kickin buck and mez: well stated. I have read this entire thread as it went from good to ugly quick and now some good responsible points made by these two. I guess this thread illustrates my gripe with QDM - it is dividing hunters too much. Improving habitat and the herd- outstanding, I'm all for it. Unfortunately the true draw is the allure of the almighty antler as witnessed time and again by those who need to tell their "stats and scores" I have been on both sides of this issue myself, there are so many different potential scenarios with a local deer herd, you just can't get everyone to shoot lots of does and let young bucks walk all the time.

My scenario- I don't own enough land. I hunt on 5 acres. I let 1.5 yr bucks walk, just for personal goals, etc. (For about 7 years) I am lucky enough to have several neighbors that do the same. We have some nice bucks around. Last two years the does have really diminished. Last year I would see 4-10 bucks a day during the rut. All 1.5-2.5 yr old. Are their bigger around-yep, but they didn't come by me. Normally I would shoot a doe because we eat venison. Well I finally shot a 2.5 yr old buck right before the rifle season opener. I hunt to get venison and I try to get a nice buck to improve on previous seasons. If I can shoot a doe, then I will- but our herd has gone the other way from all the extra doe seasons and QDM efforts in our area.