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Deer Science

It’s Time to Worry About Our National Doe Harvest, Especially in These States

Sep 27, 2023 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

In 1988, faced with declining hunter numbers and too many deer, our founders and leaders called deer hunters to action: reduce pressure on bucks and increase harvest pressure on does. Deer hunters responded and led…

Deer Science

Which Deer Aging Technique is More Accurate, Jawbone or Cementum?

Sep 20, 2023 Kip Adams

There are two methods hunters can use to estimate the age of harvested deer, and both rely on deer teeth. There is a lot of misunderstanding, misapplication, and misinformation shared about these valuable deer management…

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Deer Science

The Ideal Buck Aging Photo

Mar 9, 2012 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Since “Age This!” was launched in 2007, it has become a popular segment of QDMA’s Quality Whitetails magazine (In “Age This,” member-submitted photos of bucks are studied by a panel of five wildlife biologists who…

How Many Does Can I Harvest?

Mar 9, 2012 Kip Adams

“How Many Does Should I Harvest?” This is undoubtedly the most commonly asked question I receive each year as fall approaches. Hunters ask whether they should shoot any, a few, or a lot of does….

7 Steps to a Successful Cooperative

Mar 8, 2012 Donnie Wood

Gather a group of hunters who practice Quality Deer Management (QDM) and you’ll discover many similarities. All of us strive to harvest an appropriate number of antlerless deer when necessary and while not harvesting button bucks….

Leading Other Hunters to QDM

Mar 8, 2012 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

One November, my brother, Rans, showed me a video clip he filmed while bowhunting a small, suburban tract in Georgia. The clip included several minutes of footage of a nice 9-pointer working a scrape and…

Can Ticks Affect Antler Development?

Mar 2, 2012 Joe Hamilton

Recently someone asked me if ticks had been known to affect antler development, and then I captured the pair of photos above on my trail-camera. That prompted me to give this question more thought. The…

Detecting the Rut Peak

Mar 2, 2012 Kip Adams

Fetal aging sounds like a technique used by Ob/Gyn doctors and ultrasound technicians, but deer managers can learn a lot about the population they’re managing by taking some annual fetal measurements. Joe Hamilton, QDMA’s founder,…

The Biology of Bachelor Groups

Mar 2, 2012 Matt Ross

If you are monitoring local whitetails during summer through the lenses of your binoculars, or through the lens of a trail-camera, you’ve probably seen what are known as “bachelor groups.” These are groups of bucks…

How to Establish a QDM Cooperative

Jan 25, 2012 NDA Staff

“We would love to participate in a deer management program on our property, but those dirtbags across the fence shoot everything that moves. So, what’s the point?” Sound familiar? I’ve heard this countless times over…

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