Choccolocco WMA

Hey all, I'm usually in the Choc WMA so if you see my 2001 Red F150 stepside stop and say hi if you see me.
Not many red step-sides around here so if you see one it's probably me.
I usually drive in Rd 522/Hwy 9 right by the GW office there or at the 2nd to last road near the end of Baines Gap/Choc. Rd on the North side.

Gonna try tom. for the special gun hunt with my black powder even tho it's suppose to be near 80° both Sat/Sun.

Funny story:
I saw a nice 8+ last year that walked < 10 yds from me following a scent but I didn't get a shot. I was sitting on the side of the road down the hill with brush in front of me so I couldn't see directly below me. He walked right up thru it towards me then we about spooked each other at the same time lmao and he ran down and up the next hill. I was about 2 seconds from a shot then he walked on over the hill.
The next day someone else was there

Last Monday parked in a place I've never seen anyone park. Got all my stuff on, walked about 40 yds down the short semi grown road, stopped, walked over to see where this other path went down thru some thick stuff, dang deer standing down there and blew at me...ran 30 yds stopped, I couldn't see it, blew at me again..Wind was blowing at me so it didn't smell me I just spooked it.

I can't tell you how many times I've had deer bedded down < 40 yds of parking..Crazy stuff and it happens to me quiet a bit

Anyway, Good Luck everyone on the season.

Im usually out there a lot but between kids basket games and the weather im gonna skip it.

I've hunted there for years. I took advantage if the liberal doe limits. Then they stopped it. I'm not sure if everything got killed but it's hard to see a deer now. It's like a ghost town on the hunts now. You would think the population would bounce back by now.

You can still shoot a doe a day bow hunting in the WMA all season.
I've learned over the years in Choc., you have to get in the woods!
Because of the number of hunters that show up during the gun hunts, and like any other pressured area, the deer are gonna move further in..especially if you go to the parking places where you always see vehicles parked.

Or just be like me as I posted above..lmao just park and walk 40 yds and run over deer

Didn't you post earlier that you only saw 10 deer all last season? Doesn't sound like your method is working, ever consider that maybe there just are t many deer?

Yes I did, but I also said cos of my back and right knee I can't track back in as far as I used to be able to with all my gear.
I have on occasion but only if I can walk an old road further in..

I can see how confusing I guess that sounded lol

Wish I could be out there for the early gun hunt but I’m hunting in NC with a friend trying to get him his first.

I hunt there at least once or twice a year. I still see deer out there but not as many in a sit as I have in the past. Just gotta get back there to them and hunt. Liberal doe days out a hurting on them but it isn’t devoid of deer either.

Good luck to all that are going this weekend!

And as I said I'll say it again. Parked in area no one else parks, walked in almost a mile, walked over a deer!

Funny thing tho, there's a bunch of people down the road at the Pinati trail making all kinds of noise in the woods.

Dumbass's didn't realize there's a gun hunt. THEY ALL SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO Wear ORANGE Or GET THE HECK OUT!

Did you hear any shots

I m @ chocco, heard what I think is 3 different people shooting. 2 shot twice, the other just shot once. Last shot was around 9:30-10. I've seen two does (7:30)and just had a lil 3 point walk by. Beautiful place out here. My first time being here. I got a video of the 3pt but its sketchier than the Bigfoot footage. Here is my view from this morning.

We must have been pretty close to each other cos I heard those, same 2 shots then about 1 hr later another shot.
I talked to GW @Hwy 9 on my way out. No one had brought any deer out. He said someone had one at other check station, a 8 pt. He said the guy who shot it said it was chasing a doe. Then the GW said they are rutting NOW!?!?

I've never ever heard anyone say the rut in Choc is first week of Nov. I think someone is full of ^{+{!|*

I've been here for about an hr. Bunch of rubs and a few scrapes.

ive been on muzzleloader hunts and seen tons of chasing. So the game warden ain't too far off by my experience. About another week I'd say. It's my opinion that early muzzloader season is worth taking off work for.

Ok thanks Sgiles.

I'm surprised it's happening now.. I read a lot of other forums and the census was towards the end of Nov thru Christmas then end of Jan..Guess where I'm hunting has more Northern deer since this area has so many deer from other parts of the country.

I saw a map somewhere that showed where the imported deer were put in and from where..Can't rem. where I saw that now

Wow it looks like you're up in the fog lol

Choccolocco was stocked with North Carolina deer from Pisgah National Forest in the mountains. Bankhead was with Michigan deer. Both areas were some of the very first to be stocked in the early 1900s. Both areas were extremely remote and had virtually no deer when they stocked them so that's why both still have November ruts. Those stocked deer became the dominant herd. Several other areas in the state were stocked with northern deer, but it wasn't isolated enough to keep the native herd and other stocks from south Alabama from diluting the genetics. If only they had restocked all of northern Alabama with Michigan deer.......

I keep threatening to drive up for the earlier rut but haven't yet. I usually stay on Hollins or Coosa and I drive a white wrangler with 35s and trailmaster on the hood. It is usually abandoned in daylight however unless I get an early kill.

Muzzleloader hunt and the Thanksgiving hunt are the best for rut activity year in and year out.

Anyone been this weekend? Was considering a drive up with my smokepole this week and was wondering how the rug was progressing.

I'm here with my daughter now. My buddy saw 7 does in a spot I put him last weekend. No bucks around them. I don't expect much rut activity for 2 more weeks.

I got my youngest son here now on a greenfield on the north end. Hunted yesterday morning with my oldest son and we saw seven. One good buck chased a group of does in some thinned pines. Couldn’t ever get on any of them. Hunted that spot this morning with him and didn’t see anything.

For you guys that hunt here often, do you know if there are more deer seen up in the North zone vice the South?
I've only been in North a time or two.

I'll be there all 4 days of the BP hunt starting tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone!

My opinion is the north receives more pressure so I’ve concentrated my efforts to the south. I’ve seen a lot deer the past 3 years I’ve hunted here but it’s hard to find a shooter buck. I do a lot of scouting and hunt far off the road where I usually wouldn’t even drag a doe out.

Ok. I was in south all day today. Didn't see anything till around 12-1 when 2 deer came off the mountain, crossed the bottom and went up the next ridge. I could only see when they came out at the bottom and 145 yds away so assume does or maybe that doe and spike I have pics of.
Kicking my own butt cos if I would have got in a tree where I stopped first, they would have came out right below me lol.
I put my bottom stand around the one big pine and I got that old noisy rub of the strap so I couldn't use that tree so I moved.
I saw 1 big doe in the road when driving in as I came around a curve. She went back in just above this other little blue truck.Guess they never saw cos when I left at dark the truck was still there.

Yesterday was the first time I have actually heard a buck chasing a doe with the tending grunt, followed by the doe's estrusbleat (it sounded like).. It's funny cos where I was sitting I had done the same thing about 45 minutes earlier.

At first I was like, am I just hearing things..Then it started again. Somewhere off behind me I believe further down in the valley..Interesting day even though I didn't see anything but a bunch of ridge top trails, a few scrapes and a good sized rub in the old closed road.

I hunted there the past 2 days saw 0. Plenty of rubs and scrapes. I think the deer there die virgins.

Good luck yall. Keep after them. Takes one minute for a good hunt ot turn into a great one!

Good luck and post up some pics when you get one!

Well I'll admit, I'm starting to believe the others who say the numbers have declined over the years.
I try to stay away from areas where I always see people parked so I can hopefully increase my odds, but so far odds are still stacked against lol

I've seen a total of 5 deer this year in about 21 days in the woods and one of the deer was in the road omw in one day.
I did find an article ranking WMAs and accordingly, Choc had one of the highest man days/harvest, whereas Black Warrior Zone B had the fewest.
I've never been to BW and one day I want to drive there. I'm a little hesitant tho since it's 2+ hr drive and I'd hate to drive there and find 9000 hunters..
Ive read there are better deer although I've also read the numbers are NOT that high either. So leads me to believe it would be the same as Choc but just better deer.
Thoughts?

Black Warrior is definitely not easy hunting but there are some great deer on it. If you're expecting to see more deer than Choccolocco you might be disappointed. If you want a change of scenery then come on over. Who knows, you could get lucky. I've been hunting it for about 12 years and just now consistently see deer. It took a lot of walking and figuring out how the deer travel there.

Thanks jhogeland! I just need to find a decent looking area to try my first trip.

Why don't you try hollins tomorrow.

X2....Hollins Is always good this time of year....Ol Rebbecca Mt will make your calfs sing.... ...They'll be more than a few Bigns killed there this year....02... Good Luck...

Well I just finished figuring out Hollins so I think I'll skip tomorrow since it's gonna be a warm day with rain.
May try bow hunting there Sunday since it's gonna be a cooler day and a lot less pressure as well..