Trying to get neighbors involved...

[whitetail_joe]

I was just wondering if anyone else has tried to get neighboring property owners involved in any type of QDM program. I tried a couple years ago in Ross county to no avail. I printed up a cover with several nice local bucks caught on trail cameras, and a condensed one page set of ideas I had. I basically introduced myself and then stated some of my ideas. I said that if you are the type of person who can only hunt a couple days a year, then good luck hunting. But if you hunt often, and/or would like to shoot larger deer, then I encouraged them to pass on smaller bucks, and shoot more does. And if they could, do something to create better habitat (food plots, bedding, mineral sites). I offered to help anyone with their project, and asked for nothing in return other than have them possibly try some of the QDM ideas. I passed them out in person if possible and placed them in mail boxes, I even put one up at the local store. I never got any calls about the ideas.:mad:
So has anyone else tried this or something similar?

[bmiller]

yeah I tried last year and when I showed one neighbor the pics I had you should've seen his eyes light up.He said" this is my land and I'll kill the little ones os the big ones,it just depends on what walks under me".So,I left and talked to others and they were interested and they did let a few little ones walk.The on guy came up and showed me pics of the deer he and his family had killed and there were a total of seven bucks that looked to be anywhere from 1.5 to 2 years old.Nothing above 110" and several small does.If ya can't get em all to it,its a waste off time. :coco:

[whitetail_joe]

As long as some of them pass on smaller bucks, I don't think it is a total waste of time. But it sure sounds like they were laying out the young ones. That really sucks for that area. Could you imagine the size of the deer in Southern Ohio if people did here what they do in Pike county Illinois or Buffalo County Wisconsin.

[TheCream]

You can try to talk QDM, but I would not press the matter and be pushy about it. It's hunting for a lot of people, not trophy hunting. If the neighbor wants to kill a forkhorn, and he's happy with it, I say that is his choice and who am I to tell him he should not have killed what he killed? In Se Ohio there are lots of folks who hunt for meat, especially with food costs skyrocketing. If that 6-pointer helps feed someone's family, I don't have an issue with it. You can say "Well shoot a doe instead," but what if it is someone who can't spend more than a day or two in the woods? Maybe that hunter is an opportunist that doesn't want to eat tag soup waiting for a particular deer.

If you try to preach QDM, just do it in an honest, kind manner. If not you just might make enemies.

[countyroad]

I would be careful how you approach the topic. You should evaluate the relationship you have with each neighbor and work out a plan for approaching each.
I look at it as being similar to someone pushing their religious beliefs upon you. It's one thing to ask for permission to hunt someone's land, but it's another to suggest/tell them what they should do with their land.
To you it seems like an honest attempt at something you believe in, but to the neighbor it seems a little intrusive.
I understand where you're coming from though.:)



Heck, I have a hard enough time with my dad trying to reason with him about what he shoots. He acts like he's listening to me, but I know he's thinking "whatever." I've never seen someone that would try so hard to talk a 6 pointer into an 8 pointer or an 8 into a 10.:biggrin: