Originally Posted by
teedub31
If those are cull bucks (whatever that term means, I know somehow inferior to the herd) then I'd love to see what they got wlaking around that they say is good.
What would be considered a cull buck. 2.5 or 3.5 year old deer with an 8pt rack at 16 inches??? When don't have crytsal balls to know how well they will grow in 2 years. Or do you need to wait until they get up to 6.5 or 7.5 years old on their way down.
Sometimes I thik QDM is getting a bit outta hand.
Do not get this confused with QDM. In most areas, QDMA does not promote harvesting "cull" bucks, because by maturity these bucks typically catch up.
QDM is about 2 things: harvesting an adequate number of female deer to balance the herd with the available habitat, and balancing the buck age structure so the herd contains bucks in all age classes (yearling, immature 2.5-3.5, and mature 4.5).
The benefits are immense. QDMA promotes passing of all yearing and preferably 2.5s as well. Anything above and beyond that is getting closer to trophy management by definition.
I may be going out on a limb here because I am not familair with the habitat and size of the property these bucks were taken on. However, QDMA would never support decimating the entire buck segment of the population. The social stress that would subsequently occur would result in: a longer breeding season, reduced antler growth due to breeding related stress, and late born fawns.