Quality Deer Management and Antler Restrictions

[Prill87]

Traditional Deer Management - Any antlered buck is harvested. Few doe are harvested. Typically result in unbalanced herds from a sex perspective and very few mature bucks.

Quality Deer Management - Younger bucks are typically not harvested. Aggressive doe harvest. Aim to have a balanced herd from an age and sex perspective.

States who practice quality deer management typically implement antler restrictions to protect most 1.5 year old buck. They also offer an aggressive amount of doe tags.

Trophy Deer Management - Only mature deer are harvested. Aggressive doe harvest. Not as widely practiced as traditional deer management or quality deer management.

https://www.qdma.com/qdm-vs-trophy-traditional-deer-management/

PA Game Commission conducted a study that concluded antler restrictions accomplished most of the intended affects on the deer population with the exception of changing the breeding time.

http://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/Wild...r/Pages/AntlerRestrictionsAreTheyWorking.aspx

Thoughts or comments?

Mine - I only harvest mature bucks (shoot for 3.5+). I shoot as many does as I am legally allowed.
Does fill the freezer and taste better, but I enjoy hunting mature bucks.

 

[bigcat93]

I think many hunters do what they have been taught, and many others lack the ability, genetics, or land to practice QDM or trophy management. With that being said, if someone does not have permission on private property or doesn't have cooperative neighbors one can always pass on 1.5, 2.5, and even 3.5 year old bucks but will everyone else who hunts the same tract or neighboring properties? I believe it is very hard to adopt and establish this type of management.

For me, after reading various forums, books, magazines, and seeing the type of deer my mentors have harvested over the years and seeing now what types of bucks they pass has given me more peace of mind at passing smaller/younger deer. This year I tried (and succeeded) in harvesting bucks only bigger, not necessarily number of points, than I had previously. But it is hard. This being only my third year hunting I have been lucky to gain permission from family and friends that hold some very decent deer and deer genetics.

And I agree Prill I have also tried to fill all my doe tags, but I also have long time friends who have hunted for far more years than I who strictly just try to shoot bucks and are now seeing that they do not have many on the property that they hunt.

 

[DIYSaddler]

There's an article in bowhunter nov/dec page 18

 

[kenn1320]

Qdm doesn't promote aprs, but realizes some states use them as a means to advance the age structure. Aprs work when practiced, but some studys like NY I believe didn't show a change in age structure. They only did 2 counties if I recall correctly and after reading all the dnr reports in Mi of people shooting illegal bucks, I have no doubt people in NY did the same thing. The old get it on the car and your ok mentality.

As for Qdm stand on doe harvest, its more about carrying capacity, not buck/doe ratio. That is where guys get in trouble and blast too many does in the name of Qdm. Sex ratios dont get that out of whack, nature doesn't allow it. I know, I know, you see 10 does in the field and 1 buck, horrible ratio. Bucks are elusive, the ratio isn't that bad. Lets say you have that scenario, 1/10 buck doe in a pen. Buck breads the does and you kill him. Now what? Well male fawns are born at a ratio of 54% so slightly more often than female. Lets say worst case all does have twins, even split male/female. Fawns aren't counted in the ratio, which is another reason hunters think their ratio is so bad. Ok so now we have 10 adult does and 20 fawns. Assuming no mortality you can see your ratio will be 1:2 buck/doe. You have 10 males and 20 females and you killed the only buck you started with. Its best to do some homework and not just fill permits. The larger your herd within reason the more bucks to hunt. If your herd only supported 5 bucks a yr and your hunters routinely killed 5 bucks, your not going to see bigger bucks. The more bucks born, the better their odds of surviving. States with lots of hunters need a larger herd. Dnr doesn't micro manage, they can't. They create dmu's or zones that cover large areas. They might have a quota of 5000 doe permits in an area. Some areas in that zone might have 50 deer per sq mile hence the number of permits. If your in an outlying portion and only have 10 dpm, shooting a bunch might not be wise. Use your best judgment.