Ding, Ding, Ding!! Well it has been a long fun season with lots of ups and downs and the score is in and the clock has wound down - Congratulations: Jim Gilmer aka - LITTLE BIG MAN and his 120lb. doe shot way back on October 1st.(see page 3) Great Job! There was one a little larger shot but no pic posted and I looked at my rules and decided to go with LBM. We will do it again next year and if I am out of arrow shafts I will find something else cool to give away. I will PM LBM but if you know him tell him to get a hold of me through email or PM so I can get specs on arrows for him. Thanks to everyone for playing along and hunting those crafty and elusive gals.
***Special thanks to Don Moffit for the help with my bear hunt this fall and the help with keeping this thread up top all year and also to Bill Carlson for posting all those pics of that rediculously large doe from New Hampshire. My hope is that she is still around next fall for us to see again. ***
Only 9 months to go :-)
If you shoot a doe that is bigger than usual please put it on a scale and post a pic. So many does get described as, Big, Huge, Trophy and "150lbs" w/o ever going on a scale. After years of posting this thread I have discovered that field dressed does over 150lbs are more rare that a 150" buck. No official scale needed, just a hanging scale for some realistic weight perspective and a photograph. After many years of keeping track I am still looking for the elusive 150+er and hope to be posting her up here soon. Good Luck to all.
Bob Urban
I would like to offer a dozen custom cedars to the shooter of the largest doe this season. Please just be honest and weigh them POST field dress and must include photos. If this thread lasts I will make up a dozen arrows for the winner after January 1st. Post photos and stories here. If this is not acceptible to the addmin please let me know and I will edit it out - I am not trying to break any rules and it is just a gentlemans contest with no fee. I just want to promote pride in doe hunting. Good luck to all!
Would be cool.Ive only seen one that was surely legit but she was freakishly big.I think a really big doe in these parts is 120# dressed.Some of them will fool your eyes.
In VT where they weigh everything, there were 81 doe shot over 150#'s in 2009. 3 were over 180#'s. I pulled this info off of VT's 2009 deer report. Sorry, no pics.
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/library/Reports_and_Documents/Hunting_and_Trapping/Harvest_Reports/2009_White-tailed_Deer_Harvest_Report.pdf
I know this picture isn't really what we want to see on here but we took it to show the size of a bow killed doe I shot in late 2008. We never weighed her but my friend and I had not handled any doe as heavy as she was.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/reddogge/Archery/IMG_0600.jpg)
A scale really brings everything into perspective. Whether it be pack weights or body weight.
If I did not have a scale I would have said this doe would dress out at 150lbs. I weighed her and she dressed out at only 138lbs.
(I'm 6'2 200lbs. for reference)
(http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu158/Stephen_M_Lathrop/2010Doe.jpg)
I shot this doe last fall, my biggest to date. I'm not sure how much she weighed but it took 3 of us to get her in a tree. I've drug a few big deer out of the woods and she was the heaviest by far!
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/Harvests/PA300007.jpg)
Most bucks shot in this part of the world only weigh in at 135-140. I have seen does 160-180 on a scale but they are rare. Any whitetail deer male or female over 150 is a big deer..........
This one is my biggest and she only went 125#, 150# would be a pig of a doe for sure!
[
out standing
Early in my career I used to work government check stations in Indiana; Atterbury & Crane military installations -- thousands of deer over the years. The heaviest field-dressed doe I remember seeing were 140 pounds. A big adult doe (field dressed) would weigh 110 pounds. Most adult does were in the 85-95 pound range. Smallest field dressed deer I ever saw at these check stations was 38 pounds.
My biggest deer ever was a doe. She was weighed by our Encon department and aged. She was 11.5 years old and weighed 187#s on a certified scale. She was in great shape but they said she may struggle once winter hit as her teeth were worn to the gum line. My best buck by the way is 167#s. Shawn
My biggest deer is also a doe. Shot back in 1990, weighed 146# on state certified scale at my processors. He saw her legs in the truck and thought it was a buck. He went in the house, came back out with his "record book", and said we needed to weigh her, the biggest doe he had ever done WAS 144#, until mine hit the scale....
of course no one takes pics of does....
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f217/drr324/doe206-1.jpg)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f217/drr324/DOEPIC.jpg)
I'm 6'2" 210 for reference....
My largest dowe on certified scales was 129#, my largest buck 161# on certified scales. I'm amazed when I see those bruisers over 180#. I probably have pics in the archives somewhere but then I'd have to scan those old Polaroids!
That's what I am talking about!! Keep them coming and lets see if we can string a few monster swamp donkeys up this fall. Glad you all took pics of your trophy does - should take pride in the big gals. By the way that is a serious hog of a deer Reddogge.
Bob Urban
In 1981 I shoot a doe the first day of the season. I took it the the local sporting good store for the Big buck and Big deer Contest. On a certified scale she weighed 89 LB. She won big deer of the season. Bucks included. Now remember this is in Louisiana.
Capt eddie I am sure she would have weighted more 29 years later!!! you shouldnt have shot her back then! LOL
QuoteOriginally posted by Bobby Urban:
That's what I am talking about!! Keep them coming and lets see if we can string a few monster swamp donkeys up this fall. Glad you all took pics of your trophy does - should take pride in the big gals. By the way that is a serious hog of a deer Reddogge.
Bob Urban
I love this way of thinking!!!! A big mature doe is so hard to fool compared to a buck of the same age, esp on public land. I wish there seriously was a section for trophy doe in P&Y or something like that. It should be a mission to make hunting doe cool again and offset the horn porn!!!
125 lb doe is a big doe ........... very few hit that mark ,let alone 150
You mean does like this?
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/bigdoe4.jpg)
The State of NH put a two week moratorium on does this year and we can't shoot them until this Friday. Wouldn't you know it, a doe as big as this was under my stand at 8 yards on day one and two nights ago she was under my wife's stand. If things go the way they usually do we won't see her again until the doe season is over. However, I have pretty much set my sights on her and my archery doe tag is good until Dec. 15. If I get her, or the the other big one that has been haunting us for the last 3 years I'll certainly post it and the weight...if we can get her out of the woods.
I hope you get that cow Bill..... :thumbsup: :archer:
We aint never seen such doe's down south I have to shoot two or three to have that much meat.
In Alabama, any doe over 100lbs on the hoof is pretty big. A very few might reach 120lbs but I have never heard of one(that was actually weighed) that topped 120lb.
Mark
Ron....I've got a few stories. I'm on a mission for this one or the one we saw last week. I've got three tags...one archery buck, archery doe or buck and firearms for either one depending on the zone I'm in. Two years in a row I used my doe tag on button bucks and then had one of these "cows" come by later in the season. I doubt that that will happen this year unless it gets very late in the season and the freezer is empty.
184 lbs. field-dressed and on a scale. Had one flop-ear, my guess is that she had snagged it on something at some time in her life. That was the largest deer that I have ever taken.......buck or doe.
We got almost 6 full paper grocery sacks of boneless meat out of her.
Winterhawk1960
the first deer i ever killed was in 2000 and we educatedly guessed it at 140#. a few years later i doubled up on the same day and shot a 7pt and a doe. the buck weighed 125# and the doe was bigger. its not uncommon to see does this big in indiana, illinois, ohio, and all the other midwest states.
My friend told my today he shot a 165# doe and weighed on state certified scales in MD a few years ago. They are out there.
Me and my hunting buddy were hunting in Pike county Ill. and both shot does on the first morning. Both doe were only a couple hundred yards from the truck. I figured they each weighed close to a ton by the time the time we got them out. Mine officially weighed 125 and the other 126. Maybe it was the fact that they didn't have antlers, but we made a pact that we would NEVER shoot does without spots again!
GLENN
Bill that is one heck of a doe. I pray you get her cause curiosity has got this cat. My guess is 163 dressed. Just cause i like to guess.
Here is my Doezilla. She weighed in at 168#. I know this because when I took her to the processer, he couldn't believe the size, and weighed her on the spot. When this picture was taken, I was 230# to use as a comparison. This picture wqs taken in the December late archery season of 2003 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
(http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab28/miklvines/img040.jpg)
QuoteOriginally posted by Arwin:
QuoteOriginally posted by Bobby Urban:
That's what I am talking about!! Keep them coming and lets see if we can string a few monster swamp donkeys up this fall. Glad you all took pics of your trophy does - should take pride in the big gals. By the way that is a serious hog of a deer Reddogge.
Bob Urban
I love this way of thinking!!!! A big mature doe is so hard to fool compared to a buck of the same age, esp on public land. I wish there seriously was a section for trophy doe in P&Y or something like that. It should be a mission to make hunting doe cool again and offset the horn porn!!! [/b]
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: I couldn't agree more!
I get just as excited when I kill a big nanny as I do when I kill a buck.
hmm ......... is everyone talkin field dressed weight ?????
mine at 168# was field dressed weight.
Grapes - that is one true Michigan Swamp Donkey! Nice job!!
A 150# doe isn't un common up here, but neither are 200# + bucks.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bobby Urban:
Grapes - that is one true Michigan Swamp Donkey! Nice job!!
I told myself after dragging her nearly a half mile from the nearest road that I will never shoot a monster again. I was in shape then, now I would need a good supply of nitro pills to even think about doing that feat again.
My sons first deer he ever took was a fat KS Doe. I was deployed so I only got PICs, but my wife picked up 86lbs of bone out meat. I would bet she would have pushed over 150lbs dressed, but not for sure.
Shot a doe a few years back that weighed 132# on the official scale at our local archery club. I ended up winning the heaviest doe contest.
Well.....the folks from down here in AL probably won't be posting in this thread unless we hunt out of state! Those are some big does boys.
LOL ............ well I used to own a small bow shop and just for conversation Ill tell ya this , probably every other doe that was brought in to the shop ( I was also the check station) was a "150 lb" doe . I made it a point to try to talk the lucky hunter into putting the deer on my scale to get an "official 150 lb weight" LOL
well in 7 years the heaviest doe on my scale was 130 something . Most 150 lb does would actually weigh between 100 and 110 which even in my state of giant illinois deer is a pretty nice doe . Verrrry few does broke even the 120 lb mark .
Oh and I did check my scale against a certified scale several times and it was always within 1-2 lb.
It was my experience that most deer were never actually weighed before the hunter put a number on its weight . The fact that it was hard to drag out of the woods up hill makes the estimated weight go up !!! ..... LOL
250 lb bucks were the exact same story
Rick you are so right about the over-estimation of animal weight. That is why I ask people to put them on a scale and get more accurate with estimations. We(my hunting friends and I) have been weighing most of our deer for 10+ years and we live and hunt in Michigan where the deer are genetically larger than average(if they have the chance to grow up) - as a group we are still looking for the elusive 150+er after being field dressed. My best was a "UP" doe that dressed 146lbs. I know they are out there but dang they are rare.
Today is the opener - good luck to all and please take pride of your does and get weights and photos up here. I would like to offer a dozen Custom Cedar arrows on a gentlemans contest for biggest doe of the season. Just be honest on the weight and provide photos. Does not need to be a certified scale but the doe does have to be field dressed.
Go get em!
Bob Urban
I thnk this is the biggest doe I've ever killed...a big Kansas nanny...never weighed tho...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/KS07/th_Curtstriplecrownquest045.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/KS07/?action=view¤t=Curtstriplecrownquest045.mp4)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Guru39/KS07/KS07126.jpg)
It'll be fun Bobby, I'll get pix of the doe on my scale and a pic of the reading if I get the chance :thumbsup:
Game on.
120 dressed on the scale last night
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5040233595_6f055d8eb3.jpg)
I passed on 2 this morning- neither one would have tipped the scale over 110-115 and both had fawns in tow. Looking like rain this afternoon, probably headed out to add a few more walleyes to the freezer....
Nice Jim :clapper:
Little BIG man has the edge early - heading out now to try and top 120lbs. Nice job!!
Bob
BTW Curt - that doe is a Freak!
Gee, Bob...a dozen new arrows for the biggest doe. You just helped me make a decision about how to use my archery doe permit.
shot a 156lb field dressed doe, first deer with archery equipment back in 2007. One of my friends shot one that would have probably been in the 150lb range a week ago. I have trail camera pictures of a couple of bucks that would probably push the 250lb mark live weight.
I didn't actually weigh the doe, I measured the girth since I didn't have a scale at the time, she was 43" but I figure that my numbers might have been wrong so I went with the 41" measurement
http://www.whitetails.com/deer_info/weight_estimation.cfm
Two years ago I had a Doe that was less then 10 yards from a stand I was in and she looked like a BIG Tick...This was on Thanksgiving day and her face was very Old looking and I could tell her eyes were hazing over...Only saw her this one time and I just passed on shooting at her cause I felt she made it this long why not just let her go...She actually looked like she was bloated and if I missed a heart/ lung shot and hit her Grocery sack she might blow up...She could of still been carrying her young but Nov?Besides she was so ugly I had a buck come in and as soon as he saw her He stopped dead in his tracks through his head up and just shook his head like saying "You the ugliest deer I ever did see" Seriously I ain't 100% lieing some of this story is true... :scared:
My biggest was 154 and taken less than 6 miles from Albany NY
Just to clarify - I am not in the contest. I will continue to hunt for a trophy swamp donkey but if(and it's a big if) I get so lucky that I shoot the biggest #2 will get the arrows and I will be happy to deliver. I am really looking forward to following this thread all season. I saw a doe and fawn tonight but she was small and the fawn was tiny. Still got the Elvis leg and everything - deer season is here and I am happy! Keep the photos coming.
Bob Urban
A 130lb dressed Doe is a PIG! Most people throw weights around without confirming with a scale.
I'm in for the contest, I love whacking nanny's! Meat for the pot!
girth measurements dont work well on deer OR fish ......... 8^) ........... would a girth measurement work on humans ???? ......... LOL......... not a chance
Got it done this morning in the rain. had four come in and was fortunate enough to take the biggest one. 117 dressed.
(http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh205/bushbow/fathead.jpg)
In southern Michigan we can take as many does as we want so I will be after more!
Congrats Bobby!
Went out to check my cameras yesterday. Laura couldn't hunt in the morning so I decided to wait until after 9 AM to check on things since the morning pics on the cameras seemed to stop around 8:30 or so. My first stop was one of my Double bull blinds. As I approached an eight pointer scurried away...not really spooked just sneaking out. Here he is just before I showed up.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/AMbuck.jpg)
When I got home I checked the camera cards and this doe, which is on my hit list (esp. for this thread) had already gone by.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/AMdoe.jpg)
At my other double bull these gals showed up. They are all on the hit list as they do not have fawns but the one closest to the blind in the one I would prefer to take just for you, Bob.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/AMdoes.jpg)
None of them showed up last night. I am not a morning person but this pattern has been pretty consistent, esp, at the blind in the last pic. I guess later this week I'll get up at 4 AM and try to sneak into one of the blinds.
Great pics everyone!!!
Those from Bill are great! Talk about juicy looking deer!
Everybody at my house says congrats Bob! I still say that is one cool bow you got there! :thumbsup:
Through the years I have taken some big "swamp donkeys", but never started weighing them until a few years ago. (I got a big game hanging system for Christmas, that has a built in scale.)
I have to check it`s accuracy, maybe using barbell weights. I`ll try hanging known weights and get the readings.
Don - your scale is close enough for this contest. All the hanging scales are within a pound or two of accurate I'm sure and I am not concerned with that as far as the arrows go. I just want to promote more pride in hunting does. Especially trophy nanny's like some of those posted on here.
BTW Don(Bonebuster) and his family are as good a people as I have ever met in traditional archery. He and his boys went out of their way to try and get me onto a bear this fall and we had never met other than on TG. If I did not have to get back to my camp his wife would have made me(us) dinner. Great great people. Unfortunately we did not get a bear but it was certainly not for lack of effort on their part. Just the bears were not cooperating. Thanks again Don! Now you and your boys get out there and shoot a big ole doe.
Bob
No more nanny's taken? Come on - there had to be a few over the weekend? post up some pics.
Bob Urban
20 years ago, a college buddy of mine killed one with a rifle that weighed 155# field dressed-public land in Ga, no less!
She was huge. Her nose must have been 10" long!
My father killed one 5 years ago that was the second largest I've ever seen. We didn't weigh her, but she was about the same size as a 3 1/2 year old 8 pointer I killed on the same evening-I'm guessing she field dressed in the low 130's.
Hopefully I'll get a crack at a whopper, but I'll settle for a couple in the 90-100lb dressed range, too!
I want in on this one if mulies count. I actually have a doe tag this year but not until december. I think I will be hard pressed to beat the 120 mark. On year my dad shot a buck and a doe running togther. We figured the doe out weight the buck when dressed,this buck had an outside spred of 35". I wish we had weight it just to know how big she was. I have only had one doe on a scale a checking station she went 115 and I pick out the bigger one.
You are in Twitch - again, this is to promote pride in doe hunting and to have a little fun. If there is enough Mulie hunters out there I will just give out 2 doz for best in both classes but you are in for the whole deal either way. Good luck
Bob
Now if someone asks to enter a cow moose or elk I am going to have to draw the line :nono:
Come on Bobby! I was hopin for the moose one :biglaugh:
Looks like I will have to hunt the extended for muley does this year, your on Jimmy :)
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/steadman_2006/2010Kaylabdayandmoosehunt030.jpg)
Don't know the weight, but it was a lot LOL!!
I was going to ask if our Blacktail does would be ok. I got a tag and am going next week. I do not think I could find one that heavy, but would like to try, what the heck.
RX - yes on the Blacktail. Sorry Steadman but that's a darn nice cow you got there. Really I wouldn't mind except that the contest would be over before it starts.
Bob
I`m trying hard to get a deer in range of SOMEONE at our house!!!
My oldest son came close on monday night, but it was too alert to shoot he said. (a true swamp donkey too) He could tell she was "wired". He has yet to drop the string on a deer and miss. He is fifteen and has shot three times...and killed all three.
Winds are swirling and changing direction here.
Michigan "swamp donkeys" are well schooled in the art of human detection.
Well, they are not all that hard to kill if you just happen to be where they are when they are there, too. Here's the one I want to shoot for Bobby's contest. Ten yards from my Double Bull, nice sunny morning, broadside....what's wrong with me? I know....I wasn't in the blind.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/Doeatblind.jpg)
3 for 3 - that has to be some sort of record - and not misses. Hope you did not Jinx him Don :)
Get out there and get that big nanny Bill.
Keep this thread going guys and gals - shoot with your bow and then yor camera!
Bob
I'm hoping to head home to WV next week and if the good Lord is willing and I do my part, then I'll be posting on this thread.
any more does fall this weekend?
Back about 15 years ago I worked at a shop where we had a contest for biggest deer by field dressed weight. We had separate catgories for rifle and bow.
A fellow brought in a doe that weighed right on 140 less the weight of the arrow. I say that because he had spined her from a tree stand with an 80 pound compound and he could not pull the arrow out.
Our northern whitetails are big bodied deer and I got so that a buck that weighed 200 was just kind of ordinary. The winner was 242 as I recall.
I think Bill needs to set his alarm clock. :readit:
You can count me in. I took a doe with my recurve in the early doe season here in MI... but she only went 100 lbs. dressed, not enough for this contest, but I am not done either :D
Heaviest do I have taken went 115 lbs dressed... those old does are some tough critters to fool!
QuoteOriginally posted by luv2bowhunt:
You can count me in. I took a doe with my recurve in the early doe season here in MI... but she only went 100 lbs. dressed, not enough for this contest, but I am not done either :D
Heaviest do I have taken went 115 lbs dressed... those old does are some tough critters to fool!
Yep, never have seen a doe with her head done trailing a buck in heat during the rut.
For a teacher sometimes my spelling just sucks. What I meant to type was "doe with her head DOWN".
DDave
Hey Bob,
I am guessing you would very much prefer that the deer be taken in an ethical and legal fashion.
If not would you please let me know, cause I should be able to shoot a pretty nice mule deer eating crabapples in my yard LOL
DDave
I sure wish I was a morning person. One problem with the pics I have posted of the big does is that they are typically around well before daylight and I am afraid of educating them if I get there at the same time they are feeding before daylight. However, this Sunday, the plan is to do just that....get in the blind around 6 AM and stay until 8:30 or 9. We'll see what happens.
I saw the biggest doe I've ever seen by far..never seen one even 3/4's her size the first part of the season. I was watching a doe and yrling feed to wards me and all of a sudden the doe did a 180 and took her yrling out of there. I looked behind me an the big doe was winding me at about 30yds. I think the other doe took off when she saw the big one. The big one had a yrling with her too. She stood up on a little hump and I could see her full body broadside. Looked like a thoroughbred, long legs, great big shoulders and big wide hindquarters. She wasn't fat, just tall, big framed and built like a buck.
Bill, it ain`t all that cold yet.
Kiss the wife good night, and head to the blind at midnight, and SLEEP there.
Bowhunting requires dedication sometimes. :D
Get em on a scale and keep the pics coming guys/gals. I see some nice does have been taken recently. And yes, I would like the deer to be taken legally :)
Im gonna give the girls heck in the morning. We will see if I have to have someone post a pic for me tomarrow afternoon. Good luck to everyone else trying to win this gentelmens/ladies contest. I have trail cam pics of a BOB(Big Ol Bitty) that has a smaller doe and yearling with her all the time that to date has been pretty much on a schedule of walking past my stand every morning so we will see.
C'MON!!! Nothing? No one has shot any does lately? No sightings of any big ol' swamp muleys?
:dunno:
I have not had a doe give me a shot for three weeks now! But the weather is a changing............
the does ane not coming in close enough for me but those small bucks are just about stepping on me, but the weather is changing fast.
doug77
I see some new doe pics posted but not on here? Come on - there has to be some biguns worthy of an arrow out there. Keep them coming guys
Bob
Bob, you said Blacktails count. If I shoot one of these little gals here in Oregon, will I win the "Skinny Minnie" contest? :thumbsup:
sure - blacktail, whitetail, muley - any ole gal will do!
QuoteOriginally posted by Bobby Urban:
sure - blacktail, whitetail, muley - any ole gal will do!
If I had a buck for everytime I said that. Pardon the pun.
QuoteOriginally posted by Dusty Nethery:
A scale really brings everything into perspective. Whether it be pack weights or body weight.
If I did not have a scale I would have said this doe would dress out at 150lbs. I weighed her and she dressed out at only 138lbs.
(I'm 6'2 200lbs. for reference)
(http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu158/Stephen_M_Lathrop/2010Doe.jpg)
I weighed quite a few deer when I worked in a shop that had a big deer by field dressed weight contest. I could usually guess the weight within 10 pounds. Being 12 pounds out is not a bad guesstimate.
DDave
I have made a couple of attempts to get a legal opinion on whether I can arrow a deer within the limits of the community where I live. Nobody seems to even want to get back to me and archery season is over tomorrow, meaning I will not have a valid tag for mule deer in this wildlife management unit.
Most, if not all, of our town deer are mulies, and some of the does are pretty husky.
There is also a 4X5 buck that spends most of his time here.
The community where I live is classified as a hamlet under the local county jurisdiction.
I will post a picture of one of the town does tomorrow when I have had some sleep. I would have had a pic of the 4X5 yesterday, but I left my camera at home.
DDave
I have yet to see a decent size whitetail doe this year, although I am seeing does every day (5 in my first ten minutes of hunting this morning).
I have seen a mule deer doe that is bigger than the forkhorns she was with. She prefers to travel alone and she behaves a lot more like a whitetail than a mule deer ie. once she gets on the move she does not stop and look back. I have only seen her do the mule deer stiff legged bounce once, most of the time she runs like a whitetail.
DDave
My buddy in Ohio had a contest with friends of who had the biggest doe--the winner was 126# field dressed doe--that is a big female! I can't imagine a #150+ field dressed doe--that would be a beast!
I just had to add these pics here even though I had posted them on another thread. One pic is four years old, the second is from a couple of days ago. Same doe? I think it could be. Second pic is about 3/4 mile across the same swamp as the first pic from 06. Second pic is 10 yards from my Double Bull. I am annoyed this morning because this deer seems to be at my blind in the past few days around 7 AM. I was going to get up this morning and be all set at 6 AM but the weather.com forecast called for rain overnight until late morning or early afternoon. I can't wait to get my camera card this afternoon to see what I missed because when I got out of bed this morning it was chilly and cloudy. No rain last night and as I type this the sun is out. Chess games are like that, I guess.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/bigdoe4.jpg)
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/Shesback.jpg)
Very possible it`s the same doe Bill.
She`s got kind of a big brisket thing going on.
Either way, those are some beautiful and healthy deer you`ve got there.
I know it is tough to drop the string on a gal this time of year with the rut kicking in but if you think she is big enough shoot her and then wait for the buck anyway - that way you get a full freezer and a dozen arrows as a bonus.
Keep the pics coming
I have one general whitetail and two supplemental antlerless tags. I also still have an antlerless mule deer tag.
DDave (http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab54/damascusdave_2009/th_013-1-1.gif) (http://s849.photobucket.com/albums/ab54/damascusdave_2009/?action=view¤t=013-1-1.gif)
This pic was taken at well over 300 yards with a 300mm equivalent lens.
General season has been open since Monday and I would guess the buck has been taken. He was not particularly wary. Very few doe tags are out for this area so the doe has likely not been hunted much.
Snow is forecast for next Monday and will make hunting a lot easier. So far this week we have been getting highs of 16 degrees Celsius.
DDave
DDave
Don't forget to weigh those does - I have seen some nice ones shot that did not make this thread.
She's making me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
Always an hour before shooting light or an hour after and sometimes in between...and always ten yards from my blind.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/DBAlphadoe.jpg)
Here she is with her boyfriend...and I have a tag for both of them.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/Buckchase1a.jpg)
That doe and the guy behind her are enough to drive you crazy. Have you tried intentionally bumping her off her route before daylight?
If you bump her a few hundred yards up stream she might still come in to your blind, just later. If she's that consistent I don't know what it could hurt to try. She would have to think you were coming from somewhere other than your blind. It would take some work to figure all that out.
Or place you trail camera down the exits and see where she passes at shooting light.
Here's the problem. We have only 23 acres and everything around us is posted so getting several hundred yards away and setting up more cameras is not possible. As it is we have to use mineral licks and some baiting to keep them moving thru where we can hunt them. When we bought the land we were unaware that there were no mast trees on it and we primarily have a bedding area on our hands...as well as a lot of unhuntable swamland. For the past three seasons this doe has given me the slip and if I set up on the trail she uses (I know where it is and where it goes) it interferes with Laura's stand. Where I have the blind set up is the area she frequents the most. On day one of the season I had her at 8 yards...an easy shot. But the Fish and Game people wouldn't let us shoot does the first two weeks due to a downturn in our deer population. This doe, each year I have seen her or had her on camera has never had fawns.
Kelly, we have 3 cameras out and have had as many as 4 and she shows up on only two of them, the one at my blind and about once a week at Laura's stand. She is a smart old cookie and the two times she was at Laura's stand she would always keep an eye on her (Laura) every time she would pick up her head. Of course, she showed up at Laura's while the law was still protecting her. I really think my best shot at getting her will be the last two weeks of the season when it will be colder and natural food is not as abundant. For the last 3 seasons I have used my anterless tag early in the year and have always had this gal under me during the last two weeks of the season (Dec. 1-15). But this year I shot a buck early and held on to my doe tag...just for her...knowing full well I would probably have to wait until the end to have my best opportunity. Since the first day encounter I think she has put on about 50#'s.
Bill - I am rooting for you to tag that gal. I have seen your photos of her for three years and really want to know what she weighs. Keep the faith and the patience - it is going to pay off in December!
Bobby...one of the benefits of growing older is the savoring of things and patience. Whether I get her or not I had her where I wanted her on day one. Right now the moon is waxing and things are slow. Late season has got to be it but I am out there every day even though the odds are stacked against me for the present.....gotta keep the line in the water, ya know.
I agree Bill - Some days just counting coupe is satisfaction enough but when you hunt a specific deer - especially for multiple seasons, it is very satisfactory to score. At the same time, those days are very emotional for me. Walking up on the downed trophy after a long one-on-one where both have had victories and failures along the way brings a tear to my eye. One of my best bucks ever was not my biggest but he had a broken tine and in the last minutes of light, on the last day of hunting for the season I got him. My father, friend and I had all "missed" him during the season and he bacame an obsession. Needless to say we had nicknamed Lucky. You have a great story to tell either way.
Keep the does coming guys - there are a dozen arrows on the line here.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bill Carlsen:
She's making me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
Always an hour before shooting light or an hour after and sometimes in between...and always ten yards from my blind.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/DBAlphadoe.jpg)
Here she is with her boyfriend...and I have a tag for both of them.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/Buckchase1a.jpg)
she's patterned you!!! I would take a climber and move down her run about a hundred yards at a time until I get her within shooting time..
No....she hasn't patterned me. She is just very reclusive and tends to vary her bedding areas so that patterning her is almost impossible. Right now she is feeding about 100 yards away and has several trails to and from that area and cameras have picked her up from 4 in the afternoon til after midnight. The spot where this blind is set must have 6 trails that go by within shooting range including two that fork off in back of me. This spot is where I have encountered her the most frequently or have gotten the most pics of her during daylight hours. If I try to move my stand too far I find myself on Posted property otherwise I would be doing what you are suggesting. With her it is strictly a chess game. I just need to be where she most frequently crosses my property and hope that she comes by during shooting light. About half the time she is coming in from the same direction as the buck, regardless of the wind direction. Hunting her is tougher than trying to get a buck. At least bucks make scrapes and rubs. She just leaves tracks.
My gosh she`s big!!!
Bill,
I whish you luck. Sounds like you got your bases covered. You ever think of putting on a food plot or two on the property. I tried once on a small piece that was farmed for grain. The problem was the deer never let it grow. They mowed it down as soon as it popped up. I was one of the no till kind. If you can you my plant some corn or other grain on it, and just take a ball bat or stick to it when it drys or drive thru it.
Good luck,
Kelly
The land is landlocked with only a foot trail or a small river in and out. It is very wet after a rain so the deer bedding changes with the weather, literally. A food plot is in the making but we have clearing to do and tilling to do with small equipment. Planted some apple trees last Sring but it will be a while before they are going to be useful. Baiting is allowed in NH so we use some corn in a few places to keep them interested in going thru areas that are not too wet too hunt. Yesterday I fixed up my original DB blind since the deer have been showing up at 3 PM...nice and early. But we had an inch of rain last nite so I am not sure where they are going to be bedded...they have many options on either side of the river. There is also a single antlered big bodied buck living in the area that I let walk last week due to a poor shooting angle and poor shooting light because of the chance of more rain before morning. He has a trail right past DB # 2 so I will wait him out til Sunday when the firearms season ends. It is also in the same area that the big doe frequents, The season has been good. Laura and I have each taken bucks but wet weather, the rut, the moon and logging operations right across the river during November have things shaken up and much more unpredictable than in the past. Things have settled down on the logging, the moon is good and we have until Dec. 15. I'm optimistic. There are two other big (not as big) does on my hit list which seem to have the same genetics...big , blocky and smart. but each one of them are breeders. This one has been dry ever since I have known of her existence so she is at the top of the list for does. If I don't get her this year I hope she has enough teeth. literally. to make it thru the winter, which has so far, been mild.
I don't know what ya'll are complaining about, I'd have to kill 3 Texas Hill Country does to even come close to anything posted on this thread!
LD
Keep after her Bill - you have until after dark on January 1st to throw her up here and get a dozen arrows. No doubt she is the winner!
Bob
117 on the scale tonight (http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5085/5245145885_a6543c028a.jpg)
Nice - LittleBigMan - love to see the does are being targeted again. Cool pic
She wasn't archery killed but I took a big doe off the family farm opening mornng of gun season. I was getting ready to hang her up when my son asked how much she weighed. I had forgotten to check on that so we put the scale to her and field dressed she was just over 130 lbs. I figure she would have been 150 lbs or very well near it on the hoof.
I would love to know how much that one on Bill's place would tip the scales.
I would have liked to have gotten some other pictures but I had a 1/2 mile drag with the sled , it was 6 degrees by the time I got her down the bluffs and was all alone. Next time better photos!
Nice doe LITTLEBIGMAN...a great effort I`m sure.
In the early season we have to get them cooled off, in the late season we have to get the hide off before they FREEZE!
We are after the does Bob! Might even be carrying some dang nice wood arrows to hunt with! :D :thumbsup:
hey bill carlson, BIG Doe! NICE porcupine in corn too ( unless im dreaming )!!! maybe you could kill him then use the quills to kill her! haha
I bet I've looked at that picture 2 dozen times and never noticed the porcupine! Good eye, graybarkhunter.
opening weekend I shot this 127 pound field dressed doe! my second bow kill and she was huge I think! I cant imagine a 150 doe but Id like to see one!
cabelas scale and I am 5"10 260...beefy!!!!
Tim
please resize all posted images no wider than 640.
thanks jw, i looked at about ten times too then all the sudden i saw his eye shining and really wondered why the doe was kinda shying away from the corn and the buck was full alert, ears forward, what the heck are you doin here "look" on his face.. thought it was funny
This year's doe was a mature Northerner. Her hooves were curling up...but I didn't weigh her. Doc & Tilly
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/tippit/Deer%20Season%202010/Deer2010010.jpg)
My biggest of three this year...a hair shy of 110# dressed...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1020729doe3.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/P1020733doe3.JPG)
way to go Curt!
tippit..shoulda weighed that one bud. That is a hog for sure.
I just saw this thread. Hopefully it will give me motivation to get out of bed. I still have till Jan 9th here. :jumper:
Ah stink - I forgot about this thread. Oh well, here's the doe I took day after Thanksgiving. She's big, she's huge and I forgot to weigh her. Judging by how hard she was to get out of the brush she died in, I conservatively estimate she weighed 1,001 pounds.
Well, maybe not that much but we got 70# of boneless meat out of her.
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff187/GingivitisKahn/black_friday_2010_doe/20101126_ac_09.jpg)
I had a "swamp donkey" try to take me out just before dark last night.
I heard a deer approach from behind. I was in my climber, about fifteen feet up and well hidden. A beaten path in the snow fifteen yards in front of me. It was moving towards the trail.
The approach was steady with only a couple stops along the way, UNTIL it was about ten yards directly behind me. The footfalls had gotten me all worked up, and I had to slowly lower my bow until the limb tip was on my boot. I still had no idea if it was a buck or doe, but it was a heavy deer and alone so far. I was thinking buck.
Late season deer don`t put up with mistakes, and the longer they are in range, the lower the odds.
The adrenaline flood gates were full open. Whitetail turned statue.
I SLOWLY turned my head to try and see the "rack"...a HUGE doe. Just like NASCAR, my RPM`s are just about redline. It`s quiet with a gentle snow. MANY, MANY minutes ticked by. An excellent probability that we had BOTH been in this same situation before.
Dissappointed I did not die from a heart attack, she SUDDENLY snorted, bringing an involuntary and massive flinch from me that sent my arrow from my undrawn bow to the ground and her to the north west. She stopped once and looked back, dissappointed again that I did not fall from the tree.
I was actually relieved it was over, because I ain`t that tough.
Well, with all the logging going on adjacent to our property the second half of our season was very difficult. I had 6 does walk by one of my treestand one afternoon but none were on my hit list and the shots presented were less than ideal. One of the biggest does has 3 young female offspring from this year. I won't shoot her with her having to get them thru the winter. Several of the others came pretty close to that stand but none came in close enough for a shot or for me to identify them. We have one doe group of 3. All are adult and none of them have offspring. I was holding our for the biggest one (if they showed up) but from my trail cam pics they seemed be coming from the direction of the logging area so they were always getting their pics taken after dark. Before the logging started they had been around one of my Double Bulls and the nearest tree stand as early as 3:30 in the afternoon. Here's a recent pic of the three of them chomping down on a corn pile. (I've discussed baiting on our property on this thread and others. It's legal in NH and our property has no mast on it so we have resorted to using it in several areas. Trouble with it is is that the deer figure you out in a couple of days so your first encounter has to be successful). The really good news is that all of our does made it through the hunting seasons so we should be "fawn rich" in the Spring. One of the most interesting things we saw this year was that every single doe that had a male fawn never showed up in our photos with their button bucks once the rut started. I understand that they will chase them off once they come into heat but not a single one was seen from early Nov. on. Makes me wonder where they go.
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a322/Arrowworks/3does.jpg)
As for the porcupines....one of them bit the dust as well as 3 racoons. The Animal control people told me that rabies has been prevalent in the area and encouraged us to kill every coon we could.
Three adult does with no fawns = coyotes!
Hunt hard Bill!
I know this is a whitetail doe weight contest but I wanted to add this muley doe weight for a prospective. I am personaly amazed by some of the whitetail doe weights posted on here. I have butcherd 4 does this year and this has been the biggest so far. It weight in at 115 lbs. dressed weight and would guess the age about 4 years old. I have seen mule deer does that seemed bigger but this is a bigger that normal mule deer doe.
Getting close to the end but there are still a couple weeks left for you all to cash in. Been real cold here and very little daylight movement but I am still getting out a couple times a week. January 1st after sundown I will review this thread for a winner - That is the end of Michigan's deer season so I appologize to those who get to hunt longer. Keep the posts coming in!!
Perfect post Guru
I get some days off after Christmas...I plan on posting a photo here! :D
Today is it!
One half hour after sunset our season is closed.
I have yet to draw my bow on a late season doe!
Right now it is so foggy, if you were fifteen feet in a tree, you wouldn`t be able to say what kind of animal was making noise under your stand.
The temps went up, the rain came down and our snow is all but gone. It looks like mid April outside.
I will give it a go this afternoon, come rain, snow or whatever. When the sun sets this evening, it will PROBABLY be the first time in my hunting career that I did not tag at least one doe. I have taken deer on the last evening, so it ain`t over YET!!!
Great contest Bob...I have enjoyed it all along.
P.S. The wood shafts you sent me and my boys are some of the best quality shafts I have ever dealt with. True "old school" quality.
I will post some pictures of the arrows born of these shafts!!!
Here is my big doe for the year. She gave us lots of good eats!! ;) Wish I had a scale.....
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/Harvests/021.jpg)
No doe for me...
TTT - with a winner! Congratulations Jim Gilmer
Dang...I still have till next Sunday to hunt. :dunno:
ttt
where are the pic's and details?
found it on page 1.