i was hoping to get a management plan started on our property in north-central WI this year, and was hoping to get a few pointers and thought this would be a great place to start. first let me explain my situation, im 17, and my dad is the primary landowner of 80 acres surrounded by mostly public property, a portion of which had been logged in the last 5 years. every year we have anywhere from 8-12 guys hunting the property, almost all of them doing so only during the 9 day gun hunt, however, i and a copule of the other guys do bowhunt there occasionally. the soil is pretty poor, so i dont know how well food plots would work. in the last few years alone i have seen 3 or 4 large bucks either in person or pictures from my trail cam. however, i cant remember how long its been since we have harvested a buck bigger than a 7 pointer my dad got a few years ago. i was hoping to find a way to convince my buddies at deer camp to stop shooting small bucks, hopefully giving them a chance to grow to their full potential. here's the problem, being that i'm only 17 i have little authority as to what goes on, and i dont want to feel like im tellingthem how to hunt. i was hoping you could explain how you got your plans started, what kind of things to concentrate on, and also share some success or failure stories. thanks for takin the time to help out a youngster. I'll be headin up there this wknd to work on my stands.

~Schobs~

If you want to get some good info. join the QDMA, and get the book "Grow'em Right" by Neal Dougherty. Both of these things will get you started in the right direction. Seems to me like it will be tough to convine 8-12 people, and it seems to me like that is an awfully high number of people hunting 80 acres, or do they also hunt the public land?

As for convincing them you may want to order the video "Let Him Go So He Can Grow" I haven't personally seen it, but from reading the description it looks like it covers the fine points of QDM. Good Luck!

Put a bounty on, say $25. for shooting a button buck and $50. for a shooting a buck under 8 points. Have the money go for improving the land.

8 to 12 people hunting 80 acres is crazy IMHO. I would first get it down to no more than 3 at any time. Trying to manage for better bucks on that small of acerage surrounded by public land sounds like more of a wish than a reality. What is the deer population per square mile in the area?

i probably should have explained that better, we do hunt alot of the public land that surrounds our property, and the stands are spread out over quite a bit of area,and 4 or 5 of the guys only hunt the opening weekend of rifle season. im ont exactly sure of the population density or buck to doe ratio, but i do know from my trail cam pics and the deer ive seen bowhunting that there were at least 4 different bucks on our property that were 8's or better. the main problem im forseeing is that most of these guys dont really care about shooting big bucks, or small bucks, or does. they hunt for meat, and i dont wanna say they're "if its brown its down" hunters, but they dont seem to apt to convert to QDM.

If your other members aren't keen on QDM nothing you say will convince them , that patch is too small for that anyway , especially with all that "unimproved" public land surrounding it . The best thing you could do would be to plant some food plots and hope that every yahoo hunting the public ground around you doesn't start trespassing when the deer start coming in . Get a good soil test from your local extention agent and see what your soil needs , then start your preparations , but don't expect miracles with that many people hunting the same small patch of ground .

Kevin is right - Start Small.

While it is noble to want to do better - Set some realistic goals for the property. First - set up a Comprehensive data collection for your property. Maybe its # deer/bucks seen per hour on stand, or weight of harvested deer. Set a couple goals - and keep good records - you will find that your hunters will be happy to record their observations. - You may even discover something new about your property. Once people are more involved - it becomes MUCH easier to change preconceived notions regarding deer hunting and management. It will take several years - in the meantime - enjoy hunting with your freinds and family - and coax it along - you never know - the State might institute Antler Restrictions or something (not too far fetched) - and you'll be ready, as a group to deal with it.

FH

Document the deer sightingsas young bucks, mature bucks, and does (add buttons if it can be done). There's a plethora of info in that when using time, and other factors.

Another quick thing, especially if you can talk them into it...create a small sanctuary. Maybe 15 acres could be set off-limits to anyone, unless they shoot a deer and it runs in there (which case you would only go in under cover of night). If you could pair that up with a few 1/4-1/2 acre plots on your property, you should be proud.

Teaching them to pass young bucks right now sounds illogical, because they won't buy it. What the sanctuary and plots will do is bring in more deer (and more bucks). That means hunter sightings on standwill increase, and slowly the guys will become less and less interested in the smaller, younger bucks. It is a dreadfully slow process, but after a year or two of good management, I'd bet the guys will be quietly passing yearlings.

It's going to be hard to get the guys to buy into it. However, that state land will cause a trespassing problem if your plan gets in gear.

The first thing I can tell already is you are "different" than the rest of the group. You enjoy the experience and mystery of being in the deer woods at least as much as you do killing a deer. You wouldn't have picked up a bow if you didn't. That alone is going to advance your knowledge of deer beyond the average group member. You may not realize it, and they certainly don't, but it already has.

Your hunting group needs an education. Most hunters are completely unaware of the age of deer they kill. I would start by aging every deer killed on the property. When one of the guys kills a decent 6 pointer, the gang will gawk and talk about how they're sure that's the buck BillyBob missed two years ago. When they realize the deer's only 18 months old, it will be a real eye opener, provided you can even get them to understand deer aging methods. But by far the best thing you can do is lead by example. Be sure you gather detailed information about the bucks you see and especially those you pass up. When you can stand by the young buck they kill andsay "I passed that one up in October", here's a picture of him, they're going to realize you're at a different level as a deer hunter. By being selective, I'llwager the biggest, oldest deer killed on that property in the next 5 years, will be taken by you, probably during firearms season.

You will also be frustrated. The members of you're group are less into deer than you are. I would guess that no less than 1/3 of them fall asleep on stand on a regular basis, while you never do. Youslip quietly to and from your stand while they tromp oblivious to theirs. You stay put for the hunt while some of them wander around near their stand soon after daylight. And you are probably usually the last back to the cabin after the morning's hunt. Not always. Sometimes one of them oversleeps!

Be patient, he will come.Your group are deer shooters; you my friend, are a deer hunter. Enjoy it!