New QDM chapter

[Plumbob]

I have always been skeptical of the QDM concept and the trophy oriented goals that they strive for.

 I recently received an invite to the forming of a chapter near my home. I was shocked to say the least, in the e-mail the trophy potential of this area was disgust etc.

I can only surmise that this ultimatly leads to leases and clubs and so on. Private property that was once open to the public could be locked up.

As I type this I am convincing myself even more that this is a bad idea. Anyone have a positive spin on QDM's?

[Ray Hammond]

the trophy potential was disCUSSED....or disgust?? Not sure what you mean.

QDM, in a nutshell, is let the little ones walk. That's it. It would only lead ultimately to leases and clubs if you let it. That is not the goal or any stated purpose of QDM.

Why not go, and make your concerns known at the meeting, and perhaps others have the same worries, and will charter the group in a way that will prevent what you don't want to occur?

Idaho and the rest of the Pacific Northwest has always seemed to be big whitetail country anyway to me, ever since I saw a picture of Toad Smith with a giant whitetail taken in the late 70's early 80's out there.

I would always rather shoot a doe than a little dink personally. You can't do anything with those little horns except hang em off your key chain...how many of those do you need? I'd rather eat does...and wait around for the big one.

I passed up two shots at 8 pointers this past season that were what I would call medium-rare..110 to 125 inches...waiting for the bigger ones I knew were on the property. That's tiny for some places...but a 140 is a buck of a lifetime in the sandy low country soils of SC.

QDM, if you look at their site, is all about landowners and yes, lessors providing the deer on their properties the best nutrition, habitat, and a chance to grow up.

It was formed in the Southeast so it naturally is going to have that slant to it but I can't think of anyone who doesn't want the best for their deer herd- no matter what their thoughts are on leasing or trophy hunting.

[Plumbob]

heheh, Discussed, it was early.

My view of QDM is what I see on hunting shows I guess. It seems to me they are farming them animals, like you said " they want whats best for thier herd". To me that would take away from the thrill of seeing a big buck.

Thanks for the post.

[Ray Hammond]

plum...I think you should go to the meeting...unless its fenced, you aren't farming cause they can go where they want, right? if you plant food and they eat it and then they run over on the next guy's place you don't get to do the harvesting. Its more about letting the little ones walk than anything...in a cooperative way....all the landowners get together and decide that they aren't going to be shooting little bucks....does no good for YOU to pass up stuff only to have it walk in front of your neighbor landowner and he pops it, right?

In the south, we don't have the minerals in the soil in a lot of areas to grow big deer..so that's where the supplemental feeding comes in...you can't grow big horns in sandy soil unless you do something to supplement what they are getting. Don't really think thats a big issue in Idaho with all those big piles of stuff you call mountains!

[Bonebuster]

Unfortunately, here where I live, QDM has caused some problems.

"Joe Buck" preaching about not shooting young bucks while his hands are bloody from the spike he just shot.

Or someone letting a three yr old five point walk away, and shooting a 1 1/2 yr old eight point just because he had eight points. It is hard to educate people about QDM when they only think of deer hunting in the fall.

[hawk22]

The ideas expressed by QDMA make sense.  If you pass on the younger deer, they will theoretically get older. I find it harder to kill mature deer than young deer. I don't like how the QDMA calls killing a deer a "harvest". Its an animal, not a cornfield. I thought QDMA's flyers would consist of more information. Instead it's more like a catalogue for their merchandise.  Their basic concepts make a lot of sense, I just don't think they are running the show the right way.

[QDMA]

QDM is often confused with trophy deer management but they are distinct management strategies.  The goal of trophy deer mgt. is to produce fully mature bucks (5 years old and older) with high-scoring racks.  Under these programs, bucks aren't shot until they're at least 5 years old (except for "cull" bucks).  The goal of QDM is to balance the deer herd with its habitat and allow some bucks to reach the mature age classes.  Having the right number of deer for the habitat is good for deer herds, the habitat and other wildlife species.  Having bucks in all age classes is good for the deer herd (and for us hunters) and is accomplished by passing young bucks.  Some QDM programs pass yearling bucks and shoot bucks 2 years old or older while others pass yearlings and 2 year olds.  Remember, trophy management programs don't shoot bucks until they are 5 years old or older.  Do you get bucks with larger racks in QDM programs?  Absolutely, because that's a byproduct of good management.  Antlers are a reflection of herd and habitat health.  I encourage you to attend the meeting you mentioned.  I'll bet you'll find you have a lot in common with the attendees.