Eh, doesn't say how many hunters (though I guess I could count the number of dudes in the pic) or how large an area they covered...or what the population was like before.

Still, that's pretty insane and to me....way overboard.

I'm not really into the whole scientific management stuff but....part of my family has a portion of our old ranch and has carefully managed their deer within a high fence and has ...not necassarily superior bucks but more big deer.

But...I'd hate to be all 'shoot this one, DON'T shoot that one, he's okay, I'll bend the rules for you but not you, blah, blah'. The game camera pics from my place where we practice common sense management indicate that we have some nice deer.

Well if that was a bust by the DNR... thats the happiest group of guys after being busted i've ever seen!!!! Almost everyone with out a badge on is smiling....

the investigation continues, eh? well, it looks like the three individuals to the far right in the top picture are pretty cheery and happy

If those are cull bucks why were there 30 of them, shouldent you only be a cupple a season?

Well cull, in terms of dairy cattle, means to terminate from the population. They must have a specific standard for their bucks and got rid of some.

Was their goal to reduce #s of deer? you can shoot all the bucks you want and does will still get bred, just means less bucks will be doing the majority of the breeding.

Taking 30 does would reduce overall numbers way more than taking 30 bucks IMO.

Something isnt right, why is EVERYONE smiling? Would you be smiling, next to DNR knowing that fines and possible loss of guns, ATV's, trucks, and hunting rights for a few years is highly likely?

No crap man. I was watching a QDMA show on outdoor channel. They talked about this subject. The took a few pics of deer with bad racks and asked the guys on the show is they would cull them. Most said yes. They showed the pics from the next season and 80% of them where trophy deer. They asked would you cull them in this pic. Most said no but i would shoot and stuff them. :busted:
Now i would shoot any of them. But i am just hungry.

I would say it was just a hunt and cull. The Cos and dnr guy are smiling ear to ear.

Do not get this confused with QDM. In most areas, QDMA does not promote harvesting "cull" bucks, because by maturity these bucks typically catch up.

QDM is about 2 things: harvesting an adequate number of female deer to balance the herd with the available habitat, and balancing the buck age structure so the herd contains bucks in all age classes (yearling, immature 2.5-3.5, and mature 4.5).

The benefits are immense. QDMA promotes passing of all yearing and preferably 2.5s as well. Anything above and beyond that is getting closer to trophy management by definition.

I may be going out on a limb here because I am not familair with the habitat and size of the property these bucks were taken on. However, QDMA would never support decimating the entire buck segment of the population. The social stress that would subsequently occur would result in: a longer breeding season, reduced antler growth due to breeding related stress, and late born fawns.