QDM is not about antler size or score, it's about maintaing a healthy balanced deer population.

Most studies have proven inconclusive whether "leaving the really big healthy bucks with big racks alone so that they could continue to contribute to a good gene pool for a long time" actually results in larger antlers of their desendants or not. This is especially true with free range deer where genetics really seem to be a mystery with immature bucks traveling up to 50 miles to find a new home range.

"Furthermore, i would think that past problems with deer populations were due to unrestricted overhunting, not the fact that some people choose to shoot a 4 pointer while others shoot a big buck, while others shoot a doe."


I disagree. Every state is different, but in Texas there was a mentality fordecades that it was "beneath" a true hunter to shoot a doe. As a result, across much of the state doe populations skyrocketed and the overall deer populations skyrocketed with it. The end result was a malnourished overpopulated deer herd with a 1 to 10 buck to doe ratio and live body weights dropping under 100 lbs for mature does and not much more for a mature buck.

The state is just now getting things back on track with increasing body weight on deer and a much more balanced deer population with their habitat. I think a lot of this is due to QDM being fairly widely accepted now over much of the state and hunters being willing to do their part by harvesting does.

Oh well, I can get sidetracked pretty easy, but basically you can do a lot more for the overall deer population by creating and improving habitat and keeping the population in balance with the habitat than pretty much anything else. Letting a young buck walk and shooting a doe instead will pay off after just a few years if you can get as many people involved as possible. Mature bucks will never be easy to find, even practicing QDM, but you will have a MUCH better chance if you let them walk when they are young.