ORIGINAL: mobowhuntr
QDM?? AHHHH PHOOEY!! I couldn't care less!! Missouri's deer heard is the most abundant and healthy it's ever been, and we've only started QDM here a year ago. If you really want to know what I think, I'll tell you. Now, for those of you that manage your farms for big bucks, this doesn't apply to you at all. You want to manage for monsters for your own taking, by all means, have at it.
But big bucks = big bucks, if you catch my drift. There is HUGE money in big racks right now, and the states know it, don't kid yourself. Out of state deer tags cost a heck of a lot more than resident, so to attract out of state dollars you need a reason. That reason is big bucks. States like Illinois, Ohio and Iowa are just a few that have learned that.
Dude, if you want to shoot that little basket rack 1 1/2 year old deer w/ your bow, by golly, let 'er fly!! You are exactly right, if you don't, and it's a legal deer.....someone else will. Period. It's a sad fact of life, but it's a dog eat dog world out there, and this game of bowhunting is hard enough as it is. As we mature as hunters our standards will most certainly change, but if at this point in your career you don't care.......Let him hold it, if he can!! Good luck!
Missouri's herd was awesome because of habitat and lack of pressure....HOWEVER, in recent years the wise folks w/Missouri DNR have placed gun season smack dab in the middle of the rut resulting in "record" harvests year after year until folks started complaining about fewer mature buck sightings. So now they have implemented the AR's to try and still keep the overall population down but to save the baby bucks from getting blasted by the weekend warrior gunners who shoot anything in sight.