Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

iologist when assessing the feasibility and expected results of any QDM
plan.
TROPHY DEER MANAGEMENT
Trophy deer management (TDM) possibly is the most unattainable
of management options available to the deer manager
in Alabama. Many hunters refer to themselves as “trophy hunters” or
refer to their hunting lands as “trophy managed”. In theory, trophy
management is relatively simple, yet in practice is realistically impossible
for most landowners and hunting clubs. The time, labor, and
resources required for bona fide TDM make this option unfeasible for
all but a handful of deer managers.
Each hunter’s definition of a trophy is subjective, hence the designation
of “trophy buck” is highly subjective. However, to truly manage
for trophy animals requires a clearly defined profile of a trophy buck. A
trophy animal is an atypical animal. This animal has produced antlers
well beyond what most well nourished deer of his age class will produce.
In a sense, the trophy animal is a freak. Some biologists define a
trophy animal as one scoring at least 85 percent of the best Boone and
Crockett score recorded for the county in which it was taken (Woods
1999a). This is a good working definition to use when attempting TDM.
When making comparisons of QDM and TDM, a clear delineation
between a trophy buck and a mature buck is usually the most
overlooked difference between these two management options. Quality
deer management is designed to produce a natural deer herd in which
there will be a good number of mature bucks. Of these mature bucks,
some may produce exceptional antlers. However, this is merely a by-
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