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Quality Deer Management -
Getting Started is as Easy as 1-2-3
By Tom Fassbinder

While traveling North America attending deer shows and expos I frequently find myself engaged in conversations where someone says something like the following: "I would like to start a Quality Deer Management (QDM) program where I hunt but…. I do not own the property … or ….It is only 200 acres and the neighbors will not cooperate … or … I do not have the equipment to plant food plots … or … I just do not know how to get started …. Can you help me?"

Let me start by sharing my first hand experience with basic QDM Strategies. I do not own any hunting ground. All the land I hunt on is surrounded by heavily hunted farm ground. Quite a few years ago my brother Jim began diligently informing the hunters in our camp of the benefits we could realize if we started following some very basic QDM strategies. In the years since, the deer in the immediate area have shown continual improvement and the bucks, well they just keep getting bigger!

But before we go any further you need to know that QDM is not for everyone. QDM is a journey, not a destination. The ultimate goal of serious QDM participants is simply to improve the overall health of the deer herd on their property. You may start your QDM program with a goal of increasing the size of the bucks on your property, but as your knowledge and experience increases your goals will likely gravitate towards overall herd health as well.

If you would like to get started in a very basic QDM program the following strategies will provide the necessary information you need. It is important to note that this information is geared towards hunters who are just getting started in QDM. This information is not all-inclusive but it will help build a QDM foundation and will provide results that you will be able to see, and possibly hang on the wall of your game room within a few years.

#1 Stop Shooting Immature Bucks

I was taught at a young age that one definition of insanity is to continue to do the exact same thing over and over but each time expecting a different result that you got the last time you did it. This seems like pretty basic knowledge, yet each year thousands of deer hunters shoot the first buck they see and then wonder why they are never "lucky" enough to shoot a big buck. The point is that if you want to shoot BIG bucks it is imperative that you let little bucks grow up! Stop shooting immature bucks!

Most hunters get involved in QDM because they want to create opportunities to hunt mature bucks. A healthy deer herd requires more mature bucks and fewer does than currently exist in most areas. As a general rule, you will need to maintain a 3 to 1 ratio of does to antlered bucks for your area to have healthy mix.

There are several ways to avoid shooting immature bucks. Antler restrictions are the most popular format. Many hunters place a self-imposed minimum point restriction on themselves. A popular restriction is that the buck must have eight or more points to be considered fair game. I dislike this method as it typically leads to the shooting of young bucks with great future potential. As an example, consider a nice 2 ½ year old deer with a 10-point rack and 16" spread. With the 8-point rule this buck is fair game. However, hunters wanting to grow bigger bucks would be wise to let this one walk. In two to three years he will likely be a record book buck of true trophy proportions! 2 ½ year old 10-pointer with a 16" spread scoring 140 B&C or a 5 ½ year old 10 pointer with a 21 inch spread scoring 170 B&C - You decide which one best fits your QDM ambitions!

• Their body is generally thicker
  
• Their snout is longer
  
• Their neck is fuller
  
• The skin on their face is loose giving the appearance of saggy cheeks
• The may have a pot belly and a swayed back

Among hunters it is a common belief that if they pass on the young 10-pointer that it will not help in the long run because the neighbors or the next hunter to come along will shoot it the first chance they get!

While the neighbor might get a few of them, I believe that even in sections where land ownership is split up in parcels of less than 200 acre and hunting pressure is heavy, that up to 50% of the deer that you let walk will escape the neighbors and survive the hunting season.

#2 Increase the Harvest of Mature Does

Odds are that if you are in a heavily hunted area where QDM is typically not widely practiced that the buck to doe ratio is out of balance. As I mentioned previously, three (3) does to one (1) antlered buck is a good goal to strive for. When the ratio is higher than 3 to 1 several undesirable things can happen. For starters with the excess of does it allows inferior bucks to participate in the breeding activities, which in turn pollutes the gene pool. You would prefer to have the biggest strongest and best bucks breeding the does. Undesirable ratios extend the duration of the rut, which causes later fawn birth dates ultimately sending fawns into their first winter undersized and unprepared. An extended breeding season also places a higher stress level on the bucks as they expend high levels of energy over a longer period of time and enter winter in a weaker condition than necessary.

Since you are now passing on the small bucks it is wise to harvest a mature doe instead. Hunting for a mature doe offers a substantial challenge and the bounty makes great table fare.

A word of caution! Once you've decided to harvest a doe it becomes critical that you actually accomplish what you set out to do. Many hunters start out with good intentions and actually shoot what they believe to be a "big doe" only to find that what they thought was a big doe is really a yearling (six-month-old) button buck. When you see a doe group it is important to realize that 50% of the deer in the group might be button bucks.

Button bucks are typically bigger than their female siblings and often tend to be a bit bolder and more curious. As a doe group works its way down your game trail it will likely be led by a button buck. Many hunters see the button buck and believe it is a mature doe. The realization that you shot a button buck when you thought you were taking a big doe is similar to the "ground shrinkage" feeling that buck hunters experience when they realize that the big trophy 10 pointer that they shot is really an immature 2 ½ year old deer that had the potential to be a real wall hanger if it had been given a few years to grow.

Learning to easily identify adult does is similar to identifying adult bucks. Learn to look more at the body width, the length of the snout and the size of the head before making a decision. Don't make the "button buck" mistake!

#3 Provide Food Plots

You don't need a 10-acre field or high tech equipment to provide improved nutrition to the deer in your area. There are several varieties of no-till plants available that are designed to improve the vitamin and mineral intake of whitetails. Plots as small as ¼ of an acre can have a positive impact. Remember, your just starting out and your initial goal is to improve the existing conditions.

One low cost way to accomplish this is to fertilize the nut producing trees in your hunting area. Most common fertilizers intended for a homeowner's lawn work fine. A high nitrogen number (which is the first of the three numbers) is what you want. I look for a 25-5-10 or 25-0-10. Simple lawn fertilizer applied in the spring at the drip-line of a white oak will help ensure an improved acorn crop and provide an important fall food source that whitetails crave. If you have ever been in a treestand near a white oak when it started dropping its acorns you already know that deer relish the nuts!

The intent of a food plot effort is very diverse but for your initial goal the long and short of it is to make sure that the deer in your area get everything they need to properly develop their skeletal structure. After meeting the nutritional requirements for the skeletal structure the body can then divert excess minerals to antler development. The results will be bigger bodied deer with bigger antlers.
Hunting natural preferred food source locations is perhaps the most consistent way to harvest whitetail deer including big bucks throughout the entire deer season. Sure, the two-week period of the rut may cause you to change tactics a bit, but remember this; bucks are where the does are during the rut and the does are going to always be on the preferred food sources, all season.

The Future is Now

There is no need to wait any longer. Using the above strategies you can implement a basic QDM strategy on your hunting property starting now! Once you get started you will likely want to learn more and implement some advanced strategies but for now the above items are quiet simple, highly effective and within a couple years you will start to see bigger, healthier deer on your property. It is as easy as 1-2-3!