What does it take to get a wall hanger?

[Moving2thecountry]

What would a 3-4 year old doe weigh, field dressed?  I should look up how to age deer.

My sister-in-law, on her first day fishing, once caught two trophy walleyes.  We kept them, and ate them.  If I knew now what I knew then, I would have let it go.  I am concerned that I will not be happy with the meat if I kill a large buck. 

On the other hand, when I was a child, we could catch large sun fish every summer.  No more, it seems--at least not near the cities.  Large sunfish tasted good. 

[beeker]

moving2thecountry.. if you do and you don't like it.. grind it into burger and make chili.. you always have those options.. deer don't come with nutritional labels so you'll never know what's its been feeding on.

I would hate to get to the point where I have to apply for a buck tag.. as that would be the only way to limit the numbers taken in year.

[HD]

Taking a large doe or buck from the same area, I don't think there will be much difference in taste.

I have harvested deer across the mid-west, and you can tell the difference between a corn fed deer and one that eats pine needles. So, Beeker does have a point. Also, nutrition does play a part in antler development, and the size of the deer.

And you asked about how big an adult feild dressed doe can weigh.... I would say on average...120-140.....
I have seen bigger, and I have seen smaller....so, I would think thats about average.

[HUNTER2]

This year I spent a lot of money on those trophy rocks you can buy at all your sporting stores. The deer really love them and it seems that it helped in the antler development. The price seems high on them but they really love them. I practice QDM but my fellow hunters are still learning. I am lucky enough not to have to depend on the meat to make it. My neighbors shoot anything that moves, so its almost impossible to get a big trophy around. I leave a big area of woods for them to hide in but, the RUT makes them stupid. I wouldn't change the dates for hunting just the size. If you change the dates you will have a hard time getting a wall hanger. And you know every body wants a wall hanger. Every body always says to go buy hamburger or something else because it is cheaper. I'm not sure if it is or not.

License $27.00
Slugs smooth bore $20.00 and that's to sight in also.
Gas money, lets say $40.00 depends on how far
scent to lure them in $7.00 for the cheaper ones.
If you cut up your own deer a box of freezer wrap paper and tape $5.00.
Your time if its worth anything.

Let's just say about $100.00 bucks to shoot a deer and that's on the lighter side for many. Because you can't count the gun and clothing, because you have that anyway. You can't count the food and beer because you will drink and eat that anyway. You can find hamburger for about $2.00 a pound maybe cheaper for the fattier stuff. You get about 70 pounds for a nice size doe and less for a fawn deer if you grind the whole thing. You do the math and decide for yourself.

[BiggA]

"QDM"     This on its own is just opinion. Quality does not mean size. I dont have a dictionary in front of me but I think if u look it up it wont say BIGGER is BETTER. A trophy is and always will be in the eye of the beholder.  I think if you tell people you can only shoot what "WE" determine to be a trophy buck you are going to see alot of people give up hunting. You think the state would be willing to sacrifice the proceeds. We sell an average of 500,000 licences I think. You know the success rate is around 50% alot of
that being smaller bucks. So niow you cant shoot those success rate drops to what 30%? People are not going to go for those odds. And dont give me this just shoot a doe argument. There were way fewer doe tags this year and will be even fewer in the future. Besides every doe shot is 2 or 3 deer from next years herd hence taking away more doe tags for the future. There needs to be a balance of all types of hunters to keep the sport alive! If you only want to shoot big bucks then do so but dont try and push your opinion down the throats of the rest of the population.

[deadeye]

BiggA,
You make some very good points.  I don't know what the answer is regarding implementing laws in an attempt to increase the average buck size.  QDM isn't just about raising big bucks. The idea is to develop a healthy heard.  This includes amoung other things, having a balanced doe to buck ratio, available food source and cover and number of deer for available habitat.  Once you have the right number of deer for the available food, bigger bucks will be a by product.  This has been proven to work on private land, be it one large land owner or a group of land owners.   

[HUNTER2]

Ask any  and they will say bigger is better. I don't think you would have that many hunters drop out just because of the size. There are a lot of people that hunt for the get togethers and maybe get some venison. There would be more out of state hunters if there was bigger bucks. I don't realy care what everybody else does. This is just my opinion. If I did care I would put a size limit on my land for my relies to go by. Hey, maybe I should and see if they quit hunting on it .

[HD]

Yea, I was gonna reply to you...but, DE covered it.

I figured I would get some flack for starting this...
I'm not trying to upset anybody, nore do I want them to feel that I'm cramming it down their throat. The question was asked, What it would take to get a wall hanger? Maybe, I didn't put a good enough title on the thread. 
Anaway...This system has been proven to work.
Do I practice QDM? Yup, in my own way.
Is it something that you would want to do? Dunno....It's up to you.
I could care less...

Either way, as stated before, I don't think it will matter who does what...sooner or later laws will be in-place. Did I have anything to do with it? Nope...
But there is an organization that is working on getting these laws past.

Just like most messangers....they end up getting 

[BiggA]

I did not mean for my post to seem angry or anything. (it kinda did after rereading it) I just dont like that one group of hunters is trying to dictate what all hunters should feel would be a successful hunt.
In order to shoot bigger bucks you have to be willing to go without some are not. I am not saying QDM dont work just that its one opinion on what deer hunting should be.
I guess i kinda jumped topic since the topic is basically how to get a wall hanger.
So on that note patience, scouting and yes not shooting young deer would increase your odds of shooting mature deer. Also supplying extra minerals and better food sources couldnt hurt.

[wildlifeminnesota]

Yea, I was gonna reply to you...but, DE covered it.

I figured I would get some flack for starting this...
I'm not trying to upset anybody, nore do I want them to feel that I'm cramming it down their throat. The question was asked, What it would take to get a wall hanger? Maybe, I didn't put a good enough title on the thread. 
Anaway...This system has been proven to work.
Do I practice QDM? Yup, in my own way.
Is it something that you would want to do? Dunno....It's up to you.
I could care less...

Either way, as stated before, I don't think it will matter who does what...sooner or later laws will be in-place. Did I have anything to do with it? Nope...
But there is an organization that is working on getting these laws past.


Hunter2. This is what I was trying to say in the begetting of this post.
 who does what...sooner or later laws will be in-place.
But there is an organization that is working on getting these laws past.

I am not for this But I do fell it will be law in time. Because that how it alway work out.