In everyone’s opinion when is the best time of season to shoot does? Early or late and why?

Around here, I am reminded every year to take a doe early. Waiting increases the likelihood they’ll go nocturnal.

When I'm bored after I've got my buck.

Any time the freezer is empty.

Opening weekend, remove them from the food source so the other deer have it to eat later in the year.

I never give it any thought. Plenty of them here all the time.

When they are in front of you.

Early, so they aren’t bred yet. Later to take mouths from the food source.

Early as possible. Always hated opening one up late in the season and finding a fawn still in the oven! ! !

This is my answer. I shoot them all season

Early before the rut starts.

I like to shoot them when they are alone or few other deer around. Past that don’t care what time of season.

Yeah, I can’t imagine it makes any real difference.

I don’t shoot the ones that have fawns with them. I pick out the old menopausal ones that are also typically the mean ones that slap the others around. I like to pop them right after they slapped another one.

My last 6 MLD tags will hopefully be filled today by guests.

All season.

My brother has guests out at the ranch this week trying to use up the rest of our MLD tags(33).

Two weeks ago not a single doe was seen at the feeders...they were all bucks.

Like said; little bit of a creep out if you wait late and a baby comes rolling it; especially with a first time young hunter see that.

I like to get the does early in the season for the same reasons mentioned above by others. I also find that once I have meat in the freezer, I become more patient and choosy on taking a buck

What he said.

In a perfect world, I like to shoot them early in the season for the simple fact that I want to disturb the area as little as possible closer to the rut. I don't want to trounce through the area on Nov 12th trailing a shot doe and possibly bump a big boy into the next county.

Having said that, I am rarely able to hunt all throughout the season, so I usually take does at the best opportunity based on what's going on and what I'm seeing. Of course, if there's an old matriarch biddie that does nothing but blow and harass the other deer, she's gonna get perforated at the first opportunity.

I would say when I can but prefer earlier. Where I hunt the acreage is small and the population is pretty stable, I see the same 2-3 on camera all year and then their fawns. Bucks are generally the same 6-7 with some new ones scattered in during the rut and January.

In the county I hunt it’s usually just the first 3 or 4 weeks of the season that is allowed.

if there are too many, my buddy lets me, or our friends cull them.

prefer early

Best answer and often the least practiced.

I agree. I watched a pair one time and the old boss B. slapped one, but the younger slapped back. It was comical with the look the old B had when it came back to her.

4 down today, plus a decent size axis buck in velvet. 1 hit, but "gotaway" pig. 4 very happy and tired teenage boys.

BEST time== early as possible (that is October in TEXAS)

Before they have more fawns…

In theory, you take them and culls early so better bucks breed. That’s viable on less than a percentage point of ranches in Texas, though. So before season ends is most appropriate answer

Last year I had one of the mean old ones show up and she started thrashing a dozen others. Pretty soon she was the only one in my sizable pen. I popped her in the dome and the others stayed around within 75 yards while I lifted her up with my tractor and took her to the barn. 10 minutes later the others were in the pen eating. What happened apparently met the approval of the rest of them.

When you get hungry.

Yeah, I killed 6 deer with two shots yesterday afternoon. Just haven't had time, plus I have 11 doe tags to fill (7 down, 4 to go).

2 to go for me. The War Dept. has issued orders for 1 for the freezer.

Someone got busy in Mills County this weekend

Best time is when you can drive up to um...

Like BoBo said, before season closes.

I'm not even making a dent...


'Got a text from a guest at this exact set Saturday, asking if they could sit longer 'cause they hadn't seen much.

Plenty here.

Can a land owner affect doe movement by having feeders throw during daylight hours or even middle of the day in season? Thanks Daniel

Have a member that comes unglued to the point of hysteria if he kills a pregnant doe, but he'll pass up all does at the beginning of season waiting for a buck to show.

You might advice him to leave guts in and and qtr handing.

I don't perform a necrotomy when I clean a doe. Keep moving, focus on what you're doing and keep from splattering blood and guts on yourself. What's dead is dead. Forward!

Sometime before :30 minutes after sunset yesterday.

Ask 100 hunters you will get 100 different answers! Us we try to shoot them early, as year progress, food
sources dry up, deer loose energy, weight, and besides most of them are carrying child at time, unless they went unbreed.

Here our season doesnt end til last day of Feb, on MLD property here. Didnt know we had so many Unicorns on the farm here
now! but the 13" rules play here. Scrap bucks need to go....

Before the rut

I try and wait til later in the season, cause I don’t see many does this year I saw 4 does and 15 bucks.

For us earlier is better.

Early as possible as JD said. Why feed an animal any longer than necessary with feed prices as high as they are? Get her out of the way, leaving more for something that you want to see in the future. Another benefit for guys like me that love to rattle is that improving the buck to doe ratio, improves my chances of rattling up bucks by making them more competitive.
Adios,
Gary

It makes no difference whatsoever. The only does you should shoot are the ones that are standing up and only when you've got a good rest. However, I personally prefer to focus exclusively on bucks during the pre-rut and rut. The rest of the season - doe whacking. I will add, that if given the choice, I'll shoot the biggest one I can find. I do my own processing and it's the same amount of work regardless of size.