Buck and doe

[BowmanMike]

Yesterday I checked out a small strip of woods along a stream on a client's property I am allowed to hunt. I was not sure I even want to hunt there as there is a somewhat busy road on the opposite side of the stream. 

I found some heavily browsed shrubs and lots of deer trails and then saw movement up ahead. A doe was coming down a trail with a buck in tow. Just the two of them and the buck looked to be at least 2.5 years old. 

Why are they hanging out together now? I didn't really expect that. The doe was trying to figure out what I was while the buck was behind some brush. I think this is a pretty good funnel area just on the outskirts of this little hamlet.

But isn't it too early for the buck to be interested? could they be siblings? What do you guys think?

[dbHunterNY]

i think chances are if it was 2.5 yrs old they aren't siblings. More than likely just occupying the same ground and activity or whatever may have pushed them into the same patch of cover. Until the rut kicks in they have a lot of the same reasons for being somewhere.

[The_Real_TCIII]

Maybe shes just a whore. Dont overthink it

[Robhuntandfish]

getting pics of some fraternizing....

[BowmanMike]

I guess i just don't get to see bucks often enough to see what they do when I don't want to put an arrow through them. I may have to hunt that property after all,it really looks like some excellent safety cover for the deer and a serious funnel to boot. 

[2BuckBizCT]

2 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

getting pics of some fraternizing....

that spike (or 4pt) has high beams!

[Robhuntandfish]

4 minutes ago, 2BuckBizCT said:

that spike (or 4pt) has high beams!

5 and a 6 point that have been hanging together all summer.   I would probably send it.  Gonna be a game time decision on what else might be around by then.

[Swamp_bucks]

This time of year probably just using same trails. She probably got up and walked past him and he said guess it’s time to eat or got bumped out of a bedding area.

[Swamp_bucks]

I will say tonight I had a doe go through with a new 1.5 buck I haven’t seen with his nose to the ground matching her step for step and 20 mins another 1.5 came through nose to the ground and tail up.  
 

little guys don’t know it’s to early they get that cold hitting and they think it’s close. 

[Wolc123]

23 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

Haha,that looks like my opening day gun season from 4 years ago. Shot a buck at first light and when I was standing over him two does came in,only one left. My wife's favorite gun season ever,done after 30 mins.

I did that about 14 years ago, on opening day of gun. Back then, I carried (2) guns to my stand, my scoped inline ML, and my short, smoothbore, open-sited pump slug gun.  
 

A group of (6) does and fawns came thru about an hour after sunrise.  I only had one doe permit, so I dropped the largest doe with the ML at about 75 yards.  
 

She was obviously the leader and the other (5) bumbled about aimlessly  in range for about 2 minutes after she went down.  Shortly after they dispersed, I saw two more deer approaching on the same trail that earlier group had approached on.  Both of those were bucks.  
 

The larger (2.5 yr 8-point) stopped right next to the still-steaming doe carcass, 75 yards away.  The smaller (1.5 yr 4-point) stood about 15 yards away from my stand. 
 

I had not yet reloaded my ML, and the range to the 8 was a bit farther than I was comfortable with the open sighted pump shotgun.  I really concentrated on a good sight picture. I had a very good rest in that stand.  The shot was true and dropped him right next to the doe.  
 

I later regretted shooting the larger and farther away buck, because he had a pussy arrow wound, in that magical “no-mans” land area thru the back straps and supposedly below, but really above the spine. 
 

The broadhead, and a few inches of aluminum shaft, was stuck under the hide on the outboard side. I had to cut away a good deal of “questionable” looking meat around that wound while butchering.  The younger 4 point would have likely yielded more useable meat and would have been a much easier shot.  
 

I’ve only used that old 870 with the short open sited smoothbore barrel on 4 deer, but it has killed them all, and all but one with the first shot.   The one that took (2) was out a bit over 100 yards, but was feeding broadside on short clover and again I had a very good rest (from the same stand wher I had killed the buck and doe together the year before).  
 

I used the “artillery” method on that one.  I saw that my first shot was high, by the mud kicking up over his back, where it had landed.  I dropped a couple degrees of elevation and landed the second one on target.  

I used the same 870 action with a Hastings cantelever scope mount and my old 2-7 Redfield scope on it for several seasons, with far poorer results.  The cantilever mount would bend and walk the slugs vertically, as the barrel heated up.  I traded that barrel in towards my inline  ML.  

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Wolc123

[The Back 40]

8 hours ago, Wolc123 said:

I did that about 14 years ago, on opening day of gun. Back then, I carried (2) guns to my stand, my scoped inline ML, and my short, smoothbore, open-sited pump slug gun.  
 

A group of (6) does and fawns came thru about an hour after sunrise.  I only had one doe permit, so I dropped the largest doe with the ML at about 75 yards.  
 

She was obviously the leader and the other (5) bumbled about aimlessly  in range for about 2 minutes after she went down.  Shortly after they dispersed, I saw two more deer approaching on the same trail that earlier group had approached on.  Both of those were bucks.  
 

The larger (2.5 yr 8-point) stopped right next to the still-steaming doe carcass, 75 yards away.  The smaller (1.5 yr 4-point) stood about 15 yards away from my stand. 
 

I had not yet reloaded my ML, and the range to the 8 was a bit farther than I was comfortable with the open sighted pump shotgun.  I really concentrated on a good sight picture. I had a very good rest in that stand.  The shot was true and dropped him right next to the doe.  
 

I later regretted shooting the larger and farther away buck, because he had a pussy arrow wound, in that magical “no-mans” land area thru the back straps and supposedly below, but really above the spine. 
 

The broadhead, and a few inches of aluminum shaft, was stuck under the hide on the outboard side. I had to cut away a good deal of “questionable” looking meat around that wound while butchering.  The younger 4 point would have likely yielded more useable meat and would have been a much easier shot.  
 

I’ve only used that old 870 with the short open sited smoothbore barrel on 4 deer, but it has killed them all, and all but one with the first shot.   The one that took (2) was out a bit over 100 yards, but was feeding broadside on short clover and again I had a very good rest (from the same stand wher I had killed the buck and doe together the year before).  
 

I used the “artillery” method on that one.  I saw that my first shot was high, by the mud kicking up over his back, where it had landed.  I dropped a couple degrees of elevation and landed the second one on target.  

I used the same 870 action with a Hastings cantelever scope mount and my old 2-7 Redfield scope on it for several seasons, with far less poorer results.  The cantilever mount would bend and walk the slugs vertically, as the barrel heated up.  I traded that barrel in towards my inline  ML.  

 

Adjust elevation to 46.5 and FIRE FOR EFFECT!!!