vabownut

First off who are you to question what anyone enters or kills ? Its their decision and theirs only and maybe they are just as proud to enter that fork horn as someone else might be their B&C. I do believe in qdm on a individual basis and do not think the state should mandate it statewide , if they want to do it on state owned land fine but let the individuals make choices for themselves . As far as the question of why a state would let someone take more than one buck I see you havent been around much as alot of states have unreal numbers of deer and bucks . Were allowed 3 bucks a year and unlimited does and I cant see the damage, if anything its getting better every year .

cardeer

Lots of guys would love to be able to manage ther on heard. But the fact is most hunters dont have a piece of property to make a game ranch. Here in Pa the majority of the hunters are jammed in to public land like sardines. 4 years ago on a 2000 acre Stategame lands area people were double parked for 5 miles. How in the world can you quality management that way. Yes now we have a POINT RESTRICTION REG. But thats only either 3 pts on one side only or 4 pts on one side only depending on county. Why they enter a contest ? Hey There are doe contest also and ways they measure and score them.

MassSeaWolves bowhunter

you know what makes me laugh is all this talk about where some people setup for there own managment and they ONLY WILL SHOOT THIS AND THAT BUCK dude get over your little managment program ok. whatever happened to all the REAL HUNTERS like myself that go out there and hunt in the wild woods not the MANAGEMNENT AREAS and still catch deer.just go out there and catch whatevr is legal and whatever makes you happy there is to much BS going on on this site. alot of opinions HERE every deer WITH A BOW IS A TROPHY OK. so get over YOUR MANAGEMENT ARES , where you know exactly where and what the deer will do. you call that HUNTING? i dont just my opnion lol as i am writing this 1 week in the books and 3 DEER...... and i am very happy and my freezer and my family is fed for the winter THE OLD WAY.......

uphunter15

I am in the same boat as Mathewsboy being from MI. The only difference is one of my hunting spots is QDM, 3 points or more on one side for the first buck and 4 points or more on one side for the second. I have never used my second tag for a buck but have used it on does because the licence can be used for a doe if shot with a bow. Now I have seen the difference in my area since the QDM was placed in my area but the quality of bucks are definately not huge. An eight like Mathewsboy's is considerd big in my neighborhood and if you get one bigger, huge is the word. Too many does is the problem in my area and by myself the problem cannot be solved. I invite people out to my land to shoot does only during the December hunt but they don't come because they are not allowed to shoot a buck. For me it is one buck a year and with the second tag it could be two if the second buck is bigger than the first, that has never happened though. I usually shoot 2 to 3 does a year and try to get others out to but it doesn't always happen.

Now my other spot is not QDM and bucks are real hard to come by because of the same reasons as Mathewsboy. I have already let a nice 6 go last week knowing that 95% of the people around us will shoot it. I don't want to see it happen but it probably will. My inlaws are the if it is a buck and leagal it is down type and I give them heck about it but in fun. I know it is their choice and it is their land so I am never serious about it. I do give them my 2 cents every year but it isn't working and by passing up a nice buck I hope it gives them a nudge in the right direction.

It is a persons right and preference to shoot what they want IMO but if we all started to practice QDM by harvesting does and letting smaller bucks go there would be more bigger bucks to be taken. Not everyone has the opportunities like the rest of us or the land so lets take it easy on those and not become bastards towards them but maybe with a little influence change the way they go about their hunting practices so they too can see the difference QDM makes.

And as MassSeaWolves said "any deer taken with the bow is a trophy" so lets keep it that way and give everyone the praise deserved for taking a fine animal in such an outstanding matter.

Good luck to you all!!!!

wolfen68

you know what makes me laugh is all this talk about where some people setup for there own managment and they ONLY WILL SHOOT THIS AND THAT BUCK dude get over your little managment program ok. whatever happened to all the REAL HUNTERS like myself that go out there and hunt in the wild woods not the MANAGEMNENT AREAS and still catch deer.just go out there and catch whatevr is legal and whatever makes you happy there is to much BS going on on this site. alot of opinions HERE every deer WITH A BOW IS A TROPHY OK. so get over YOUR MANAGEMENT ARES , where you know exactly where and what the deer will do. you call that HUNTING? i dont just my opnion lol as i am writing this 1 week in the books and 3 DEER...... and i am very happy and my freezer and my family is fed for the winter THE OLD WAY.......







You're frickin' clueless![:@] I hunt as wild of deer as any in the whole of America buddy. And I guarantee any mature buck I have shot or will shoot has been and will be because I've worked my arse off to do so. I hunt NO "management area" but where I hunt you can bet that nobody will be shooting any young bucks. And I don't "catch" deer...I kill them. If I knew exactly where and what the deer would do, then I wouldn't do it....you obviously show your complete and total ignorance to this topic which is why I periodically stir the pot with posts like these to try and educate "real hunters" like yourself. While your freezer is full, I continue to observe deer at 10 yards, learning their behaviors and everything about them. I've passed on 7 young bucks so far this year in only 5 trips to the woods and the rut is still 3 weeks away. Your "old" way hopefully will soon be a thing of the past.

nubo

guy's give it a break!

I have to agree with Lefty on this ,here in Ont there are a lot of area's that just don't produce mass on the buck's ,When we buy our tag's for the season if you don't apply for a doe permit you automatically get a buck tag, that's just how it is. Some area's don't have a lot of deer and any buck is a trophy in there mind's .I can't blame them for taking these buck's in these area's .I've personally let a particullar 6point basket rack walk 3 times in one day just because I knew there was a bigger buck in the area .I ended up last season not putting any venison in my freezer just because I let the little guy walk ,I knew I could have taken him, but it was my choice not to .But we can't expect everyone to think the same as we do. The new young, and old hunter's will take a spike because they have the opportunity to do so, and if they pass it up they just might end up with nothing ,For me it didn't matter that my freezer was empty because I enjoyed every day I spent in the wood's. I've taken many deer in the past ,but those new hunter's out there we can't expect them to do the same ,if the law doesn't stipulate it, then thier gonna take it ,and it is thier right. It's not for you and I to judge them for it because it's within the law .

Just one more thing ,there are lot's of hunter's out there that don't understand QDM and have never even heard of it ,In Ont it's very rarely mentioned ,it's not big like it is in the U.S. So as far as their concerned a buck is a buck. I agree that our Province needs to establish a program such as QDM and make all hunters aware of it and what it mean's to our deer herds.

nubo

rybohunter

I'm not sure many people are reaching the point of the question, they are all jumping on the QDM thing which, really isn't the meat of the topic here. He asked, why would you enter a BIG buck contest, then shoot a small one to enter. I feel that is a valid question regardless of which side of the QDM debate you are on.

My answer to his original question is.....some guys will enter a contest, with the hope that a BIG one will walk by that they can win with, but thier main intention is just to shoot any buck, or one that makes them happy without necessarily being a winner. Guess they figure its like a raffle ticket, hit the number win money, kill a big buck win money. Some places give half to the winner, and split the rest among all other people who entered a deer. So that's my thoughts on the question that was asked.

Lefty26

I agree with rybo we did get a little off topic here. And I also agree that someone would enter a big buck contest with the hope of having a big one stroll by, but in reality they are hunting for the first available buck.

No back to the QDM soap box.... I personaly agree that you need to let the little guys walk in order to grow big boys, but as already mentioned depending on where your hunting every spike and 4pt you pass can get shot by guy on the next ridge. I wish our state would put some QDM regs into place I think the results would be great. The point I was trying to get at in my original post is that every hunter has a different idea of what a trophy is, to me it may be a 100" buck, to you it may be a 150" buck, to someone else it may be a spike or a forkhorn. I dont think any hunter should feel he did something wrong if he shot a small/legal buck. Someone should be able to come on this site post their story and a pick and not be judged for it no matter what the bucks size. Like I said I think QDM is great, its just not a practical concept for every hunter depending on their situation. Sorry to take your thread off course wolfen68, and by all means nothing personal, just giving my 2 cents..

Justin

Lets try to keep it down in here a little bit. We're all hunters and we need to respect the way other people hunt, even if it isn't the way we hunt. As long as it's legal and ethical, we should be supporting it, not tearing it down because we don't necessarily believe in it.

As for the original question - I think Lefty just hit it on the head. I've entered Big Buck contests before hoping that maybe I'll get lucky and win, but at the same time I wasn't holding out for a monster buck. It's kind of like looking for a wife. Sure, we'd all love to marry a supermodel with a big bankroll, but in reality we'll take the first one that we find who won't leave us during the hunting season.

SW Iowa Hunter

No I don't think you do understand, Not ramming QDM down anyone's throat... That was the only reason for this post. You want to hide behind a statement like that, whatever. I don't know why anyone should have to explain why they shoot anything. Who made you little buck savior. Why do you care what someone shoots. That is the good thing about having a choice. These types of comments are what divides hunters. No different than the anti's and thier views.

Oh, but if they are young hunters then go ahead. I believe you have implied that before. That is the easy way out. If you had your choice we would all bowhunt monsters only. Stick a few does in the freezer and have a geat time. Wake up, never gonna happen.

One of the things I just love about this site, is our great support of each other. You don't shoot the right bow, too small of a deer, nice deer but how can you have a picture hanging in a shed with its tongue out. I don't understand it.

This post is just another example of the ignorance of some people to what hunting really is.

If you judge your hunts by the size of the antlers then you don't get it. Call yourself a hunter but you are truely missing out on what hunting is really about.

You can argue all you want about let the little ones pass and only shoot the big ones, that is your right but give the others thier rights too.

Judge your hunts your way and let them judge thiers thier way. Too each his own.