Thanks

[venado]

Thanks for adding the QDM Forum.

[southtexas]

Wonder if Badger is going to join us...

[Badger]

southtexas,

Hello.

Badger

[venado]

Hello badger, Glad you are here at the new site. Since you favor check stations, I assume that you are following the published info on the one set up by the QDMA group in Luzerne County. Not that it is close to where you hunt but it is an all volunteer setup that is finding some useful information for that area. Some of them conclude that it would be better to manage gamelands separately from other hunting locations. Any thoughts on that and perhaps you could get a group together to do a volunteer check station where you hunt? There is no doubt that you could learn a lot from that though not much about populations, etc.

[Badger]

venado,

I did not hear about the voluntary deer check stations over in Northeast PA. I disagree with you when you say check stations do not gather population data. In NH they gather great deer data, far exceeding the PGC's self-serving deer "Estimated Kills" year-by-year. We must have MANDATORY Deer Check stations for two or three years in PA to CONFIRM, OR Refute, the PGC Lauditory deer-kill ESTIMATES.

There is a coorelation between deer kills and deer populations, after a 2 or 3 year Baseline is established. We are working on deer check stations to confirm PGC "Scientific (?)" Deer Kill Estimates. Since the Game Commission refuses to listen to PA hunters, we have found receptive State Representatives and Senators, many of whom are deer hunters, and have seen PGC deer management failures first hand. QDMA is not thought of highly hereabouts. Old farmers want to see deer, again. I am confident we will once we get the PGC reined in and back to serving the folks who pay their bills and bought ALL the Game Lands.

Badger

[swamp]

There is like one thread on this forum.... i mean if this topic is to have its own dedicated forum then i do hope more activity picks up....

[venado]

Swamp, there was significant QDM activity on the old HA Forum. QDM is a cyclical activity that comes and goes with seasons and specific state actions. If you want to remove the QDM topic, go ahead. I did not realize that individual topics had any bearing on the cost or effort required to host a forum.

[swamp]

I am all for this forum... I am hoping for more posts on here and other forums too... Just trying to keep the number of forums to a minimum... no offense intended...

[venado]

Badger, the reference was to "volunteer" check stations. I do not know what you could learn about deer numbers from that as I said. Perhaps you can tell us how that would help with deer counts and if you really believe that to be true then why not get out and form your own "volunteer" check station group and see what sort of useful info you can collect from those that volunteer to go to your stations. Since you and the old farmers are so unhappy you should be able to get almost 100% volunteers..

[armjr]

I was out for a while this past weekend. Saw plenty of deer and even one with something on his head. I didn't get a real good look but enough to see growth. We were very lax this past year and didn't take any deer to speak of, no more than ten off the whole place. Two bucks an 8 pt one of the girls shot and a cull that #1 son shot. Four other spikes and the rest does. I'm not sorry about it, we were hit pretty hard with the drought. We had some browse throughout but it was sparse. I expect a strong fawn crop but not necessarily a high percentage, maybe they'll surprise me.

One disturbing aspect of the whole thing is that I seem to be losing whatever part of my eyesight that I used to use to see deer. There were numerous times this past year when the damn things would be standing in plain sight and I would not see them until they moved. Eye dr. said I had the beginnings of cataracts. That supposedly dulls edges and fades colors. Perhaps when that surgery is done in a year or so it will clear up being able to see deer again.

Since our place is nearly all heavy brush, any observation method beyond seeing deer and seeing tracks (usually a better indicator of population) is either not feasible or is cost prohibitive (for me). So I rely a great deal on my observations, reports from the boys and others, plus dead deer. Our numbers are down from a high of four years ago. We do have a lot more bobcats and coyotes though (predator/prey cycle at work) but very few hogs.

Oh well, just trying to add some fodder to the fire here.

Alan