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qdma


rutstrut
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I support and practice QDMA on my property, and it is far from trophy management.

First and foremost QDMA recommends protecting ALL 1.5 yr old bucks, and SOME 2.5 yr old bucks. They also recommend keeping doe numbers in check, low impact hunting, improving habitat, ethical hunting, giving back, education and support youth hunting.

I do food plots, I have good deer numbers, great hunting and though only 4 years have alot of 2.5 year old deer or older running around than 1.5 year old's at the moment. In 4 years I have harvested 1 2.5 year old and one 3.5 year old bucks, multiple does and have had the best hunting of my life.

This season I firmly believe I have a 5.5 to 6.5 year old buck, on cam.... 1 3.5 yr old and several 2.5 year old bucks.

I dont believe in AR mandated by law. I believe a hunter has the right to decide what he/she wants to harvest. For my place I started with 8pt min to help hunters who couldn't tell between 1.5 and 2.5, but now that everyone who hunts can tell the difference it is simply 2.5 years or older.

Plots vs feeders are night and day and so it solid minded QDMA and Trophy Management!

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I think it was 1995 when I did my first seminar on QDM... the resistance was unbelievable.. I thought I was going to get strung up some days for mentioning ARs or harvesting more does... or even for saying we needed to keep deer herds in balance with their habitat...fellas actually walked out of the room... usually not before screaming something like " I have killed a lot of old spike horns!!" or "if you kill does there won't be any bucks!!"

It's actually nice to see that guys are becoming more receptive to managing deer. Although I'm not a big fan of where QDM has been led.. I still think that the basic concept is a sound one and well worth the effort... not only for hunting purposes but for leading hunters to educate themselves a little about the animal that they so love to hunt.

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Does anyone know what biologists feel are the carrying capacity for deer throughout NY. Lets say agricultural verse old farm verse wooded areas?

I think it's hard to give figures for that. It depends on the individual properties. For example - have the woods been logged off and now have a good understory, vs woods that are park like? One good way to check to see if you're exceeding your carrying capacity is to check your browse lines. Are they very obvious as you look at your woods? If so, you're most likely exceeding your capacity.

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I am betting it would ne easier for you to come up with schematics for a cruise missle than the basis they use. The more I see in the decisions our DEC makes the more I believe they are based in politics and not sound biology. They at the least are a reactive bunch. I would love to see a program put in place after all factors are weighed....factors for the good of the animals and good of our sport. Now before anyone starts with the comments about the other recreations in our state....I say let them pony up the money we do and then they can have a voice.

As far as the carrying capacity of land....I would google Michigan....new York would have to go along way to catch ip to the herd research done there. I think I remember reading some studies on this and I am pretty sure it was Michigan.

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I'm not sure the DEC concerns themselves with optimum carrying capacity the way a good deer manager would.. they are limited to general population control of whitetails... it would be very hard for them to micro-manage small or private hunting lands. It would serve them better to educate guys on a general idea of controling herds in their own areas. I don't see how they could possibly manage deer other than in a general way. with so many hunters not on the same page about managing whitetails

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I think I would be really surprised if any state in the US can manage the herd in a pure QDM fashion. It's just not the sort of thing that any government agency can control when just about all of each state if privately owned. Plus just the scope and size of the acreage involved, makes it not very impractical for micro management. And then if you add in the current financial situations of NYS and many other states, it keeps them in pretty much of a survival mode. Of course they will never admit that, but it kind of stands to reason. Do they really have a handle on carrying capacity? ....... Probably not.

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