Honestly who shoots fawns?

[shae1986]

Be more mad at people that shoot little bucks, people that shoot buck fawns make it so they don't even get that big. Now am i mad at people that shoot fawns, no not mad, i guess i just dont understand why. Now for a younger hunter i do, shoot whaterver comes buy. But the people that have been hunting for 6 or more years i just dont understand why one would shoot a fawn or a small buck. Yell at me all you want thats how i feel and its wrong in a lot of peoples eyes. I hunt how i want to hunt and you hunt how you want to hunt. All in all we are all having a good time being out there chasing the elusive white tail that seems to find my pick-up about as often as my bullet finds them.

[McGurk]

I'm not yelling, settle down. Every person in my family has hit a deer with cars, sue me for taking the deer least likely to survive the winter and most likely to get hit in the next few weeks. We all want big bucks, but I'll take a fawn over a fork for the next year's eating.

For the record: Our party went 7 for 8, I shot 2 does and 1 fawn, and I'd do it again next year if the party is not seeing deer. And our zone has changed from zone 4 with doe permits to zone 4 either sex to zone 4 management/intensive harvest to zone 2 management/intensive harvest.

[hanson]

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But the people that have been hunting for 6 or more years i just dont understand why one would shoot a fawn or a small buck.

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My dad had a great morning on Sunday. He was on his stand for 10 minutes, I was halfway through my morning Mt. Dew, when Bang, Bang rings through the woods. Dad was only hunting a couple hundred yards from me so I got down and went to see what in the world was going on. I got over to his stand and asked him if he got him. He said her & then held 2 fingers up in the air. He dropped the doe with a neck shot and the fawn ran a short ways and stopped. He then swung on the fawn and put a great shot through the vitals.

I tell you what, I don't think I've ever seen my father so excited in his life. He's shot 2 really nice bucks in his life, and I was there for one of them. He was just as excited about these 2 deer, the doe & fawn, as he was about that big 10 pointer.

I think some of you guys are missing the picture here. The state of MN allows us 4 management tags in the permit area we hunt to harvest 4 additional does or fawns. THEY(the DNR) WANT US TO SHOOT DOES & FAWNS!!! So my god, I'm going to shoot one if I can.

[shae1986]

I hunt the same zone so i know what you are talking about.

[The_Duckslayer]

The areas that I hunt along the Minnesota river between LeSeuer and St Peter and public land other places here in the south land if you see a fawn and have a doe permit you take it. It may well be the only deer that you are going to see on your 2 day hunt. Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[fivebucks]

I try not to shoot a fawn early in the season just because I don't want to take a nubbins. This year I did not have a chance at any does so that button buck at 75 yards took my tag on my last day. I wish it would have been a fawn doe but he'll eat much nicer than my 3 1/2 year old 8 pt. It sure was easier to clean that's for sure.

[almostthere!]

I shoot fawns all the time. If a doe shows up with twin fawns, the doe gets wacked first followed then the two fawns become barrel shoots. Man, they sure are easy to kill once the doe goes down. They make good steaks, stews, and suasages.

Sorry, ethics has nothing to do with shooting fawns or baskets.

If one uses the argument of buying meat from the Supermarket, then one may as well not hunt at all. Every deer is a trophy, so enjoy the venison steaks and bottoms up with the champaign.

[BradB]

I don't think ethics has anything to do with it either. In much of the state the idea is to kill as many deer as possible: 5 tags in 1A 156 where I hunt. Personally, I strongly support an "earn a buck" program where every hunter HAS TO shoot an antlerless deer before s/he can shoot a buck.

[311Hemi]

One of the guys in our group got a doe and it's fawn doe Sunday morning and I was very happy to see it since nobody had gotten anything Saturday and I wanted some meat.

A guy drives by a little later (once we had them out of the woods) and ask "why the #### would you should something that small?"

To each their own on this subject but it [PoorWordUsage]ed me off that he said that. Saw him then later a few times just driving around the dirt roads.....

[JKing]

Very well put "Almostthere" I agree with you 100%.

Its all personal preference

As gimli says in Lord of the Rings "That still counts as one"

[Code-Man]

it don't matter which zone you hunt. i've been hunting intensive management area for 4 yrs now. I still wont shoot a fawn. No sense in shooting a deer that could be a wall mounter. now I can understand if your just starting out and want to get a deer but it don't make sense if your trying to manage a trophy deer population and you take fawns. what is the point? People hit deer with cars. That don't mean you should go out and shoot all the fawns because I'm sure when you hit a deer with your car your not hitting some fawn your hitting an adult deer.

Getting back to the nubs. what kind of binoculars you guys using to view the nubs before you shot it. I bet your shooting it then Oh I Saw Those from 200 yds away. I saw a buck on Saturday night 5 pointer let him go pass because he wasn't big enough. Now if you shoot everything that walks in front of you...Does..Fawns...Bucks...don't be complaining when you never see something big. I don't see anything bigger after hunting muzzleloading I might take that buck but by that time the buck is taken it will be past the rut and he would have already passed on his genes but I just can't justify why people take fawns. It aint need to be taken.

[Bubbadust]

I shot a doe and her fawn opening morning. After not having a shot the last 2 seasons and missing the one shot that I had 3 years ago, I wasn't about to pass up these deer. I shot the doe first and the fawn just stood there waiting her turn.

[BradB]

In some situations you can tell a buck fawn from a doe fawn. The buck tends to have a flatter head where the antler base is growing, while the doe fawn will have a rounder top.

But ultimately, this question comes down to what your goal is. Do you (A) Want to shoot a "wall mounter" and thereby let all the little ones grow so there is one to shoot, or ( Shoot some venison to eat.

Different people will have different answers to this question. IMHO, it isn't a question of ethics. It is a question of which one of the two questions your goal is.

[shae1986]

Heres what i find interesting is they say there are all these deer yet a lot of people say that on the last day they will take a fawn if they arent seeing deer. That i dont understand.

[Deitz Dittrich]

shae- I think what it comes down to.. and I could be wrong, and have been before.. when the wods get busy, deer go noctournal.. there can be a lot of deer in an area, but you will not always see them.

[KidWalleye]

I think the word "trophy" means different things to different people. Personnally trophy means harvesting a deer. Any deer. I try not to shoot nubbins, but if that is all I see then it is my trophy. Besides, to me the whole hunt is what it's about for me. 2 weeks before opener set stands. Everyone meets at noon on the Friday before opener at the cabin to talk about our spots and the coming morning. Meeting back at the cabin to talk about what we've seen Saturday night. And then do it again for 2 more days. And if along the way I get a chance to shoot "my" trophy, I will with pride. If someone doesn't want to shoot fawns thats cool for them. Good Hunting to EVERYONE, KidWalleye

[buzzsaw]

I wouldn't do it and have seen people who don't know what their shooting taking does and that always disappointed me... mostly because they didn't know it was a fawn and wouldn't have shot or so they say. In the end, to each their own... I just think it's not very sporty to shoot a clueless fawn, but I understand intensive harvest and the "tasty" thing... I just hope your processing your own fawn if you want your own meat back, otherwise I'm guessing your getting someone elses meat.

[tunrevir]

We have property in Wisconsin and we harvest does and fawn does on a regular basis to thin the herd. On occassion a small buck(nubbin) gets harvested but it is a rarity in our camp. We are working towards a more balanced herd and to get there you have to take some young deer as well as some older "out of prime" deer as well. I think that they are all fine table fare and none of them ever go to waste. That being said, there is no better way to control a herd then to cull young doe fawns and the meat is always tender and delicious. Yep, I shoot fawns and have no problem with it. I believe it is our own DNR here in minnesota that says that hunting and shooting antlerless deer, is best way to thin the herd.

Tunrevir~

[kentuck_ike]

I shoot fawns, In our area the deer are so thick I look at it like this. Its like a small pond that is over populated with sunfish, it stunts the growth of the all the fish in the pond. You have 2 choices, introduce some bass or northerns (us) or let the pond stay over populated. If you want bigger wall mounting deer in our area you need to thin the herd. We are over run by bucks with large bodies & tiny racks due to competion for everything.

This is just my observation from 20 years of watching the deer population in our area. If we get a few very hard winters that thin the herd naturally I may change my view. Until then I'll do my part for the betterment of the whole herd.

Ike

[MinnesotaMuskie]

We let some fawns pass early in the season. But yes...we will harvest a fawn...best point made here is that you need to process your own deer if you want the young tasty stuff youe deserve.

It is a personal choice...but also a camp choice. We discuss each day what the plan is. My 13 year old shot a fawn on Friday...first deer...you can bet that picture is a better trophy for the wall of the shack than the 8 and 9 pointers we got:)

It is so great to have the right to have this discussion and to agree to disagree and still be ethical sportsman and women.

[shae1986]

Dietz

I agree that some deer go nocturnal. But still there are a lot of deer around here and really havent had a problem seeing does to shoot. I passed on many does in the last 2 weekends. I took down a buck and plan on taking down a doe or two with the bow in the weekends to come.

A. Shae

[nluchau]

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I think some of you guys are missing the picture here. The state of MN allows us 4 management tags in the permit area we hunt to harvest 4 additional does or fawns. THEY(the DNR) WANT US TO SHOOT DOES & FAWNS!!! So my god, I'm going to shoot one if I can.

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Nuff Said. This discussion can go on and on. If it's legal to shoot Fawn's people will.

That fawn I shot was mighty tasty today.

[deerhuntr8]

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it don't matter which zone you hunt. i've been hunting intensive management area for 4 yrs now. I still wont shoot a fawn. No sense in shooting a deer that could be a wall mounter. now I can understand if your just starting out and want to get a deer but it don't make sense if your trying to manage a trophy deer population and you take fawns. what is the point? People hit deer with cars. That don't mean you should go out and shoot all the fawns because I'm sure when you hit a deer with your car your not hitting some fawn your hitting an adult deer.

Getting back to the nubs. what kind of binoculars you guys using to view the nubs before you shot it. I bet your shooting it then Oh I Saw Those from 200 yds away. I saw a buck on Saturday night 5 pointer let him go pass because he wasn't big enough. Now if you shoot everything that walks in front of you...Does..Fawns...Bucks...don't be complaining when you never see something big. I don't see anything bigger after hunting muzzleloading I might take that buck but by that time the buck is taken it will be past the rut and he would have already passed on his genes but I just can't justify why people take fawns. It aint need to be taken.

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Exactly. Most people shoot everything then wonder why there are no trophy deer or bigger bucks. They get shot when they are 6 months old. I walked up to within 50 feet of a fawn last week. It knew I was there. It could have EASILY shot it, but what sport is there in that?

[McGurk]

Taking that 5 pt buck on the last day has the same outcome to the herd as shooting it on the first day. If you so desperately need a buck, go to a fenced-in farm. Otherwise, shoot a doe for the desired result. If I am mistaken and you are in a buck-only zone, I apologize and retract my statement.

[BLACKJACK]

Well put Kidwalleye, its more about the hunt, not just the meat, but the meat is a nice bonus, I like venison and I'd be bummed if the season was over and I didn't have any venison in the freezer, whether it be a fawn, a doe, a small buck, or a big buck. I've never found a venison steak that I didn't like!!!

Another thing about fawns is that they aren't all born at the same size and aren't the same size. Just last Friday I was out bowhunting and had two sets of fawns come by me, the first set was noticably bigger than the second set. Also, they have a lot of time to grow between the opening of archery on Sept 15 and late bowhunting and muzzleloading in Dec., by then most fawns are pretty nice sized.

I've also changed my philosophy over the years on whether I'll shoot the adult doe or the fawn thats with her. In the past I've always shot the doe, more meat on her. Nowadays I'll shoot the fawn because that adult doe will have two fawns next spring, I like to see deer, and I personally don't think that there are too many deer in central MN.