Harvesting does is a controversial issue in many deer camps, even among individual deer hunters. The venison is great and most deer herds can use minor culling, yet there is something about tinkering with future populations that makes many hunters uneasy.
Should you bag all the antlerless deer that the law allows, or is it better to be conservative and keep the fawn factory humming?
This QDMA post speaks directly to the dilemma.
You’ve heard some people say they never shoot does “because that is like killing next year’s fawns.” While this sounds logical, it’s not always the correct approach. Doe harvest isn’t always necessary, but when it is, taking the right number of does can actually increase fawn production.
The reason is pretty simple: Healthy does raise more fawns.
Consider a deer population in which there are more deer than the local habitat can support in optimal health, whether deer density is too high, habitat quality is very poor, or both. Under these conditions, fawn recruitment is lower than it could be. Does in this population conceive and give birth to fewer fawns on average. Those fawns then experience lower survival rates due to decreased milk abundance, less quality forage for weaning, and greater susceptibility to disease, weather, predators and other mishaps due to less-than-optimal health. By fall, the number of fawns that have survived to six months of age is relatively low. You may only recruit one fawn into the fall population for every two or three does – or worse.
