gunther89

I hunt in Wisconsin and am stuck in EAB or earn a buck. We have to shoot a doe first in order to shoot a buck. It has destroyed our doe herd but we have seen our bucks get to an older class with better racks.

appleater25

It's not fair to say you have to control thousands of acres for you to practice QDM with any purpose. You might not run the whole show, but depending on what's going on around you there is certainly reason to practice it.

For example: here in southern Wisconsin we have(in reality had or were believed to have) an overpopulation problem. Once this coupled with the supposed CWD crisis we all had to spend our seasons having to earn bucks by shooting does. Everyone for hundreds of miles around had to shoot does.

The does have been thinned and we happen to have some of the most premium soil in the country to provide tons of natural graze to complement all the crops. Since everyone has had to shoot does the biggest bucks that have ever been shot in these parts are getting harvested.

It may not be worth it if everyone around practices QDM really poorly, but if you have even 50 acres and half your surrounding area practices a couple aspects, you will likely see some results. Just because you can't hunt everywhere doesn't mean you can't contribute.

Western MA Hunter

no... not unless I am on a hunt on managed land which I do one week per year in NYS.

Redclub

Here in Central Wi. I practice QDM for archery and ML seasons, shucks I can only shoot 1 buck so it will have to be a big one. Since EAB the bucks are a lot bigger and more of them, but does are hard to come by, I just cannot shoot a fawn or a doe with fawns so its yearling does.In the rifle season in Northern Wi. I will shoot any buck that walks by,no does tho,the wolves up there take care of the deer.

spikeman

I guess I can say I practice QDM. I plant food for them and make sure they are fed all winter as well. On one quarter its for kids only. They can shoot any size buck , The 3 remaining quarters it must be a 150 plus buck. Some mistakes are made from excited hunters. most of the hunters that hunt here are looking for 170 plus anything under survives. Each yr big ones are definitely seen and some taken

One must not forget if you do what I do and that is the deer will go to the nest farm and get shot, but the deer from there come to your place. I happen to farm where the lands around me are protected to a large extend

gunther89

Redclub I agree with you that wolves take out alot of deer in Northern Wisconsin. By now the wolves probably out number the deer population.

kevin1

Indiana has poor soil fertility compared to Wisconsin, but an abundance of corn and soy, so we have fairly large deer. According to our DNR's most recent report we now have very close to the magic 1:1 sex ratio, yet Indiana doesn't have near the "quality" of bucks(*cough* Huge antlers*cough)that surrounding states do because theminerals that promote them aren't there. Deer roam over square miles, not square yards, and it's a sucker bet that most of your neighbors aren't as picky as you are. Anyone even remotely conversant in actual QDM will verify that attempting it on less than 1,500 acres is a usually waste of time, trying it on 50 is wishful thinking at best, and in a state like yours that has a huge number of hunters it's just not gonna happen. Bottom line: Unless you're absolutely controlling 1,500+ acres, or have a captive herd behind a high fence with controlled nutrition, there's extremely little you can do to "improve" your local herd. If your state, with it's well trained wildlife biologists and much greater resources, can't consistantly do it then it's a pretty damned good bet that you can't either. Sorry to pop your bubble.

rhromm

QDM- Quality Deer Meat

Dont care how big or small the rack is, you cant eat the horns. That is truely the purpose of hunting right? deer=food, if not your simply wasting. A big buck is fun to brag about, but anymore that seems like that is all hunters care about.

I go for two reasons, to hear the dogs run and to get some meat. Yes, I would be farther ahead by working the extra time, not paying for gas and bullets. However, my favorite hobby is cooking animals I have caught or killed.

outdoorsman4life_103

I dont believe you need 1500 acres or whatever to practice QDM or to get decent results. I have 80 acres in WI and our neighbor has another 80 and we are the only two in the area that do it.. and it HAS been working. we started just about 2 years ago and since then, we used to be lucky to kill a decent 8 or 10.. this year, he shot a GIGANTIC 12 point. I mean, this thing looked more like a mule deer than a whitetail. All you can do is provide the best food sources and the best cover throughout the year for them and they WILL stay close to your property. We just passed on them and hoped they made it through another season. and by golly, they sure did!! A few weeks ago, I went into the woods behind the shed.. cause nature was calling and i kicked up the biggest buck I have ever seen. and He isnt even close to done growing yet. as he ran away, I counted 8 points with somewheres around 18" spread or so. and teh best part, his antlers were just beginning to turn back in. so he will definately be on the lookin list. oh, and we have the fastest growing wolf pack in the state down by us.. (according to the DNR) Oh, and they got put back on the endangered species list here in WI (in case any of you didnt know..) im suprised they lasted that long off it.. at least the DNR is pullin their heads outa tehir butts and finally stopped teh EAB (earn a buck) and that kinda stuff state wide.. back to letting hunters do waht they do best..

fishintay

Iagree also.