This morning, I had a shot at two different does. Both had yearlings with them. Am I wrong for letting em walk?

My thought was, if I kill the doe, the yearling will have that much harder of a time making it.

Thoughts?

They'll be fine.

What's the difference when in a few weeks they'll be on their own anyway?

Damn, for what ever reason, I grew a conciense this morning. I have shot them before but for what ever reason I didnt. Thanks for yalls input

From what I have seen on my lease, the fawns were a little late, so letting them go a little longer might not be bad

It's what happens when you get older. Probably going thru the next stage of hunting. I think there is 5 of them.
Me, I usually think, "Do I really want to clean a deer today"!!! I let a lot of deer walk just because I didn't want to fool with getting it out of the woods and then cleaning it.
A successful hunt don't always mean a kill!!!

What you believe is all that matters. Do you desperately need the meat? Do you have a strong desire just to kill something? If the answer to both questions is no, then you should have no regrets.

I pass on doe with young ones all the time because I don't need the meat, nor do I have a problem laying off the trigger.

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I would have thought the same thing. Hey, after all, it's your hunt. You'll have another chance.

It's a long season. There is no rush to harvest does with young fawns.

They would be fine, but you gotta feel right with what you do.... I've been hunting in an area where 200 deer have to be killed this year and they aren't half there yet. Not many hunters and the forest meister is getting frustrated & telling folks to shoot whatever they see.. Have people bringing out deer the size of jackrabbits.... and herds going downhill because selective harvesting is out the window...

I did the exact same thing yesterday morning. I had a nice doe come in with an older set of yearling twins. Thought about taking her but decided to just enjoy watching them instead for about 20 minutes or so. Good times.

I'd have done the same thing! I think you were right in letting them walk!

I've done the same thing lots of times, some of ours still have spots, just don't feel good about it so I don't. I let two small doe walk yesterday morning had fun watching them. Do what feels right to you and enjoy your time in the woods.

It's your hunt so either way just enjoy. Maybe you will be rewarded with a much bigger animal this year....

Yep! Passing through to the stage where you're just not mad at the deer anymore and just having to shoot something is not a priority.

Not a thing wrong with not shooting a deer. If I could offer a suggestion it would be watch the yearlings - if they're eating the acorns and/or corn they'll be just fine.

I passed up 3 different does this morning with fawns..... I have seen fawns that won't run off and that makes me feel bad lol.... Also I wanna give them the best chance possible

It depends on size of the fawns but there was some research done a few years ago that showed if the doe was killed the fawns stayed closer to that area instead of leaving. The earlier you can kill your doe the more food you will leave for the rest of the herd.

Like others have said, the fawns would likely have been fine if you shot the doe. You have to be able to shoot or pass them up with no regrets either way. If you did that you made the right decision for you.

The fawns would have been fine. That being said, you should never feel wrong for letting a deer walk. I once let what would have been the biggest deer I ever shot walk. I had my reasons at the time. Sometimes I wish i would have taken that shot, but I never feel like I was wrong n letting him walk

I think what you did was commendable. Better to let her walk instead of wondering if a fawn will make it without her. Although, the fawn probably would have been ok I think you did the right thing.

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while the fawn would have been fine part of why I hunt with a bow is to be close to the animals. It is not about the kill but the enjoyment. As long as it was a good hunt to you dont worry about it.

there will be other days...