably have been coyote food.  And I wasn't going to shoot a tiny 50 or 60 pound deer and let Ma live.  I'm not starving.

I already had a doe from regular season, so I let them both go.  So there's your answer: neither.

[Plumber]

shoot the little one.unless you need the meat.more likely the big doe is pregnat.you would be killing two if you shoot the big one.

[ChuckC]

If you have several deer in the freezer, think about your next move, but if you haven't shot one yet this year, shoot the first one that allows a good shot.
ChuckC

[ishoot4thrills]

I've often thought about this same scenario. Don't know for sure what I would do.

But, I DO know that that young doe would be very tender!

[meathead]

I am going to second, or third, whatever we are up to now, what no-sage said.

[ron w]

I feel I would shoot the fawn,less likely to make it thru a hard winter....but, with the shot opportunities I get the first one that gives me a good shot is getting some cedar!!!

[Fletcher]

I haven't read thru this entire thread yet, but I believe I've orphaned enuf fawns.  Anymore I don't shoot a doe with fawns.  I figure the kid needs mom around to teach it how to live and survive and look up into trees.  If I feel the need to shoot one of them, it will be the fawn.  What is worse, a mom without a kid or a kid without a mom?

Fairly often, I will see a matriarch doe, a yearling doe and some fawns together.  In that case the yearling doe is my focus, but if she gets past me, Bambi better look out.

Quite often it seems that we talk about fawns and yearlings as the same thing, but they are not.  Just like any other critter, deer aren't yearlings until they are one year old; about 1.5 years in hunting season.  Fawns are last spring/summer's kids.  They lost their spots when their winter coat came on, but they're still fawns.

[30coupe]

I have one ring of deer bologna left then I'm out of venison. If it's brown and offers me a shot, it's going home with me.

[buckeye_hunter]

Late season meat? I shoot whichever gives me the best chance first.

[finkm1]

I would shoot the adult doe. I have processed a yearling doe that my son had shot and one that I hit with my truck and there just is not enough meat to justify the harvest.

[$bowhunter$]

which ever decided to present a good shoot at a reasonable distance first.