i can't seem to qdm my 150acres?!

[jriebe]

help me
i've been bow>rifle hunting whitetails on my 150acres
every year i spot 6-8 bucks, usually 1-2 are 2.5 yearolds, the rest are small
i pay the taxes, i plant the food plots, i let them go--so they can grow
 
then, during hunting season, hunters (some local and some drive from the city for rifle season) arrive and..."brown is down"
i have many surrounding land owners with small tracts and a massive farmer surrounding part of my land
noone is interested in qdm
farmer doesnt hunt but lets anyone else blast away... fewer deer the better i guess
i asked if i could lease his entire farm for hunting only--not interested
told him i would pay him to not let anyone deer hunt the forties adjacent to me--not interested
 
i could shoot 1.5 year old 'basket racks' during bow season, but would rather harvest mature bucks
rifle season is like playing the lottery: except i put most of the money in the kitty and i only get one of a hundred tickets---i usually don't see a horn
the deer i feed, watch, give names to- "super spike-are shot off by someone else
most shot during openning day of rifle season
most years i find at least one rotting little buck on my land, gut shot by someone else
this year 5 guys shot off 15 rounds at 3 fawns running across 2 forties trying to get  back into my woods.   they got one in the leg
 
what do i do? 
land is not cheap, what does another 40a get me
i've been considering high fence to exclude the hunters who set up on my property line and wait for the "super spike" to stick his neck out of the thicket
or do i sell and go on a guided whitetail hunt every year with the $$$

[Nubs]

The important thing to remember is that your neighbors cannot shot all the deer and they certainly cannot shot all the bucks.  I would suggest making your property a sanctuary the deer can go to and feel safe in.  Set aside sections of your land you never hunt and you hardly ever go in.  Try and find areas that have lots of cover so the deer feel safe.  If you are able to make your property very inviting to the deer they will spend more time on your land.  Putting in food plots with foods that deer love to eat and have something that appeals to their stomachs all year will greatly improve the amount of time they spend on your land.  I have been managing 105 acres over the last 4 yrs with great success.  Also keep on talking with the neighbors about QDM if you are able to start and get a couple involved you will see some drastic changes in the age structure of your deer.  Don't give up it all takes time. 

[cdn1]

I think Nubs last statement is the key. It is gonna take some time. How long have you been at the qdm thing? If its been awhile and you aren't seeing better deer then you will definately need to get your neighbors involved. Plan an information day maybe a BBQ in the summer with a DNR guy or maybe the qdm rep for your area. It will be a challenge but the more who know then the more that may choose get involved. that may bring the signs of better deer to your area.

In the mean time the best you can do is to make your place as attractive as possible to the deer. Look at what your property doesn't offer in the way of food, thick cover, water and human intrusion and to your best to improve those things

I just started this qdm thing last year on 100acres it gonna take some time. My buddy shot a small racked 2.5 yr old 10pt the best deer he's taken so far and I really wished he missed, the deer had the potential to be a monster. I wanted to kick his butt.

The biggest thing to remember is that not every hunter has the same goal in mind so you have to do your best to inform and let them decide. That is the best anyone can do.

good luck
CDN1

[DeerCamp]

JPH wrote a great arctile on this.. 150 isnt as small as 40, but you may still want to take a look at it. To me its still a small chunk of land, and you cant stock pile the deer.
 
I think if I were you I would try to get someone to help you out and show them this is the way. I bought a QDM tape on ebay for $1.00 lol plus shipping, it wasnt a long video about 45 mins. If your able to find a few of them you may want to send them to your neighbors. I would also keep passing on those bucks, there not all going to get shot. Start a peice that will be a sanctuary. Make the deer feel real safe on your prop.

[Goose]

Cover, cover, and cover.
If it all possible, I would try to set 1/3 of your property off limits to hunting and human intrusion. If you can do it in the center of your property, all the better.
With all of the pressure from the neighbors, cover is gonna be your best friend.
Set up a nice sanctuary and hunt the fringes of it.
Don't get discouraged, your hard work will pay off, just be patient.

[ranwin33]

QDM can take time - and without cooperative neighbors you have a big uphill battle.
 
While we all want to shoot big antlered deer, my advice would be to learn to enjoy the QDM process; working to create the best 150 acres you can for the deer in your area.  If you can do that, then not shooting a big deer every year won't seem near so bad, BUT when you do, you'll know that a big part of it was because of what you created.
 
Maybe when you start showing some of your neighbors what they too could be doing, you'll get some type of cooperative started and things will improve.
 
Best of luck and keep trying.  Sounds like you've only got one direction to go and that's for the better.

[berudd]

If the neighbors don't hunt then they will have zero interest in QDM and I suspect no amount of information will change that. It's kinda like trying to convince me a really must have a super high quality airplane hanger. I don't have an airplane and don't want one so I have no interest in getting a airplane hangar no matter how great you think it is.

But if their desire is to reduce the number of deer maybe you can use that to your advantage and get them to cooperate because it is for their benefit as well. Killing off young bucks will not reduce the herd size in any appreciable way. However, killing does will. Here the right information might just help. You just present it with the goal of reducing the heard size not the goal of growing bigger bucks. Maybe you can convince them to require the people that hung their land to shoot does only or at least shoot a doe before they can shoot a buck. I suspect many guys would just go elsewhere or shoot the doe and be done.

If you can come up with a way to make your goals advantageous to them then they may be more inclined to help.

[jsjandro]

berudd is right. i own 20 arces in northern wisconsin. heres my story. bought land in 2007, moved up following spring. that first year i had surveyed the land and posted it via gps+wasp with my name and phone number to help the locals id who bought it (in august) and ya know what they did instead, stole stands and cameras, rammed my gate, littered and dumped garbage everywhere, and carried on like i wasnt even worth their time. then i moved to my land and most of the dinks simply left, but the worst clan of re-re's still tresspass when they want and even three bouts with the sheriff's deputies haven't gotten rid of them. when i bought my chunk i immediately put in a 1 acre food plot. then last summer i added another 3/4 acres and have in winter done some timber manipulation to make life better for all. i dont know where you are located but chances are that through habitat manip you can do alot for your piece, and funnels are a great way to take census and  kill big deer. i have shot 3 biggies last 2 years bow and gun and my wife took her first deer this year - a 110 1/2" 3.5 9pt. my best is 152 1/2 10 pt this year. food plots are important but whats around the plot is more so. key in on that to make life as good as possible until your neighbors catch on. i have mfl private land behind mine so the public is always taking the easy meal young deer offer there, and brown its down is the motto of most of the north country wisconsinites.
 
main thing, stay positive, and use your noggin to hang tags where they belong - remember, the only thing even close to predictable about mature deer is the way they use land, period. use a sanctuary if you have that kinda acreage, i use the slew in the middle of my prop by my house (3 acres approx) as a no-go and deer know it. keep land thick with saplings and young conifs and dont be afraid to plant tall grass like big blue stem or switchgrass around  for cover for YOU on your way to your stands (just a strip to block view, dont walk thru it). 
 
keep at it it will get better and try like hell to talk with the area hunters about cooperating with you, but do it smart.   

[milkie62]

I have a similar problem with my 100 acre property and this is what I ended up doing.I had a couple of 3-5 acre sanctuaries that were off limits to hunting.As hunting pressure increased around me with other properties crisscrossed with deer drives ,I discovered something.I managed to overhear other guys saying they have not seen anything all morning while I would have 10-12 or more deer out in front of me feeding.I decided to setup some stands around the perimeter of my entire woodlot (50 acres) and make the whole thing a sanctuary.Now as deer were pushed from other properties they would run across my fields into the swamp and thickets and hole-up for the day.They would then come out to feed in my fields in the late afternoon.Soon I was always seeing more deer than the surrounding properties even though mine was smaller.The only time now during the entire bow/rifle season that I go into my woods is to retrieve a down deer.

[ranwin33]

Great discipline on your part to stay out of the woods.  Me, I just can't stay away. 
 
Deer do love edge and where habitat transistions from one type to another, sounds like you've figured out the secret.