RE: qdm=loss of hunting skills?
vtbuckrulrss,
Being from Vermont also, I have to respectfully disagree with you on several items.
First, the 2002 VT Deer Harvest Report states that of the bucks harvested in VT during the rifle season, 60% were 1.5 year old deer. Can' t remember what the % was for 2.5 and 3.5 year old bucks were, but 4.5 year old and older was less than 5%. They don' t have a chance to mature and grow up. I have two shed found behind my house by my father-in-law in 1958 and 1959. They are of a 160 class buck. The genetics are here, it' s age that our bucks are lacking.
Secondly, the state claims that we have between 140,000 and 150,000 deer - as you stated. I don' t buy it. I think our current population is much less. They also claim the our buck to doe ratio is 1:3. I have an even hard time believing that. I' m sure in some places it could be, but not the state as a whole. And especially not in central Vermont.
Next is the whole QDM issue. I am all for it and have begun working towards it on my property. I am the Habitat Chairman of our local NWTF Chapter. Habitat is a hugh issue. The deer yards need some serious help in restoring the browse. We really need to put some money into the yards for the future of our sport. I personally have begun to put in food plots on my property. From liming the hay fields for better production, to planting clover, corn, buckwheat, and winter rye, to planting crab apple trees which hold their fruit throughout the winter months, berry producing shrubs, and selective timber harvesting for regeneration of the forest. Every little bit helps. If the deer can make it through the critical Dec - March time period with a little extra nutrition, they can begin the spring healthier. This means larger and stronger fawns. More milk produced for the fawns from a fat healthy doe. Larger bodied bucks, and yes larger antlers.
It hard to let a spike horn walk (but I do anyway), when it gets whacked after it leaves my small 95 acre track of land. I also believe the state of Vermont should limit the buck take to 1 per year instead of the potential of 3 bucks. This is part of the reason when NH and Maine have such nice deer taken each year.
Ok, so I am a " meat hunter" . By all means shoot a doe during archery season. Heck, shoot two during archery. Take one more during muzzleloading if you draw an antlerless permit.
As was stated earlier, food plots are more than a place to kill a deer. It turns into being a passion and an obsession. You try to give back to the wildlife you love to watch and pursue. They are not only a place to hunt, but a place to observe, and a place to bring children so they can experience the same thrills we do when we see a deer or turkey or moose or bear.
Good luck this year and I hope we will enjoy hunting in the Green Mountains for many years to come . . . Rob