Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Since NY is experimenting with QDM and I am against QDM, I have some questions for those who are in favor of QDM:

1.) How many years have you been deer hunting?

2.) How many bucks have you killed?

3.) How many of those bucks were spikes or forkhorns?

4.) If you were hunting the last day of the season and haven't filled your tags and you saw a doe with 2 fawns coming in from your left and a nice acorn fed 4 pointer coming in from your right and 4 pointers are legal, which deer would you consider shooting? Assuming of course that you have a anterless tag and a tag for the buck.

My answers (eventhough I am against QDM)
1.) I've been hunting 25 years
2.) I've killed 8 bucks
3.) 4 of 8 bucks were spikes or forkhorns
4.) I would shoot the 4 pointer

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

I hunted 15 years
killed 9 buck
0 spikes or fork horns
I would shoot the mature doe

This year I ate my buck tag but it was by choice. I passed on 19 buck and dont regret! Because who knows that little one may come by me in a year or two.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1) 41 seasons
2) I don't know how many buck I've killed but for sure over 50.
3) Very few spikes, maybe 2 or 3. Lots of 4's maybe 8 or 10. I would guess that maybe 1/2 of the buck I have taken were 18 months old.
4) Whether I would shoot the doe or the 4 pointer would depend on whether or not I believed the total population was high or low in the area I am hunting. If high I'd take the mature doe, if low I'd take the 4 pt. If I felt the population was just about right I'd take the one that offered me the best shot.

[I'm sorry, I just realized you were only looking for answers from those in favor of QDM. Im for some aspects of it but overall I'm against it. For what its worth I'll leave my answers anyway. Actually NY is not experimenting with QDM, just AR.]

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1.) I've been deer hunting for 8 seasons (didn't have much time for deer hunting 4 of those years as I was in college at the time)

2.) I've taken 6 bucks (been passing up the little bucks and have taken 7 does in the past 2 years).

3.) spike, 3-pt., 5-pt., 6-pt., 9-pt (all yearlings) and a 2.5 yr. old 8-pt. We really don't have many spikes around here. We see lots of yearling 5-8 pts. that would still be AR legal under PA regs (not to say thay they are genetically better than the spike and 3-pts.)

4.) A couple of years ago I woulda shot the 4-pt., but would take the mature doe at this point in my hunting career. Most people I know around here would take the 4-pt. no questions asked.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 18
2. 14
3. 5
4. The momma doe

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1.) How many years have you been deer hunting?26 years
2.) How many bucks have you killed? 40 ish

3.) How many of those bucks were spikes or forkhorns? 8 maybe.

4.) If you were hunting the last day of the season and haven't filled your tags and you saw a doe with 2 fawns coming in from your left and a nice acorn fed 4 pointer coming in from your right and 4 pointers are legal, which deer would you consider shooting? Assuming of course that you have a anterless tag and a tag for the buck. The doe. Then the buck and if I had another tag the fawn.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1) Hunting for 14 years.
2) 11 antlered deer taken.
3) 3 spikes. (one a 2 yr old with broken off horns)
4) The doe or the doe fawn, whichever gave me an easier shot.

If its the last day of the season the little 4 pointer has great chance of surviving into next fall.....

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

hunting 22 years
killed 32 bucks
11 of those bucks are 1.5 years old and have 7-pts or less.
I would harvest the mature doe if I was hunting in MD. or OH. but not in PA. In PA. I would let them all walk because I will not purchase another doe tag in PA. because of ridiculous Deer Density target goals.
I started passing on fork horns when I was 21 and once I passed on my 1st. buck I realized I got more enjoyment out of passing them up than I did killing them even though I was worried I was going to regret it the rest of the season. Pike

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

13 years

8 bucks total

4 of them were spikes or 4 pointers or 18 month bucks. 2 were 2 1/2 year bucks, and 2 were at least 3 1/2.

I would shoot the doe every time. They taste the same.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 14 years of hunting

2. 9 buck (in the last 8 years) hunting in 2 states

3. No chance i would shoot the 4 point. I would should the doe if it was a big mature deer.

4. 2 my first and second

In my first 5 years of rifle hunting pa i never seen a buck. This year rifle hunting the same area i seen 12 buck. Now i do not see 20 to 30 doe a day anymore, but do see a lot more buck ;). Now if you see 5 to 10 doe a day its a hell of a day. However your chances of seeing a buck on stand these days are pretty good compared to 5 years ago. Over all i think anter restrictions are a good thing and hope New York state does the same.

Later,

skillet

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1.) How many years have you been deer hunting? 22

2.) How many bucks have you killed? 20

3.) How many of those bucks were spikes or forkhorns? 5

4.) If you were hunting the last day of the season and haven't filled your tags and you saw a doe with 2 fawns coming in from your left and a nice acorn fed 4 pointer coming in from your right and 4 pointers are legal, which deer would you consider shooting? Assuming of course that you have a anterless tag and a tag for the buck. DOE

I'm curious what these answers do for you?

FH

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Thanks for everyone response. The purpose of these questions was to see the type of hunters that are in favor of AR or QDM. My thought was that those in favor of QDM got their fill with killing young bucks and now wish to take it away from everyone else. I think I've been proven false. We have a lot of die hard hunters who play by the rules. I might put these answers in a spreadsheet to better analyze the data. The purpose of the last question was just curiosity. I'm from the old school of thought and I believe the big doe help those 2 fawns get through the winter. I don't have a problem shooting a big doe if she is by herself, but I will never again shoot a doe with a fawn or two. I just don't need the meat that badly to shoot a doe with small ones by her side.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Its too bad you feel this way. You should do a little searching via google on this topic. You will learn that by Oct, Nov, and Dec - A doe does nothing for her young from the previous year. In fact - in most cases she is trying to free herself from them - and begin preparing for her new offspring.

People tend to give deer "human thoughts" - especially when it comes to caring for their young. Normal, May/June born fawns are absolutely not dependant on their mother any more by October. Fawns with a doe should not be a criteria for passing up the doe - A good argument can be made that these are the doe you want to take.

FH

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 47

2. 28

3. 2 spikes, 1. 3 point, 1. 4 point, last spike 20 yrs. ago.

4. None of them, I will only have a buck tag, 6 points or better.
I guess I will go home empty handed, like the last two yrs. dont need the meat that bad.

lost horn

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 35

2. 25

3. two spikes, two 3's, two forkies (all taken 15+ years ago, don't shoot em anymore)

4. The mature doe and if that legal forkie was a lone, I'd go home empty rather than shoot him. Legal or not.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

I am from Western NY - southerntier.

I have hunted for 17 years

I have taken 2, 4 pionters - 5, 6 pionters, 3, 8 pointers - a 10 pointer, - and a 11 pointer.
12 total.

I have taken at least one doe every year since I started hunting, a couple of which were button bucks but not many.

I would shoot the mature Doe instead of the 4 pointer.

This past year I took an 8 pointer on the 2nd weekend of Archery and three doe on in Archery and the other 2 opening Day of Shot gun. All three were mature does. I passed up 8 different bucks opening day of archery and a couple in shotgun. Might have been different if I didn't already have meat in the freezer though.

I try to look at the maturity of the animal not the rack. If it is a 4 pointer but looks like its body is filled out and at least a couple years old I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it but if its young why not let it get a little bigger and save it for next year.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Just a little food for thought. For all of you who are so quick to choose the mature doe remember that odds are you are taking out a buck as well. As in this scenario it is late season it is likely the doe is pregnant and statistically she is carrying 1 of each. I don't mean to hijack your thread CattNY so I will butt out if you tell me to but I'd be curious if you all would still shoot the doe over the buck if the population was way down?

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

population does play a part. Where I hunt though there are way too many does compared to bucks.

I have an exceptional hunting spot and only because after hunting the same woods for 17 years I have found a place for my stand that has deer comming in and out already but when hunters come into the woods they use the ravine that I hunt in for a get away also. That's why I am usually walking out of the woods with a deer before most of them even get a shot off for the year.

I would still take the doe in my case, but if things were different and there weren't many deer where I hunted maybe not.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Sylvan,

Theoretically, you're right...on good range a healthy doe will usually have twins, usually a buck and a doe. I kinda think that there are just too many variable in you're question to have a straight up cut and dried answer. No to offend anybody or anything, but the old belief that "if I kill a doe, I'm killing next years buck too"...is one of the primary reasons that the deer pop. is so outta whack in alot of places to begin with. However, it's still you're choice to take which ever deer you want...and it's not right or wrong to kill the buck, the doe or either of her fawns...they will all eat good. The way I look at it, the fawns are old enough to be on the own and taking out mama won't impact their chances of survival. In the case of a severe winter...the fawns will probably die with or without their mother. Personally, I would still take the doe unless I felt that the pop. was really bad off like you said. In that case I'd let 'em all go and buy some beef at the supermarket.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 10 years
2. 1 buck - 8 point
3. 0
4. shoot the doe

Even thought I've only shot one buck in 10 years I've passed on a couple legal buck every year. As you can see I usually don't fill my buck tag, but my freezer is filled with doe venison.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

I will surely go along but I have to say, QDM is not what I would like to see across the board for NY. An older herd of bucks, AR (if you would like to call it) although is.

Hunting 18 Seasons

I've harvested over 15 bucks but less than 25

I'll have to guess here < 20%

Where I typically hunt would be different than possible somewhere else.
The 4 pt would surely walk. For me it makes no difference. Shooting fawn doe can be a good thing, especailly if they are bone as a result of a late estrus cycle. As for the adult doe...it depends on where? In the Adirondacks, she walks. Out of the "dacks" she most likely would be harvested. The local population of deer will depict who is harvested.
Not my greed.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

1. 28

2. Cant count how many guessing around 15-18

3. About 1/2 of em where 4pts or less.

4. Mature Doe.

....I guess I have grown up over the last 10 years or so and I will not shoot scrubs anymore...Been there done that. Would rather go home empty handed knowing that I hunted hard and past up a bunch during the season.

I now am a QDM believer.......I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT AND I AM SAVED AMEN...:D Better hunting, better overall experience!!

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

I'v been hunting for 4 years. I am in favor of QDM. I shot one buck, an 8 pointer, missed a six and a four in 4 years with QDM. i'v seen about 3 spikes. As for the 4th question i would shoot the doe because i would want to let the young buck mature. Me and the guys i hunt with have been doing QDM for the past 4 years and we've taken two 8 pointers, a 5 pointer, two 4 pointers, and a seven pointer. Also in the last 4 years we have taken 9 does. If you are a rack hunter than QDM is the way to go. You will also see more bucks if you let the young ones go. try it for two seasons and i guarantee you will see more bucks.

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Double Lung that 4 point you missed was a least a mature deer. Right

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

just a comment or two on shooting the doe with fawns

I personally have passed many doe with fawns. With that said, I may be changing my ways. I just read an article in Bowhunting that said that the fawns are more likely to stay in the birthplace range if they are orphaned. Therefore, if one of the fawns is a big buck (eventually) it will have a better chance of staying close by if mom isn't around. There was more good info on shooting doe also. Good article.

Did you all see Bill Winke's short article on shooting doe? I thought is was very informative, to the point, and made several good points about why it is important to shoot doe. I couldn't find it on their website, but if you have the mag and glossed over it - it is worth the read.
key points:
1) does control the population (which can greatly help hunting - buck/doe ratios, etc.)
2) certain aged does can effect what deer ar born (older doe tend to produce doe fawns, whereas young doe tend to have buck fawns)
3) also, young doe tend to have single fawns, old doe tend to have twins (another key for herd management)

RE: Questions for those in favor of QDM
 

Agreed. I believe we talked about this last season.