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Best of Luck to everyone this season!! Hope you all have a safe trip to camp, and a great safe hunt!

Just driving down the road and I saw a deer standing on a field road so I Pulled a quick u turn got back to him. When I pulled up to glass him he must have been a button buck or small spike but he put his head down and started running around like he was hot on the trail of something he ran around th field head down back and forth just like a dog. I would not have believed it this early if I didn't see it myself

Holy Jesus! When I made that statement, YOU hadn't even posted yet, so why do you think it's only YOU who I am accusing? If you believe that QDM SHOULD be followed by everyone and the state should mandate it, then YES, I am accusing you. If you believe that QDM should be followed by only those who want to and everyone else is free to do what they wish, than you are off the hook. I've got to tell you and I could care less who it offends. Some of you food plotters, QDM, AR, people are some of the most sensitive souls walking Gods green earth. You guys flip out over anyone questioning your ideologies even in the slightest!!

If a person can't wait until after the hunt to have a drink , they have a drinking problem . And , I don't care how you spin it with a glass of wine , one or two beers , etc .. Better that they attend their AA Meetings !

Qdm... a lot of talk about older bucks here....not much about habitat, balancing numbers(sex ratio). the problem with qdm as a moniker is that it is equated with trophy management which in my opinion is all i see in this thread so far..... Older bucks are a part of it unfortunatly the are the only part that seems to get focused on. How about the fact that my yearling deer gained almost 15lbs dressed weight on average since i started in 1995.or that 2 year olds are up almost 40lbs. or that my buck to doe ration is almost 1-2,5. Just the fact everytime i go in the woods i see a buck! .... get off the older big buck thinking and improve your overall herd health!!!

I don't think there are any states that have mandatory qdma.. just antler restrictions... mostly because you can't force guys to enhance their land. or even shoot "x" amount of does.. you can only lead the horses to water you can't make them drink. Education on proper deer management would far better serve the concept of QDM than mandatory rules.

@^@#%^ thread. I looked at this thread this AM before i left for work around 6am and i get 15 miles down the road and what do you think is standing there - fat doe and two yearlings. She stands there looking at the truck like "what you expect me to move" so i gave her a little nudge with the truck. Guy behind me learned why its not a good idea to tailgate. Had a nice big 6pt dart in front of me tonight at about 7:30 on the way home.

How is their testosterone rush any better or worse than of those who think it's more manly to kill only big bucks??? I see mighty little difference. We all shoot what makes us happy and gives us a rush and it should continue to stay that way. Implementing QDM promotes one philosophy at the expense of the others when they aren't allowed to shoot what they want just because QDM people think they shouldn't be. QDM thinkers call everyone else selfish, when the truth is that they are the most selfish lot of all. The DEC manages deer numbers, and will never manage them for the benefit of the QDM thinkers. No reason to. Deer get shot by hunters and that is all that will ever be important to them. You want QDM, you can certainly participate in it on YOUR land.

This was opening day in long island....best part was that i had him on my trail camera most of the summer.... spent many sleepless night thinking about him...

Remember that a management plan is just that.. a plan.. something that is thought out based on what is needed to insure a healthy habitat for the animals on the property without distrubing their natural activity.. a wildlife management plan is for the benefit of the wildlife first.. then the bi-product is a benefit to the hunter... otherwise it is only a plan to get more animals into killing range and falls short of being a wildlife managememnt plan.

There are no deer on stateland so stay home and watch football There are deer on stateland , I find it advantageous not to talk about what I see or even what stateland I hunt. Ive learned the hard way when I was younger that loose lips sink ships. All I can say is scout every last inch in the off season preferably with snow on the ground. You will be able to see where the deer are all the time. Know where the other hunters park and access the land and use this to your advantage, even if you have to walk the long way around in the dark to get to it. Stay off the trails and I dont mean parrallel them either. If a walking or snowmobile trail go's through it hunters will use them, I find the deer know this to and avoid the area.Though I have seen exceptions to that rule 99% of the time if you are within 300 yrd's of a trail you probably won't see deer. Get a topo map or google map the areas and look for areas with limited access and evil terrain and you can almost garrentee it is only hunted by the most diehard of hunters. And once you find a good spot it doesnt hurt to get a little mischevious and redirect everyones attention to the other side of the stateland with fake massive rubs, and scrapes along the road and off through the woods in the opposite direction. Not that I would do that

7M and 7J Chenango County

I cut that deeer from the sternum to the hole I just spread the chest cavity apart and dumped all the blood out of her carefully. I can't wait to hammer a buck in a couple weeks!

You're ready Grizz but you missed the dime !

I still can get a bit excited about a brown bear bow hunt or a good production on archery moose hunting, or any of the other more "exotic" animals that you just don't see that much. But the standard deer hunting show is just plain boring. There is nothing there that I haven't seen a thousand times before. Honestly, it is just like watching the same re-runs over and over. Different hunters ..... different deer ...... same results. In fact I do equate those deer hunting shows to the standard bass fishing show. Unless I am looking for a good couch-time nap, I never watch either anymore. The last deer hunting video that I actually enjoyed was Bowhunting October Whitetails by the Wentzels back somewhere in the 70's.