Since Bow mentioned state regulations in this thread, I would like to throw this little tidbit on you. Illinois has a 3 day antlerless firearms season in mid Janurary. It initially was for handguns but all firearms can be used now. I have talked to my taxadermist friend and was just today at my nearest pro shop. Both are telling me several hunters are killing bucks(some nice size) that have lost their antlers during those 3 days. Some by accident and some on purpose. Upon asking why anyone will kill a deer they knew was a buck without antlers the answer was................ the bigger body would produce more meat. So there goes all that QDM that was practiced.

Had a couple Taxidermists say the same thing around here. They think that antlerless only season needs to be WAY earlier before the deer start dropping antlers. No one has admitted to them they did it on purpose but it has happened.

Old animal in general is going to have less fat %, coarser muscle fibers from older age/not growing anymore, and more impact of hormones on quality of meat. There is a reason people in this country eat Lamb (which by definition is under 12 months of age although the best is generally considered cornfed at 5-6 months of age), and steers at 12-18 months are the only ones that can grade prime. Even chicken/turkey genetics have been changed to increase growth rate in order to reach harvest quicker. This is economic but it is also societal. A yearling doe/buck is going to taste much more mild than a 5 year old. About nothing nastier as far as strong flavor than a buck, boar, bull or ram taken in the middle of breeding season. Fat reserves way down and hormones way up... Not a good combo.

I don't know why anybody would knock QDM, it benefits everyone. I have a box of year and half old antlers that just collect dust . Don't get me wrong I'm very proud of them but the first mature buck you take with your bow will leave your mouth watering for more. It's the hardest hunting decision you'll have to make but the reward is endless. As for shooting a doe , that in it's self is a trophy.

Alas , a QDM perspective that I can agree with 110%!!!

I did my part last year (and the group I hunt with). It was EAB in our area last year and although I hated the fact that I had to let a really nice buck walk by because I hadn't filled my doe tag yet , I knew our area needed more doe harvests. We filled all our tags with doe to try and insure that we wouldn't be in EAB this year. I heard alot of pissin and moanin about it from hunters who refused to shoot any doe.[:@]
We came close to being a EAB unit again this year but it was shot down by our Resources Board.
I hear alot of guys saying yahooo, but the reason the DNR wanted to have EAB in our unit again this year is beause???? Yep! We still have too many doe.
My father in law was a little leary on shooting so many doe last year. That was until two weeks after gun season closed and he counted thirty seven doe in his back yard one evening.
I plan to do the same thing this year as I did last year.
For me , it's not about growing big bucks , it's about the health of the herd and keeping the buck to doe ratio relatively close.

So let's see...just thinking out loud.

I have the state control my county with AR.

I have my neighbors control the adjacent property with QDM.

I plant food plots on my 250 acres and pass small bucks for 3-4 years.

Then I start collecting a box or wall full of 135 class bucks.

Boy,that will impress the boys at the check station the next 10 years.

You're still the same caliber hunter you were when you started,you just made the average available deer bigger. The woods are no longer natural,you have created a deer farm.

At least you could sell a hunt or make a video if you wanted to...

I come from the old school of hunting that you take what's available in the area or region where you can hunt. If you take a 135 class deer every year in an area where there's only one every 5 square miles ...now you're a special hunter.

These thread always turn into arguements.

Instead of pushing my ideals, I just want to ask a few questions. Please answer them if you have the time. I promise this relates to the subject, though it may not seem to. Please keep your answers as short as possible. Thanks!

1. What is your age?

2. How many years have you been bowhunting?

3. Do you hunt with any other weapons?

4. How many years have you hunted with those weapons?

5. Are you for, or against QDM?

6. Would you like to see bigger bucks in your area, if there was no work on your part?

7. Would you travel to another state, or another woodlot in your state in search of a bigger buck?

8. What do you consider a successful hunting season?

9. Do you harvest animals for food, or for management of the herd/habitat?

10. Do you consider yourself a "hardcore" hunter (scouting and map reading year round)?
Or do you consider yourself a "casual" hunter(the majority of your time is spent actually hunting, scouting and prep are limited to a month or two before and/or after the season.)


Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, and remember there are no right and wrong answers.

Have a good one--Matt

1. 24yrs

2. 14yrs

3. Yes, and no, I am giving up firearm hunting, I dont enjoy it.

4. 5yrs

5. I am for QDM

6. Yes

7. Yes, within reason. Money is an issue, as is time.

8. Any year I get to enjoy at least 30 days afield. Deer sightings also factors in, and finally harvesting one or two does a year is always nice. A large buck would just be icing on the cake.

9. Food, and management. I am not in dire need of venison, though it is nice to have, so I choose the animals I harvest with the best interest of the future herd, habitat and surrounding wildlife in mind.

10. Im in between a casual and a hardcore hunter. I know there are hunters out there who are more hardcore than I am. However, I do shoot year round, read maps, scout new and old locations, and prep some spots. I do the best I can, but like I said, there are hunters out there even more "maniacal" than I am.

This should be highlighted and font up to 8 ................. there is not more truth on Hunting.Net today than the words above.

Exactly! And a one to one ratio makes it much easier to tag a buck and not just because there are more but because they become more competitive and careless. Some hunting. From what I cab see the nation has done a very good job of QDM over the past 75 yrs.

Here is another reason I am for leaving things go naturaly. Sorry to bring this up, NY hunter.

New Case of Wasting Disease in N.Y. Deer

And for the guy asking questions not one of them had to do with history. Maybe I should come up with my own list. QM is not a new concept and has been used in many area's from people to plants through out time. Atomic energy is QM. Chemicals are QM. Atibiotics are QM. The woman who just died was a product of QM. None of which I want to resemble hunting.

And as far as saying these things always lead to arguments in order to be little people who dare argue the point. I'm not iimpressed by that or your atempt to size people up.

1. 53

2. 47

3. Yes.

4. 43 years with firearms. I was allowed to hunt small game with my bow long before my parents let me shoot a rifle or shotgun. But it's been about 20 years since the last time I hunted deer with a rifle.

5. No. As pointed out, it's farming. Nor am I in favor of trophy hunting. Natural predators mostly take the very young, very old and sick/wounded, leaving the prime, healthy animals and strengthening the herd. Trophy hunters only take prime animals. Not exactly nature's plan.

6. I would like to see more bucks, period. Slickheads running everywhere but few bucks.

7. Not really. I'd like to go out of state, or to a different part of my state, to see new woods and have new experiences, but not just for hoping to get a bigger animal.

8. Years back, I thought I had to kill something to have a successful season. I was disappointed when I had a real good stalk going and got busted just before taking the shot. Then I realized most of my charge was from the hunt itself, the meat I brought home was just icing on the cake. As long as I enjoy my time in the woods (which I get very little of, any more) I've had a successful season.

9. See #8.

10. I guess, going by your definition, I am a casual hunter. Unlike most guys who 'hardcore' any hobby, I have a life.