Pregnant Cow

[hawgwild]

I drew an antlerless elk tag for February, and am slightly concerned about harvesting a pregnant cow during the season.  If it happens, it happens, but looking for ideas on how to mitigate it.  Thanks in advanced.

[C-Money]

 Look for a cow that does not have last years calf close by...shoot a cow that doesn't have a calf, maybe she is just a dry cow.

[Stein]

When the herd walks by, shoot the first one in line.  Or, shoot a real small one if you want guaranteed premium meat.

[HntnFsh]

Shoot a year old calf!

[Bob33]

The purpose of late hunts is reducing herd size. Shooting a pregnant cow reduces two.

[DOUBLELUNG]

I drew an antlerless elk tag for February, and am slightly concerned about harvesting a pregnant cow during the season.  If it happens, it happens, but looking for ideas on how to mitigate it.  Thanks in advanced.

Any cow shot after September is likely to be pregnant, all that changes later is the fetus gets larger.  In an area with February cow tags, odds are the objective is to either reduce elk numbers or reduce a segment of the herd causing conflicts of some sort.  I would not worry about it, but if a guy is dead set against the possibility, shooting a 9 month old calf is one sure possibility, another that is slightly harder is to shoot a yearling (21 month old) cow - shooting the smallest cow is a good bet on a yearling.  Last time I had the opportunity to be choosy on an antlerless tag, I shot what I thought was a yearling (intermediate between an adult cow and a calf), and ended up with a large calf.  76 lbs boned out meat you could cut with a fork, but only about 1/2 the yield from an adult cow.

[pd]

The purpose of late hunts is reducing herd size. Shooting a pregnant cow reduces two.

Exactly this. The entire point of this tag is to reduce the number of cows. Shoot whatever you like, but a pregnant cow is preferred.

[h2ofowlr]

Get a buddy to gut it and you can stand their with your eye's shut and think happy thoughts.     Or you might have some veal over the campfire after a successful hunt. 

[hawgwild]

Get a buddy to gut it and you can stand their with your eye's shut and think happy thoughts.     Or you might have some veal over the campfire after a successful hunt. 

Perfect! I just might have my buddy shoot it too, killing animals isn't really my thing anyways.

On a more serious notes, thanks for the replies, I think I'll go with a yearling.  If all goes well it'll be the third animal of the season between genral deer and the second deer tag I drew.

[Dan-o]

Go gutless method.

[GUscottie]

Go gutless method.

Perfect solution, in my opinion

[coachcw]

shot a bull calf but be careful that its not in a true spike area , if it is just shoot a 400 inch bull and call it a cow then call Todds attorny 

[Killercolin]

shot a bull calf but be careful that its not in a true spike area , if it is just shoot a 400 inch bull and call it a cow then call Todds attorny 

 

[Killercolin]

Get a buddy to gut it and you can stand their with your eye's shut and think happy thoughts.     Or you might have some veal over the campfire after a successful hunt. 

Perfect! I just might have my buddy shoot it too, killing animals isn't really my thing anyways.

On a more serious notes, thanks for the replies, I think I'll go with a yearling.  If all goes well it'll be the third animal of the season between genral deer and the second deer tag I drew.

Yup, yearling is the way to go. Less meat, but sure is some good eattin.

[GameHunter1959]

I'm just waiting for one of the Hunt WA meatballs to post they ate the Fetus. Who's it gonna be?

[scoutdog346]

Fetus with bone out at about .4 lbs

[NRA4LIFE]

I would not shoot the lead cow in a herd.  We had one that was a little stringy.  She'd probably be dry, but yikes those old birds can be tough.  Just shoot one.

[snake]

Shoot a 15 year old lead cow that has raised at least 12 calves in her lifetime.

[DeerThug]

Dont worry about it.  Point is to take an antlerless elk.  Shoot the first one you have a good shot at. And that time of year they are leaning out and it is cold so the meat should be excellent.  If they are stirred up trying to guess who is the lead cow goes out the window anyway..  been there done that

[dreamunelk]

Shoot the lead cow?  Check the literature.  She does not exist!

[Old Man Yager]

I would not shoot the lead cow in a herd.  We had one that was a little stringy.  She'd probably be dry, but yikes those old birds can be tough.  Just shoot one.

Ya that, the lead cow is usually the oldest and smartest, and shot a tender one instead.

[7mmfan]

I would not shoot the lead cow in a herd.  We had one that was a little stringy.  She'd probably be dry, but yikes those old birds can be tough.  Just shoot one.

Ya that, the lead cow is usually the oldest and smartest, and shot a tender one instead.

I shot the lead cow out of a small herd one time. I had read about how a smart old lead cow really does help the others out tremendously. I didn't realize how real that was until I walked up to her and the rest of the herd stood there 50 yards off milling around because they didn't know what to do. They ended up wandering off over the ridge and I heard at least 15 rifle shots shortly after. I still feel bad about it to this day.

She ate just fine by the way.