A serious question about Quality Deer Management
I got the following information from an article about Arkansas' QDM program and it concerns me. Please read it and provide your opinions/answers to my question that I put below the info:
For decades, age was the most problematic factor in both this state and numerous others as well. Until the 3-point rule was passed in 1998, roughly three-fourths of the annual Arkansas buck kill was composed of 1 1/2-year-old deer. Whether you love or hate antler restrictions, one rock-solid reality underlies the mechanics of trophy production: If you kill a buck at 1 1/2, he' ll never be a trophy at 4 1/2! Today, thanks to the 3-point rule, the percentage of 1 1/2-year-olds in annual kill totals is the lowest seen in the Natural State' s recent history.
Here' s my concern/question: I' m worried that it is potentially DEVASTATING to our future trophy-producing ability here in AR to have a system that simultaneously drives hunters to harvest 1-1/2 year-old deer that already have 6 points while at the same time prohibiting the harvest of bucks that develop more slowly or, even worse, bucks that NEVER develop at least 6 points? Does this not remove the genetically superior bucks from herd SOONER while giving the genetically inferior bucks a " get out of jail free" card to breed for years and years?
SC in LR