Late Season Doe...or is it?
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
09-Jan-25
Careful on those late season hunts. Those does you're seeing just might not be a does after all. :)
Son in law sent me this pic from his trail cam last night.
From: bowhunter24
09-Jan-25
Years ago I was teaching a young man deer hunting 1st weekend of Jan (late season youth in MO) and he shot what appeared to big an enormous doe. When we walked up to it I noticed a bloody bump on its head rolled him over and found the confirmation I was looking for. He had recently lost one antler and the other was scabbed over. While field dressing I joked maybe we could find the rack. We weighed him after field dressing by a rope over a limb and a scale and he hit 200lbs. I looked across valley, about 40 yds, and saw some white, low and behold a solid massive 4pt. Same farm, a couple seasons later and I had trail cam pics in March of antlered deer!
From: Basil
09-Jan-25
I made that mistake about 3 years ago. Had about 15-20 deer, several of which were antlered bucks coming to me fast. They were all playing & running around. I did my best to pick out a nice one that didn’t appear to have a fawn. Yep, wouldn’t you know it a shed yearling buck in mid December.
From: t-roy
09-Jan-25
Been there…done that.
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
Ricky, please add that photo to the annual shed thread, it's got the time and date stamp...
From: Altitude Sickness
09-Jan-25
Can’t tell if it’s a 1.5 yr old or button buck
From: tobywon
09-Jan-25
Happened to me one year a while back in PA, but it was early December. Was surprised when I walked up on it. Wasn't expecting a shed buck so early, it was a yearling.
From: Buckdeer
09-Jan-25
Look at the head how it looks like it's got a big forehead,does in my area look more dainty I guess you would say.Longer and narrow
From: Bowhunting 5C
09-Jan-25
Late season antlerless deer, still legal.
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
Yeah Buckdeer, I agree and was thinking the same thing but didn't say it to keep from ruffling feathers...8^) but would think any shed buck (except maybe for buttons) within bow range an experienced bowhunter should be able to distinguish a shed buck from a doe not only by the big forehead and wider snout, but by the way they walk, their body structure (like neck), body size and conformation, the way they act even the way they hold their ears... They look different than does and act different... If you look close enough in say a deer herd at a food source this time of year, you can pick out the buttons from the doe fawns if you watch good and long enough...
Okay, now fame away...8^)
From: MichaelArnette
09-Jan-25
Amen, Kansas does there’s so late and our deer drop so early
From: SD
09-Jan-25
I've never been a fan of the Jan doe season in KS. LOTS of bucks get killed. Guys just shoot the "biggest doe in the field" without giving it much consideration as to why it's the biggest one out there.
From: TREESTANDWOLF
09-Jan-25
Been there also.
On my lease, some mature bucks are already showing what I think is stress from the rut with one side gone already.
Maybe rut related. Not sure
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
They just finished up our 4-day statewide muzzleloader season from Saturday, Jan. 4 to Tuesday, Jan. 7,... Kill stats just released yesterday by the DOW: "Hunters checked 3,629 antlered deer (27% of deer tagged) and 9,847 antlerless deer (73%), a category that includes does (8,127) and button bucks (1,445). Hunters checked 172 bucks with shed antlers and 103 bucks with antlers shorter than 3 inches"
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
I think we go through this every year... Been taking notes on antler shedding for years, and the truth of it is some shed early, some shed late, a small percentage shed as early as December and a small percentage shed as late as April, but most shed from January through March, and that is across the board, regardless of region or nutrition, although a diseased, sick or injured buck could likely shed early... Personally believe it's genetics...
Take a look at the annual shed threads here...
From: Z Barebow
09-Jan-25
Been doing a city/management (doe only) hunt for years. I shot a mature “doe” several years ago (Jan 15). Rolled her over and it was a him. She’d it’s antlers. Legal. Didn’t lose much sleep over it. But makes a good story.
From: TREESTANDWOLF
09-Jan-25
DP
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
Gonna go out on limb and say the buck in the photo is at least 3-years old... Would have liked to have seen his rack...
Long distance (big forehead) from ears to where forehead slops...
Big face
Thick neck
Broad chest
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
From: Basil
09-Jan-25
That buck I shot by mistake was smaller than the average 1 1/2 years ago old. Had a peculiarity small pointed heart maybe 2/3 of what I would expect. Other than that no wounds or signs of stress. Plenty of fat.
From: Zbone
09-Jan-25
Long back
Race horse look
From: Copperhead
09-Jan-25
The head is the give away, with or without antlers. Also, just the way a buck carries himself. Impulsive shooting leads to some bad results. Steady and calm usually ends with good results. Be safe out there.
From: PushCoArcher
09-Jan-25
Glad Oklahoma closes it holiday antlerless in December.
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
09-Jan-25
Zbone...
I could be wrong, but he looks like a typical 2.5 year old buck for our area.
From: Basil
09-Jan-25
That buck I shot by mistake was smaller than the average 1 1/2 years ago old. Had a peculiarity small pointed heart maybe 2/3 of what I would expect. Other than that no wounds or signs of stress. Plenty of fat.
From: Z Barebow
09-Jan-25
From: milnrick
09-Jan-25
I think Zbone is dead on target.
From: KsRancher
10-Jan-25
SD nailed it. I did that exact thing the first year they had that Jan season. I was 14 or 15yrs old. There was a big cedar grove 1mile from my house. So I walked down there and tried to sneak in there with crunchy snow on the ground. I was 150-200yds away when a big group of deer jumped and ran out a little ways. They all stopped and looked at me. I picked the biggest doe and dropped it. Well, it was a BIG bodied shed buck. Only time I ever done it. Now I pay REALLY good attention.
From: APauls
10-Jan-25
Blows me away that there are still active deer seasons out there. Ours have been done for a month and a half. I'd venture to say the vast majority of bucks shed here already. Seemed like half were done well before Christmas. Early year this year.
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
10-Jan-25
APauls...
In Michigan we have some antlerless firearm seasons open until Jan 12, and even an "extended urban archery" season open until Jan 31 depending on county and location.
From: KsRancher
10-Jan-25
Antlerless season ends this coming weekend in my home unit. The next weekend in the neighboring unit. And goes until the end of the month in a unit in far NE Kansas.
From: Mint
10-Jan-25
On Long Island the shotgun season starts the first week of January and goes to the end of the month. You can basically get unlimited doe tags so if bucks drop early a lot of them get taken.
From: Trying hard
10-Jan-25
The county I live/ hunt in ....archery season runs thru end of January....our archery season opened Sept. 14 this year ...in this area we are fortunate....there are plenty of deer.
From: WV Mountaineer
10-Jan-25
Here’s a doe with horns. Weirdest thing I ever saw.
