vtbuckrulrss

hey rob, we are practically neighbors, i am writing this from barre. i am right now looking at two things to answer some points that you brought up. one is the deer harvest report that you have, and the other was sent to me by john buck, for those reading this, john is the head deer biologist here. this is a paper regarding qdm and vt. in the second report, i do not have the author, so i don' t know if it was john who did this or not, it talks about the age class here. it states that " harvest and age data indicate that about 50% of vermont' s buck' s are 2.5 years and older." first page of the 2002 report states the age distribution of examined bucks during 2002 were 53% yearlings, 29% 2.5 year olds, 15& 3.5 year olds, and 3% 4.5 years or greater. so when i said that mature bucks, i guessed accounted for 47ish percent of the harvest, i was close. having for a few years in this area, having moved from waterville, and done a lot of hunting in the walden, hardwick, stannard area, i think the amount of deer, and ratio, is correct. what many people forget is that when a biologist states the ratio to be 1-3, they are talking about adult deer, those that are 1.5 years old, and older. they do factor in the yearling doe population, which is what we see, but of course that would be a different number, if we did that, yearling bucks would need to be added in too, which should still give us mathematically about the same ratio. i can' t say that i have ever had a problem seeing deer here during hunting season, maybe just not as many bucks as i would like to see. as for the central vermont numbers, check the stats on the reportplainfield had a nice 1.99 bucks per square mile reported, with a total of 3.69 per square mile killed, montpelier4.00 and 18.40, amongst the highest in the state, e.montpelier, 2.84 and 5.59, etc. our area has been producing some nice numbers of deer, and large ones, too. as for deer yards, i can' t say much, but from what i have seen, since my folks live in a deer yard, and the surrounding area roads, rt 15, 109 and the hogback in johnson are deer yarding areas, i have yet to hear of anyone finding very many dead deer from starvation in there, the only dead ones seen , it seems like, come from vehicle collisions. if you wish to enact qdm on your property, go for it, many of the guys here have told me that it is a rewarding experience, but if you do decide to do it, and try to help push it through in certain areas, i have to say two things, one, if you truly want qdm, realize that limiting us to one buck a year will not work towards this goal, and two, that i detest, makes me want to puke, the thought of any state implemented qdm regulations, and i have enough studies on it that i will fight this all the way, it isn' t needed or wanted in this state, as we are well within acceptable limits as to age, sex, and habitat structures. we do not have a population large enough that we should worry about it. i too hope to enjoy hunting here for many years, without any state mandated regulations other than what we have. i, too am a meat hunter, like you, and that is what i am more concerned with, not what grows out of an animals head. and, after attending the montpelier meeting this spring,( if you were there, i was the one who asked for the recipe about cooking horns, still waiting for the recipe from someone) got the feeling that many, not all, of the people attending, who were for qdm, flat out are too damn lazy to go back in the woods, and find the quality deer they are looking for. it' s called hunting for a reason, they need to get out in the woods more to get what they want. i saw a study once that stated that most hunters go less that 200 yards into the woods, perhaps if they did, the would see the larger animals they are crying for. also, nothing against you, if you wish to let a spike or small four go by, yes it is hard, more power to you, for your goals are different than mine. i will drop that deer in a new york minute, for i need to fill/want to fill my freezer.