In the 1-minute YouTube video below, Kip Adams from the National Deer Association explains his top five reasons to harvest a doe during the early season.
Confession: This is great advice, but I can say from experience that it can be difficult to follow. It seems like every year I head into the whitetail woods in mid September on private and public ground in western Wisconsin with full intentions on harvesting a doe during one of the first few weekends of archery season. But once I’m in my deer stand, I almost always come up with excuses to pass a shot on a doe.
- It’s too hot, and I don’t want to mess with butchering a deer well after dark.
- I don’t want to mess up a prime area with killing a doe when a big buck might show up to a green field, as he’s been doing regularly all summer.
- I can always shoot a doe during late season.
Every September I have an inner debate between Kip’s five reasons to kill a doe during early season and my three excuses of why I should wait. I will say this: My third excuse — I can always shoot a doe later — often doesn’t pan out. Due to heavy hunting pressure in my area, it always becomes very difficult to kill a doe during late season. You’d think I’d learn my lesson by now!
This deer season I’ll try my best to follow Kip’s advice and ignore my usual excuses.
