QDM in OK

[Okie4570]

All these nice deer are what it looks like when hunters pass on small bucks! I think the ODWC's propaganda and education plan is working! Furthermore, I am glad they did not change regulations to force QDM on us and hope they continue to hold the course and allow hunters to make their own decisions! I said when they started this and will say it again. If Oklahoma can succeed with their plan our deer regulations and herd will be the envy of the nation!

Propaganda is right!! Just think what one buck and December rifle season could yield!

December rifle would be great.

That buck I shot the other weekend was the largest we had on camera in several years. Second largest I'd seen in a couple years. Cherokee County representing! Lol. I hadn't shot a buck in 5 years. Been passing small young bucks left and right right these past 5 years. If the neighbors did the same we'd be in good shape. But hell, they hunt with 'autoloading muzzleloaders' and their bows require hearing protection so that's a pipe dream.

I've found "neighbors" tend to be the limiting factor to most successful QDM programs.

That's not propaganda. That's FORCING via regulations. Which I am dead set against. Hell even in Iowa you are allowed to shoot two antlered deer!!!!

Nobody would envy our regulations then, we would just be like every other state that has forced QDM on their hunters. Lets lead, not follow.

We'll we were 3 bucks, now 2, we must have followed Iowa? Maybe we just keep following them and do ML or shotgun only, I'd be okay that. Every state forces regulations, that's why they're called regulations. Was OK switch from 3 to 2 bucks for QDM, herd health, populations or a combination of all? Has to be QDM because they've not varied the doe regs hardly at all in the last 30 years. So OK is forcing QDM, it's just a matter of how far certain individuals are willing to be happy with their decisions. I remember the wailing and crying when we went from 3 bucks to 2, now look at the bucks on web, FB, hunting shows that are coming out of OK in the just the last few years, this year especially, they're beasts and a bunch of them. Look what happened when just one buck was reduced. Would reducing it by one more buck improve it even more? There's no shortage of deer in OK, nobody would be starving because they can't shoot two bucks.
When is the last time the number of doe killed in OK, exceed the number of bucks killed? Ever? Never? In SE OK where the doe limits are the most restricted, my friends reports seeing the same number of does to bucks as I do, yet we can shoot a doe or multiple doe every day of the season.

Crazy thing is that none of this even really effects me or where I hunt, we already practice this, and it works. OK doesn't know what it's missing out on IMO.

http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/onebucklimit/

 

[brian89]

my observation of qdm in oklahoma is this: Since the ODWC dropped the buck limit to 2 the quality of deer have improved greatly, we have some giant deer in this state. People are passing young bucks and it is showing. I cant imagine what it would be like with a Kansas type season, 1 buck ,September early black powder/or bow season, and a December rifle season. I would be all for it. If you want to feed your family on deer, shoot does.. just my opinion

 

[makeithappen]

I agree. We're seeing a lot more quality deer the last few years, which, given when the change from 3 to 2 bucks was made, coincides.

Shooting does for meat makes perfect sense, but I'm in a weird predicament the last 3 years. The area I hunt has a handful of does that go into hiding like mature bucks. Between that and hogs, I'm seriously being faced with a really possibility of going deer-less for a second year, completely out of venison, or shooting one of the many young bucks I've seen, if I'm given the chance. It hurts my pride to think about, but I'd still be proud to take an archery deer on pressured public land at this point.

 

[Jared]

Okie4570 says...Has to be QDM because they've not varied the doe regs hardly at all in the last 30 years.

Really? Seems like the doe regs have changed drastically in the last two decades...We went from only being allowed to harvest does during archery and 1 during the last weekends of primitive and gun seasons to being able to harvest 2 does during primitive and gun seasons on any day of the season in zones 2, 7, & 8. Zones 3-6 & 9 you can harvest your primitive and gun doe on any day of the season. Zone 10 you can harvest your doe any day of primitive season and on all three weekends of the gun season. And zones 2-9 have a 10 day holiday season that allows 1 bonus antlerless. These are drastic changes to antlerless regulations by in some zones doubling how many does you can harvest annually with primiitve/gun. The biggest impact these regs have is giving more opportunity for a hunter to harvest a doe which resulted in more being harvested.

 

[retrieverman]

My family has practiced "QDM" for over 20 years, and "neighbors" can make or break any QDM program. I've quit hunting a place in TX after over 20 years just due to the neighbor's lack of self control (they shoot every buck that meets antler restriction and WON'T shoot does). Unfortunately, I'm seeing my OK place heading down the same path, and it sickens me. I'm probably in a different place than most folks on here in that I now own land, pay taxes, and manage my place solely to kill "trophy" bucks. Does are killed as part of the management process, but I absolutely don't do it for the meat. I can buy at least a couple whole cows a year for what I spend coming up there to hunt. That being said I love it and hope I can keep doing it the rest of my life, but if it gets to the point where the only bucks are young dinks, I'm out. I can literally walk out my back door if I just want to shoot a deer.

In the post quoted above, it was said that no one would envy OK regs if there was forced QDM, but to me, the better question is why would you "locals" want your states regs to be envied and encourage out of state a-holes like me buying up or leasing land and killing your big bucks?

 

[PiedmontGuy]

I think the regulations has something to do with it but technology has just as much to do with it as regulations. These affordable game/trail cameras allow you to KNOW what deer are there and gives you extra incentive to wait for that #1 or #2 on the hit list because you know that they are out there. Before using a handful of cameras, your first deer with antlers above and outside the ears was maybe your only shot at a buck because you only saw some evidence of a rub or scrape. Now you see 7-10 bucks showing up on camera and you have names for any of them that start showing potential.

 

[retrieverman]

I think the regulations has something to do with it but technology has just as much to do with it as regulations. These affordable game/trail cameras allow you to KNOW what deer are there and gives you extra incentive to wait for that #1 or #2 on the hit list because you know that they are out there. Before using a handful of cameras, your first deer with antlers above and outside the ears was maybe your only shot at a buck because you only saw some evidence of a rub or scrape. Now you see 7-10 bucks showing up on camera and you have names for any of them that start showing potential.

I agree with this idea to a point, but trail cameras have been pretty common since the mid to late 90's. Why has the buck quality really seemed to ramp up just over the last couple or three years? There has to be more to the equation.....

 

[Okie4570]

Okie4570 says...Has to be QDM because they've not varied the doe regs hardly at all in the last 30 years.

Really? Seems like the doe regs have changed drastically in the last two decades...We went from only being allowed to harvest does during archery and 1 during the last weekends of primitive and gun seasons to being able to harvest 2 does during primitive and gun seasons on any day of the season in zones 2, 7, & 8. Zones 3-6 & 9 you can harvest your primitive and gun doe on any day of the season. Zone 10 you can harvest your doe any day of primitive season and on all three weekends of the gun season. And zones 2-9 have a 10 day holiday season that allows 1 bonus antlerless. These are drastic changes to antlerless regulations by in some zones doubling how many does you can harvest annually with primiitve/gun. The biggest impact these regs have is giving more opportunity for a hunter to harvest a doe which resulted in more being harvested.

That's correct, early 80's it was the last day or weekend only during rifle/ML depending on county IIRC. The Holiday doe has been in place since 2001 or 2002? So yes there's been more changes than I recall I guess. It still doesn't account for more doe(antlerless) taken every year than antlered though. I believe it's somewhat better, but the desire to shoot any buck over a doe is still strong in this state.

 

[DEER 24/7]

I agree. We're seeing a lot more quality deer the last few years, which, given when the change from 3 to 2 bucks was made, coincides.

Shooting does for meat makes perfect sense, but I'm in a weird predicament the last 3 years. The area I hunt has a handful of does that go into hiding like mature bucks. Between that and hogs, I'm seriously being faced with a really possibility of going deer-less for a second year, completely out of venison, or shooting one of the many young bucks I've seen, if I'm given the chance. It hurts my pride to think about, but I'd still be proud to take an archery deer on pressured public land at this point.

Not being rude but I would find me a new place to hunt even if it is public land I would find me some different public land

 

[makeithappen]

Not being rude but I would find me a new place to hunt even if it is public land I would find me some different public land

No offense taken. There's a lot of factors at play. 18 month old twins being a huge one. There are great deer where I hunt, but only hunting 1 day a week really hurts my ability to observe and adjust.

With the hogs showing up, the deer are moving to private land as the public is a sanctuary for the hogs. Since public land doesn't allow baiting. I can't trap the hogs.

The doe numbers. I have no clue as to why they're do low. But I have bucks on camera that'll make your mouth water, so I keep persevering.