Black Warrior WMA Zone A or B?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Been looking at doing some bow hunting on black warrior wma this season, I've been there a couple times scouting and read everything I could find about the place. Just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on zone a and zone b.

Better deer huntn at Skyline nuttn but pigs left at Bankhead, Welcome to Al.Deer

Yea I seen plenty of hog sign at black warrior. Looked like they had scratched their backs on every rub I found. I know there has to some good bucks in there. Thanks for info.

Zone A has more deer or at least I can go and shoot a doe there at will but I mainly hunt Zone B for the quality of bucks that roam those steep ridges. Set a camera up on a hardwood ridge that runs east to west at a saddle next to a thicket and you will see what kind of headgear roams those hollows.

If you look at the harvest data on buck age structure and quality there really is a negligible difference in the two zones. Zone B has a little better habitat, with timber harvests, prescribed fire. Zone A has little habitat management taking place, except the few food plots planted each year outside the wilderness. We've trapped a lot of hogs. In some areas we are seeing far less hog damage and detecting far fewer on cameras. Hunters are saying they're seeing fewer hogs too. With that said, hogs are expanding into areas we haven't trapped and in areas they haven't been before.

You can certainly kill a nice buck out there between middle of November until early December. We are having an early rifle hunt on Zone B this year on November 13-14. Should be bucks running crazy.

I put a trailcam out just south of Zone B when I moved here, and the first two deer on the camera were a 165-170" 10 point and a 125-130" 8.

Thanks I'll definitely do that. That's what I'm looking for is to take a good mature buck off of public land. I may never get to but I'm gonna dang sure try.

Yeah Matt im sure theres not a big difference in population on either side but im just going by camera pics. I run 12 cameras across the wma usually 8 on Zone B and 4 at A. I get higher quality racks on B side consistently but less total deer. In saying that though my biggest deer to date came from the J. B. rd area in Zone A back in 1999 and I would have said it was the best zone back then.

Are they still gonna have the muzzleloader hunt this year matt.

I don't live close to there, and I've never hunted that WMA, but this is a good thread! Those are really informative answers...That's good stuff Matt and tenthlegionnaire!

There is an early rifle hunt as in a youth rifle hunt or a special rifle hunt for everyone? I know the youth hunt days are the 13-16 but gun season doesn't open throughout the state until the 21. If its for everyone how does that work where a management area can can decide its on rifle dates outside of state law? I've been to the opening year hunt on zone B before and its already loaded with hunters. I can't imagine it opening the week before season and now its the only place in the whole state for gun hunters to go.

Yes. The dates are on my agency computer, which I'm almost certain are Nov. 16-18.



The early rifle hunt is for everyone. WMAs can establish their own special seasons. The reasoning is because for decades hunters have missed hunting the first stages of the rut on Black Warrior. Does are being bred as early as October, with the majority of breeding taking place in mid November. There will also be a special early season hunt on Choccolocco beginning Nov. 7. I agree it will be crowded once the word gets out. There is no doubt about it. I don't see it being more crowded than the first traditional opening day hunt has been though.

I can't find the link to the original article, but this is what I posted back in March when it first came up.

"In order to promote hunting on Alabama's public lands, Sykes proposed creating four special-opportunity gun hunts for deer, two in Zone A and two in Zone B.

The Zone A hunts are tentatively set for Nov. 6-8 on the Choccolocco WMA and Nov. 13-14 on the Black Warrior Wma. In Zone B, where gun deer season is closed Dec. 1-10 to accommodate the 10-day season shift into February, special-opportunity gun hunts are scheduled to be held Dec. 3-6 on the Barbour and Lowndes WMAs."

That's some awesome info. I'm hopefully going back this weekend to put some more miles on my boots if I don't die from Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever first haha. This year the ticks are BAD! Last weekend I thought they were gonna tote me off! Had some spray that usually works but it didn't this time. Guess I'm gonna get some permethrin to keep the little seed ticks and any other ticks outta my boots and pants. On the weekends of the gun hunts is it so crowded that orange hats are everywhere?

Matt,
Do you feel you need to go real deep to get on deer. I went on the spring hog hunt and went maybe 150 yards out a little finger ridge and there were old rubs and scrapes around. I know deeper is probably better but do you see hunters having success that close? Just curious. I hunt skyline a good bit and I think there's a middle zone that gets hammered and a deep and maybe even near zone that doesn't. But is the near zone any good to hunt?

Early gun hunt on Choccolocco you say??? I like it! Seems like the powers that be are letting the biologists have some freedom to do what they can to improve the hunting and the habitat. May not be the case but sure seems like I've seen a fair amount of burning and maintenance going on at Choccolocco the past few years. At least more than in previous years.

Just my personal opinion but I don't believe allowing WMA's to have hunts outside of state season is going to improve hunting. I think if the word gets out that this is happening it could be a dangerous event. I know many people who are already scared to go on WMA hunts because of the amount of people that attend. The opening season hunt on Black Warrior is already probably the most or one of the most hunted AL public land hunts in the state. You now open it a week early and its the only place to hunt in the state unless taking a youth and the numbers could be double or more than the usual number. I understand that the reason for this is the early rut that takes place but are you really going to get to experience hunting the rut if there are 1000-2000 people walking around in the woods? Should make for a good deer drive though. The numbers already aren't great on Black Warrior so its not like they need to add more hunts to control the population.

That being said I hope it goes well and who knows the numbers may be on par for any other hunt they have especially this being the first year. I'm sure as always there will be some good deer killed. I just don't see it really improving the hunting.

It's not meant to improve the hunting. It's about increasing opportunity. Days were taken off the back side of the hunts. All that happened was a shift in days.

I really hate to hear this. bankhead has always been a great place to get to bow hunt the rut before the crowd hits. O, well I guess all good things have to come to an end!

I think its a great thing! I am from Vinemont, and I hunt a Farm in southern Lawrence county Tenn. but I will miss 2 days of the rut there for this chance. If the weather is good could be some Record deer killed. I started hunting at gum pond with my grandpa at 9 years old on this WMA. I love it!! I have never killed a deer on it. I have missed 2 Good bucks. One of them was the biggest deer I have ever seen hunting. In fact that morning I was in my stand an hour before daylight on the B side, and by 9am I had seen 9 deer not too bad at all 4 bucks! I like for people to hunt I hope its a big crowd. It seems always the bigger the crowd the better the hunting. I can not wait I know first thing in the morning I will be taking off Nov. 13-14. thanks Matt you get little credit on here. I think you do a wonderful job!! keep it up.

Also that Myth about getting shot on WMAs its getting old. Some very responsible hunters and dedicated. There are some hunting clubs that need to work on the safety though. Were any of the 6 I think, and god rest their souls people killed last year on WMAs. I just think people give them a bad reputation, and have never even hunted one.

Headshot I hunt the wma all season with my bow even on the gun hunts and I can assure you that all those hunters in the woods have helped my success more than it has hurt it. The forest and wma literally run into my back yard and being a hunter and very competitive to boot I used to be selfish about outsiders coming into my paradise that I had experienced my whole life. Every time a magazine boasted about the huge buck potential of the black warrior I wanted to punch the publisher in the mouth. But I finally realized that the more exposure it got and the more people who hunted it there started to be a lil more put back into it. And the fact that I arrowed 3 bucks over 130" in 2 years that were bumped to me by other hunters makes me welcome them with open arms. Go find a deers core area then find the escape routes, set up way before daylight and let the deer drive begin! Then you can ask some of those nice outsiders to help you with the drag and you might even make a friend or two along the way.

Yep tenth, that's how I hunt Choccolocco. Every gun hunt the past few years has been good for having opportunities to put meat on the table. Haven't hauled out a big one, but it'll happen before long.

I'll agree with the other post too. Most people I have encountered on the gun hunts tend to be as safe if not more than those on private land. The warden presence has been pretty heavy on the last few hunts I've been on so that helps keep most folks honest I believe.

I'm not trying to sound selfish. I have bow hunted BH sense the early 90's . I just hate to give up ( in my opinion) the best week of bow season to a gun hunt. but, with that said I also gun hunt and will defiantly be there both days. I too, use other hunters to my advantage the same way that you guys have described.