I agree with this statement whole heartedly. Very well said.

Funny how the poeples who complain about not seeing deer arent changing tactics. I think we basically have the same numbers of deer, but people nowadays hunt lazy. Dont take to time to hunt properly and then complain about not seeing deer.

Didn't you all quit your lease early last year because of no deer sightings??

I don't rely on hunter sightings or my sightings. Real, tangible evidence of our "disappearing" deer can be and has been gathered on year round trail cameras, placed over feed, census information.

Before the state implemented the kill 2 does a day we had a small but huntable population of deer in my part of Marshall county. We had a "good for the area" population on the club I'm in, in Blount county. 120 acres at home, 1500 in Blount. After about 3 years of the doe slaughter, deer on our farm were scarce. Within 5 years, deer on our club were thinning out. Nowadays, there's no need of hunting on our farm and not much need on our club.

I went to a CAB meeting a few years ago and talked at length to the panel about the doe issue. By the end of the next week 2 biologists were on our farm. One of them actually said that the state messed up going to the 2 does a day system but would never admit to that. They reduced the season and I'm glad that they did, but to date I have seen no improvement. I'm afraid that on our farm it was too little, too late. I don't think there are enough deer here to repopulate with the hunter, coyote and yard dog predation that we have. If it was up to me, and it's not, I'd close doe season for 5-10 years in our county.

B2, nope. It was the turkeys. After we investigeted, we thimk our neighbors was flying red tailed hawks and barned owls on us at night to get them off the roost, off us, on then. No reason the turks wouldnt have been on us with the IP we had out trhere that year. Lesson learned, we out out turked.

Drastic times call for drastic matters. Hey, all you state guys that read this forum for information but don't post...can you HEAR us!?!?!?! We aren't seeing deer. We aren't killing deer. There are ALOT...more than YOU want to believe...of places in this state that the doe killing needs to be cut off completely. Even then, with all the poaching/night hunting/back porch killing that goes on, I'm not sure it will help. I'm with Fur, there are many places in this state that I'm afraid won't bounce back.

I was disgusted this week to pull a camera at the lease this weekend. 100# of corn and camera on it a week and 5 deer on it. We had a good many before gun season then I quit feeding them and now I regret it. We killed one 5 pt and have seen less then 20 deer all year out there with several being the same ones I imagine. Just the limited time I hunted out there I heard the neighbors shoot 4 times. Ehd hit us not sure how bad but that with everyone around us killing a couple and we may be bad off next year.

Should have just changed strategies, instead of quitting.

We didnt quit. Opposite, we put more R&D into our IP and got a PhD in Turkey.

to go with your PHD in bullchiat?? Nice! double PHD's!

I'm with ya Snuffy

I think your full of sh!t as a Christmas goose. I've killed well over a 100 deer and have a wall full of nice deer. I know how to hunt. There simple been to many does killed for to long.

I am encouraged by this thread that people are starting to realize this is a localized problem.

The deer are a shared resource and there has to be a balance between the "you can't eat horns" crowd and the I'm only shooting 5 year old deer crowd.

To me that balance lies in the middle. And that is realized by implementing rules that ensure there are enough deer in all areas of the state to support either hunter's goals.

That is not the case under the current system.

If you need to shoot 30 does a season you need to have a Biologist come out and they need to confirm you need to shoot that many while themselves being realistic about this. You show me a browse line and starving deer and I'll be the first in line to agree you need to take 30-40 does out. But killing them just because they are there isn't a valid reason in my opinion.

This thread reminds me of why High fences will become more popular

I think it is being over optimistic to think that the Conservation Dept is going to listen. Three years ago I called everybody in the DNR that would take my call and made the same case. In parts of Cullman and Blount counties the deer herd is down by 60 or 70%. Chris Cook nearly laughed me off the phone then got angry when I insinuated that ALFA was setting our hunting regs. My son and I were hunting the first morning the all out assault on antlerless deer started and heard 50 shots. I know that all those shots were not at deer but a good number were. Then you have people talking about taking 23 does off of 100 acres and another guy told me he killed 20 off of 40 acres with his bow. I even bought into the lie that you can't kill too many does in Southeastern habitat per the Alabama Hunting and Fishing digest but I was wrong. Something has got to be done and soon.

I think I know where all of the myterious vanishing deer have gone. They're hanging out where I hunt, they've found a safe place to hide from the brown it's down gang. Saw 20 yesterday afternoon and 13 in the same spot today. Saw 2 3yr old bucks both days that most of you jack legs would have whacked. We've been practicing trigger control for many years, it's got nothing to do with Chuck and his band of merry men

How large is the tract you hunt?

How large are neighboring tracts?

What part of the state do you hunt in?

Sir, we all know that you have more deer than anyone in the state. You make it a point to tell us all the time. No offense but the number of deer you've seen the past two afternoons COMBINED would have been an AVERAGE afternoon at several places I hunted for 25+ years. I have no problem not shooting 3 year old bucks. Passed on dozens of them for years. I just don't get on here to brag about it. I'm not a brown/down guy. I actually haven't killed a deer in 4 years.

It's arrogant and pompous to think that you are the only one in the group that understands trigger management, whitetail biology, scent control and whatever else you deem yourself better than the rest of us at. Or that all of us that aren't seeing deer are "jacklegs" as you so eloquently called us.

Here's a little secret. The measure of a hunter's "accomplishments" is often much better indicative of the land he has to hunt than his skill of a hunter. Not always, but I'd bet 90% of the time.

X2.... 3F with the knockout
I couldn�t have said it better myself.

No truer words may ever have been posted on this site.