Does anyone else on here hunt military installations in Alabama or anywhere else? If so, do they have an electronic permit system (like a website or phone app)?

What is your opinion(s) about that?

I hunt Pelham Range in Anniston, AL and they are going to this kind of system next season. I can't think of any reason why I like it, so I'm just wanting to hear other's experiences to see what I can learn.

I used to hunt the Arsenal and loved it until everyone and their brother started hunting it.

I hunt Fort Rucker so.e and it's a web based app. It's user friendly.

You’re probably going to get a lot of company, if they make it where you can do it ahead of time. Pelham range has pretty much been locals only because of the checkin procedures.

I hunt Fort Bragg here in North Carolina. I’m not sure about all military bases but Bragg and several others use isportsman.com. You have to creat an account to purchase and receive a post permit and to sign-in/out. I’m not sure how the other bases use it but I’m not sure it would be much different. Also, rules and regulations are going to vary from
Post to post.

I have been hunting Pelham for nearly 40 years. I do not want to see them go to this. I am one of those that spends the night on Thursday night to be the first in line Friday morning to get the best areas. I am also the one that spends the night so I can get to the hunting spot I want in my area. Doing this has allowed me and a few others the opportunity to kill very good deer. The only positive I can think of is I won't have to spend the night in my truck to sign up. The negatives would be. EVERYONE CAN SIGN UP AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE WILL NOW SIGN UP EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT SURE THEY ARE GOING TO HUNT THEN CALL IN TO SIGN OUT OF THE AREA IF THEY DON'T HUNT, FREINDS WILL HELP FILL UP AN AREA KNOWING THEY ARE NOT GOING TO HUNT, i'M NOT SURE IF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SWITCH AREAS LIKE WE CAN NOW. If you hunt Pelham, you will understand the negatives. It may be a good thing after we get used to it, I just think it takes away from the hunters who are willing to do extra to get the best spots.

Used to hunt Eglin AFB years ago. Plenty of room. Some gates stay locked, so you have to park and walk in. We started using mountain bikes to get in further, away from people. Buddy even built a deer cart that hooked up to the back of his bike.

You do need to check with Jackson Guard to make sure you're not in a area the Special Ops guys are training. I messed that one up one Turkey season. I got out without getting seen.

Redstone Arsenal has an on-line sign-in/out system called HUNTRAX. It pretty good most of the time, and works on your phone. Lot better than going to the outdoor rec bldg and physically signing in/out.

I can remember back in the early 90's we'd camp out the night before at the sign-out booth on FT Bragg to get the rare spots open available for the first X number of hunters inline! Good times doin that.

Yeah, Pelham Range is somewhat different than other bases (as I'm told) because it's broken into small assigned areas. There's 16,000 huntable acres, and it's divided into numerous "areas" ranging from 100 to 400 acres apiece, and you only select one area each day you're hunting. If you get beat, or can't find a good spot in there, you're toast.
They will allow 1 hunter per 20 acres for bow hunting, and 1 hunter per 40 acres for gun hunting. So at times it can get crowded. This really exaggerates/emphasize the "first come, first serve" deal, so the inconvenience of having to endure the rigmarole of getting a permint "in person" is the main thing that helps limit your competition. Get in line before daylight on Friday to get a permit for Saturday, get in line shortly after midnight on Saturday to try to be first to the area you have selected, and you have to turn that permit in "in person" at the end of the day. Most folks won't tolerate that.

To me, the electronic sign up removes almost all of that hassle, and I think it'll ruin things. The very thing that makes it so hard to hunt there, is the very thing that keeps the hunting so good.