… qdm and cia spy tactics have ruined deer hunting

Spy tactics just help to keep folks honest and not cheating.

How has qdm ruined deer hunting? Not much qdm on public land.

… raising deer to shoot them on a certain birthday… it’s farming not hunting

… hunting is going in figuring out what the deer are naturally doing and getting In amongst them

.. raising deer on feeders and food plots is artificial

.. it’s fine if that’s what some people like to do .. just don’t call it hunting

Hunting is not very efficient Savell,just snare em.Better even than farming them.

Too many variable (outside of a high fence) to call qdm deer farming. QDM is based on keeping deer healthy utilizing adequate doe harvest, selective buck harvest, habitat management....you know the 2 things hunters have a little control over: age and nutrition. Genetics = nobody can control that in free-range whitetails. Almost impossible in high fence also.

Personally, I approach feeding/food plots as a way for me to give back to the deer...instead of always just taking from that resource.

What do public land hunters do to give back to the game? Other than buy a license or permit? Btw..that license money is paying for those CIA tactics...lol...

Savell, I’ve never looked at it that way. Yeah, I feed year round, but you do realize this isn’t the only food on the property. This is there if they want it. Supplemental feeding. Look at my pics…every feed spot is under acorn producing trees with browse they eat in close proximity.

As far as names, yeah other than the deer I got a couple years ago, their names are based on their antlers. The Split G2, the Broke 9, the Tight 8. Names are so others know which deer were talking about.

We aren’t high fenced. Heck, most of the property has firebreaks and trees with signs designating the boundary. We’ve had buck’s pictures that were killed as far away as 5.2 miles as the crow flies. And that particular deer turned out to be over 200”

Heck, I don’t care what people shoot. Maybe it’s the adrenal rush I seek when targeting mature deer. I’ve really learned more skills from trapping than anything else. I guess it’s being in the woods over 300 days a year that’s turned me on to the knowledge of mature deer. You tend to notice things more when trapping. Trail cameras are used for everything I do, whether it’s trying to find predators, deer, turkeys, or even just curious about a certain den or hole in a tree.

You look at it as husbandry. I look at it as trying to better the herd. We have folks on here who trap and only take a certain amount of critters off each property. They’ll leave some and say it’s for seed. Not much difference, except we can choose what we take. I trap for different reasons, I trap to eliminate every predator there is on a particular property, but I have a soft spot for Red Fox. We don’t have many so IF I catch one it gets released. Sorta crazy for someone that wants to eliminate predators don’t you think? Let me start catching as many Reds as I do Greys in a season and I’ll change my mind. Once those numbers build then we’ll manage them. I’m lucky enough that my landowners understand from the very first time on their property that releases are at my discretion.
We do the same thing with deer. We manage the herd.

… that’s fine if that’s what you want to do… just call it what it is

… I’ve stated my opinion… you saying over and over again that you “manage a herd” only proves my farming statement though lol

… and I like the putting out feed “ it’s there if they want it” angle lol

… we put out range cubes for cattle even though there’s other food available … they come in on a rope when that bag rattles lol … got em named too… managing the herd

Your cattle ever ignore the feed? When the natural browse and acorns are around that feed will rot. These deer are wild and not caged up where you apparently trap, lol. Think you’re thinking deer farms where they have tags in their ears. Not quite that easy, lol. Notice I have trail cam pics and not phone pics…there’s a reason for that. Maybe we make it look easy to you because of the work we put in finding these deer, but trust me, it’s not go sit in a stand and they come running in. If you only knew the hours in a stand I put in to kill my deer you’d laugh. If you knew how many times I had to move the stand you’d laugh even harder.

If it was only as easy as cattle I’d be killing trophies every year. Doubt that would be much fun though, I’d miss the adrenaline rush of finding them and pursuing them.

… well if you’re having that much trouble getting on them let me give you a tip

… get down wind of your feed pile around noon lol

I keep up with some gee-whiz numbers each deer season. This season went a little faster than some past seasons when it comes to killing a mature buck. Took 6 days and 37.5 hrs to kill what I consider a mature/shooter buck. Usually takes 10 or more days and 60 plus hrs in a stand or blind. This is all private land hunting, except for 1 day....

.....the two 1.5 year old bucks listed as killed were taken on a 1-day public land (NWR waterfowl refuge) hunt. No selective harvest there.

I haven't hunted since November 17, 2023 (the NWR hunt.)

Georgia has a 2 buck (one with antler restrictions) and 10 doe limit per season. The NWR hunt was a bonus tag hunt.

… Jesus.. now y’all turning deer hunting into a community college statistics course lol

We have openings in the next college-level course, iffin' you need some more deer hunting education.

… I’m good … I learned about what y’all calling hunting in FFA lol

If I was making the argument that QDM and Spy cams ruined deer hunting I would make the argument that it has 600,000 (WI numbers) people sitting in a tree alone all saying this is my space no one else may look at it , this is my deer no one else may look at it

opposed to 600,000 people working together in small teams sharing comradery and pushing a deer woods , covering ground , talking with neighbors

sharing in the harvest , sharing in the work , sharing meals when the sun has set

kids learning to make a plan and execute a plan working with a compass and a watch , learning a woods , learning miles of area land.

working with their mentors

Here's what you get when you only kill mature bucks. These guys breed too. Don't tell me you trophy hunters would kill them because you won't cause you don't want to waste a tag. I waste my tags when I see them.

The million dollar question is how easy can we make hunting before the fun of the challenge is Lost. Unless you just hunt for bragging rights and attention. Should add for food also

I started feeding some about 5 years ago because my one boy is in a wheelchair and that makes it plenty of challenging unto itself. With that said between me and my boys we've only killed one buck at a feeder. This year I only put one out at a very margin piece of property we hunt.

I do like running cams just to see what's out there.

For last 6 years I've preferred to go out west and hunt muleys on public land, all spot and stock because of the challenge of it and my oldest is getting to be the same way.

I personally don't like as a whole what deer hunting has become and where it's going. I like hunting big bucks for the challenge of it. Big antlers are cool but not the end game. I am fortunate to live were there are big deer. But I'd rather hunting be more like it was 30 years ago when a 120 inch deer with a bow was pretty special that what is today.

If you don't hunt, fish, trap cook or whatever the way I like to do it you're doing it wrong! LOL. Kids these days.

… that might be a little dramatic there

… we’re just in here talkin a little trash

.. I was on a hunting club years ago and drug up after the first year because of all the “management” nonsense … it seemed them boys would get mad if somebody shot a deer … I’ve been giving those types crap ever since lol

That does happen. Even family will get mad with each other over antlers...crazy crap. I dont take it that far.