Is QDMA coming to our state? Its a hot button topic that almost every hunter has a stance or opinion on. That's where I differ from mob. This is truly one topic I cant can not fully commit to one side or the other. Each side has compelling arguments. For those of us new to QDMA and its concepts click HERE for its definition. Now remember that information is coming from a PRO QDMA website. It's basically the idea of never shooting any young buck, and harvesting does. The idea is to only kill 4+ year old bucks unless they possess "inferior" genes. Taking this at face value sound like a pretty good thing right? Well yes and no. There is some great advantages to this program. First and foremost of which is big mature deer. Seeing a huge, mature deer is something that can change a person for a lifetime. Its almost a spiritual experience to be in their presence. Lately there has been a recent push to make these practices law for many states. This is where I do take a personal stand. Ya see when your managing your property and you aim for those records books that's wonderful. More power to you. I start taking offense when certain people's thoughts on a subject impact others way of life. This starts to open a very large can of worms. It starts to change the entire mentality of hunting. It starts focusing on "trophy" white tails. Ill tell ya one thing, I don't want to be the man who has to define what that consists of. Does that make a 13 year old kid's first doe harvest any less of a trophy then a 150 class deer. Is that something that we want to teach our children? That the only thing that matters are Records? what about hard work, determination, and ethics. Where do these fall. One of the biggest concerns to our sport (or way of life) is declining numbers. I love to take new people hunting, hell I get more excited for them then I would for myself. Do I want to take them out in the field and tell them they have stay here until they kill a world class deer or nothing at all? I sure don't wanna do that. What about those people who just love the outdoors and spending time in them. When their biggest priority is just filling the freezer to feed their family. Someone who wants something that wasn't handled by hundreds of people on its trip to the table. I wouldn't want to tell a dozen people they had to play by those rules, let alone a entire state. I agree QDMA is great and everyone wants to see them Big Buck Deer but don't enter me in a antler contest I never signed up for.
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