RE: poll on quality deer management
As in the above posts, I'm with those guys (and gals?) who both meat hunt and trophy hunt. However, horn soup is awfully thin, and those yearling does are really tasty. After ~4 decades of bowhunting, I've gotten to where I let bucks walk that much of the crowd out there would whack, given the chance. I'll rationalize that he'll be bigger next year. I set my standards, but realize what works for me doesn't necessarily (or should) apply to the next guy. I only bowhunt, both on qdm land and "brown is down" land. I favor the qdm land, as the opportunity to see nice bucks is always there (last Saturday, I watched a mature buck bed down just 45 yards away...do not feel bad at all that he left the area without giving me an opportunity). So I pass on the young bucks, trying not to be judgemental with the guys who let the does pass, and pick out a forkie to prove their "prowness"... I was there at one time...
-fsh