Early season is a great time to take does to keep population numbers in check. Crop-damage permits can often be used prior to the season. Whether with a crossbow or compound, you can thin the population without causing a ruckus in your hunting grounds.
In this video, Keith Warren takes viewers on a management hunt in Central Ohio and demonstrates the effectiveness of a crossbow and provides a chance to witness one of the issues of management hunts. When culling does, it’s risky to take a lone animal as you want to reduce the number of does, but not button bucks.
Often, a lone small deer is a yearling buck and the “buttons” can be difficult to see even from a tree stand. The rule is, wait for two deer together and shoot the larger one, unless it has antlers, of course. This way, you’ll reduce your deer herd and not reduce future buck numbers.
This is a great video to get you pumped for opening day.
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