Let me start by saying thank you glew22 for a very informative post. The content and delivery were excellent and we can all take a lesson on how your presented the information. There are a lot of benefits to the mangagement practice but not sure I agee with all of them.
Hunters benefit immensly from QDM. The main way hunters benefit is through the incresead likelihood of encountering a mature buck (4.5+). Also, when a hunter passes a yearling buck, he gains the opportunity to witness deer behaviors that he would not have.
This is not going to be seen as a true benefit by all hunters. There are guys out there that don't care if they ever shoot a mature deer. I think you also need to balance the question to apply to all. It is a benefit ratio issue IMO. Is the increased likehood of encountering a mature deer worth having lower deer numbers over all? I think you would find that many hunters would rather have more opportunites at lesser deer than lesser opprotunity at bigger deer.
When hunters are required to pass on smaller deer they may get to witness certain behavior, they may also not get to shoot a deer. Lets face it, most people are out there to shoot a deer, not neccessarily to shoot a monster. I think this requirement is where most all of the resistance comes from.
Another thing that goes hand in hand with balancing the sex ratio is a shorter more intense rut. A shorter rut will have several effects, namely, less breeding related stress on the male segment of the population, and less fawns conceived during the 2nd rut (thus, more fawns will be born at the optimum time corresponding to spring green up).
I think the breeding related stress is a wash. There could be research to prove me wrong and please let me know if that is the case. While you shorten the time of the rut while simutaneously increasing the intensity they should balance out to be about equal.
Does bred on a secong cycle shouldn't have much effect on fawn survival and optimal timing. Their cycle is 18-21 days so I don't think that three weeks later is enough of a window for this to be of any real benefit.
[QUOTE][QDMA is often misrepresented with suggestions that all the organization cares about is bigger bucks. Yes, bigger antlers and higher body weights may result, but only as a by producted of managing the deer herd on a biological basis. I hope that those reading come to understand that QDM is not only about bigger bucks, it's much more than that./QUOTE]
I think that you believe this. I'm not convinced that the organization does nor the majority of its members. The most common theme put forth by QDM advocates is bigger bucks. Right or wrong that is the face of the organization and that is what it is equated to.
There was an article in Field and Stream last year written on an exclusive hunting club in South Carolina. The members are fined and hunting rights taken away if they shoot a deer under a certain score. The property is managed so that the members can all shoot trophy bucks on a yearly basis. The founder of QDMA was quoted in the article. He said that this property and management system was the pinnacle of QDMA and should serve as the model for those practicing the program. There was no mention of a healthier herd or population dynamics, only everyone shooting a trophy deer every year.
By doing so, we are mimicing the conditions present in the herds prior to European settlement.
The changes and stresses that settlement has had on deer population will never be reversed. I think that managment strategies should be geard toward the real environment in which the deer live rather than trying to revert to something which will never be possible.
However, I truly believe that every individual has the right to harvest a buck of any age, and I would never look down on someone for harvesting a yearling buck.[/
There are many within your ranks that do not share your sentiment. I think that these types have dominated the conversation and are detracting from the group and its goals.