QDMA Articles

By: Kip Adams

Modern day hunters are embracing the opportunity to harvest antlerless deer more than ever before. The average hunter in 2005 will likely harvest more antlerless deer than the average hunter in 2004, 2003 and most other years. This change in hunter attitude has resulted in healthier deer populations throughout the United States. Progress also brings additional questions and one that I’m often asked is, “Which doe should I shoot”? Many hunters feel you should not shoot the oldest does because they are the “teachers” in the deer world. Is this true?

It is true that does teach the younger animals, and they often maintain matrilineal groups of daughters and granddaughters and can therefore teach multiple generations. However, in free ranging populations it is nearly impossible to identify and remove the oldest does.

The QDMA promotes harvesting an adequate number of female deer to keep populations in balance with the existing habitat. We generally recommend shooting the largest doe or does in a group because they are most likely adults. Adult does are the most reproductive segment of a deer population and their removal helps balance a herd with its habitat in the shortest time frame. The only exception to this general guideline would be in areas with low deer populations. In these areas, the harvest of does under 2½ years of age would be recommended because of their lower reproductive rates. Selecting for the largest doe or does also minimizes the chance of harvesting a button buck and it provides the most meat for the table.

The largest does however aren’t necessarily the oldest. Like humans, female deer come in many shapes and sizes. I have seen 3½ year old does win “heavy” doe contests where entrants ranged from 1½-6½+ years old. These deer were harvested on properties in close proximity to each other with comparable habitats, so the weight differences weren’t a function of nutritional differences. Conversely, I have recorded 75 lb. (dressed wt.) 5½ year old does from northern ranges. These deer were healthy and they had abundant kidney and body fat (2 measures of nutritional fitness), they were just small in stature.

With a little training hunters can separate live antlerless deer by sex (female vs. buck fawn) and they can separate females into fawn, yearling, and 2½+ age classes. However, it is extremely difficult to accurately age live adult females to a specific year. For example, we can estimate a doe to be 2½+ years old based on body characteristics but it is difficult to identify whether she is actually 2½, 3½, 4½ or older. Fortunately, the oldest females aren’t necessarily the largest so when hunters select for the largest doe(s) they are automatically selecting across a range of ages. Harvesting deer from all age classes is good for the deer herd and it provides important data to use for establishing future antlerless harvest quotas.

Even if hunters could accurately identify the oldest does in a population it would be impossible to remove all of them. Research projects have shown mature does can be extremely difficult to harvest. In captive studies, a mature doe is often the last deer remaining when all deer within an enclosure are harvested.
Finally, removing some of the oldest does benefits hunters. Mature does that have lived under intense hunting pressure are master evaders and they teach their “tricks” to other deer in the group. This is one reason hunters see fewer does 1-2 years after initiating aggressive antlerless harvest programs. These populations probably contain fewer deer and the remaining does are much better at avoiding hunters. Thus it is good to remove some of these “masters” on a yearly basis.

The take home message is it is extremely difficult if not impossible to correctly identify the oldest does in a deer population. Then, even if hunters could identify them it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to harvest all of them. So, continue harvesting an adequate number of does and be confident you’re doing the right thing by selecting for the largest doe(s) in the group.

Kip’s Korner is written by Kip Adams, a Certified Wildlife Biologist and Northern Director of Education and Outreach for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). The QDMA is an international nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to ethical hunting, sound deer management and preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. The QDMA can be reached at 1-800-209-DEER or www.QDMA.com.

This article was taken directly from a previous issue of Quality Whitetails, the bi-monthly journal of the QDMA. The $30 annual membership to QDMA includes a subscription to this acclaimed publication. For information on joining QDMA, click here.