New Season Dates Revisited

I posted this a year ago at this same time……A year later I still say we should adjust the season dates to the following………This would move north Alabama back to a Jan 31 ending to gun season while keeping south Alabama at Feb 10 and everyone having the same amount of gun and bow days


Bow Season Statewide
Oct. 1- Feb 10……No does until Oct 25

First Gun Season Statewide
2nd Saturday in Nov – Nov. 30 (Either Sex)

Second Gun Season
Zone A......... Dec 15- Jan 31 (Either Sex)
Zone B......... Dec 25- Feb 10 (Either Sex)
Zone C ........ Dec 15- Jan 31 (Buck Only)
Zone D & E.... Dec 1- Jan 16 (Either Sex)


For the folks who want to gun hunt Dec 1 -15 because of the rut in their area, we can move those areas into Zone D

A year later, i say it won't change anything in my area (and probably the other areas) except limiting my chances to go. No thanks.

You can only kill 3 bucks legally so I don't see what it matters. Just limit the the doe days to whatever the talladega national forest is doing now and be done with it

I like this lay out

I’d extend the buck season until whenever bucks start dropping racks

Ironic. That’s what we are doing now. Imagine that.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

And I believe that results in much greater vulnerability for top end bucks. I know in Idaho's Clearwater region, extending the season to include the "2nd" rut greatly reduced the age structure of the buck population. I believe it has the same effect here.

Yeah I’m watching it happen.

We are just getting into our second rut and we are already down to 25% of our bucks we started season with.

I'm for keeping Zone C to Feb 10, which catches the beginning of the 2nd rut. My lease in north Morgan county saw rut right around 2nd week in Jan with a lot of cruising the week before.

😂🤣

I would be ok with the this but your never gonna get a 2 weeks taken out in the middle of season....too many non-bowhunters. Also dont think you season will ever get moved to Oct 1st. Need to go back to the drawing board without those 2

We need to have a 2 buck limit and 3 does per day.

I fully disagree with the early bow season opener we have now. The deer here in North Alabama still rely on momma to survive and many does are shot and the fawns are left on their own. I would be all for moving bow season forward to November 1.

Why not just have tags? I'd rather kill 1 buck a year + 1 either sex and be able to hunt more to select those deer than feel like I have to go out and kill something on a particular day.

The goal should be whatever it takes to improve the age structure. That is the true problem in Alabama. At some point when done correctly like most other states seem to have achieved...You won't have to ride a treestand for 3 months solid to finally see 1 each 4-5 year old buck if you ever see one for that matter. If you are a "meat" hunter you can kill a few on doe days. If you need more than 3-4 does because you can't afford to go to the grocery..... try getting a dam job or at least maybe consider working a little harder. I got no sympathy for that BS.

ill eat that many by myself . lol

course i got them to kill here

yall change like it yall want it and ill hunt as i think i need too . well see which works best lol

Zones D and E already open on Oct 1.....actually it was Sept 30 this year......I was just setting us all up to start and end on the same date and give hunters the opportunity at killing a velvet buck....something some hunters would like......Bow season harvests are actually pretty insignificant anyways.....I think we killed like 9,000 deer during bow season this year.....They'll be more deer killed in the next 4 days than that.

Bow season should not open before 11/1, and preferably not until rifle season opens. Give Bow hunters extra time at the end of the season if need be but deer hunting should start the same day

I agree about the fawns but bow season is not really even significant from a numbers standpoint…….We only kill about 5,000-6,000 does across the whole state during bow season….That’s like 75 does per county…..I think the Oct 25 delay is probably sufficient to address that situation…..If we really want to protect fawn numbers then we need to be more concerned about the other 90,000 does that get killed during the rest of the season.

Jan 31st close for Zone A is kind of obvious imo. Should have never been extended.
I’ve orphaned a lot of fawns in my time and they make it just fine.
Mandating a “break” in the season is just silly.
It’s amazing how many big bucks I get on camera the week leading up to bow season and the first week after it starts, then they change. I think our bow season start date is just right. If they opened it one week earlier I could kill a lot more big bucks though. 😃

Because you would still have arseholes who will break the law. There is a dude north of us that has killed 16 this year (that we know of) including 5 nice bucks. He is also selling meat.

Yes the game wardens know about him are are trying to catch him. Fella is worthless. Kills whatever comes into his little 40 acres. I under stand someone killing a small deer if they were hungry but when you start selling them you need to have the book thrown at you.

It’s not really in there to serve as a “break”……It’s the fact that if you’re gonna take 10 days back from Zone A at the end of the season then you need to take 10 days back from Zone B to even things up. You’re not gonna take it from the end of the season during the rut so Dec is the best dates to do it……The same with Zones D & E if you want to end gun season on Jan 16 because of bucks already shedding…………Its just evening out the number of gun and bow days to be the same for everyone. I think as far as total gun days that its basically just taking back the 10 that was added on with the Feb extension plus 4 more which made things work out a little better…..If you wanted to make it exactly the same as it used to be you could add four gun days back to each zone….. I'm pretty sure there was a few gun days added to Nov in there

What does any of this have to do with corn? The other thread you said the season lengths had nothing to do with the deer population it was all corn. Now here your changing hunting seasons to fix it. Have a change of heart?

Don't change anything yall won't be happy if it was changed anyway

No…..I said in the other one that I had “no illusions that corn was going to go away due to it being so much of a money maker yada yada yada”……and that there would have to be other ways of addressing the issues if we were going to continue to do it…..

I wonder how much y’all actually pay attention sometimes……

One season. No bow season, muzzle loader season, youth season, dog season, stalk season. One start date, one end date, kill them how you like.

One thing is for sure, big changes to the season dates or weapon choice would cause a revolt. Hunters in Alabama like the long season and rifle hunting is our culture. I think folks would be more likely to support a reduction in limit vs changing the season dates or limiting rifle hunting days.

If you dont like the Feb extension in north Alabama then you have to take back those 10 days......there's not much way around that. Making gun opener on the second Saturday of Nov would compensate. More in some years than others....It would mean a Nov 9th opener next year

All y’all proposing no bow season can hush. 😂

I had the opportunity to climb a tree this year in Illinois and Kentucky. There is no way we will ever have the mature deer these states have under the current seasons we have now. I have not killed a deer in Alabama this year because I usually only kill one a year-my choice-and I killed him in another state this year. I personally like the breaks in the season the other states have as it gives me a chance to recharge my batteries and rest a bit before going at them again. If you have never sat in a tree in Illinois, you have no clue as to how big a deer can grow.

The buck numbers in other states are unreal when they can survive for several seasons. The rifle restrictions and the 1 buck tag limit saves many a young deer. I was at a processor this year in Kentucky and saw several folks bring in small bucks that I would have never even considered shooting. The Good Lord has Blessed me in allowing me the opportunity to own land and control it the way I want to. I am very strict on what will be shot there and when it will be shot. I make my own rules there on these tracts and have no control when the critters roam off me onto someone else. I am not into a numbers game of saying I killed three bucks this year. To me if I have to brag on killing 3 bucks a year, there are other issues I would need to address.

Just my $0.02

No herd can possibly improve under an almost 4 month season, 3 buck limit and legalized corn. Stupid is as stupid does.

Been preaching this for years around here. Amen.

lol

X2

We will never have bucks like northern states go hunt them or be happy with the mature deer we have here. Yall do this shat every year yet I've not seen one SOB say they quit hunting Alabama and hunted up north where they have seasons like you want it

One of the worst things about our situation in my opinion is that we have no ability to adapt……You have some folks who think we should be able to just “set it and forget it” for the next 100 years……Not having a system that can adapt to change is just dumb.

Amen. Nov 10- Feb 10

Yeah I like bow season

And this is the problem with Alabama. Folks can’t see past their nose when it comes to betterment of anything, it’s just about them. It’s always people screaming “I need to shoot 36 deer to feed my family!” and they’re on disability living on handed down land not doing a thing for society, broke as a joke but you can be sure their fridge is full of beer and they always have cigarettes.

Ain’t never earned nothing in their life but always hollering about someone taking something from them, sheesh

When it comes to any proposal to shorten or change the seasons in Alabama, I honestly think that part of the problem is that only a very small percentage of Alabama hunters have ever hunted in a state, where the deer herd is actually tightly and actively managed, and everything is fully enforced, be it KY, IL, TX, KS, IA, MO. I wish everyone in AL could hunt a prime week in any of those states, seeing what can be accomplished, with shorter seasons, tighter regs, better age structure, and better management by the powers that be. Having not experienced it first hand, people simply do not know what it is like and what is possible. It will honestly change the way you think about deer hunting. I honestly think if everyone had the opportunity to see and understand what it's like in person, it would have everyone in the state begging the DCNR to do something. Bama is certainly not the midwest by any means, but the hunting here has the potential to be 2 to 3 times as good as it currently is and better than it ever was, if just a few changes were made. But those changes will never be made with the current attitude of "I want to deer hunt for 4 months and be able kill any deer and as many as I see".

It's hard to get someone to buy into something that they've never experienced for themselves, and have no clue how much is being left of the table. First trips to IL and MO were both truly eye-opening experiences. Honestly when you come back, you're just not that excited to be hunting the entire rest of the season in Bama.

Cmon now Abolt, folks don’t want to learn anything when they already know it all. I bet there’s 1k people on this site that have never left the county they live in. Nothing wrong with that but don’t play like you understand how the world works when you’ve only seen your local environment

Agree 100%, the states you listed are great places to hunt and experiencing hunting in any of them would open a persons eyes on what could be in AL, I have hunted in several of them and got a good one from MO, couldn't close the deal in IL or KY, but the opportunity for really good bucks was there.....

For my little part of the world

All weapons legal: Saturday before Thanksgiving thru Saturday After
December 26- January 31

If you guys think that Alabama could be similar to those states listed above ( KY, IL, TX, KS, IA, MO) then you will always be disappointed hunting in Alabama.

I think something people miss with that is not everyone is a hardo out to shoot 140inch deer. A lot of people want to go to their hunting lease/camp, hang out, and sit in a shooting house about 20-30 times a year mostly on weekends and holidays. Hunting is very much a social thing in Alabama. I've got relatives that go to "hunting camp" just to hang out, shoot the shucks "with the guys", and cook breakfast.

I hunt with an old timer who hasn't killed a deer in 3 years in probably 60 sits. If you told him he could only hold a rifle 7 days a year and sit in his shooting house he'd be livid, even though he isn't even shooting anything.

If you really want to improve the age structure, you need to limit the bucks taken or put antler restrictions in place. Then actually go out and enforce it.

Lastly, there's a nutritional and potentially genetic differential between AL and a place like MO.

These types of proposals don’t really make much sense……Out of 190,000 being reported to Game Check, about 10,000 of them come in during bow season…..Cutting out bow season does nothing but take away opportunities for Alabama hunters with virtually zero benefit.

Yup. You could probably have year round bow TBH and not put a dent in the deer herd.

My gosh man. CNC I agree with you on some things but quit trying to reinvent the wheel. Leave the season dates alone. You wanna push for an ending on January 31 for the northern part then that’s fine but all the early season bow hunting sucks. Along with the break in gun season. Put an end to the season long slaughter of does sitting by a corn pile if you wanna make changes. The season length is fine. I’m only allowed three bucks so it doesn’t matter how long it lasts. The season long corn piles that get all your does killed matter more than any date change.

You don’t have to hunt the early bow season if you don’t want to but there’s plenty of folks who would be all for it and it wont hurt a thing…..plus it simplifies it for us all to start and end on the same dates……

As far as the Jan 31st end date for north Alabama…….How do you suggest we go about making that change?.....Are you just gonna take away 10 days from Zone A hunters? I have a feeling a lot of folks will cry foul when you tell them you’re gonna shorten their season while allowing Zone B to stay the way it is….. Corn is likely not going anywhere so you can probably throw that option out the window.

Well they seemed to have figured the ruts and zones that follow. Just make it a month of rifle surrounding the ruts and be done with it. People hunt with crossbows now a days so we are not really taking anything away.

An early bow season is for the birds. Plus you wanna limit that to buck only. I get it because it’s truly too early to take a doe from a fawn. So then let’s just leave it alone. Let it start same as always. I’m not for changing around gun season dates either. Nothing you are proposing is truly helping the deer herd. You’re only moving dates around to make it sound like change is being implemented. But change just for the sake of change isn’t helping. Until this state truly wants to help the deer herd out and ban corn then nothing will change.

Yeap ,,, I got the good life . Its,was just handed to me . Lol

It’s amazing to me that most ,if not all, of those in favor of limiting the dates in the season are also those putting out thousands of pounds of corn and blasting deer off their feeder. Corn is the real issue that we are facing. I drive by a house the other day out in the country. In his approximately 1 acre lot he had a feeder 100 feet out his back door. This is happening all over this state.He is killing deer out of his backyard that would have lived before corn was legalized. But because corn makes it easy no one wants to get rid of it.

1000%. I grew up in and still hunt Texas. These last few years or so I have been fortunate to hunt Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. It’s something that every Southeast hunter should do at least once in their life.

95% chance he was baiting before it was legal. I've seen illegal baiting since I started hunting in the early eighties.

Corn ain't the problem.

Hunters are the problem.

This thread is proof of that fact.

Three things they need to do leave ever thing else alone

No legal baiting
No extended season
Limited does days WHERE needed. .

If you felt singled out by that it wasn’t the intention. That comment was a generalization and wasn’t intended at any particular person.

No sweat I got hide like leather . Lol

1

100 % chance there wasn’t a feeder in his backyard til corn was legalized. Most people didn’t have corn in their yards shooting deer until it was legal.
Sure there’s always been some people baiting when it wasn’t legal. I’ve hunted all over this state since the late 80’s and I just never saw the amount of corn that some of y’all say was out there. Out of all the places I’ve hunted I’ve only seen one group that were using corn. And that was in Perry county. That place is full of outlaws anyway.
Corn was not used in the capacity it is used now. Not even remotely close. But it makes those who use corn feel better when they say that it has.

You guys need to remember yours problems ain't the same all over the state . I got deer out the a$$ here.. there are a lot of other places thats the same way .

Another thing sone of y'all want things you will never have .
I learned that many years ago when it comes to having huge bucks here. You kill one here that hit 120 you pretty much topped out .

You get bow season all yr. No need to get a special bow season. Kind of like every bow hunter gets a trophy. I only bow hunt at this point in life but know how much pressure bow hunting puts on property compared to gun hunting. No need in an extra month of bow season

That's like legalizing night hunting and then saying that it isnt the night hunting that's the problem, it's the hunters!!!

Again though, I think the idea that corn is gonna be outlawed again at this point is just not even remotely possible…..I agree that its causing an increase in harvest totals but you’re gonna have to come up with other solutions to balance that out. A restructuring of season dates is part of that solution

Nothing to do with making sense. Just what I wanted 🤣.

This went from date changes to corn………..Take away scopes shooting house ground blinds corn scents sxs tree stands. Slug guns only……. hunt January the rut is meat on the ground. Killing a buck that is trying to get lucky……..

Keep dates the same. Limit to 2 bucks instead of 3. Limit number of does to anything other than the current if its brown it’s down mentality.

Reducing the limit to 2 when we don’t even enforce the limit of 3 wouldn’t make much sense in my opinion……The next step would be to issue tags and enforce the 3 rule we already have along with the restructuring of season dates……If further changes are needed then we look at adjusting doe days within the framework I suggested

No matter what great rules are created they’ll never be enforced because of the lack of personnel. You know how many carcasses are laying in Bankhead right now with the hams and backstraps cut out? Antlers if it had any. Never not a one game check filled out and killed by someone who didn’t have a license.

It's always a shat show started by one person it is never ending crap

I know a crap ton of people that feed deer in their back yard and never shoot a single one. They just like feeding deer and seeing deer.

First before anyone can agree on what needs to be done, everyone has to believe there is a problem, and everyone has to agree on what that problem is.

So what is the problem with the current situation in Alabama? I believe it is the age structure of bucks. I also believe the doe harvest rules are too liberal.

So to fix that… 1 buck a year with antler restrictions and 1 doe a year. The days of killing enough deer to feed your family for a year needs to go away.

I need some or that magic corn yall speak of that kills all the deer - i dont hav that type corn r tame deer - wish i did hav that type corn. My best deer has daylighted one single day to corn best i remember this year - wow - great odds 🤣🤣

Caught him in roads w no bait 3 times on cam. Its like that most years for me - if u get a 5 year old to show up one time in daylight where i hunt you doing good - regardless of how you do it and i go 4 - 6 weeks at times workout hunting a spot - now thats low pressure

CNC - i will talk to chuck n seenif we can get those dates past. I like what u did w zone B - but do dec 24 - its a holiday and good time to crank it back up 😀

So many of the states people call great deer hunting states have had legalized baiting for years. That's not the issue.

Some of these states have long hunting seasons, some don't. There's a reason for the shorter seasons in the Midwest and northern states - they have a much tighter rut window.

If Alabama made baiting illegal and shortened gun season to one month tomorrow, we still wouldn't notice a statistically significant difference in the age structure of our bucks. The vast majority of Alabama hunters can't control their booger hooker off the trigger when a 2 or 3 yo 8 pt walks by them. This lack of control would probably be worse with a shorter season. It will be the "I've only got four weeks so Im gonna blast the first racked buck I see" mentality.

I'm not advocating for hunting corn piles. I've never shot a deer in Alabama over a corn pile or feeder, but I have in other states.

IMO, we would improve hunting by overhauling the liberal doe harvest rules. Go back to a tag program for does and limit doe days to a two to three week period.

See and that’s where it can’t be a one size fits all. We do NOT need a reduction in doe says in our area. People already aren’t killing does and they’re everywhere. Nobody here complains about not seeing deer. That applies to most every county I work in in west central and north west AL. No one is advocating for fewer doe days here or for doe harvest to be limited. They didn’t during the 2 a day years either.

as some keep saying WE ALL dont have a problem . they cant blanket the whole state for local problems .

like Fred asked ,,,, does any body listen . lol

Wish they would go to a 2 buck limit.

lol if we did that where I’d hunt you would be back cutting grass and be turkey hunting with a rifle

What do you think that will do? Make you see bucks? Mature your deer? 150in bucks? If you think any of that will happen you are living a dream

as long as wives and kids can still kill what ever ?????

and bow hunter still can kill ohhhhhhh fair bucks ????

i hear a lot of people wanting and a lot of folks not doing

Education is the only thing that will truly change anything. But rifle days do need to be shortened in areas without February breeding.

I would never edit a post to alter what a feller said….but, I agree 100%

hell Matt , i hunted what 45 years i never needed Feb extended season . i got basket of horns and sold a butt load of racks for rattling horns .

Yep! I agree!

That’s better but I’m trying to compromise 😂😂

Leave us alone. With the price of a non resident Alabama license, I need all the days I can get for that price.

Matt do the other states in the mid west that you and others mentioned that had it figured out as far as managing the deer herd goes have different doe limits for different parts of the state? Or do they manage the herd as a whole?

hunters want it made easier to kill bucks and then complain about not having bucks ,

I still contend that pressure is the largest issue we have in Alabama, hence my actual reason for my season “recommendation”. It’s so much easier to pass on bucks when you are seeing plenty. When it’s a big deal to someone to kill a buck, and they aren’t seeing enough to make them believe they will have a chance at a better one, they will shoot something. The pressure most properties get make seeing good bucks tough for the average hunter even with 9 cell cameras and 12 feeders.

How long does it take a buck to adapt to pressure??

imo hunters have become to passive in the way they hunt . they plant green fields , feed corn and then set in a little box and set and set . kicking up deer is long gone it seems .

Alabama is definitely not a one size fits all state. But I've also seen what over aggressive harvest does. Areas in southerns Alabama that were overpopulated became virtually a deer desert because of it's brown it's down. Our first club in the eighties was about 2900 acres in Marengo county on the early eighties. First year there at was common to see 25-30 does and yearlings on a 1 acre plot. But 40 member were blasting 110-125 deer a year on this property and within 3 years you wouldn't see 6 deer on a field.

Point is, we have to guard against over correcting the harvest like we've been doing for over 40 years.

Too many deer, blast away.

Oops, we kilt too many.

Reduce hunting season to two weeks and limit weapons to sling shots.

Oops, too many deer.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

I don’t remember mentioning any other state. I think only other members did. But I will add that the Midwest states don’t have anywhere near the deer we have as a state, in regards to total deer on the landscape. Not even close. They can’t allow liberal doe harvest or they wouldn’t have deer. We historically have had way more areas of cover for deer to retreat to. Our landscape is changing and is now why we have Zone C. Some states do have different doe bag limits depending on where you are, so that answer would be yes.

Don't allow crossbows in bow only seasons
Eliminate hunting over bait
Have limits on does and bucks
I'm in zone C and there is pre-rut starting in early Dec.
Not for ending earlier than Jan 31 prefer Feb 10

My bad I was thinking you had mentioned that but it was Abolt.

Different Zones just like AL. There are extra tags available over the counter that will allow a hunter to kill another doe. KY and IL have these in effect. Both of these states only allow one buck per hunter per year. These areas are truly the Lands of Giants.

If someone will post a pic for me I will be glad to show you a couple of examples of what I am talking about. Just let me know.

Bow season - crossbow and bow have nearly no impact on the herd. Suggestions involving those make no sense.

Agree on stricter bag limits.

Definitely agree on no bait. No corn, no green fields, no shooting houses. Not really fair chase to sit in a shooting house with a little buddy heater overlooking an artificial field of clover in the middle of a pine plantation… takes no hunting skill or woodsmanship.

^pot stirring a little sorry

I hope all they have one day is bow season..an then i hope they outlaw corn an crossbows..im for makin it harder..weedout the lazy losers with too much money🫣

Makes sense - If you’re serious about killing mature whitetails you’ll support making Alabama the first bow only state.

Not long!! As soon as we humans start moving around in their areas and leaving our stink all over. They hear the atvs and trucks at the same time and going to the same place everyday in their area. I tell my guys the reason we can’t pattern deer here is because the deer already have us patterned. I’d say within a couple days. When our place is left alone for a few weeks,hunting is great the first couple days back. Goes to crap starting on day 3-4. Our biggest problem is our camp is in the dead center of our property. The deer know every move we make. It’s their world and we’re just an inconvenience to them for half the year.

Not really…i just like shootin chit with a bow..an i know how far im willin to go..i wonder about everbody else’s dedication…just how bad do you want it..cause seems to me..rich folks been gettin what they want for awhile..id like to givem what everbody needs…a level playin field..yeh..you could still go buy you 5000 acres..an be a ritch biotch..but youd still have to get within 30-40 yards..and kill..good luck

I went to Columbus Ohio one fall to visit a family member, we stayed 3-4 days. We rode to a WMA and there was a huge crop field like 300-400 acres (huge to me), with a tiny little 40 acre plot of woods right in the middle of the field. Right at dark 13 racked bucks came out of that 40 acres into the soybean field. Then right down the road there was a major creek/river that had sparse woods around it, surrounded by crop field again. Bow hunting that wma would be like shooting fish in a barrel to me. Just no where for the deer to hide. There was a cemetery that bordered the wma and it was grown up behind it. I told my family member to hunt right behind the cemetery and he ended up killing a good 10 there. I suppose turkeys would be the same way, easy to kill with lack of cover.
Can’t be as many deer per acre up there though, not enough woods.

Exactly.......I think a lot of folks would like the split gun season.....they just dont know it yet.

You can split the gun season now.

It's just up to you...

Sure....north Alabama hunters could just sit at home during Feb too but they dont. Its like I said before…..if everything is about voluntary restraint then we might as well not even have season dates and just let every individual make their own rules. That argument just doesn’t hold water after a while.

I agree with you though AU338MAG about adjusting doe days……The simplest thing would probably be to just expand zone C to include more counties and cut the days back from 23 to maybe 14…..Most of the counties that need it are north of Montgomery anyways.

I've not hunted deer one day in Alabama this season.

Yet

A few years ago I was in a south Alabama club with my brother. He would hunt every weekend from opening day through Christmas.

By the time the rut rolled in January he had hunted all of his best spots to death and the deer had him patterned.

Again, HUNTERS are their own worst enemy.

I agree but you cant just blame everything on the hunters….We already know through the economic law called the tragedy of the commons that humans will eventually exploit a limited shared resource when there are no regulations preventing them from doing so…..I don’t know why we would expect the limited shared resource of deer to be any different. The regulations that we have in place are just as much to blame for the outcomes we see as are the hunters….. Its real easy just to point the fingers at the hunters though and make them the scapegoats

CNC, what problem are you attempting to solve? If it's a population thing, manipulating doe harvests (more or less) can fix that. If it's to create larger bucks, that's a personal thing and not the states job.

We have a few problems that have been exacerbated by corn that need addressing unless we just want to have our regulations set to as crappy as they could be from a management standpoint…..I don’t think we should try and trophy manage but I also don’t think we should manage on the far other end of the spectrum either…..

The biggest issue is an over harvesting of bucks along with a further degrading of populations in what are already the worst areas. You also have a lot of north Alabama hunters who are unhappy with the Feb extension and readjusting those dates would be one step to helping alleviate some of these issues we’ve created. I agree with you that its not the states job to trophy manage but its also not their job to run it in the ground to make corn money. There needs to be some kind of balance that is struck.

And no matter what you do to limit harvests Alabama will never be known as the land of the giants. Never.

People don’t want giants. They just want the opportunity to hunt mature deer, and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult in places. Everybody knows we aren’t going to rival the Midwest in total number of huge bucks.

Exactly…….our management objectives right now seems to be to try and squeeze out every dollar the resource can produce while pushing quality to the lowest limits that’ll be tolerated…..We do a good job of conditioning folks to be ok with mediocracy so that they don’t expect much

So now we need rules for those that wanna hunt mature deer? What about those that don’t ? We just say piss on them? Everybody else’s desires are more important than theirs apparently. Personally, I try to hunt mature deer. Have no issues with it. It’s what I try to do. I don’t expect everyone else to want exactly what I want nor do I want to make laws that would make hunting less enjoyable for those that don’t care to hunt mature deer. I don’t like the laws we have now. The last thing I want is more laws that prohibit me from doing what I enjoy. People are always screwing up good things. Deer hunting shouldn’t be any different I guess.

We should have rules that try to promote at least a somewhat reasonably balanced herd and one that is at least somewhere in the ballpark of our potential from a population standpoint…..not ones like we have now that results in piss poor herd dynamics across large swaths of the state and degrading populations in areas that already sucked……Do you think its ok for the state to change rules that degrade the resource like legalizing baiting but not ok for the hunters to speak up and expect better? Is everyone just supposed to take that one on the chin? Kinda seems like it’s a one way street when it comes to change……

Dadgum I agree with CNC almost 100% on that!😳👍

From a biological perspective, to me, it’s all about promoting a balanced and healthy deer herd so the beneficiaries (hunters) can choose how to hunt that best suits them. Right now, there’s an overharvest of bucks and high grading taking place and it’s going to continue to get worse until a lot of ppl lose interest.

X 1000. Stupid is being nice .

CNC, the stuff you’re proposing isn’t gonna change anything. It’ll just change when people do what they’re gonna do.

I agree with you on 1/3 of your statement. Corn needs to be banned.

I can only hope people lose interest. There’s absolutely too many “deer hunters” running around anyway. I don’t even call em deer hunters tho. They are just glorified shooters who can sit by a feeder and kill a deer. I’d like to get back to where deer hunting is a little difficult. That way most of these shooters lose interest. Not many left who really wanna hunt a deer. They just wanna shoot em.

I disagree.......Not gun hunting Feb 1-10 in north Alabama will make a difference......Taking back those 10 gun hunting days that were added onto the season length with the extension will add to that difference......Implementing tags will add to it even more......the gap between gun seasons will save more bucks for the rut…….and if we still feel the need to adapt further we can adjust doe days and the size of zone C.......

Oh yeah, a difference can be made with some simple changes......Like I said in a previous post......What I proposed at the beginning of the thread is just the basic framework that restructures and simplifies the season dates to be setup more like they probably should be…..Every one is right about gun hunting needing to end before Feb 10 across the northern 2/3’s of the state......especially now that we've added legalized baiting into the mix

CNC, every statement you’ve made about changes seems to have a root cause for the changes. And you’ve said it a bunch in your posts. Everything goes back to CORN. Corn is the reason you even came up with these proposed changes. Corn is the reason our populations are in decline in a lot of areas. I get that you don’t think you can win that battle. But that’s the battle that needs to be won. This other stuff is just a hope of overcoming the real problem of having corn all over the place.

Horsechitt.

Corn ain't never pulled a trigger.

Nope it hasn’t. But every Tom Dick and Harry that calls themselves deer hunters are pulling that trigger.

Season dates, bag limits, and baiting rules are just variables in an equation…..One is not really more right or wrong than the other……It’s the additive impact on the outcome that matters…..One of them needs adjusting…..Its ok if baiting stays as long as we adjust to compensate for it……I don’t think it’s a bad thing if folks prosper $$$ from the resource as long as we have a good overall long term management plan and don’t just milk the resource for everything its worth with no regards to the impact on quality. If everyone wants to bait then some changes need to be made in other areas.

CNC, your last statement proves what I’m saying. If everyone wants to bait we have to make changes. Changes are necessary because of corn. You can say it. It’ll be ok if the corn guys get mad at you

I guess we should ban guns based on your logic.

My logic is corn has brought out way too many hunters because it makes it easy. Easy turns into way more deer killed. That is where we are now in a lot of areas. Get rid of corn and you lose a lot of the so called hunters and deer numbers will come back up.

Too many have started baiting. Getting them to stop will be a tall task.

I can get behind this. The question is: how do we the power that be to listen?

Start writing letters. Go to CAB meetings. I’ve sent mine. They’re going to start hearing from a lot of ppl I think.

And that, CNC, is what I’ve been advocating. I am not against baiting. I am not against cell cams. I am not against February hunting “where needed”. I am certainly against the combination of ALL three under our current season structure.

Since were getting rid of bait, should hunting over a green field and an acorn filled oak bottom be banned?

Maybe we should have to wear an orange loin cloth and use spears to hunt deer?

If you honestly can’t see how legalized corn with the technological advances has impacted deer hunting with a 3 month gun season then I don’t know what else can be said.

Looks like yall have already completed this comment. I typically hunt very little between Thanksgiving and 1st of year. When I do its usually more to hang out with the guys.

Glad to see we're all on the same page now.....

The solution we are trying to solve for is lower deer take and better age structure, correct? Why not keep all methods legal and simply lower the deer take directly with a tag system like nearly every other state. You can hunt 1000 acres with heated blinds, a six month season, clover fields with corn feeders in the middle, thermal drones, night vision during daylight, 100 cell cams, a $15k side by side, $500 in hunting clothes in your ground blind, ozone, and a world class bird dog sitting with you, fully auto 100 round mag, but it doesn’t matter if you have one antler restricted buck tag and 1-2 antlerless tags.

And my point still is that the human factor is the 800 pound gorilla in the corner nobody wants to acknowledge.

Has the three buck limit instituted years ago had a positive impact on the sex ratios and age structure?

Has night hunting stopped since it was banned in... Oh wait, that's always been banned. Guess that's not a problem.

Outlaw the use of corn tomorrow and there will still be corn spread all over this state.

If people aren't using game check, do you really think they would abide by tags? Hell no is the answer.
I have stated multiple times that you have to be a very unlucky person to get a ticket in this state. Corn fees to the King were to increase revenue to increase officers (I may be wrong). 15 and then 17.50 and still have some poor soul covering multiple counties.

NM has a tag system , if you hunt you have a tag . Whether you are successful or not you must log in do a survey after season or you won't get a license and tags the next year. As a resident you don't tag the animal and are busted , you don't hunt next 3 years ( I think) , plus a hefty fine . If you're from out of state and do something stupid , you get a hefty fine and you ain't ever coming back.

Yeah and what the hell do they do to illegal's crossing their border. Priorities...

I think the one size fits all approach needs to go. Personally I would support shorter seasons and 2 buck limit. It would only work if it came with a tag system, mandatory check in to get the second tag and real enforcement with stiff penalties for non compliance. If there’s a real possibility that you get caught and have to pay a serious fine and can’t hunt for a couple years it would have the desired effect.

Game check and tags will never fix anything until you put a limit on rednecks and white trash!

Guess I’ll be at the CAB meetings this year. Somebody’s gotta be there to represent the rednecks and white trash.This crap can’t get pushed through. CNC I hope you’re at one of em so you can finally answer the question I asked you.

Trophy Hunters do the most complaining and are far out numbered by the guys that just want to hunt and enjoy the outdoors, feed their families, shoot 100" deer and shout BBD!!! or STUD on the ground!! Then there are the "It's not a STUD but its meat in the freezer" crowd that for some reason have to justify what they shoot to the rest of us.

That's the sad part and what hunting has gotten to be, I see it all the time on facebook, people are always justifying what they shoot to others, by always saying "it's not the biggest".....I hate to see that....be happy and glad you have killed a deer/buck or whatever and enjoy the moment, don't justify anything.....

Yeah you don’t have to out everything on facebook either.

I think this is a bad idea. It needs to be a simple season. Bow opens Oct 15. Gun opens 3rd Saturday in November. They either need to drop the buck limit all together or add a limit for doe's, unless you do Dmap.

Exactly....

Everybody go back to longbows and flintlocks one deer a season no hunting over any food source what so ever. Or leave shat alone want to cut some doe days whatever but alabama will never be a northern state and most of us have plenty of deer.

The state is the one who passed the 10 day extension and legalized baiting……Who’s the one not leaving shat alone??......I’m just suggesting measures to correct the issues they’ve caused. "Most" people dont have plenty deer....some do.....Apparently you're one of them. This is really sad how y’all operate. Weren't you Chuck's buddy??

Never met the man I just don't have any isuues wit it the way it is you want to help the heard how bout get rid of the hogs and coyotes then you can say a difference was made instead of spewing your drivel every year, year after year

If one of those illegals shoots an Elk or some other critter , I imagine they'd be rough on him . If he killed a human , not so much.

If we are going to do this why not just do like other states. Only one or two weeks of gun and the rest of season bow.

Ummm. No

This Man gets it!

Hers how the new season should look

Dec 15-31 bow only
Jan 1-15 muzzle loader only
Jan 15-31 rifle

One buck per hunter per season ( meaning you can take one with a bow, one with a muzzle loader, one with a rifle)

One doe per hunter per season
No spikes
Cell cams allowed out only during off season

Nah that's dumb you just have 1 season for any weapon then we will know who the bow hunters are

You have placed more pressure on the deer by making the most intrusive hunting last 4.25 months. I quit reading once I saw that.

Ben are you saying bow hunting is the most intrusive? I guarantee you the bow hunters are not wiping them out like the rifle hunters are. to be successful bowhunting you actually have to be a better hunter and actually hunt the deer.rifle hunters are no where near as careful as bowhunters and are usually very sloppy in their approach.anybody can kill a deer with a rifle.

GTFO

Sounds like us, Frankie. 57 years of hunting the same land and we have never killed a 130 deer. I'm sure that my dad and I were lousy hunters, as were all the folks we've carried, but we were good enough to kill dozens in the 110-128 range; just never get a bigger one.

And the state rules have almost nothing to do with it. We are surrounded by big clubs that all have restrictions on the size and number of bucks a member can kill, and those restrictions are much more than anything the state could ever hope to pass and enforce. We are loaded with deer, and have a lot of what I consider nice bucks. If you wanna enjoy the hunting experience, you just have to accept the fact that you aren't in Illinois.

If you wanna have Illinois hunting, go to Illinois.

It should be obvious to everyone that the primary objective of the current administration at our dcnr is no different from that of any corporation - it's to make money. The only difference is that corporations try to make money for their stockholders, while the dcnr uses the money to maintain and expand their governmental Kingdom. They will respond to hunter demands only if they perceive it might affect the money in some way. I'm not sure how you can do that, but best of luck in trying.

I believe it’s time to start talking about turkey limits again isn’t it? 😃
Too early?

I agree......I travel around to a lot of properties and the bow hunting only places are by far the best and least pressured......deer stand around like cows in a pasture at some of them. Some of the comments made on these threads are way off base......Our bow hunting days are a non factor. The first 4 days of the Feb gun extension killed more deer than the entire bow season…..

Never too early. Let's take it to 1 and shorten the season so it opens on April 25th and closes on May 2. Bow only, no crossbows. Gotta protect those dominant gobblers.

Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ohio, and right next door: Georgia, all allow baiting and all are premier deer hunting states with high B&C record book entries. It ain't the corn, it's the culture.

Please explain why TAGS will be better than GAME CHECK and not referring to more information on the tags, can do that with game check. If you’re willing to avoid GC
Then you will avoid Tags for the same reason

They will only work if they come with significant enforcement and strong penalties .

There’s a certain psychological aspect to it that I don’t know if I can fully explain…….Not attaching a hot pink tag to an antler is an obvious in your face very noticeable thing for someone to not do……Its not the out of sight out of mind task of checking one in to game check that is an after thought to many. If we’re supposed to “tag” them then it sticks out like a sore thumb when one hasn’t been……whether at camp, in the truck, or on social media.

Also, monitoring social media for violations could be made very simple. If you had a hot pink tag then I’d imagine it would be pretty easy for AI to sort through buck pictures like facial recognition and spot the ones not tagged for further investigation.

Another aspect of it is that tags issued from the DCNR would be a whole lot harder to fake than someone printing out multiple copies of licenses on their home printer and having 48 hrs to call it in. Write it down, take it home, get a new license and never call it in……The system is too simple to beat......Its the honor system basically right now and even preachers and front row church go'ers will fudge it for an extra buck

Eliminating the three buck rule, then there is no need for either

Very well explained CNC. The 48hrs to formally report it is the problem. Here's an example of how easy it would be. Shoot buck, fill out the paper harvest record. Leave land, drive back to camp. If pulled over, show the paper record to the GW and and tell him that I did not have good cell service and I will officially check it within the required 48 hr timeframe. If I'm not pulled over, I process my own deer so within an hour, that deer is quartered up, iced down and in a cooler in the barn and effectively just disappeared. If I did not get pulled over on the way back to camp, I simply toss the filled out, paper copy in the firepit, and never record. If I did get pulled over and checked, I know the GW will be potentially looking for it so I log in and record it on Chuckie Check. I can guarantee you that it is happening just like that, all over the state.

With a license issued formal tag system, the tag is required to be defaced and attached to the deer prior to moving it. Once it is done, it is done and cannot be used again. Much better, much more effective system. Easier to enforce for the GWs, much harder to circumvent/cheat. Better for keeping honest people honest.

This: The first 4 days of the Feb gun extension killed more deer than the entire bow season….

Bow hunting puts a lot more pressure on them than rifle hunting . You have to get closer. When you get closer you get busted more.
Let’s say you have a ladder stand sitting back 100 yards off a field. You can come and leave with rifle and the deer never know you are there. That same stand is worthless to hunt from with a bow. To bow hunt same place you have to put a stand right on top of the expected trail. Much higher probability of getting busted. After that happens a few times they will quit coming by there.
Yes there are a lot more deer killed during rifle season. There are also a lot more hunters. If rifle season is as shortened. There would be a lot more people take up bow hunting.

I'm not interested in Midwest restrictions without Midwest results/opportunities and that isn't going to happen.

If an area doesn't have enough deer, change the doe limit.

If an area doesn't have the size bucks you desire, change YOUR situation.

I will say the social media aspect of it is something I have not thought about so good point. Maybe tags will make it a lot harder to cheat the system but, it will not affect me in the slightest. I am a big supporter in the killing of less does. All that to say rules are for the honest people.

The deer killed during the February extension will just be killed in the last of January, folks just pushing the chance to kill a better deer or waiting to the bitter end to fill the freezer, I don’t see that changing the #’s, folk’s gonna kill their quota be it in 60 days or 120 days.

And no matter what we do we will never rival those premier deer hunting states. It just won’t happen. Even our resident expert CNC will tell you that

Sigh.... It's genetics it's got nothing to do with culture. You can limit buck harvest all you want but we don't have the genetics to grow northern deer in mass here period. We get the occasional 150s and up but it's management on the property that gets those. Most here that want restrictions on deer season hunt shat property that can't hold a healthy heard anyway. You say it's the doe killing that's reduced your numbers I'd be looking at agriculture in your area as the real reason your deer numbers might be down how bout predators? None of yall mention that or hogs running your deer off. I know some deer killing fools none of them are killing enough to damage the heard no single person is killing a deer a day. I'll even give you doe days cut them back it's not gonna change shat but whatever. Outlaws... Say some assholes are killing a shat ton of deer at night, 3-4 a day you need to blame that on your green jeans not the seasons. Like I always say don't like it find another state that has seasons you like and stop hunting Alabama still havent seen anybody say they have stopped hunting in Bama because the season is better in a different state. This season change shat is a yearly troll by CNC and yall fools fall or it year after year

Right but bow hunting is more intrusive meaning you spook more deer as you have to get closer to more deer. I can hunt literally everyday of gun season and deer never know I am anywhere around if I do it right. To bow hunt successfully you have to get so close you can't help but alert deer to your presence on occasion imo. Bow hunting is more intrusive not more lethal. Everyone can kill a deer with a bow or crossbow now days

I think our potential is sold way short……However, nothing that has been said has been about trying to grow trophy midwest deer……Its been about rule changes that have created piss poor herd dynamics, an over harvesting of bucks, and minimal populations across big swaths of the state. Expectations seem to be kept low in our state…..Dont expect much and you wont be disappointed seems to be our creed.......Just sayin, we definitely have plenty room for improvement......

Let me ask y'all a question......What if the state sold night hunting permits for $100 each and allowed folks to night hunt?.....Would you have a problem with the impact that had on the deer population??

Me thinks you put us folks that grew up hunting public land on your land we will kill deer better than you!!!!
We ain't stingy we remember when deer Hunting Was tough on public land.alot of deer on public land now
Dont let some of us show up on your high dollar property.we can actually hunt deer not in shooting houses.like them old Indians did
Lol but seriously y'all argue but there's still old school meat hunters in a lot of our blood.we ain't trying to be special or show we got money to kill something
Getting silly

And no bow hunters aren't putting more pressure.very few guys bow hunt
I'm normally only fella bow hunting regularly in last 3-4 hunting clubs

ever bow hunter i know has standards for killing with a bow and gun . what they kill with a bow theyll let pass with a gun ,,,,, some times . lol

hell some here would pay a $1,000

We'll pay to hunt the yuppies on here's property
$100 pretty easy.hell we might just take it over all together
We got messicans coming in might as well start taking over whatever I want

How can a rule that changes a buck a day everyday of the season to 3 buck per season with one having at least 4pts on one side for most of the state create over harvesting of bucks? You really think the there is that many more bucks being killed now then when every buck with visible antlers were being killed? I’m not following what you’re wanting.

You may not be talking about growing Midwest deer. But most that will follow your flawed logic believe that if we limit this and limit that it will end up being the Midwest. People don’t believe in northern genetics vs southern genetics and vast agricultural property that help these deer grow big. Leave our season alone. You talk about all these changes but dance around why you propose these changes. It’s corn. Corn is why you are even talking about all this.

I find it strange that deer hunting was much better in this state back when we could kill a buck a day and only had doe days around Christmas. So maybe I’m wrong a little. The problem we have in this state is the slaughter of does and corn. But they go hand in hand IMO

You have a choice:
A. Pull the trigger
B. Don't pull the trigger.

Corn does not force you to choose A. People choose B consistently in other baiting states. Why can't they here?

Answer: If you don't kill them, your neighbors will.

Corn just makes it easier and brings more deer to pull the trigger on.

Exactly…….and when those extra 100K deer get killed as a result of the night hunting permits are we gonna blame it all on the hunters and lack of self-restraint or does the state also carry some of that burden for selling them the ability to do so??

My point is that those extra 100K deer we killed are just as dead whether that permit that was sold says baiting or night hunting on it. If it were to have been night hunting people would be pitching a fit about it…… but because its baiting we don’t even acknowledge its had an impact and even if we do the blame is going to the hunters while the state plays innocent. There should be changes made to compensate for the impact that baiting is causing.

I am still looking for that magic corn pile yall speak of. My five year old daylight once all year over a pile. But i caught him in roads 3 times n daylight where there no bait

I use to spot light without gun lot in high school amd college. A 6 year old can consistently shoot big deer if somebody holds a spot light

CNC ,,,, some times people just gotta learn the hard way .

Me ,,,,

Id fire ever body , Chuck and his buddies need to go

Id stop all supplement feeding during season

I'd stop the February season

I'd change does days up .where needed .

In a few years with CWD they gonna stop feeding any way .. might as well stop it now .

I’m still amazed that Texas hasn’t run out of deer yet!! You know if corn is depleted the deer population in Alabama. Heck even with kill em all mentality in Louisiana,we still have a large population of deer and corn has been legal for as long as I can remember.

Naw Ben. Us rifle hunters are sloppy and don’t really hunt the deer.

We were a park and walk club and one of the best things we did was to close early bow season and shut the whole club down for 2 weeks before opening day of rifle. No more stinking up the woods for a month before opening day.

Texas doesn’t allow the slaughter of does like we do in this state. We allow you to corn all you want and sit at that feeder and shoot a doe every day you sit at the feeder. My complaint in all of this is leave the season dates alone. If there is any changes that need to be made it is do away with corn or have doe days implemented again in the areas that are suffering with deer numbers.

Had to edit to add that even your kill em all Louisiana has limits on the amount of does you can kill. We don’t. Corn has helped aid in every swinging d### putting on camo and sitting at a feeder. So now we are where we are.

You can shoot does in Texas.

Most hunters CHOOSE not to do it.

You must not be holding your mouth right…..Every deer I’ve posted a picture of has been shot off of a corn pile except for one……

I must be in the wrong business. I have two feeders out in strategic locations to help hold them on my property. But damn, who the hell can afford to put corn out like that.

Yes you sure can shoot does in Texas. I never said you couldn’t. They just don’t allow the slaughter of them like we do. It ain’t a choice the hunters make. It’s the law

I’m with you on the affording it part. Glad I don’t have a corn addiction and never will

🤣🤣
Thanks CNC - i will work on it

No, the guys I know out there don't shoot them by choice.

That last statement really drives home the fact that a lot of people are piss poor shots. If you are shooting deer off a corn pile it ought to be a done deal on the shot. If your struggling, sit closer to the damn corn pile!

So, how hard have you pushed this issue with the powers to be? I ask that as this seems to be a very personal issue with the betterment of Alabama's deer herd at stake.

Ysll that think Coen is the problem, must also want to ban ownership of ar-15 by the government too? Corn don't kill deer people do!

Wasn’t the baiting permit passed by the legislature and not a DCNR directive?

I just looked up Jackson county we are shooting more bucks than does. I am going to watch the numbers and see what happens for February. Cnc what do you think the numbers say for Jackson county?

Harold, have you ever taken your research and studies to a CAB meeting to discuss it with the board members? If not you should and let us know which one you are going to.


https://www.outdooralabama.com/about-us/conservation-advisory-board

I’d be good going back to closing it on Jan. 31st even though my 2 best bucks in the last 20+ years have come on Feb 1st and 3rd respectively. I still feel weird about deer hunting in February. Kinda like turkey hunting in May. But I’m gonna go if I can!

I've never been to a CAB meeting......I'm a little skeptical about how seriously they actually take the speakers.....I always figured it was basically just a way to appease the public and make them feel like they have a voice.....I'd be real surprised if it actually influenced decisions.

A lot of north Alabama counties saw big spikes in harvest numbers last year and are way down from that this year........Jackson being one of those

Another interesting observation I noticed is that the entire southeastern corner of the state is seeing a 4 year high in doe harvesting.....Most counties will surpass it by a good bit.....The counties with green "x" are the ones seeing a 4 year high and the ones with the red X are seeing a 4 year low.....There's still more counties in north Alabama that may get a red X if they dont kill a bunch in the next 13 days

Don’t forget last years lack of acorns and food in general.

Better chance there than on an Internet forum. I’d give it a try if I thought my opinions were based on anything truly scientific. My opinions are just that, opinions. They are based on my experiences of being in the woods for 50 years plus, but that truly will mean nothing there.

BINGO!!!

Thank you for your comments, they have been noted. Next we have have Joe from cullman who wishes to talk on the positive biological effects of dog hunting.

Here,around the house that's when they really start to get hot . Always been that way

Though some bred in Dec/Jan

^^
Yea - where we at sometime dont chase hard till very end jan

Yep.....

Go to a CAB meeting , state your case if all this is that important to you.

Thanks for your comments.....they have been noted.

Why do you think the southeast corner of the state is shooting more does this year than any other year in the last four??.....Its not just random or coincidence……that’s a very obvious pattern occurring……There’s an underlying reason…..What is it??

He trolls this site every year with his "ideas" never does shat but troll this forum and make people believe his drivel.....

Had to google drivel

I though most of us older folks knew what drivel was😂 for those that don't know drivel mean NONSENSE.

I'm sure I learned it in HS English , but that's been been bout 50 years ago. I just use BS.

Why not go to a cab meeting? Or write letters/ emails to Cab members? You are a smart guy who is passionate about the well being of our states wildlife. I’d like to have you arguing on our behalf. I emailed everyone of the CAB members about turkey season changes and heard back from several of them. I figure that if they hear from enough of us maybe it will make a difference.
It’s fun to debate things on aldeer but it will never lead to any kind of change.

Southwood7 i bet they got a spy or two that visit

I think so too......

I’ve got a theory about those southeastern counties …….I don’t think its big plantation X…..or big hunting club Y…….or landowner Z changing their doe harvest patterns in the southeastern portion of the state that has caused the 4 year increase in doe harvest numbers that we see peaking this year (assuming this is where it peaks)…..I think the increase is coming from more and more of the smaller properties around them being utilized to take advantage of the good populations….. I bet most of the big players are shooting the same as they have been.

I know that there’s always been folks hunting around the big plantations and such but now anyone who can put up a feeder in his uncles back yard can have an impact. There’s just FAR more of these small properties now with the ability to kill more deer than they could in the past. The increase is coming from these folks skimming more of the cream off the top as more properties are utilized to pour out a bait pile. I think the cream has already been skimmed off of North Alabama and why you see the decline this year. The southeastern part may just be a year of so behind in declining due to there being better populations. I think the southwestern portion may be a little less impacted because its so much more rural with less small property fragmentation…. It would blow everyone’s mind if you could see the true scale of baiting that’s occurring……The more the land is divided up into smaller properties, the higher the feeder/corn pile density.

Frankie is right……Sometimes folks gotta learn the hard way. I’m guessing its gonna be another “weird year” next season again for a lot of folks.

Not true. I've been to several of them.

How in the heck do y'all think I'm gonna be able to explain all of this in 3 minutes???

Neither will talking to the CAB members, unless it somehow involves fleecing hunters, money for the state, or something that benefits the individual members themselves. All this corn crap started with the "its okay in hunting season if it's 100 yards and out of sight" rule, which coincidentally involved benefiting a couple very specific guys with high fence, pay to shoot operations that pushed it through. Who'd a thunk it????

Pie charts of course, 😁

Do you think people would be all that surprised? Corn is the easiest and cheapest way to see deer consistently hands down.

Any reason to reduce the season rather than moving to physical tags and tighter bag limits with stiff fines that isn't "people are just going to break the law and keep killing deer". I think if the state came out and publicly said "hey we're killing too many does and it's hurting the herd, we need to put bag limits in" very very few people would exceed their limit.

I did recommend going to physical tags……I recommended that, along with taking back the 10 days that were added onto gun season with the extension…..along with going to doe days for more areas…..along with restructuring the season dates so that north Alabama hunters arent gun hunting in Feb……

Ah - my bad. Sounds like you're thinking of a multi-pronged approach. Carry on!

It’s a simple formula: shoot less does + shoot more predators = bigger deer herd

go ing to tags is going to help nothing and only add to the cost to the people . we have game check , the deer processers have to have that number to take a deer .

the ones not fallowing the law now wont fallow a tagging system either . there will be ways around it .

it comes to just how hard you wanna make on ever body to hunt or how much you wanna make it cost ?????

of course the state will have to come up with a way to cover the cost of a tagging system .

Game Check compliance is estimated to be around 65% I believe......What kind of compliance rates do other states have with a tag system??......I’m guessing it’s higher than 65%

Easy. Just add a tagging privilege.

not as simple as that. plus everyone would be bitching about the rut and not seeing any chasing or cursing due to the fact that the bucks dont have to move near a much to find doe.

and price it at $50/tag. i mean they trying to make it a rich man sport anyway right

lol ,,,, then theyll raise the limit to five .

but that dont help places where doe numbers are low . is some truth about more does more bucks . i guess we could do $50 on bucks $25 on does . lol

If you want to raise some revenue and hit more wealthy hunters add a hunting lease tax, say $1 per acre, a shooting house registration - $50/year/shooting house, and a green field privilege - $2/year/acre. Now you're taxing wealthy hunters.

For example in a place with tag restrictions they may give out 1 rifle tag (either sex), a bow tag (either sex), then a bow/muzz tag (either sex). If you want more does, you can buy the permits for like 10 bucks, but they are zone restricted to areas with high doe population. So for example you could buy an extra doe tag for Lauderdale county if the state says more does need to be killed there, but you couldn't use that tag in Madison county. You can end up killing a lot of does if you want to but they have to be from areas with high doe population.

Of course some guy with a corn pile can crossbow deer in his backyard year round, but that's always been the case and there's nothing you can do to stop it other than reporting them if you hear/know about it.

As bad as I hate to agree with ANYTHING you say. I’m completely against the February extended season. Especially in North Alabama.

Recommended to whom?

I mean all of us are "peeing in the ocean" ha