RE: QDM Question
 

The thing is when you have a balanced deer herd you will have all age class animals!Thus big bucks and small bucks.The antler size depends on more thanage.Nutrition,& Genetics play a hugh role too.What I am trying
to say I guess is you can have a balanced deer herd and still not have boone & crocket deer running around on your farm!

RE: QDM Question
 

That has always been my take on QDM having all age groups and a proper doe to buck ratio. Where I havequestions is when you have an area that is well balanced with bucks to doeswhat is wrong with killing any buck you want?

There is nothing wrong with hunting for P&Y bucks but let's be clear here "Let them go so they can grow" IMHO has nothing to do with QDM and should not be associated with each other. Ones sole purpose is to grow P&Y bucks and the other is to have a healthy herd.

RE: QDM Question
 

Pope and Young bucks were once small bucks that someone must have "let go so they can grow"

RE: QDM Question
 

In Kansas you get one buck tag all season and you pick the weapon you are going to use when you get your tag. If I don't get a buck with my bow than I can't fill my tag with another weapon. The state does our QDM for us, if a guy wants to shoot a button or spike more power to him it will save the big ones for me.

RE: QDM Question
 

Piebald genes have nothing to do with the antlers. They may or may not be inferior. When we concern ourselves with the piebald gene it's about not wanting to have an anomoly herd running around with varying degrees of white spots on them.
All age classes of bucks and does should be in a balanced herd.

RE: QDM Question
 

I just wanna ask somethin.If quality deer management worked well enough to produce moreP&Y bucks then wouldnt it be more common for a hunter to take one, wouldntit just be anothercommon sized buck? And would the standard for atrophybuck increase?

RE: QDM Question
 

Deer management is key, and just because you have deer managment doesn't mean P&Y bucks... It means a healthy deer herd. In the area I hunt we see about 4 does to every buck. This is very good I think, although maybe even 3 does to a buck would be good.

RE: QDM Question
 

I understand that, but what does it have to do with QDM?

RE: QDM Question
 

RE: QDM Question
 

Another thing about letting bucks get older is so that they can "come into thier own" and sort out a pecking order and breeding order amongst themselves. At 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 these things are haphazard, as there is not age structure. You have to let them go so they can get older. Does that make you feel better. Forget the whole letting them go to make P&Y, let them go to get older(which just by nature will make them bigger)

If you have a great age class structured herd with bucks able to get 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 years old, then taking a couple younger bucks here and there ain't going to do harm, its when there is a TINY% of older class bucks, and 80% of the bucks taken are 1 1/2 years old then you have a problem.