QDMA & Gun hunting

[matchset]

does it exist?

are there any "strictly gun" gals/guys that practice QDMA or is primarily a "bowhunter" phenomenon?

i know i'm stirring the pot, but what do you think, see, or know about the topic!?!?!

[leech~~]

i know i'm stirring the pot, but what do you think, see, or know about the topic!?!?!

Yes you are. Check for the Millon posts on this already! But, what the heck not much going on out side for a while. May as well beat this to death again!

[matchset]

this is not just a QDMA discussion.... when i think of it, i think bowhunting.

do gun hunters practice "trigger finger management"?

[DHost21]

LOL I love this! I hunt the gun season only for a big buck. But im a mainly bow hunter so this doesnt apply to me much cause like you said. In the bowhunting community it isnt out of the ordinary to practice QDMA but it does seem like more gun hunters dont care

[PerchJerker]

I bow hunt and gun hunt and have the same standards of what I will or won't shoot for both weapons. The guys I hunt with are all the same way too.

Every year I hunt with some gun-only hunters, and they are expected to follow the same standards that us bow-and-gun hunters use.

So for us at least, QDMA and gun hunting are pretty much the same thing.

[mainbutter]

so.. what is "QDMA"?

I'm going to assume you're talking about radio protocols and Quadrature Division Multiple Access.

[tunrevir]

Quality deer management association. We practice QDM on our property in Wisc and manage the property for trophy bucks be it bow, gun or muzzy season. The exception is that younger (new) hunters as they are old enough to hunt are allowed to take a smaller buck if they choose.

Tunrevir~

[mrklean]

i think both bow hunters and gun hunters practice it, just like some bow and gun hunters don't practice it its a mixed bag

[picksbigwagon]

well, do you gun hunt or simply bow hunt? QDM is a land management for quality deer. I would assume that each private land owner (or renters) decides what a Quality Deer is. Now if you are talking about hunting on Public land, I am sure there are people out there who selectively harvest their deer, I do, but I also enjoy venison. I will always take a doe before a basket 6 or 8, but I don't field grade the bucks I have shot (one and he was a big one).

There is no state wide mandated QDM and if that is where you want this discussion to go, we have been there over and over and over. My attitude has changed about zone 3 somewhat, but I really think it should still be the individual hunters who selective harvest and not the state

[NoWiser]

I used to bow hunt back when I had more time in college. I haven't for 5 years now. So, you could say I strictly rifle hunt. Yes, I do practice QDM in that if I shoot a buck, it has to be a mature buck. I have also converted my dad after many years of preaching. There are no other hunters near where I hunt, so we know that our actions will directly affect the quality of our hunts in the future. If we do invite someone else with us, they are expected to follow our rules.

That said, I learned about QDM while bowhunting in Wisconsin, where it was more of the rule than the exception. Until then all I knew was "brown its down" from hunting in Minnesota, where passing up a spike buck was unthinkable, and would have gotten me in big trouble from the hunting camp I was a part of at the time.

[gixxer01]

Quality deer management association. We practice QDM on our property in Wisc and manage the property for trophy bucks be it bow, gun or muzzy season. The exception is that younger (new) hunters as they are old enough to hunt are allowed to take a smaller buck if they choose.

Tunrevir~

+1

QDM doesn't change from season to season. If your goal is to produce large bucks, the small ones need to make it to the next year. Like mentioned above, the only exceptions our Wisconsin Lease makes is for the youngsters and the wives (the ones that dictate whether we hunt or not). Everyone else is bound by a strict code of management. We've got guys that hunt the lease bow, rifle, and muzzleloader. If any lessee shoots a deer outside of our management bi-laws, they are terminated from the lease.

[lichen fox]

I'll always pop the first doe I get a decent shot at for the freezer, no matter what the weapon...but, I do like to keep a buck tag open in case I get a chance at a decent buck...if that opportunity eludes me for most of whatever season I'm hunting...I set a date on the calander and after that I'll start shooting does again to try and fill my tag or tags for the freezer....But consider this....with what has gone on with TB and is going on with CWD in parts of MN deer herd...

We should probably come up with a new management plan....how about??

HDM...Healthy Deer Management!!

Two potentially devestating diseases found in area's with high deer density's in the last 6 years??? What other realatively "unknown" disease is lurking out there....I think overall management should first focus on herd health...not numbers...not antlers.

[Bear55]

In my experience most QDM people are either bow or bow/rifle hunters with a smaller number practicing QDM during rifle season only.

I have zero numbers to back this up and any guess on % of each would mean nothing. I am just kind of basing my guess off the deer hunters I know on these forums and in the areas of the state I hunt.

Hmm do we dare ask about Black Powder season?

[nonteepical]

QDM isn't archery,gun or muzzleloader season, it's spring, summer, winter and fall season. Thats the fun of QDM it's "all year deer season".

[BRULEDRIFTER]

I gladly practice NSLB, (not shooting little bucks) (might as well not disguise it with the feel good acronym QDM) when I have a doe in the freezer, but I'll pop whatever I see if'n when the end is near and tag soup is on the menu.

[lichen fox]

I've been eating tag soup all winter...anybody need some recipes?

QDM isn't archery,gun or muzzleloader season, it's spring, summer, winter and fall season. Thats the fun of QDM it's "all year deer season".

So, if I subscribe to QDM I can still use my tag this spring?? GREAT!!!

[Musky Buck]

We do go grow, my grandpa put science to it 35 years ago, in his best finnish accent, if ya shoot da young buck he'll never grow into da large buck. If there's a lot of deer around take quite a few, if there isn't take less. It's about not having that itchy trigger finger over it knowing yeah it's a long wait to the next season, if it were too easy we wouldn't enjoy the pursuit of a mature buck so much.