Shooting females

Bush Baby

New member
Joined
Jul 1, 2001
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18
Location
South Africa
How many of you guys shoot females? (I mean female animals – I know most of us know of at least one real b*#$%h we’d love to shoot, not to mention a certain Saudi extremist !)
Is there a still feeling around that it is not ‘cool’ to shoot the females of a species, or has the principles of game management finally prevailed – where a percentage of everything has to be removed, in order to maintain sex ratios.

Over here, those people who are only hunting for meat often shoot females, as they cost a lot less than males do – sometimes up to half – so instead of shooting say one Kudu bull and one Impala ram, you could go and shoot a Kudu cow and maybe three Impala ewes and a ram for the same cost.
Which means on a five day hunt you’re out hunting every day, and not sitting around for three or four days because you got both your males on the first or second day – and have now used up your budget.

As much as we all like just being in the great outdoors – what we are there for at the end of the day is to hunt.
Having said that though, I must say that there is still a stigma for some people here about shooting females - probably a carry over from granddad’s teachings – as our hunting season covers about 5 months it is inevitable that some females are going to be in the early to middle stages of pregnancy, and removing a foetus is never pleasant, I’m sure this puts many people off.
Bush baby
 
BB, I don't know about South Africa, but I believe that in the US, the stigma associated with shooting females began around the turn of the century when game populations were at their lowest. Whitetail deer,Elk, Antelope, Buffalo, were all on the brink of extinction. Only through extraordinary effort were the numbers brought back. The Pronghorn Antelope are still suffering in many parts of the country. At one time there were several million Buffalo on the plains of North America. Everything indicates that there were more Antelope than Buffalo.

I think that today, the stigma of shooting females of the species is gone for the most part. Hunting has become so regulated that in many places, if you want to hunt, you eventually wind up with a doe/cow hunt. It is truly the only way to manage numbers of a herd and maintain population levels at a suitable ratio for carrying capacity of a specific range.

Too bad that homosapien is the only species of female with a rack suitable for mounting.

:cool:
 
I for one am all for taking a doe during my whitetail seasons. Don't see anything wrong with it. Backstrap is awful good to pass on.
I am also allowed to take a hen during fall turkey hunting. Will do it also if given a chance. They fit pretty good in a deep fryer.
 
Myself...I will only shoot a female If I have already taken a male of that species....ok so far I have shot a few doe Antelope...but I will only shoot dry does...I have yet to take a Buck deer or a Bull Elk so their my main focus....Once I kill a Male of the species I have no problem taken a female as long as they are dry!
BL
 
DS!!! You shouldn't be offering my assistance without my knowledge!!! Ok, you can offer now. :D

Oak
 
Nice posts guys,

Danr55……..actually it’s not just homosapiens females with a rack worth mounting. The Gemsbok cow normally produces bigger trophies than the bull, the horns are more slender (thinner), but are longer. Also the Grey or common Duiker does occasionally produce horned females – more regularly than you’d think, the horns are not as big as the ram’s, but a rare trophy non-the-less.

Bush baby
 
yeah.......I know a couple of females I could take out without much thought........but I'm more of a horn guy.......I think :confused:

Terry, I knew you wouldn't mind helping the lady out, and I know she would appreciate it.......so there. :cool: DS
 
Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

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