QDM success

[BSK]

What a properly designed and implemented QDM program can produce on smaller lands.

None of these deer are monsters or "trophies," but that isn't what QDM is designed to produce.

 

[RUGER]

Man, I love that first picture.
Heck of a choice on opening morning huh?

 

[Radar]

BSK , the area in Hickman that I get most of my trail cam pictures is a small tract of only 170 acres , and the landowner does not practice QDM .
I'm the only person who passes up yearling bucks . My problem is trying to kill enough does . I'm gradualy convincing the landowner to pass up the smaller bucks and hammer the does . We are finally seeing some more mature bucks on the property .
Another situation that may be helping the buck age structure is that the new neighbors haven't allowed hunting on their 1400 acres for the past two seasons . This used to be a " if it's brown it's down lease" .
My biggest concern is that the doe population will explode and it will be hard to control the numbers .

 

[KamoKilla]

they would be trophies in my book

 

[BSK]

Radar,

Having a large "refuge" next door can be a major problem. In fact, that is becoming a real big problem in Unit L counties as more "city people" who don't hunt buy tracts of land in the country. They don't allow hunting on their land hence creating these refuges that will hold a large number of deer. This makes managing neighboring tracts very difficult, as no matter how many does you harvest, does from the neighboring refuge property keep moving in and filling those gaps.

 

[BSK]

some of the racks are pertty nice, but you can definitely tell by the bodies, they are good and healthy, and reaching a mature age

And that's the point psycho. We're not trying to grow "trophies," just an older buck age structure. It makes for a fun and exciting rut, and every hunter on the property has a realistic opportunity to kill a "nice" buck every year.

Now a QDM program can and will produce the occassional trophy buck, but that would just be icing on the cake. The cake is the goal.

 

[HOOK]

Nice Bryan...Has that buck slipped into his winter coat already?? :O

 

[BSK]

Yes, most of the deer are molting into their winter coats, and bucks typically do so first.

 

[hunter drew]

cool I like to read your post BSK on the QDM if you could give some tips what would they be

 

[BSK]

...if you could give some tips what would they be

Honestly hunter drew, the most important tips I can give are basic things most hunters/managers rarely do in much detail--develop a long-term plan. And I mean an "in writing" plan. And that plan should be an honest evaluation of several factors, inlcuding:

1) What you really want out of the program--what would you consider to be a solid measure of success?

2) What are you willing to give up to get there?

3)What are the limitations of the property? What factors will limit success?

4) Are your goals realistic, considering all limiting factors, including time, money, will-power, etc.?

Having a clear set of realistic goals and a detailed plan to follow are amazingly critical factors to success. Everybody involved in the project needs to have read the plan and agree with it. Everybody needs to be on the same page.

 

[hunter drew]

Cool thanks BSK

 

[BSK]

Here's another absolutely CRITICAL factor to success that no one ever talks about but is so important it needs to be mentioned repeatedly. Although this is going to sound condescending, the truth is, to have a successful QDM program, especially success harvesting the animals being produced, the hunters involved will have to seriously upgrading their hunting skills. Producing a balanced herd isn't that difficult, but harvesting the older bucks the program produces requires specific hunting tactics and skills. Basically, growing older bucks is easy. Killing them is not. The tactics that proved successful for regularly killing younger bucks will not cut it for regularly killing old bucks. Old bucks are so different than young bucks it's as if they're a completely different species.

To date, I've never seen a properly designed and implemented QDM program fail to acheive the biological goals. However, I have seen numerous QDM programs "fail" in their harvest goals. The hunters simply can't kill the older bucks being produced. Old bucks are really hard animals to see and kill, and doing so requires commitment to learning older buck patterns and then hunting them at the right time and with extreme adherence to scent control issues.

 

[hunter drew]

Thanks from what i have been able to tell while hunting older bucks they really don't let you know they are in the area like rubs but i do find their scrapes does that sound about right

 

[Chris Tripp]

cool I like to read your post BSK on the QDM if you could give some tips what would they be

join QDMA... lots of good info in Quality Whitetails

 

[BSK]

cool I like to read your post BSK on the QDM if you could give some tips what would they be

join QDMA... lots of good info in Quality Whitetails

Quality Whitetails is the ONLY good source of scientifically based management information available. Most of th articles aren't written by "outdoor writers" (no offense Bowriter), but by the top deer scientists in the world.

 

[BSK]

Thanks from what i have been able to tell while hunting older bucks they really don't let you know they are in the area like rubs but i do find their scrapes does that sound about right

When it comes to killing mature bucks, the most important pieces of advice I can give are:

1) Hunt near thick cover.

2) Hunt where no one else has been hunting.

3) Don't hunt the same stand locations over and over.

4) Play the wind, never hunt a stand when the wind is "wrong," and do all you can to reduce your scent.

 

[Chris Tripp]

Thanks from what i have been able to tell while hunting older bucks they really don't let you know they are in the area like rubs but i do find their scrapes does that sound about right

When it comes to killing mature bucks, the most important pieces of advice I can give are:

1) Hunt near thick cover.

2) Hunt where no one else has been hunting.

3) Don't hunt the same stand locations over and over.

4) Play the wind, never hunt a stand when the wind is "wrong," and do all you can to reduce your scent.

ditto... excellent advice

 

[hunter drew]

Thanks guys very much