Do you support..............


Born2Hunt

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Re: Do you support..............

Yes, i do 90% of the time. If meat is your concern, then take all the does you can. This is one of the tenets of QDM, good buck-to-doe ratios 2-1 or 1-1.

Unless QDM is adhered to strickly, it is difficult to get that good buck to doe ratio.

I do not attempt to get accurate statistics of the deer, though. Since I don't own my own land, it is too difficult.

if I had 500 or 1,000 acres, that is all I would do is QDM

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Guest HaDeRonDa

Re: Do you support..............

YES.

If meat is your only concern.... you still have the same # of deer and the deer are older/BIGGER! So those people should say yes too?

Oh, I forgot in case anyone doen't already know, does do tasted good too and horns make terrible soup.

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Re: Do you support..............

Afraid does here have been a bit over hunted and our herd might be in a bit more trouble than the twra may realize.

Trying to balance the number of does harvested to bucks is all good, if everyone is working together, but if you get a couple groups around you not thinking about the long term effects and filling their tags just to say they filled all their tags, you can potentially have problems. Harvest numbers last year after a couple years of the liberal doe limits dropped off pretty significantly. The rationale was a bumper mast crop leading to the average hunter having a tougher time taking a deer, looks like numbers will be at a decline yet again this year while the mast crops are not as heavy as last year.

My estimation this year with trail cams and time in the field is that we had 8-10 different does at the start of the rifle seasons living on or visiting our property, that is a pretty low number. I counted between trail cams and actual sightings 17 or 18 different 1.5 year old bucks. Got only 2 different 2.5 year olds on cameras, never saw either of them, but did see another 2.5 year old. Saw one maybe two different 3.5 year old bucks, we had also gotten pics of. Three to five years ago was not uncommon to see 15-20 does on or property, sometimes all on the field at once in the evenings. we have taken a few more does over the past 5 years off our property than bucks thinking we were doing the right thing trying to balance out the ratio.

Fawns this past season, have seen just a couple, which is pretty saddening. If the does are thinned too far and the deer are not reproducing, your attempts at qdma will eventually fail. To truly practice qdma you have to have good information and either enough land of your own to control or the cooperation of landowners or hunters around you, without those elements you simply cannot expect to truly manage a property and see the results.

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Re: Do you support..............

Im going to have to honestly answer no to this one.I think this antler obseesion is doing more harm to this sport then it is good.If people were truly interested in making a healthier, better balanced deer herd I might change my opinion but for every guy that is in it for that reason it seems theres two other guys that only want the end result to be bigger bucks.

The mindset that follows is one where you got hunters cutting other hunters down for shooting small bucks, nieghbors fighting over the practices they use while hunting, and generally people trying to impose thier hunting philosophies on everyone else.

That being said I dont shoot small bucks, I let dozens of them walk every year.I kill a lot of does, I buy all the extra doe tags I can when available and will use my either sex tag on does when the end of season is near.I get to hunt longer and enjoy my time in the woods more this way, it may not be for everyone though.

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Re: Do you support..............

There are things about the organization that I like and dis-like. I cannot give you a straight yes or no answer.

[ QUOTE ]

Unless QDM is adhered to strickly, it is difficult to get that good buck to doe ratio.

[/ QUOTE ]

Careful folks! He did not ask for opinions about QDM. He asked about the QDM A . I take this as a question about the organization itself. It's not a question about Quality Deer Management.

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Re: Do you support..............

Don't know much about the organization, but I've implemented a managment plan that was created with the help of a professional wildlife biologist, so I would definitly say I practice and support QDM. I'll even go one step further and gladly admit to being one of "those people" who is actively managing for larger antlers and larger bodies on the bucks in this area.

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Re: Do you support..............

I am not a member of the QDMA. I have looked into the organization a little to try to find out what they stand for and even signed up on there forums for a little while. Personally I have nothing against the organization, I do have a problem with how some (not all) of there members act. It's the first organization where i have been turned off to something specifically by how some of the members present themselves and the organization.

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Guest Buckwheat

Re: Do you support..............

I to am like jerdanmagic Our lease is part of Oklahoma's DMAP program. My neighbor's lease is DMAP also and the deer are just awesome BUT you have to practice QDM. I know not every one will agree and they want only meat but for myself I will harvest does for meat along with controlling the herd and harvest quality mature bucks and let the little bucks walk. Our lease agreement is 8 point or better and outside the ears.

Some might get upset but this season I have let 37 young bucks walk on our lease. crazy.gif

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Re: Do you support..............

[ QUOTE ]

I'll even go one step further and gladly admit to being one of "those people" who is actively managing for larger antlers and larger bodies on the bucks in this area.

[/ QUOTE ]

Texan, unless you go around trash talking people that shoot small bucks, tell other people who arent interested how they should hunt, and generally try to impose your hunting strategies on everyone else your not really one of "those people" I was refering to. wink.gif

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Re: Do you support..............

What majority of hunters don't realize is that QDMA is not about "growing" bigger antlers---a lot of people have QDM confused with TDM. The overall goal of QDM is improving the quality/health of the deer herd. A true QDM'er would rather harvest a 120 inch 5.5 year old over a 150 inch 3.5 year old buck. Now I'm not saying that the majority of QDM supporters would pass on that 150" buck but in theory that would be the goal.

and yes---I support and believe in the QDM goal--and yes it is possible to have nice quality bucks on smaller parcels of land.

todd

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Re: Do you support..............

[ QUOTE ]

I to am like jerdanmagic Our lease is part of Oklahoma's DMAP program. My neighbor's lease is DMAP also and the deer are just awesome BUT you have to practice QDM. I know not every one will agree and they want only meat but for myself I will harvest does for meat along with controlling the herd and harvest quality mature bucks and let the little bucks walk. Our lease agreement is 8 point or better and outside the ears.

Some might get upset but this season I have let 37 young bucks walk on our lease. crazy.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Very nice! I love seeing other DMAP properties and hearing about their results. Thats really great that you've got neighboring property owners that are practiceing QDM as well, that is so important to growing trophy animals. Our rule used to be its got to be 10 pts or better (except for bucks with poor genetics/cull bucks), but this year we've all agreed it has to be a heavy, mature 10 or better. It can be really tough to hold your shot on some deer, but its all worth it next year when you let them walk.

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Re: Do you support..............

I do support the QDMA and have since I joined in 2002. We practice the management approach the QDMA subscribes to. This includes Herd Management, Habitat management, Hunter management and Herd monitoring. These are the 4 cornerstones presented by the QDMA.

As a participating member I have no desire to trash anyone for their practices or to make them feel inferior because I practice QDM principals on my owned and leased property.

I would rather see QDM done on a voluntary basis rather than laws setting forth antler restrictions. I know this is somewhat a dream but it is mine.

QDMA has a fine website which is easily accessible.

I would suggest anyone who is remotely interested in better deer and deer hunting click on for a few minutes and explore the site. You might be surprised at the information available even though you aren't a member. Look it over and decide for yourself. As I have commented several times on this forum, their magazine which is printed 6 times a year is well worth the price of membership. The magazine is filled with factual articles about the 4 cornerstones of qdm as well as excellent articles on food plot planning, planting and maintenance.

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts.

www.qdma.com

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Re: Do you support..............

Please don't think i am insuating qdm will work everywhere either. However if we all worked at getting the message out we might just have a chance. Somewhere down the road you might become a member of a club or group which has land enough to start a management plan.

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Re: Do you support..............

I wouldn't have killed my 151"net 11 pointer without it. To many people say it won't work cause the neighbors shoot everthing. Yeah well I used to think that too. They don't get them all!! Just think someday they will kill a big one because you let him grow and it just might change their mind. What do you really have to lose? Shoot an old doe as she is probably more of a challenge than that teenage buck with a one track mind. Put in a food plot and give them some groceries and if you don't have water on your land put some in a plastic bin of some sort, plant a little cover and they should never have to leave your property no matter how big or small it is. Then all you have to do is get some good hunting ethics and you are practicing QDM wink.gifsmile.gif.

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Re: Do you support..............

[ QUOTE ]

Im going to have to honestly answer no to this one.I think this antler obseesion is doing more harm to this sport then it is good.If people were truly interested in making a healthier, better balanced deer herd I might change my opinion but for every guy that is in it for that reason it seems theres two other guys that only want the end result to be bigger bucks.

The mindset that follows is one where you got hunters cutting other hunters down for shooting small bucks, nieghbors fighting over the practices they use while hunting, and generally people trying to impose thier hunting philosophies on everyone else.

That being said I dont shoot small bucks, I let dozens of them walk every year.I kill a lot of does, I buy all the extra doe tags I can when available and will use my either sex tag on does when the end of season is near.I get to hunt longer and enjoy my time in the woods more this way, it may not be for everyone though.

[/ QUOTE ]

If theres anything that bothers me about some of my fellow sportsmen it's those highlighted words above! mad.gif

You can tell that they are even on this forum too! Just let someone post a pic of a small racked buck and notice who does Not respond...or they respond with something like "Glad your happy with it" smirk.gif<----and you can bet the Smirk Smilie they add is intentional.

I've said it before and I'll say it here and now:

"If your focus in Hunting is so narrow that it's all about the 'Horn' your missing out on such a big part of the Complete Joy involved with Hunting".

I'll admit that my comments and attitude about the subject come from my hunting mostly Public Land all of my life. You try telling a State Forest Hunter to "Let'em Go so He can Grow" and they will probably tell you, while using very colorful words, what exit you should take.

Dont get the wrong idea...I now hunt some private land and I personally practice a form of deer management that attempts to reduce the doe population and I wont shoot very small bucks.

To me it's simply not worth the time and effort to kill and then clean/process a very small deer.

The thing that bothers me the most about the "QDM Movement" is that some people have taken what they think is the next logical progression and feel it's their responsibility to force it down everyones throat. smirk.gif

Does QDM work??? Absolutely...where it can be practiced!

As you can probably tell by now...Theres just been one too many people who have crossed my path that feel they have to QDM the whole world like it's some crusade their doing for their God smirk.gif

There are still people in this world who are very happy just to go hunting at all...and to see any deer at all. To those people who dare not admit they are who they are...especially here on the forums...there really is no such thing as "Better Deer" or "Better Deer Hunting".

I'll dare to say that those people see those statements as "Arrogance"...while the QDM people see those people as "Simple Minded".

Their both probably right...and wrong...at the same time.

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