Qdma

With all this talk and my new found interest in food plots, along with my wanting to only take mature deer I jointed the QDMA. Its only been here in NH for 4 years. There are only a handful of guys involved right now. With any luck and with work maybe they/we can shine a new light on deer management here in NH. I know that Kipp Adams is a big wheel in the QDMA and he ran our deer program for a number of years and started a lot of the changes to the laws in deer hunting here. At first I was resistant to the changes but now I think there were put in place to improve the deer herd and that means in the long term the deer hunting. I'm looking forward to working with landowners to try to improve the habitat for the deer. Oh and yes it is somewhat self-serving but in the big picture will benefit the deer. Any of you guys involved with the QDMA? Some of the posts on here have asked about smaller properties and they, the QDMA, have been working with smaller property owners in Ohio, SC, and other states to make improvements by way of coops.

[timberghost]

That's very cool news ronn. Maybe you'll start a new trend here and have a few followers. Definitely sounds like positive progress for the wildlife there.

[joel the signman]

nope not a member.i've seen lots of fights start over QDMA.

[BruceBruce1959]

Good Luck with that ronn, It can't hurt to join and try to learn from it.

not much anyway Bruce. Vt understand has a few chapters and they are doing pretty well.

[BruceBruce1959]

I think Vermont only has one branch which really doesn't surprise me at all. Most Vt. hunters want better hunting but not many are willing to do what it takes to get there.
(harvesting more doe's passing on the smaller younger bucks, create yards, develop and maintain food plots for those who have the land)

[Buckshot]

Not a member although I should be. QDMA had their national meeting here in Chattanooga recently and I was unable to go. My brother did and said it was very informative with some shocking presentations for some folks.

We talked about quite a few things but one that stands out is the proposition that the standard for a shooter buck should not be antler size but body weight. I know a QDM club I belong to has a 100 inch minimum to achieve a 3.5 year old harvest which according to the presentation is the wrong way to approach it. Antler growth can be affected by many things that have nothing to do with age, but body weight is almost always going to be determined by age.

He said the radio collar studies were very enlightening to. Apparently the older bucks in the study spent 90% of their time in a core area of 20 to 30 acres. When they did leave the area they would go out and back like spokes on a wheel. I always thought that a buck would travel in a circular route with a base area of a mile or so, but this is not true. This really changes how I will scout a buck.

my understanding is that the size of that area depends on where you are, there are a lot of factors involved. That was on their show the other day as well.

[delbert]

arkansas has a 3 point rule ....i make it a 4 point rule on the farm...and my neighbor rents 60 ac next to me and sticks with the rule.....we have a lot of food out thier through the winter, and the deer stay close,,,last year they stayed on the plot all night,,,,,,with 5 ac of tall corn and millo for cover food , mixed with other food plots in between i hope to make them more comfortable......on the clearing.....during shooting hours

[Hunting Man]

as far as i can tell based upon our area bucks tend to travel at least 1/2 mile maybe more. This is based upon kills and sightings with-in our hunting group. With rub lines and scrapes that's still not a giant area to scout/set up in. The fewer the does the greater the travel area.