Kathwacckkk

Everybody else here has already addressed talking to your grandma first. I agree, not a lot you can do when the landowner has other ideas.
My only suggestion could backfire. How close are you to your cousin? Maybe you could talk to him or her directly and explain the situation, what you are trying to accomplishand get that opinion. The reason I say this may be risky, is if you are not close to your cousin or there is family squabble going on, then he may rush right to your grandmother and try to further provoke the situation.
250 is a good chunk of land. If you can only take 1 - 2 bucks by your state regulations, thenI believe your efforts will still be rewarded. You may have to bite your tongue a little bit if he kills a smaller deer, but be happy for him even if you have to fake it. That way he will see howhardwork and patience pays off when you bring in your record book buck. If you have talked to the neighbors and know the land,then you also know where the big deer are going to be. You should also know where your cousin is going to be hunting. Big deer do not get that way being dumb. When he blasts the fork horn, he might push the big boy right to you.

Lanse couche couche

Sounds like Granny is more interested in deer hunting than Quality Deer Farming.

furgitter

It isnt all about the horns, or what you think is a trophy.And it isnt all about you.

wahoohunter

i'll have to agree we should have consulted my grandmother about this first...however, there is supposed to be an unconditional love amongst families from which no hostility should be brought forth in a situation as such. I believed that seeing that myself, brother and father are so passionate about something such as QDM would bring joy into the heart's of familiy members, sadly though, I was greatly mistaken. As for it being her land, yes its her, however, the land is to be my Father's in the coming years and it would be his now had his sister not said "Mom, if he gets something I should get something too right now" so our name is not "officially" on the land...I don't know, I wasn't really looking for advice when it comes to matters of the family and I'd like to thank those of you who said you've dealt with situations like this before. As far as saying "elder deserves respect," respect is earned mutually. There are a lot of elders who I do not repsect one bit due to their unethical actions or spiteful ways, does that make me less of a person? I believe not. I guess I just thought that our passion for QDM would be repsected and accepted by our family....the end

wahoohunter

my cousin and i have a good relationship so this is coming from an unbiased view point...but, last year he shot at a five pointer and missed, then shot a doe twice and missed...this was all in a span of a couple minutes and when shooting at the doe he thought it was the five pointer both times...if you are shooting at something that you don't even know what it is ?! thats not ethical and it gives good hunters a bad name

Steve863

What happened to you on your grandmothers land is pretty much the same as what happens when states try to implement antler restrictions. Such practices will NEVER please everyone, because many people don't give a hoot about antler size. They just enjoy hunting and being outdoors, and taking any deer is fine with them. There is nothing wrong with such thinking in my opinion. They have every right to hunt whatever is legal, so the only way you will have the last say on this matter is if you somehow acquire ownership of this land or convince your grandmother to see it your way.

Lanse couche couche

It sounds like you are passionate about QDM while your cousin is passionate about tender grilled backstrap.But, with all that unconditional love you should be able to overlook your cousins silly impulse to fill his deer tag and get on with life

Steve863

Actually 250 acres is a nice amount of land, but at the same time it is not a huge amount by any stretch. The neighboring land owners may have agreed to not shoot the smaller bucks but who is to say that they don't allow guests to hunt once in a while where the smaller ones still get shot. Or maybe the neighboring hunters hold out for big bucks for most of the season, but when the last few days come around anything becomes fair game to them? Who says they can't change their minds at any moment on what they want to kill? They don't need your permission to do it, or tell you about it if they do shoot one. So that nice buck you let walk to give him another year, just might get himself shot anyway. Unless this land is fenced off, you will NEVER have any guarantees that the small ones won't be taken!

deerhunter729

It is your grandmothers property so its her call. Your cousin just might be in that phase of shooting what he sees. I went through that phase but now I'm just a trophy hunter. Its takes some hunters several kill to learn to deer hunt

Vulture6

Hey, look at it this way: 250+ acres with one guy harvesting anything he sees. Overall impact on the herd shouldn't be too significant if he's only taking 2 or 3 deer a year.

About the best you can hope for.