ORIGINAL: DJ2065
I agree with the post above........I'm in a similar situation. I've been hunting the same 80 acre tract for the last 10 yrs. I've only taken 2 bucks that I consider big. Around my neck of the woods, anything over 17" is big. There's always an occasional 20 incher taken in my county. I've let bunches of small bucks walk.....heck, I even let the does walk. My family won't eat over 2 deer a year so I see no need in taking any more. Besides, on all the property around me it goes like this.....if it's brown, it goes down. Hopefully some of the does I let walk will hang around my area and drag something big in during the rut. To those of you who kill big bucks every year, I tip my hat to ya. Consider yourselves fortunate to have quality land and deer with quality genetics. There's some good genetics in my area but the little bucks rarely survive long enough to reach trophy size. Those guys on Whitetail Freaks have thousands of acres to hunt with adjoining properties that practice trophy management. We could all take 180+ bucks every year if we had that type of set up.
I don't want to get in a fight... Hunting philosophy is like arguing religion. But let's look at this from a scientific standpoint. SCIENTIFICALLY speaking genetics play a VERY small role in the overall quality of a deer's antlers. If you let a deer get to 3.5 years old in most parts of the country, it will have at least a 120-inch rack.
Whether you agree with the philosophy of QDMA. I would hope as hunters you can understand the idea of deer herd management. A doe-to-buck ratio of 1-to-1 is what we should strive for.
I also detest the argument "If I don't shoot it my neighbor will". This is an easy-out for most people to convince themselves to take immature bucks. I can guarantee you one thing. If you shoot a 1.5 or 2.5 year old buck, it is never going to have the chance to reach full maturity and maximum antler growth. These are quality benefits of a well managed deer herd.