Shoot them if you want. The only thing is if you kill the yearling buck it would kind of suck but meat is meat IMO.

JL

 

First deer....I shot the first thing I had a chance at. It's your decision though...and YOURS alone!

 

If you shoot a hog for your first deer then you will spend a long time trying to beat it. But like BigPappa said, I shot the first thing I had a chance at for my first. But it's totally up to you! Either way your first will always be one of the most memorable!

 

You have to start somewhere and that's the best meat out there. It's your decision but would suggest letting a button buck walk if you can. You say you tried and missed once so you can see it's not a sure thing and only experience can make you better. Good Luck.

 

it is...

DEER hunting and that yearling is a deer. Go for it. Hopefully you will have many years to worry about hunting bucks.

 

i did for my first, and would again, unless i knew fo sho i ahd a good chance at a buck, on my little piece of property. also, i dont understand why people are discouraging you from killing a button buck. what brainwashed minds, that they would say not to shoot your first deer, because its a button buck. "let him walk, because in 4.1275 years, and 50 trail cam pics later and his life story, you can spit and slobber and sputter, "i jjjuusstt killed and ab-sol-ute GIIIYYYAAANNT folks". sorry, i just dont get it. kill the first deer that makes you happy, and then youll be happy.

 

well you must not be to hungry yet.because back before my first i was shooting everything that i could clean and eat until i got my first bow kill then i started letting a few tree rats live .
as for your two young deer making a family i dont think that will happen
from what the little i know about deer is when the bucks get older their mothers chase them out of the area ,so no chance of brother and sister breeding or son and mother breeding
have fun and stick one

 

I'd shoot it in a minute. Like someone else said, practice and experience make you better.

Also, deer range around a lot. If your land is just a passing through area letting a yearling walk or choosing to shoot it isn't going to matter much.

 

I took my 13 year old son out bow hunting for the first time last Sunday. He has gun hunted with me and shot a big fat doe last year, but this was his first time with a bow. I told him that it was his tag and I would prob. shoot the first deer that came by. He had three does 10 yrds. in front of him for the better part of a half hour and didn't shoot. He's waiting on a bigger one and didn't want to be done hunting. He did however take a pic. of one with his cell phone and text it to me!
He also drew back on two of them just to get used to doing it. It was good experience for him. I'm pretty sure if it was my first time I would have wacked one of them! Anyway, he had a blast! When it was time to head back to the pickup he walked over to my stand grinning from ear to ear!
Good luck to you on whatever you decide to do. Remember, you bought the tag and can shoot any legal deer you want!

 

It's your choice, you need to get your feet wet somehow. There is a lot to be learned from shooting a deer and they are things that you need to know and use for the future.

 

My first few bucks were 1.5 yrs old...no shame in it....and a 1.5 yr old has plenty of meat.

What are you calling a yearling? A yearling is an animal one year old or in the second year of its age...that makes them roughly 1.5 right now; a fawn is a deer under 1 year old....

 

Shoot em...

Dont get yourself so hung up on size. I hunt deer, Not antlers. Taking a deer is a trophy to me, be it a doe, Buck, yearling. If your going to respect it, and eat it after you harvest it then shoot the thing.:darkbeer:

 

You can't eat antlers! :wink:

 

It would seem to me that you have already decided you want to shoot one of them, because you released an arrow. I think any deer is a good first deer, it will help you to get confidence and teach you a lot of things about hunting that can't be learned til you shoot one. Ghost

 

You need to put your first one down no matter what the size or chances are you will choke when the big one comes along.. get one down and at least you know how it feels and how they react when hit.. it also gives you some tracking experance.. you have a lot to learn that only comes form experance..if you already have missed once on one then you need to sharpen your skills...JMO

 

Amen! I'm with birdman. Kill'em all!

 

In my opinion, hunting isn't all about the antlers. It's your choice but if it was me, I would not hesitate...the young ones are the best meat. But if you are not going to be happy after shooting, don't shoot it.

 

I agree, if it's brown it's down.....Get that first one out of the way then see how you feel..

My first deer wasn't in spots but I could of carried it out in my back pocket!!

Good luck either way!

 

It's a decision only you can make. I wanted my first deer to be a buck for some reason and after passing on a couple does and a button buck I didn't get anything my first year. It really made me question if I made the right decision. The next year I was even more determined and got a little 3 point. His antlers are up on a plaque on my wall and I couldn't be happier with my decision to wait.

 

Shoot the doe yearling! I'll still stick one every chance I get.

 

When I first started hunting I shot the first deer that I knew I could hit. The biggest thing to remember is that you are the one shooting it and no one else. If you feel good with shooting it then shoot it.

I will still shoot a doe without hesitating. I like to make sure all of my equipment is working and after I shoot a doe my confidence sky rockets.

 

to shoot a yearling

A "yearling" would have been born in the spring of 2007. If deer your are seeing are in fact yearlings and neither of them have antlers then they are both does. And, I see no problem shooting yearling does for meat. Older does actually make better mothers so shooting the young ones means the fawns that get dropped next spring have a better chance of survival. not to mention that meat would be mighty tasty.

Regarding yearling bucks. if one of them is a buck, he's not likely to be the brother to the other one. By now, yearling bucks have left their mother's home range but the does typically don't.

With all that said, are you sure you are talking about yearlings (deer that would have turned 1 year old sometime after Jan 1, 2008) or a fawn (a deer born in the spring of 2008)?

Fawns are a different story in my book because it's difficult to tell the difference between a button buck/buck fawn and a doe fawn. I prefer to not shoot fawns simply because I don't want to kill a buck before he has a chance to sprout antlers. there are too many older does to shoot. Just my opinion though.

 

I first deer weighed 40 lbs. I would shoot the yearling, it also builds confidence in your ability.

 

My first bowkill, at age 15 was a 1/2 year old button buck and I have never regretted getting that first one down. My sons first deer was a 1/2 year old doe, he shot at age 13. He is 17 now and has no problem going out to fill a doe tag and has shot 5 deer with a bow since his first, some have been fawns and some older, I like it when he shoots the young ones because they taste better, are easier to clean and butcher, easier to drag out of the woods, and the winters can be very hard on deer around here and the first ones to starve off are the fawns, If you can thin out the herd this way the mature does have a much better chance of carying 2 fawns through the winter without competition from their own young for food.
The choice is yours but always remember;
Any deer shot with a bow is a trophy!!! Whitetail are very hard to fool into bow range and a small whitetail is a small target. But a very tastey small target.


If it was me I would figure the distance from the trail they use to cross to your stand and set a pin up to that exact distance, practice that distance and next time they cross your property, make the shot and enjoy the spoils of your hard work.

 

If you have already released an arrow why are you asking now???? It sounds like you made your mind up, unless you’re having second thoughts. Just my opinion but I would not shoot any yearling, but I am also in it for the hunt and not just the harvest of meat.

But if your family needs the meat then there is nothing wrong with it.

 

ok thanks for all the advice.

I always thought a yearling was once as they lost there spots:zip: lol. so thease two where born spring of 08. so they dont have spots at all but arn't yearlings yet then right? I think i might waight till jan to tag one if i havent already taged a doe.

 

Deer are "fawns" until they pass their first year of life and then yearlings during their 2nd year as someone has already pointed out. Yearling bucks will sport visible antlers - sometimes just spikes but usually basket rack 6 or 8 points around here. Shoot whatever makes you happy. If you do shoot a fawn, maybe consider just avoiding the button fawns to see what he might look like next year or 2 or 3 years from now.

 

if you are going to eat it, who cars if it is 50 pounds or 200 pounds? a deer is a deer no matter what. I would shoot them right now because people I know need meat this winter.