Punched antlerless tag #4 on a button buck tonight for the management group. Saw 10 deer tonight and this guy was the only one that offered a slam dunk shot. 

dpms
Punched antlerless tag #4 on a button buck tonight for the management group. Saw 10 deer tonight and this guy was the only one that offered a slam dunk shot. 

Just asking out of curiosity and not judgment (promise!) . . .
 
Your history on here makes me think you wouldn't shoot a BB under normal circumstances, and I know you've clarified this was part of the management hunt you're part of in a very controlled environment.  
 
Is part of the design of this management hunt to shoot any/all antlerless deer you have an opportunity to harvest, regardless of whether they're BB's or does?  Or did you get fooled like I have a few times shooting a solitary deer you thought was a younger doe?

snagr
Is part of the design of this management hunt to shoot any/all antlerless deer you have an opportunity to harvest, regardless of whether they're BB's or does?  Or did you get fooled like I have a few times shooting a solitary deer you thought was a younger doe?

 
Normally I pass fawns if I know they are fawns. When hunting on the managements properties, the goal is to remove deer. Preferably does or female fawns but BB's and bucks eat shrubs and get hit by cars too. So ultimately, they would rather the tags get filled with any deer instead of going unfilled. I passed up fawns earlier in the season but now that it is late season, I am trying to fill the rest of my tags. 

Spent 7 hours in a tree yesterday and for my efforts I drew a blank in the morning and a blank in the evening. It was brutal for sure with stiff west winds at 15-20 and 18 degrees. Tons of tracks around my stand in the fresh snow but they were all from the night before after dark. 

dpms

snagr
Is part of the design of this management hunt to shoot any/all antlerless deer you have an opportunity to harvest, regardless of whether they're BB's or does?  Or did you get fooled like I have a few times shooting a solitary deer you thought was a younger doe?

 
Normally I pass fawns if I know they are fawns. When hunting on the managements properties, the goal is to remove deer. Preferably does or female fawns but BB's and bucks eat shrubs and get hit by cars too. So ultimately, they would rather the tags get filled with any deer instead of going unfilled. I passed up fawns earlier in the season but now that it is late season, I am trying to fill the rest of my tags. 

Appreciate the explanation. Makes sense.

I personally couldn’t care less what people shoot as long as they have the tags for it. Was just curious given your history of shooting mature bucks and does on here.

With a light afternoon schedule at work, I decided to head out for a few hours in the cold temperatures and snow in the special regulation area. Much like last weekend the area around my tree stand was polluted with tracks. I climbed up at 2:00 and got settled in. At 2:45 I caught movement far out of deer moving rather quickly through the woods. It turned out to be four bucks chasing one specific doe in a group of six.

Back and forth they went then the doe that they were chasing headed my way. At 27 yards I let out a a rather loud "hey" to get her to stop as she was moving quickly. I settled the crosshairs and took the shot. It felt good but she ran down over a hill out of sight. All the other deer scattered and I thought I might get a shot at another one as they worked their way back through the wood lot but they passed me out of range.

After about 20 minutes I climbed down, quickly found my arrow and began to follow the good blood trail in the snow. There is something special about tracking a arrow hit deer in the snow. Once I got to the edge of the drop off she was laying about 20 yards down over the side. Interestingly, two the bucks were still standing over top of her. They both looked like decent eight points.

She is one of the biggest does I have ever shot. No idea why she wasn't bred already but she definitely was in heat. Today was the best rut action I have seen all season, lol.

I just love the late season for archery hunting especially if it's cold and there is snow. When I was driving out there were deer everywhere out feeding. In my mind, the late season is some of the best hunting of the year.

Congrats on  a productive season and a great late memory

Took a break from archery hunting this weekend. One of my antlerless tags was dedicated to flintlock this year. But, since I have been focused on archery hunting for a local borough, I did not make it out yet. This past Friday was my first outing with the flintlock in 2A. With the fresh snow and cold temps I was pretty excited to hit the woods after work and started in at 1:30.. I started at a pinch point between two thick areas of bedding and browse. When I didn't see too many relatively fresh tracks, I decided to only sit till about 3:30 then planned on still hunting my way back till dark. I no sooner started into a thick area when I spotted a feeding buck. As I was watching the little 8 point, al hell broke loose as deer where trotting back and forth. I saw the culprit as another buck was pushing does around. I just settled in waited, then after things calmed down, one of the does started feeding my way. I let her get to 20 yards then touched off the Firestorm. The shot felt good and I found her piled up about 80 yards away. It was bittersweet for sure. Very happy to punch a tag with a flintlock but sad that the hunt ended so quickly. 

I called my buddy at camp and he met me on the road to ride me back. I pushed for him all day Saturday and I saw around 15 deer. Several times I had does within 30 yards and perfect shots if I was hunting. He still had a buck tag and was only interested in shooting a buck. The only buck he saw was a spike. He had several does in range throughout the day as well. Just two beautiful days in the deer woods. Late season is such a special time of the year for hunting, If one is dressed for the weather, the hunting can be the best of the year.

Have had a couple of close calls the past few days. Had three come past me this morning in the grey light but I just couldn't tell if there were any branches in the way to deflect an arrow so I passed. Back at it this afternoon.