The February Deer season needs to encompass more of the state..

I too think that the season should start later and got into Feb state wide.

The last thing this state needs is Feb. Hunting statewide. Give it where its justified, and leave everybody else alone.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

I vote year around season...kill em all.

I know on my land in Marshall county that the rut is just now starting really. Scrapes an tubs started showing up jan. 27 and I seen 2 mature bucks chasing today.

That would be ideal.

How bout we don't complain about when we get to hunt.. take Kentucky for example .. look at their restrictions and dates

https://app.fw.ky.gov/SeasonDates/Default.aspx

Take it how y'all want but I'm happy to be able to hunt 3 1/2 months straight..

You are correct, Sir.

That would be ideal.

NO!

Kentucky is one of the more liberal "Midwest" states. Not really sure what your point is.

I wish Alabama would tighten down on it's game laws. The 3 buck maximum was a start, but I would guess more people than not, pay no attention to that law.

Bottom line is. They will never make every hunter happy.

Highway 80 and I-85 lines would suck donkey kongs.

If an adult cant kill a mature buck with all the days we have he isn't spending enough time in the woods or there just aren't any where he is hunting! Bow season should open earlier!!! There should be a youth weekend the following weekend after deer season closes along with the one we have already. That way the kids can get in on the late rut areas without the adults jacking it up! Just my opinion!!!!!

not for me, would be about right for south Montgomery Co. Checked cams yesterday and had 2 mature shooter bucks on cam that I had never seen or had pics of before. Been running cams since early Sept.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for
me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

Same way here in Etowah. An hour south or north of here the rut is around Christmas.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

I'll upload pics of those three when I get home this evening, for whatever reason my work laptop won't do it. And I know my long rant above sounds awful, but I just get frustrated about the whole "we're missing the rut" issue. I get no more excited when I see a buck chasing a doe than I do when it's a crisp and calm December morning and hear limbs breaking in a cutover, then you see the horns, and ultimately get a shot!!! Woooo! I just don't understand the need to "hunt during the rut", unless the reason is that this hunter isn't seeing bucks otherwise. Am I off base on this? If I shoot a mature buck, it's exciting regardless of HOW it happened. So the logical deduction is some folks aren't SEEING bucks unless they are "rutting". My perception of the issue is that it's about not SEEING bucks at your land unless they're rutting. So I don't feel unjustified by casting a curious eye at a hunter who can't see a buck in the 3 1/2 months we already have. I've said this: If you just want to move the entire hunting season, then no problem. Let's make it Jan 1 till March 14th. But it's absurd to ask for "10 more days" so we can experience the rut. What is this romanticized idea about the rut that I don't get?

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

I'm just worn from this never-ending saga of extended deer seasons.

Pavement is the sole factor that determines where the various ruts are.

You are gonna have to learn to deal with it, our brothers in southwest alabama got a lollipop and now the rest of us wants one too.

Bazinga.

Clem, I hope that means you just farted.

No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

What law did he admit to breaking?

Be specific.

Originally Posted By: ikillbux

I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7.

Originally Posted By: ikillbux
I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe.

Then he later stated:

Sorry, third buck was killed Jan 17th, not 7th. I had the image saved on my laptop as "Jan7buck", so I didn't even catch my typo when I wrote that. But guys, don't crucify me because I don't just joyfully jump in the majority flow of wanting to extend hunting season. It's not against my religion or anything, it's just a pragmatic approach. If I can't kill one in 3.5 months, I just believe there's more of a problem than missing the rut. I probably took it a little too far and pointed a finger. No offense intended.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

So, what's the law he would have broken if he hadn't missed?

Sorry, third buck was killed Jan 17th, not 7th. I had the image saved on my laptop as "Jan7buck", so I didn't even catch my typo when I wrote that. But guys, don't crucify me because I don't just joyfully jump in the majority flow of wanting to extend hunting season. It's not against my religion or anything, it's just a pragmatic approach. If I can't kill one in 3.5 months, I just believe there's more of a problem than missing the rut. I probably took it a little too far and pointed a finger. No offense intended.

I didn't take into consideration who I was replying to grin

He would have killed 4 bucks.. no law perhaps a regulation

Baybuzzard,


Well?

The law defines when the CAB meets but they ignored it and held the meeting where their rule was passed.

So, is it really a rule?

3 meetings or 3 bucks. The message the CAB sent is to ignore it if it don't fit your needs.

DuckDown, sorry for hijacking your post. Y'all carry on.

This whole story sounds a little crawfishy to me

And there's someone every year that gets on here and says if you can't kill 3 bucks in 3 1/2 months yadda yadda yadda

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

Especially when he posted in another thread on Sunday the 19th that he missed a big 8pt on Friday...which would have been the 17th......

Maybe im full of shucks like a christmas turkey too!!.... But i hunt covington county only, and i usuall knock my biggest bucks out early, by the time my rut starts (if i see even see it) there basically aint even a deer left! Hard to see the does m when i do i spike or small immature deers behind her. I dont and will not depend on the rut to kill my bucks, all the rut is good for to me is to bring a bonus buck in from a neigjboring property. I agree 110% with ikillbux

No, I'm not gonna be MIA for a while, and no there's not any funny business with my harvest limit and kill dates. I just don't want to be the butthole of aldeer, acting like a juvenile arguing with strangers on a message board. Duckdown didn't ask for an argument when he made the post, and it was my fault that it turned that way. Just bowing out of this thread (and deleting my $.02) as a peacemaking gesture.

... Im simply petitioning for a shift of the dates amount of time already given.

...(7) To close the season of any species of game in any county or area when, upon a survey by the department, it is found necessary to the conservation and perpetuation of such species and to reopen such closed season when it is deemed advisable.

Do you really think it would harm the species if we were to vary from the "amount of time already given" from one area to the other?

How would not having a season, at all, harm the species? Predators have been managing the population long before hunters.

...All wildlife taken shall be disposed of as directed by the issuing agent, and except for feral swine it may not be utilized personally.

Ask the people where depredation permits are issued after hunting season closes if predators are managing the population.

Why does that matter?

What's the difference?

It makes no sense whatsoever to argue that all areas of the state should have deer season set for the same number of days.

Currently, areas in north Alabama have fewer days in the antlerless season. There is no reason why seasons should not be set differently according to the population density in different areas.

That is the intent of the law.

[quote=ikillbux]No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

Like I said earlier, the rut is controlled by the pavement.

I would like to see Smoothbore Muzzleloaders included as a lawful means of take during any open alabama archery season - including all wildlife management areas and state parks.

You do know why the State uses roads and natural features, right?

N2--I would have a guess, but the roads weren't built with the future rut taken into consideration.

No, I'm not gonna be MIA for a while, and no there's not any funny business with my harvest limit and kill dates. I just don't want to be the butthole of aldeer, acting like a juvenile arguing with strangers on a message board. Duckdown didn't ask for an argument when he made the post, and it was my fault that it turned that way. Just bowing out of this thread (and deleting my $.02) as a peacemaking gesture.

Most here probably won't hold it against you for attempting to kill that 4th buck. After all, you probably just couldn't help yourself when that really good buck came by after you had limited out. I got a buddy that can't help himself either. He flings arrows at deer running wide open 50 yards away. Every now and then he gets one.

Edit... oops, forgot to add my smiley, just to show I'm funnin with ya. Now where is it? Here it is...

I find it Ironic that his 4th deer was chasing a doe, and his whole argument is based on not needing/wanting to hunt the rut. Yet he was out hunting the rut.

He may not have been out hunting the rut, he may have been just hunting. He did say it was a "seriously large" buck, hence my comment about not being able to help himself... Kinda like a fella I used to fish with. He would fill the box with snapper, then start culling dead ones as bigger ones came into the boat.

It was just happenstance. Military base I primarily hunt on held their final gun hunt on Jan 11. Two friends and I decided to go to Barbour WMA for really no other reason that it was the most reputable WMA that was having a hunt. Didn't matter if the deer there were rutting or not, they just happened to be. The deer I killed and the deer I missed were both chasing does, very aggressively I might add. But actually, doesn't that really help my argument?...that's a LONG way south in Alabama, and those deer were absolutely nilly-willy chasing does like there was no tomorrow in the middle of January. TEven moreso, I talked to several folks who said they had been camped out bowhunting for several days prior to that gun hunt, and they had seen hard chasing all week.

It was just happenstance. Military base I primarily hunt on held their final gun hunt on Jan 11. Two friends and I decided to go to Barbour WMA for really no other reason that it was the most reputable WMA that was having a hunt. Didn't matter if the deer there were rutting or not, they just happened to be. The deer I killed and the deer I missed were both chasing does, very aggressively I might add. But actually, doesn't that really help my argument?...that's a LONG way south in Alabama, and those deer were absolutely nilly-willy chasing does like there was no tomorrow in the middle of January. TEven moreso, I talked to several folks who said they had been camped out bowhunting for several days prior to that gun hunt, and they had seen hard chasing all week.

Have you looked at the AON rut map of Alabama? I can't find the topic but I recall that Barbour has an early rut. Just a few miles of there at Eufaula the rut occurs late Nov -early December. So no, your hunting at Barbour does not support your argument.

I am still puzzled by the fact that the people who most strongly object to a change in season structure for SOUTH Alabama, are from North Alabama.

Color me Bumfuzzled.

Not me, I was hellbent against it when some in LA wanted to extend it for the WHOLE state. I'm glad ya'll got it, most of us in NA were getting tired of the whining.

I am still puzzled by the fact that the people who most strongly object to a change in season structure for SOUTH Alabama, are from North Alabama.

Color me Bumfuzzled.

Funny thing is although I am for the change in seasons, I don't even bother to hunt for rut anymore. I do my hunting in October & November. And the ironic part of that is, if the line moves any further north, I will lose 2 weeks off of a season that only lasts 6 weeks where I hunt.

Explain, where in Alabama is deer season only 6 weeks long and will then go to 4 weeks if shifted North?

Explain, where in Alabama is deer season only 6 weeks long and will then go to 4 weeks if shifted North?

I am still puzzled by the fact that the people who most strongly object to a change in season structure for SOUTH Alabama, are from North Alabama.

Color me Bumfuzzled.

A national wildlife refuge open Oct 15 - Nov 30 only. Bow hunting only. The last few years my knees have gone to sheet, two replacement on one knee. Can't get around like I used to. Now only care about hunting here.

If the south zone shifts north to encompass the refuge, I will lose those two weeks.

I'm glad ya'll got it, most of us in NA were getting tired of the whining.

after seeing all those big bucks 2dogs has killed I have decided to find me some property in Jackson county and I'll also get to hunt the rut, and if all y'all south alabama boys will do the same the Yankee Bama boys will join our efforts.

after seeing all those big bucks 2dogs has killed I have decided to find me some property in Jackson county and I'll also get to hunt the rut, and if all y'all south alabama boys will do the same the Yankee Bama boys will join our efforts.

Does the State set the seasons on the NWF? If they do, lobby to get them adjusted, I bet a group could get it done. You have your group right here.

Baybuzzard, where I live in sw la we have a NWR a few miles from my house. It would allow bowhuntin only oct 1 - oct 31. Our rut peaks the first 2 weeks in nov. We got enough of us together a d had meetings with area managers and hot an extension until the day before duck season opens, which is always 2nd Saturday of nov. Yall may want to try. All they can tell y'all is no.

NWRs are Federally controlled. They are not likely to adjust their season to accommodate a handful of hunters. The refuge I hunt on is managed for the benefit of ducks. That is why it closes Nov 30. But I do appreciate you're concern & support

I'm going to bring it up one more time.
Why not, at least, have a "trophy" weekend and pay an extra
$5.00 or so when you buy your license. This money could go to research or to law enforcement.
If you work weekends, be able to pick 2 days prior to the 15th of Feb. during the week.
Put a 4 point on a side or some other criteria on what can be killed. No does, no spikes or the like.
There will be abuses, but we have that now, more than anyone can believe.
This will give us a taste of what things would be like with a February 15 end of season. If it makes a difference, go for it. If not, stay with the 2 day trophy season for a few more years, and continue to monitor deer density and conception dates.
BTW, I'm sure that many of us would be glad to help with the studies on our personal property or on leases that would allow folks to shoot some at night.
Attacks can start now. Florida hunters are banned from comments.

Why wouldn't it work, Kodiak? (Just asking.) It would be voluntary so if it didn't work for a minority of people, why not take a chance and satisfy a majority of those that want to hunt in Feb. More restrictions? It's voluntary. If you don't like these minor restrictions, go fishing.

Constitution of Alabama 1901
Article IV Legislative Department.


SECTION 44
Composition of legislature.
The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislature, which shall consist of a senate and a house of representatives.

SECTION 45
Style of laws; division of laws; laws restricted to one subject; amendment or revival of laws by title only.
The style of the laws of this state shall be: "Be it enacted by the legislature of Alabama," which need not be repeated, but the act shall be divided into sections for convenience, according to substance, and the sections designated merely by figures. Each law shall contain but one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title, except general appropriation bills, general revenue bills, and bills adopting a code, digest, or revision of statutes; and no law shall be revived, amended, or the provisions thereof extended or conferred, by reference to its title only; but so much thereof as is revived, amended, extended, or conferred, shall be re-enacted and published at length.

SECTION 61
Laws to be passed by bills; restrictions on amendments to bills.
No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended on its passage through either house as to change its original purpose.

SECTION 62
Referral of bills to standing committees.
No bill shall become a law until it shall have been referred to a standing committee of each house, acted upon by such committee in session, and returned therefrom, which facts shall affirmatively appear upon the journal of each house.


SECTION 63
Number of readings for bills; recordation of votes on bills; majority vote required for passage of bills.
Every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, and no bill shall become a law, unless on its final passage it be read at length, and the vote be taken by yeas and nays, the names of the members voting for and against the same be entered upon the journals, and a majority of each house be recorded thereon as voting in its favor, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution.

It's voluntary. If you don't like these minor restrictions, go fishing.

If an adult cant kill a mature buck with all the days we have he isn't spending enough time in the woods or there just aren't any where he is hunting! Bow season should open earlier!!! There should be a youth weekend the following weekend after deer season closes along with the one we have already. That way the kids can get in on the late rut areas without the adults jacking it up! Just my opinion!!!!!

I live and hunt in the SW zone, and even I was tired of the whining.

Quite honestly, I haven't really seen anything very impressive as far as MATURE bucks being killed in February yet. One or two, but most that I've seen killed thus far have been piss-ants. People have a right to kill whatever they want...fine by me if it's "club legal" or whatever where you hunt. But, some of the same ones who pissed and moaned the most about wanting February hunting so they could have a better chance at "mature" bucks, are the ones killing the bucks that would have been mature in a year or two. Hard to have mature bucks to hunt next year if you kill them this year as "juveniles". I'm no expert by any means, but that much I know for sure.

This is exactly the case for most! As I live and hunt this extended area also and this has been the norm the last ten days.

No doubt the season needs to be changed to include as much as two weeks into February, I guess the question is what part of the state. Using the states own conception dates as guidance, it seems the entire state needs to be extended. Average conception date samples show in the following counties the average sample dates of conception:
Colbert County - Jan 28
Jackson County - Jan 23
Limestone County - Feb 9
Madison County - Jan 29
Perry County - Jan 27
Randolph County - Feb 6
Walker County - Feb 3

Because of the various stocking areas of deer with different genetic breeding dates it is almost impossible to break the state into two or three hunting zones to allow the hunters the ability to hunt the rut.

People enjoy seeing bucks chasing does.

It's not a matter of "If youse cain't kill one in 3.5 months then quit!" or anything like that. That's a BS reply because everyone's hunting time, method and options are different.

It's the excitement of enjoying and hunting that specific chasing phase of the rut -- which is the entire period after velvet is shed, antlers are hard and hormone levels are high until bucks shed their antlers in spring.

I actually like the early season grouped-up bucks better than the late season chasing

I disagree. I personally know of 9 4 1/2 or older bucks killed in Baldwin County in the past week (3 of them today) and some others that were probably 3 1/2. However, there were several younger deer killed as well. The extension has made a huge difference here.

2Dogs, I'm not familiar with the stocking of Jackson county, but what about the rest of the sample conception dates/areas of northern Alabama?

Guys, I swear I'm not trying to argue or be contentious, but what's the big deal about hunting the rut? Just an honest question. Please give some thought to your answer before you just fire back at me out of aggravation. Seriously, when you have 3.5 months of hunting, what's the big deal with the rut? At least, what's the big enough deal about it to cause the ruckus we've created about season date extensions?

They don't get to be 4, 5 or 6 years old by wandering around aimlessly in daylight asking for someone to whack them.

This is one thing that gets me about Alabama hunters, and most deer hunters who are looking for bigger bucks.

Not the meat hunters or those who are satisfied with whatever. Fine and dandy. You're not hunting giant mature bucks? No problem. Enjoy your legal hunting. I like hunting that way too, sometimes. Last week of this season if I saw something brown it was going to be dead.

But for those who want mature bucks, big antlers, the 'wall hangers' and then say they can't see any but shoot a 3-year old that scores 115 or 120 and wonder why they can't see any "big, mature bucks" ... it's obvious. They don't get to 4 or 5 or 6 years old when they're dead at 2.5 and 3 years old.

The BEST thing that could happen for anyone wanting to hunt, grow or see more mature bucks - the 4-yo or older bucks - is to actually hunt somewhere like in Iowa or Kansas or Kentucky with one (or two) buck season limits and where hunters pass on 140-class bucks. When you see a 140-inch buck and say "Ah, OK, THAT's what one looks like, and he'll probably be 150 or maybe 160 next season" ... that makes an impact.

Seeing a 160-incher on TV doesn't do the same thing. It's like watching The Masters and then being able to walk the fairways at Augusta National. Or like watching baseball on TV but then attending a Braves game and recognizing that "crack" of the bat is different or the speed of the pitches is faster than appearing on TV. It opens your eyes and awareness.

Again, if you like hunting legally and aren't worried about giant bucks and are happy with your hunting, fine. That's all cool.

But if you want mature bucks and believe you can have/grow/keep them on your property, learn what a mature buck is, what the body size dictates, what the habitat around your land offers them, and then decide to let them walk and actually gets some age and maturity. Only then can it make a difference.

Age, Nutrition, And then Genetics it take all of them.

Age, nutrition, genes. The last one can't be fully expressed without the first two being allowed to occur.



I'm for sure not an expert, I'm just repeating what I heard straight from the mouth of an Auburn biologist. He said hunters waste a ton of time and money on nutrition. He said it sure doesn't hurt, just doesn't believe it helps enough to matter. I enjoy feeding them, and getting pics, but I tend to agree with him.

He said it sure doesn't hurt, just doesn't believe it helps enough to matter.

Age, nutrition, genes. The last one can't be fully expressed without the first two being allowed to occur.

A fella can hunt a long time, on fine land in Alabama, and never see a 140" or larger deer. 90% of Alabama hunters will die having never seen a 140" deer. And it ain't because so many bucks get killed young (although I will agree that hurts, really hurts)....it's because they just ain't there. NO brag, but I've killed a butt-load of 4yr old and older bucks, only one of which was right at 140". In 20 years I might have seen 10 deer that would surpass 140", and I hunt 3+ days a week, every week, every year. I have paid $3500 and leased land by myself, from Cleburne Co to Macon Co, and son there just ain't many of those deer. The total majority of 5yr old Bama bucks will be "average mounters". Now I like to kill deer, and I won't normally kill 3.5yr old skinny racked bucks (killed one marginal this season), so I don't know that I'll ever walk a CLEARLY mature 120" buck.
I don't have a problem AT ALL with folks who like to target really big deer, but shoot fire guys, that's got to be crazy hard! I got invited to join a club in Dallas Co one time that had a 140" minimum....I just laughed. I asked them how many they killed last year, never did get a clear answer.
Oh, and I believe most bioloigsts will say this too: Genetics, genetics, genetics, and then age. (Not a believer in artificial nutrition) I see too many stud bucks killed on total trash land, telling me that God's natural palate is plenty good.

Heck just passing up 3.5 years is a good start for a lot of areas.

If you believe in genetics, genetics, genetics, have shot a butt-load of 4 year olds and only one 140"er and want to shoot more ya need to find another place to hunt. IMO of course.

Not sure if you're agreeing with me, or saying I should've killed more 140's??? I think we've got about 9 narratives going on in this one thread! Hehehehe! Seriously, if you have hunting club land in Alabama that you believe has a huntable population of 140+ deer, I'd like to hear more about it. Photos maybe? And not just that one deer we've all gotten on a trail cam and still talk about for years, but a high probability to see and kill some 140, 150, 160 deer most hunting seasons. Seriously, IF that's the case, memberships would be $10,000 a year, but more than likely someone would have turned it into a pay-hunt paradise. You realize most Midwestern outfitters don't have that kind of land, right? If you consider my math, I'm averaging seeing a 140+ deer about once every couple of seasons--In Alabama. Frankly I believe that's OUT-DADGUM-STANDING! I have had to hunt more than you can realize, all over half the state to do that.

No doubt the season needs to be changed to include as much as two weeks into February, I guess the question is what part of the state. Using the states own conception dates as guidance, it seems the entire state needs to be extended. Average conception date samples show in the following counties the average sample dates of conception:
Colbert County - Jan 28
Jackson County - Jan 23
Limestone County - Feb 9
Madison County - Jan 29
Perry County - Jan 27
Randolph County - Feb 6
Walker County - Feb 3

Because of the various stocking areas of deer with different genetic breeding dates it is almost impossible to break the state into two or three hunting zones to allow the hunters the ability to hunt the rut.

Genetics Shemetics. I'll bet the average south Alabama 3.5 yr old who has good natural forage and or crops to eat will be bigger racked than a 2.5 yr old N AL or TN deer living in marginal conditions.

I am NOT anti-feed. I am pro habitat and trigger restraint. That produces big deer.

That, and I'm too poor to feed deer. So are most other folks.

I am pro habitat and trigger restraint. That produces big deer.

ikillbux, there are plenty of properties that consistently produce and have huntable 140+ deer every season. EVERY season. No doubt most AL hunters will never see a 140", much less kill one, but there are certainly properties that produce them very regularly. Those properties do it without protein feed, supplements, or anything special. They just do it. I agree with 2dogs. If you are looking for 140" deer and have killed one in 20 years, I would be searching elsewhere.

It's not individual properties that do it, it's more like areas. Certain areas do it often. Find one and hunt it.