Iv hunted this place for several years & went there thisafternoon for the first time this year & just like almost every time I hunt there got busted. this place has a lot of old mature does I think the hunters on the adjesent farm must only kill buck's because I almost never see mature buck's. but these does got esp & they don't second guess themselves either I mean like a coyote. the slightest whiff - sound - movement & gone. iv gotten used to it & actually admire their cageyness. ya just got to shake your head crack a smile & be glad to be alive. life is good. maybe next time

Some of those mature doe are harder to kill then a lot of bucks. It doesn't take much before they are keyed in on what's going on. Keep after it!

know what you mean

had 2 bucks of good sized racks come up on a flat from a creek bottom heading towards my tree stand by an old fallen down house place

They got about 1/2 of the way to me; a old doe crested where they did stoped dead , sniffed and looked in my direction, snorted and swapped ends, taking my intended targets with her

if not for her I would of had one very directly- and this was not the first time one messed me up nor the last

Boy I could write a book about some old does that have busted my hunts. But one year I got revenge on one. She walked right under and stopped to check the wind at 10 yards after I had moved my tree stand to a new place. A well placed arrow did the job. When I told my hunting partner, he just smiled. Her meat was excellent.

They are smart.moved a stand once and seen a doe sneak in and searched the trees looking for me where I used to be.

They are smart! Unlike a Big ol Buck. Three things on his mind. Sex,eat,slee, barely. Just like a young wipersnaper :-\:-) JF

I read somewhere that Fred Bear thought they were harder to get than mature buck's.Reason being they had to learn to survive while protecting their fawns as well.

Oh yea they are smart

I think as traditional bow hunters we tend to appreciate how smart they are more so than other hunters. Me I spend the vast majority of my season trying to kill big does. I love it! I take a short break during peak rut and then I'm back harassing the old biddies till January!

Killing a mature doe with trad equipment is a trophy for sure. They can pick you off and as mentioned rarely second guess themselves.

I know a doe that lived longer around here than any bucks... She was identifiable by crippled right rear foot broke at the knuckle but had healed over by the first time I saw her 10 years ago when I bought the place... I called her Gimp.... First time I seen her she had twin fawns then, so know she was at least 1-1/2 year old then, making her over 10 years old in 2017 the last time I seen her or camera trapped her... Even though crippled, she had and maintained twin fawns every year... She was a smart cookie,,, one year late in the week during our week long gun season she had 5 fawns tagging along after her, and I know at least 3 of them were not hers meaning their mothers were likely whacked... Another year I put up a ladder stand and happened to be within view of it from a distance and seen her reaction the first time she approached it and she kinda freaked... Caught it right off, right away... Looked that thing up and down, up and down, and didn't want any part of it and finally circled around it to continue on.... Heck, it was just the ladder legs portions even without the seat... I was amazed she was that observant... Unfortunately haven't seen her in about a year, but maybe she's still alive or maybe she died of old age, don't know, but do know there isn't any bucks that old around here... Heck, they're lucky to make it to their 2nd year with all the pressure around here and a testament to how smart that old girl was...

Does seem to never do foolish things, but buck can be one of the dumbest things in the woods during the rut. Yep, even old Papa Bear said 'does are smarter than bucks'.

Had one bust me just yesterday morning. Opener of shotgun/slug season, I'm right where I expected to see two deer. She picked me up a long way off, blew and then veered off. Never had a clean shot at her or her youngster.

Several years ago there was a big old solitary doe in that same patch, got her on trail cam several times, but she knew the thick cover well. Suspect she died of old age...

yep got busted this year,,

My wife hunted one doe she named "dumb dora". Dumb dora would always stay just out of bow range and at the end of the season she was still out-smarting the wife.

James

I've watched them wise old does smell logs and sticks across the deer trail and if they pick up scent, detour. And it could be half a day later. I had one in particular that I hated! Even tried rain suits and hip boots. That was back in the old days, and that didn't work. Now that I think about it she save me alot of money not buying into the tech stuff.

There was a long-time study done in North Central Minnesota on whitetail deer and wolves. It was found that the average age of a doe in the study area full of wolves, and two-legged hunters alike, was 11 years old! Proves just how smart/cagey them does can be. I've never heard of a buck living that long.

A place I used to hunt several years back had three does.... I refered to them as the three sisters were the smartest most elusive deer I have ever seen. They were always one or tqo steps ahead of me. Id try to change up my game and sure enough they were ahead of me. Another year I was hunting a well traveled fence row and was set back at the base of a huge osage tree.... this young doe walked right up in front of me and stopped. She stood there within reach for several minutes within reach and looked all around and never moved. I ended up running my hand down her back and she beat it into the next county ??

That’s right - the women are smarter!

Sing it with me now!!

If those screw racks, the Hansen buck would look like a dink!!

“Just a doe”, my eye!

Was talking to a buddy last night, the property he's hunting has some "enormous" does. He missed a 'decent' buck a few nights back but said the does he's seen made it look runty. Of course, those does have never presented him with a shot.

They don't grow that big by making mistakes.

I posted a 'story' about wise old does over on the 'Fireside Stories' thread. Something I wrote thirty-odd years ago.

I have had them get used to me in a spot where I would not shoot them. Never busted, that being said on one particular wildlife management area had this one doe that was impossible for several of us to kill. We all had multiple run ins with her. It got to be a quest one season. Needless to say she made it unscathed!

This is kinda ironic… Its gun season here right now and just ran into a buddy at our local market… He was in hunting gear buying corn, I am not, just in street cloths buying groceries… Anyhow, he didn’t see me and I caught him as he’s walking out and saying - “Its cheating to bait them”...8^) He turns around chuckles and we chat a while… We start discussing does and he proceeds to tell me about his daughter sitting in the same stand and keeps getting busted by the same doe...8^) He says she comes in looking for somebody in the stand, then starts stomping and eventually snorts and blows out of there screwing up the woods...8^) Said he’s dealt with this doe before during bow season but doesn’t want to take a doe, but now they’ve had enough of her and going to sit in the stand this evening and try to take her out...8^) Gonna be interesting to see who out smarts who now… I’ll probably see him sometime in the near future to find out...

was in ladder stand 37 degrees, got there pretty early, about 2 hours later one doe big ran through , then about ten minutes later, I spotted a eye through a hole in tree leaves, looking at me, it ran backwards, they had to have been close, heard or watched me climb up then took off they are smart dr

Forgot to add above... Said he was thinking about putting a dummy in the stand when he's not there to trick her out...8^)

Seen my buddy yesterday, first thing I said - "Did ya kill that doe?"...His first words, "He!! no"...8^)

Looks like the doe won...8^)

Some years back I had a doe bust me from eighty yards away. It was a visual detection as I had black pants on at the time. She stomped and snorted, and after a minute or so, continued on her way, or so I thought. I would say five minutes later she is twenty yards away, behind my treestand, and I wouldn't have known it, but she again began snorting and stomping. With no shot, she taught me a lesson, and I will not hunt with anything black on again.

This doe was the most challenging deer I've ever killed.

I have had to put up another stand before to take out a doe that had busted me one time. She would always come in and look in the tree for me after she busted me. I put a different stand up about 30 yards down the trail in a cedar tree. Needless to say that was the end of being busted by her.

IMHO...an old mature boss doe is the toughest deer in the woods to get the drop on

I was going to suggest exactly what Texoma said - it they’ve got you patterned, you’ve gotta change things up and use it against them. Figure out where she stops to look for you up in your stand, then put up your stand where she’ll stop, quartering away, and with her attention on the stand that she has patterned.

I was heading to work one morning this past fall. I saw a really big deer cross the road in the outer limits of my headlights. My first thought was wow i'll bet that's a buck! But when I drove past there she was, just a REALLY big doe.

Also There are some big old doe that live a lot longer than buck, especially in some of our more remote spots. I think there are a lot of guys that simply don't want to drag or pack out a doe that far.

Give me long-head anytime.

Been a ground hunter and always thought that if you can escape a mature doe then you are doing it right.

finally got one of them smart old gals this pic doesn't do justice to this old gal this is a lanky old doe

this one particular farm I hunt they're always in groups & just like geese & turkeys the elders are always on lookout & the slightest anything amiss & your busted

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