IL-Cornfed

Ding, ding, ding,..... BINGO! You win the prize! That's exactly what we try to tell most folks until we're blue in the face! It's about a balanced, healthy and better over all herd! Granted, yes it will improve bucks in both body and antler but it will also produce larger healthier Does and Fawns as well. I just can't imagine, for the life of me, why anyone in the world would be against it?

Germ

It's simple

Fear of not seeing any deer It is easier to hunt an over populated herd, and hunters like to see deer when they hunt.

Reduce the size of their herd they will see less deer. Not about killing deer, but seeing deer IMO

LebeauHunter

Germ,

Based on my reading, QDMA acknowledges the hunter satisfaction aspect, particularly that a perferctly 1-1 balanced herd at the optimum carrying point for the land (depends on habitat) would probably hold too few deer to keep most hunter's interest. We don't do all this work and preparation to sit on stands all day and never see any deer! So QDMA typically calls for slightly more deer per area than the optimum level (which doesn't have much of a negative effect on the deer herd), and only adopts a 2-1 ratio as a goal. It's not an exact science, but with the hunter's trigger finger - passing on immature bucks and taking out some does, the structure of the herd will slowly change to a more natural, quality herd.

GMMAT

If I were a doe deerand lived in the woods I hunt......I would be very afraid.

I have NO ISSUES reducing the herd numbers (at the risk of seeing fewer deer). As long as it doesn't have spots.....or have one with spots in tow......It's "at risk". I could shoot 4 or 14.

Germ

yes I know, but that is not what theyhear. They hear less deer and trophy

mobow

If it's a legal buck, I'm killin the sucker. I don't care how old he is.

Germ

And you should!!

goherd1111

Bottom Line: I will shoot any deer I want to, at anytime, as long as it's legal.

LebeauHunter

mobowhuntr,

Trust me I understand your buck frustrations, but most places that have adopted QDMA you don't get a choice. If you want to hunt there you have to abide by the rules, legal buck or not.

I guess that's another reason people don't like QDMA, because many clubs/properties have adopted it and now even though the deer is "legal," they can't shoot it.

We actually lowered the bow mininimum to 2.5 year old 6 point just because of the hunter satisfaction issue (and b/c we have not had enough success with the bow). After one 6 point kill with bow it goes back to 8 point (and hopefully 3.5 year olds). QDMA is more of a philosophy, and treating it like some wooden rules can sometimes lead to irritated hunters.

HuntingBry

It's good that more and more people are trying to institute these plans on their own because state wide attempts usually do not work well. PA is a perfect example of this. They tried to reduce the doe population with wildlife management units (WMUs) and increasing the number of antlerless license allocations. What has happened is the WMUs were made too large and as a result does were slaughtered in some areas and are still vastly overpopulated in others.

One state that did a very good job was NJ. They have fairly small WMUs or zones and actually have different seasons and bag limits depending on the zone you are in. Combine that with selective antler restrictions and the earn-a-buck program and the quality of the herd in that state has improved dramatically over the last 7 years.

Other states and groups could learn from their example.