Shooting Pregnant Cows?

[Howdy Partner]

I'm no wildlife biologist or game manager.

That being said......... does shooting cows after the rut make sense?

 

[William Sublette]

Well they're not going to get into my freezer just by asking.

 

[Rob5589]

Interesting question. I'll counter with; should we be killing bulls during the rut while they're trying to breed?

 

[BRTreedogs]

Well if you shoot them before the rut they don't have a chance to get pregnant.

Honestly I think the opinions on this very mostly with age, my older brother and dad were admit about not shooting females.
Pretty sure my dad would slap me in the face for shooting one if he was still alive.

But if there allowing it imma doing it.

 

[Customweld]

A lot of times, cow hunts are used as a management tool to get the bull : cow ratio down. The possibility of future calves are taken in to account. There are times it's just a complete herd reduction action.

 

[BRTreedogs]

How many more bulls would get taken if people weren't notching there tag on a cow?
Probably not 1 to 1
But it would be some.

 

[orelkaddict]

I'm not against a cow hunt but the stupid shit Oregon does really pisses me off!!!! So they hand out cow hunts that run clear into the end of March and by that point its a really developed calf inside when you go to field dress it out. I'm a seasoned hunter and that's just about more than I can stomach, now imagine a first time hunter having to see this?? Good way to make sure a kid never hunts again in my book if they see this.

 

[Customweld]

How many more bulls would get taken if people weren't notching there tag on a cow?
Probably not 1 to 1
But it would be some.

It wouldn't make much difference in Idaho. Most of the elk zones are quota restricted for bulls. There may be a few more bulls taken out of the non quota zones, but I wouldn't guess very many.

 

[Customweld]

I'm not against a cow hunt but the stupid shit Oregon does really pisses me off!!!! So they hand out cow hunts that run clear into the end of March and by that point its a really developed calf inside when you go to field dress it out. I'm a seasoned hunter and that's just about more than I can stomach, now imagine a first time hunter having to see this?? Good way to make sure a kid never hunts again in my book if they see this.

I would be dead set against seasons running that late as well.

 

[BuckRut]

Makes just as much sense as shooting them before the rut. Doesn't matter when you shoot them the end result is the same as far as the number of calves come spring.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Well, if they are just a few days/weeks along how would you know. My friend did shoot a cow with small fetus which was discovered when field dressing. I told him he would need to buy second tag,.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I'm not against a cow hunt but the stupid shit Oregon does really pisses me off!!!! So they hand out cow hunts that run clear into the end of March and by that point its a really developed calf inside when you go to field dress it out. I'm a seasoned hunter and that's just about more than I can stomach, now imagine a first time hunter having to see this?? Good way to make sure a kid never hunts again in my book if they see this.

Gutless method. Then you'll never know.
Well except maybe to get the tenderloins

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Gutless method. Then you'll never know.
Well except maybe to get the tenderloins

I think it would still be hard to tell unless you were actually looking.

 

[WKR]

I've never shot a pregnant cow but I have shot a pregnant sow and man was that meat tasty

 

[william schmaltz]

I had a musk ox cow tag that was only good for spring last year. Tight managed herd on an island so they know exactly what needs to go each year. We hunted last week of March and both cows we shot had very developed calves. Gutless method doesn't hide anything given the location of the uterus and the requirement to remove all edible meat. A kid much younger than their late teens wouldn't have known what they were looking at. Sure it's tough to see, but we just drug them away from the carcass and carried on. Someone needed to shoot them and that's the only time there access to do it. If I want to hunt a bull out there someday, it needs to be done.

 

[cnelk]

I’ve shot cows that had a calf along side them and I’m sure I’ve shot cows that have been pregger.

Didn’t bother me one way or another - all factored in by the game biologists

 

[Howdy Partner]

So many elk around we can shoot 2 for 1. Obviously it's because we have 2many elk. Remember that next time you think there's no elk in your area.

Sounds like typical government math.

 

[SD Hunter]

Makes just as much sense as shooting them before the rut. Doesn't matter when you shoot them the end result is the same as far as the number of calves come spring.

This was my thought also.

 

[Lou (Louis)]

Had an open doe hunt (ie, tags issued to allow the take of does) in norCal. Took over 20 years for the population to recover. FWIW

 

[Tmac]

Cow hunts are population control tools as far as I know. I hunt cows often. But I get a little nervous about taking a cow as it gets into December. Only because it creeps me out. But I do know people that take cows very late into gestation and also eat the fetus. Am told it’s very good. Not my cup of tea. Horses for courses.