BTBowhunter

Good references summerflower. Glad to see someone here use professionally developed research for a change.

The bottom line is that deer will range only as far as they need to to find food and sanctuary. The exception to that would be during the rut when bucks will range out from their home turf and does will sometimes be pushed out. That home range will vary greatly with the quality of habitat, human interference and geographical obstacles. I participate in a suburban deer control program and we have seen firsthand that it is possible to micro-manage small areas. Can you make a difference on 100 acres? Yes you can but things have to be in your favor on surrounding properties as well. Provide good feed and some good cover in the midst of an area with similar like minded managers and you'll see positive results. Doing the same in the middle of an area that is umanaged but has limited or difficult acces could also yield good results. Maybe not as good as if you had thousands of acres under your control but improvements can be made. A few here try to imply that QDM has no place in Pa simply because we have few really large parcels to manage and adjoining parcels may get managed diferently.
Of course the management of neighboring land will have some effect on ones efforts but every little bit matters.

Personally, I'd love to have just 100 acres surrounded by public land. I guarantee you in a few years we'd be harvesting the best deer in the area. We wouldn't be able to make into a little Illinois or Iowa but any parcel can be improved for hunting with time and effort.

bullmoose38

You are right BT every little bit of land helps for QDM. People just dont get it though. I have a QDM coop going in my area. It might me under 1000 acres but its making a difference. The funny thing is people that said it would not work are joining. I wonder why that is?

ddear

You left out two very important factors when discussing a bucks home range and managing deer on small parcels. One is dispersal of yearling buck and the other is the effects of the rut. A study conducted in PA shows that 45-75% of yearling buck disperse. Most dispersal occurs during Oct . and Nov. ,so the bucks you see in the summer may well be miles away by hunting season.

Also ,during the pre-rut and rut there is no way to confine buck on a small parcel since adult buck will travel considerable distances during the rut while looking for doe in season. Since bucks are the most vulnerable during this period ,the bucks you try and protect are just as likely to be harvested by someone else.

doughboysigep

we can keep going back and forth if you like with quoting this or that. Simple fact is QDM WILL NOT WORK ON 20 ACRES! (and not even 100 ac.) I think most everyone here will agree with that. I would loveto be the one hunting on the land next to the 100 ac. QDM area and every nice 6 or 8 they let walk, I will get a crack at.

I think QDM is a good management philosophy, but it has to be done right and with the right amount of land. If I had 500 - 1000 acres I would institute it in a heartbeat

White-tail-deer

QDM will not work in PA. QDM will not work on small parcels of land. You know why? Because we have been trained by our fathers and our father's father and so on that it won't work. The mindset in PA makes this so.

We are efficient hunters, we gather a large group of guys and push every deer in the countryside out to our buddies to shoot. We are satisfied with shooting spikes and y's.

I believe that you can make a difference on small tracts of land. It gets harder proportionally with the decrease in land size you manage. It does get frustrating when you pass a 6-point only to hear a gun shot 10 minutes later after the deer walks over the hill. Does that mean you should give up? I don't think so.

I have two Uncles who are farmers, who own land and have two different philosiphies on how to hunt their land. They live less than 1 mile apart. The first uncle invites 30+ guys to hunt with him. They shoot anything that is legal. After the first day they put on deer drives and push thru his entire property. They have had great success in years past. Shot lots of deer, even some very large buck. However, the last two seasons have not been so great. 5 buck were shot last year the largest a 7 point with a 15" spread. 9 doe were shot.

The other uncle only allows 9 guys to hunt on his land. He strategically posts guys around the perimeter of his land. There is a 40 acre area that is off limits, no one ever walks through it. There is never an organized deer drive, if anything maybe one guy making a small cirlce if things get slow. Doe are not shot until the first Saturday. Deer are routinely seen coming out in the field at dusk to feed. 6 guys shot buck, the smallest was a half rack 3 point shot by a young cousin, the rest were atleast 8 points and 17" spread. 7 doe were also shot.

You can make a difference, however you need to be committed to a plan even if it means not filling your tag and losing a few deer to neighboring properties.