I have a confession to make. I did not kill a buck this year. This was the first year in a long time that I could really dedicate time to being in the deer woods. I did take two does. One was part of this story and another while on a camping trip with my son. We packed in my Seek Outside tent and stove and cooked ramen and smores. After staying the night, I shot a doe and we quartered and packed her and camp out on our backs. It was a fun mini backpack-style hunt and we were only 600 yards from the truck.

I had several buck encounters and even passed one or two up. It’s not that I didn’t want to kill a buck. The dots just never connected. You know what I didn’t pass up? Meat in the freezer.

I probably have less deer encounters than a lot of people but I still saw a lot of deer. The thing is I hunt almost 100% on the ground. So naturally, I encounter deer that I don’t stand a chance of shooting. I’m not about to pass up the first (or second) doe that presents a shot and I think that more people should take that attitude even if they don’t hunt like I do.

Bucks By The Numbers

According to the National Deer Association‘s 2025 report, U.S. hunters killed 6,074,182* white-tailed deer during the 2023-2024 season. Antlered deer accounted for 3,086,182. This is only the second year in the last 25 that buck harvest surpassed 3 million and represents a 4% increase over 2022-2023. In the regions cited in the report, that equates to 1.7 bucks harvested per square mile. In my home state of Mississippi, 62 bucks were killed for every 100 hunters. The top state in this regard was South Carolina at 73 bucks per 100 hunters.

*These numbers are based on state reports that either only have white-tailed deer or separate white-tailed from other deer species. Actual numbers are slightly higher.

The percentage of mature bucks also increased. 43% of bucks harvested were 3.5 years old or older. That statistic has been on the rise for a couple of years now. On the opposite side of the spectrum, 1.5 and 2.5 year old deer accounted for 26% and 32%, respectively. Those numbers are also on a downward trend. If you look far enough back, the percentages were pretty much the opposite of what they used to be. So why the flip?

Changing Attitudes

Those numbers are actually a really good sign that our conservation and management practices have worked to stellar effect. Ask just about any hunter over the age of about sixty and they will tell you that there were hardly any deer when they were younger. Back then, doe harvest was pretty much nonexistent according to the law. So folks shot what they could. This led to the demise of many a spike buck.

Over the years, populations increased, antler point restrictions were enacted, and antlerless restrictions eased. People could afford to be choosy because they likely would get more than one opportunity. Hunting media also showcased a seemingly non-stop stream of outdoor celebrities posing with big, mature deer that would be the envy of any Average Joe’s taxidermy collection. People started holding out for a bigger one. But where does this leave the lowly doe?

No Love For Does (Or Too Much)

The NDA’s report also highlights that doe harvest has remained relatively stable over the last five years. In total, hunters killed 2,988,820 does in the 2023-2024 season. Less than the buck harvest. Why is that important?

Generally speaking, doe harvest is used as the primary mechanism for population management. When states want to maintain or grow numbers, they restrict doe harvest. If they need to reduce populations or if there is at least steady growth, they can relax those restrictions. When deer populations were struggling, females were off limits. But white-tailed deer are no where near in the shape they used to be. We are no longer in the days of running to the nearest gathering to tell everybody you saw a deer. But there’s still a stigma around shooting does.

Maybe some folk don’t want to bloody up their hands for something without headgear or if they kill a doe, it’ll scare the big guy that’s standing just out of sight. Maybe they don’t want to be seen as inferior to their peers or random strangers on the Internet. But if you don’t kill does, you aren’t managing deer. Deer are born at roughly a 50/50 ratio of male to female. Herds that maintain close to this are more healthy.

Additionally, with chronic wasting disease expanding to new areas, states sometimes respond by relaxing buck antlers restrictions. Studies suggest that younger bucks are more apt to spread CWD because they tend to range further searching out their own territory. Shooting these young bucks can be an effective way to limit CWD spread. However, the data isn’t showing a marked increase in the percentage of young bucks being taken. It is the opposite. CWD is also dependent on population density and it isn’t like only bucks can transmit the disease. So thinning the herd and taking out a few more does can also help in this aspect.

A Different Approach

The tides are starting to turn. People realize that we need to shoot more does. A few of the big voices in the whitetail world are advocating for it. But the primary line seems to be “Shoot your target buck and then go after the does.” I think it should be the other way around.

Fill the freezer first. Fill yours, your parents’, or even your non-hunting neighbors’ and then go after a buck. Some states make you “earn” your second buck. I’m saying “earn” your first. If you don’t get him, he might come back bigger next year. This way you don’t get into the crunch of desperately trying to stock up in the late season because you failed to get your buck in the early season.

Every state is different. Some have more restrictive antlerless regulations than others. Going from public to private land in the same state may drastically change one’s legal opportunities. But we should be taking advantage of the resource when we can. Doe hunting can rewarding too. Killing one on the ground when they tend to travel in groups will test your woodsmanship. There’s less pressure so that you can focus on those unique skills. Or use it as an opportunity to make it fun like I did with our “backpack” hunt.

So go ahead. Take that old doe on opening day. Make it a point to specifically kill a doe. Do something interesting. You won’t regret it.