What's the most important factor to developing a QDMA mindset in people?

[hoosierhunter]

I've been thinking about this for several years now. In the past 4 years I have really gotten into deer management. I've been very fortunate to reap the rewards of patience and passing. I have several neighbors that are starting to turn the corner and it has me thinking.

What is the single most important factor to getting someone to let them grow to at least 3.5?

seeing big deer

shooting a single big deer

shooting multiple big deer

friends taking up QDMA

neighbors taking up QDMA

Reading articles about it

My personal turning point was getting my first big deer on trail camera and realizing how many are out there that we don't know about.

If you all could give me replies as to why you either buy into it and also why you don't buy into it. No wrong answers here. I'm just trying to learn different perspectives on this topic.

Also please respect everyones post in this thread and no attacking someone for what their belief is here. I really want honest opinions here and I hope it will help everyone to learn a little something about both sides.

Hoosier

[Ravin R10 man]

shooting a "Mature" buck..like the saying goes..

let 'em go Let em grow"

the only people let off the hook are begining hunters in my opinion

[wtnhunt]

What is the single most important factor to getting someone to let them grow to at least 3.5?

Talking to someone smart enough to listen to reason that actually has an open mind. Without that you are likely fighting a losing battle in trying to encourage neighbors to let them walk. If the neighbors have the brown its down mentality and your state has a 3 buck limit you and your property is not that large then you are probably pretty lucky to have any 3.5 year olds around, much less get pics of any or even kill one.

Problem here like many other places is not just the neighbors but also the poaching. Perfect example was the little 8 point that I found that was poached on our neighbor where we have sole rights. That buck was about 12-13 inches outside and had a perfect symmetrical 8 point frame. He might have been a decent buck this year, real shame he ended up nothing more than coyote feed.

Feel pretty darned blessed to have taken the best deer we have gotten trail cam pics of on our property in back to back years.

Personally it is all about my own goals. I have absolutely nothing to prove to anyone and I have gone years without killing bucks and that kinda sucks, but if it is rewarded later on then it was worth it. I passed an 8 point this past season that had a 17 inch inside spread on our rifle opener, most folks around here think I am nuts for passing one like that but I think it was only a 2.5 year old. I set out to kill the best deer I know is in the area.

[mikebohio]

seeing what is on the property with my trail cam is what drives me. qdm is not. the parcels of land are very small. the section i am aloud to hunt is only 17 acres.(it was double that until last week when i found out the neighbors were divorcing and she forbids hunting now).the surrounding area is heavily hunted and by people using the its brown its down mentality. the one buck limit and knowing the big boy is in the area keeps me patient.

[sskybnd]

i think to me its knowing that bucks dont get to get big till they reach 3.5 to 4 years, we have plenty of land to let them grow, and only the small bucks can be taken by new hunters, old or youth that have never taken a buck, all others know that they have to be a mature deer, and it is heart breaking some times to let one walk to anothers property and hear the shot, but thats just part of hunting some dont beleave in qdma. and only one can do his best to allow the deer to get to the age that they can make a good trophy.

[Ultradog]

You still have to remember that not everyone is interested in a big rack.

QDM to me means large populations, not just large horns.

Sure I love all the Monster Bucks videos and was overjoyed to take my 10 pointer a dozen years ago.

But I am perfectly satisfied with a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 year old deer of either sex and am grateful in the years that I'm drawn through the lottery system for a Doe permit.

Better yet are the years when they allow more than one deer to be harvested.

Probably the most intense hunt I've ever had was the year I took three deer at a crack.

Bang, bang, bang. Down went a Fork, a Doe and a fawn - 25 seconds and 50 yards from each other.

That to me was deer hunting at it's finest. And I had a deep freeze full of venison!

[dbHunterNY]

I like it for all kinds of reasons. I like the idea that it gets deer hunters together for more than just killing something. It's good for the habitat and animals (more than just the deer) that call it home. Also, it opens the door to something new and exciting to me, shooting big mature deer. Most I'd say the deal breaker would be you showing them that they can have big bucks there. It's a bit different out here. Seems we have more of a "If I don't shoot it someone else will" mentality. Every year I hunt the two biggest bucks seen on the family owned properties I hunt. If I don't see them I don't shoot (never got a buck last season). They usually aren't a mature deer either. Biggest I've seen was estimated at 3.5 yrs old maybe 4.5 yrs old, but I doubt it.

[dbHunterNY]

...instant gratification is the bain to many hunters, just like every other human being on the planet.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

You still have to remember that not everyone is interested in a big rack.

QDM to me means large populations, not just large horns.

Actually, its more like a balanced population of bucks and does that reaches, but doesn't exceed, the carrying capacity of the land. But you're right about one thing, people often confuse Quality Deer Management with Trophy Deer Management, and they are absolutely NOT the same thing. Under a successful QDM plan, there will be more and bigger bucks, mostly because there will be more bucks and they will be a year or two older than what normally gets killed. But to really grow a significant number of trophy bucks, you need a different plan.

As to the original question, I've found that landowners and hunters tend to listen to the professionals more than to each other. Get a professional biologist with some good credentials involved and set up some face to face meetings where your prospective QDM folks can hear what he has to say and can in turn ask questions. Here in Texas, there is a regional biologist who's an employee of the state who will meet and help local farmers and ranchers develop a QDM plan for free.