When I began deer hunting in my home Thumb area in 1963, deer weren’t as numerous as they are today, and just seeing one, much less one with antlers and being able to shoot it. Back then, the “bucks only” law wasn’t a bad thing, in order for deer to better propagate in a region. Whitetail deer are in fact quite resilient critters, and when given a chance, can do some serious propagating.
In 1970, the DNR realized something had to be done to help keep the deer herd in check with the habitat, and the first antlerless deer tags were issued in my Thumb area by a lottery system with the successful applicants receiving their permits in the mail. I can remember various sportsmen’s groups encouraging local deer hunters to apply for the tags to ensure as many of the tags as possible would not be used. Once the tags were received, “Doe Tag Burning Parties” were arranged to perform a highly publicized, ritual burning, as an organized protest of the DNR’s deer management plan. And yep, folks, there were some big bonfires.
This staunch form of protest dates to Michigan’s “Buck Only” Law of 1921 to increase deer numbers in the state. Prior to this, there was primarily a “brown its down” attitude, and whitetail deer numbers had reached an alarming, all time low. The unfortunate part about the 1921 Buck Only Law, was that the doe quickly attained a proverbial sacred status, and shame on anyone who would dare to shoot a deer without antlers.
By 1941, Michigan’s Conservation Department realized, due to burgeoning deer numbers, that harvesting antlerless deer in certain regions/counties, was necessary to keep deer numbers in check with the habitat. A lottery was held for a 37 square mile area in Allegan County, which received an immediate protest from hunters.
One notable attempt to keep deer numbers in check which resonates still to this day occurred in 1952 in the northern Lower Peninsula, in which deer hunters would be able to use their tags on any deer during the last three days of the November deer season. The result was more than 9,000 antlerless deer were harvested, which in turn garnered an immediate protest from hunters and non-hunters alike, and Lansing received a truckload of mail in this regard. It would be forever known as “the slaughter of 1952”. It was then decided that issuing antlerless deer tags by a lottery system was the best way to go, especially when dealing with the public perception and acceptance on matters.
In 1970 I had been successful in the antlerless deer tag lottery for Tuscola County and had no intention of burning it. Whether or not I filled it, was my choice, and it was nobody’s business but my own. It is an attitude I maintain to this day and I sincerely believe any deer is a trophy in the eyes of the hunter who legally and ethically tags it.
“To be seen with a doe during that timeframe would probably have netted some rude comments and I felt it best to be a bit prudent.”
As it turned out, I had an on-the-platter shot at a large doe and nope, folks, I didn’t strap her on the car’s roof and parade her around. Instead, I crammed her in my car’s trunk and headed straight home. To be seen with a doe during that timeframe would probably have netted some rude comments and I felt it best to be a bit prudent.
Fortunately, attitudes are changing and shooting a doe isn’t the sin it once was, but the “bucks only” mentality is still around with many of the state’s deer hunters, and it is why it is now legal for hunters to use buck tags for tagging antlerless deer, with the goal being to encourage hunters to harvest antlerless deer. It is also why any legal firearm can be used in the Lower Peninsula during the muzzleloader deer season.
The main goal is to target female deer, but young buck fawns known as “button-bucks”, can be mistakenly shot, and lacking antlers, are still very legal. The key is to carefully study the deer’s physical profile, and a mature doe, besides usually being larger, will typically feature a long nose. It also never hurts to have other deer nearby helping in the assessment.
Because they are often passed up by hunters, does can reach some amazing ages, and my son Jake shot a large doe which was determined by the MDNR to be “very old” because the teeth were worn down nearly to the gums and couldn’t be properly aged. Despite old age and worn teeth, the doe had been accompanied by a pair of fawns and was plenty healthy and plump.
I thoroughly enjoy both the early and late antlerless seasons and refer to it as “trophy doe hunting”, and trust me, folks, it isn’t easy. I rank a mature doe as being one of the most challenging animals to hunt. They have had plenty of experience looking after their young and are on the constant lookout for danger. They also can have an uncanny instinct which says something is amiss, and I have had opportunities to spot and stalk bucks, and if a doe is present, the challenge to work into range can increase exponentially. 
Just the other evening, I was waiting for a large doe which had just come out of the heavy cover, to turn just right to offer me a down-for-the-count shot. Her 3 fawns had preceded her into the food plot, but she suddenly stopped, and looked directly at my concealed position in the nearby shelterbelt, and despite the doe being directly upwind of me in a brisk breeze, she was clearly working her nose in a suspicious fashion. I’ve seen this before, and despite the wind being in the hunter’s favor, there can be a swirling effect created by the surrounding foliage. The doe suddenly stomped her foot, snorted, and whirled back into the cover with her 3 fawns quickly in tow.
I recently glassed a group of 11 deer eating in a field. Only 3 of them were mature does, and the other 8 deer were clearly their fawns. Yep, folks, as I said at the beginning, whitetail deer are very resilient critters, and when allowed, they can rapidly multiply.
Car/deer accidents have been at a record high in the Lower Peninsula for the past two years, and hunting is the only practical management tool to control deer numbers, and the best way to have a balanced and healthy deer herd is to harvest more antlerless deer. The sad situation is that Michigan deer hunters still annually harvest more antlered deer than antlerless deer and it is why the MDNR is taking the necessary steps to assure a proper antlerless deer harvest.
I used to concentrate on bagging bucks during the first two days of the firearms deer season, but now, “I see doe – I shoot doe”, and it is a policy I’m going to keep following. I can purchase up to 20 DMAP (Deer Management Assist Program) antlerless tags for my farm and I plan on donating venison to the Sportsmen Against Hunger Program at every opportunity.
Happy Thanksgiving Folks!
than 40 years and has had his weekly radio show, “Tom Lounsbury
Outdoors” for more than 20 years. Tom grew up on a farm in
Michigan’s Thumb, and it is where his first outdoor adventures began
as a kid accompanying visiting pheasant hunters into the field during
the “pheasant hunting heyday” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a passion
he still has to this day and being the 4 th generation to own the family
farm, he has put most of it into conservation programs with a focus on
wild pheasants, which in turn helps all wildlife.
Being an outdoor communicator, Tom appreciates all the outdoor
adventures he experiences in different places, and especially the
people he meets in which to share them.
- When rare birds suddenly arrive for a short visit - December 20, 2024
- Whenever hunter-pressured whitetails go nocturnal, nothing beats an old-fashioned deer drive. - December 20, 2024
- Pursuing wild ringnecks in the long grass - December 6, 2024