Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Alright you MT R doe killers, fess up.

Gave my step daughter the greenlight to drop this whitetail doe this fall so I sort feel like I added to the decline. She put a smooth shot on it and was super happy that the deer went down with just two steps.
Whitetail seem to be doing the opposite of mule deer and expanding into all kinds of places I used to never see them. Definitely not declining in any parts of the state I hunt, so I wouldn’t feel bad about your step daughter killing one. Congrats to your step daughter! That’s what it’s all about
 
I have had a few whitetail doe tags in recent years and even filled a few of them. Sometimes it is just easier to fill your own tags than to guide someone that wants a little venison.
 
Whitetail seem to be doing the opposite of mule deer and expanding into all kinds of places I used to never see them. Definitely not declining in any parts of the state I hunt, so I wouldn’t feel bad about your step daughter killing one. Congrats to your step daughter! That’s what it’s all about
I can show you whitetail in places that 20 years would have never had whitetail
 
I haven't had a mulie doe tag for a long time, probably since the 90's.

I will buy up to 5 WT archery doe tags here in the Bitterroot. There are high populations of WT's on my in-laws place. There might be 60-70 deer in one of their fields at a time. Some years I fill them all, this past year I didn't fill any. If our freezer is full then I find someone ahead of time that can use the meat. I'll process it for them or send it to a processor if they want.
The suburban muley does in 262 could use a thinning. mtmuley
 
I buy one R3 WT doe tag early in season for archery or shotgun. We are over run by WT does outside of Bozeman. If we dont get an elk down, we buy the otc 309 doe tags and pound on them with muzzleloaders and shotguns. It’s easy for the kids and easy to drag out. Shoot the little ones that are grass fed. They raid our garden, plants, trees and flowers.
 
DC4FC4F6-0DEA-476B-8327-1E2DD83DBAF8.jpegI’m fairly certain this is the last doe I shot in Montana. I was going to college, me and my buddy devised a plan to still hunt through timber with our bows. All of a sudden something was running right at me. it stopped at like 5 yards or less and I shot it. It was the size of a lab maybe dropped instantly. Turns out my buddy had shot mom just a bit earlier and Bambi ran right to me. As I was dragging it (easily) we ran into a guy also bowhunting he looked at my deer shook his head in disgust and said “jeezus that’s a baby” and walked away. That cured me from doe hunting.
 
F261017A-7FCC-492D-A9B5-05515F72A6D1.jpeg
Last year One CWD zone whitetail either sex tag filled on the above and one single region doe tag that I never really did try to hunt.

Never have had a mule deer doe tag.
 
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How isn’t there a picture of a truck load of does on here yet? I just had someone tell me last week how overrun with deer eastern mt as and how much he and his friends enjoyed filling a truck with deer in a weekend
 
View attachment 266271I’m fairly certain this is the last doe I shot in Montana. I was going to college, me and my buddy devised a plan to still hunt through timber with our bows. All of a sudden something was running right at me. it stopped at like 5 yards or less and I shot it. It was the size of a lab maybe dropped instantly. Turns out my buddy had shot mom just a bit earlier and Bambi ran right to me. As I was dragging it (easily) we ran into a guy also bowhunting he looked at my deer shook his head in disgust and said “jeezus that’s a baby” and walked away. That cured me from doe hunting.

We used to do a hunt down in the Ruby we called the Trophy Doe Safari. Buddy brought a 375 H&H Magnum with him and shot a fawn. We recovered about 3/4 of it and hung it on a Doug fir in front of the parsonage on main street on a Saturday night.

Totally forgot about it until after church on Sunday.

Fawn quarter, wrapped in bacon and smoked is a treat.
 
This is my one and only MT mule deer doe. I had a Bridger mtn range B tag almost 2 decades back. I had a R7 b tag a couple years later and gut shot (archery) a doe and lost it while antelope hunting. After that day, never again will go for a mule deer doe under any circumstances. No reason to shoot mule deer does in MT. I was happy with this one. My son was along and he was 4.
4X6 Ty Doe.jpg
 
2 whitetail does. I think I had one other wt doe tag in another region.
 

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That’s a trip.. when I was in the breaks I saw 2 spike bulls in 5 days, put the stalk on 8-9 different mulies just for chase……
I'm guessing it depends on where in the breaks...the area that I normally hunt the MD numbers have fallen off the table these past few years.

No interest in killing any MD does in MT.
 
How many doe tags (deer) do you get every year?

Me first.

Last year two muley does and one whitey. Freezer was fine, so ate three tags instead. If I needed the meat I would have killed one or two, but I have a private landowner friend that will accommodate.
I usually get one region 3 antlerless whitetail tag and fill it during archery. My family enjoys the meat. I really have no desire to get a mule deer doe tag right now.
 
Why in my mind, are whitetail does more acceptable to kill than mule deer does? I definitely like the meat better. They definitely seem more respectable a quarry. And unlike mule deer, there are more whitetail in the places I hunt than any previous time in my life. All of that, may very well be post hoc rationalization.

Maybe my perception is off base but it just seems like if the habitat supports decent numbers, winter kill isn't a constant risk, and they can stay ahead of predators, they repopulate areas real quick if overharvested so there is less concern with whacking does. In much of they country people are failing to reduce whitetail numbers as much as desired and that doesn't feel like a thing with mule deer.
 
Won’t have to worry much about mule deer, whitetail, or antelope in R6 after this winter. We just got blasted with another 8-12 inches snow, 40-50mph winds. Ol’ man winter should take care of the wildlife.
 

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