I can't wait for this hunt. Choccolocco will be wide open, ironically I saw the best rutting action I've ever seen in Bama on Chocc. last year on the Friday before the youth gun hunt (Nov. 7th). Should be a great hunt

I know there is NO WAY IN HADES that I actually read a post from a bowhunter complaining about 'losing' days on a WMA......

The WMA System may as well be the BHPA (Bow Hunters Private Area). They have them to themselves in a basically unrestricted manner for the vast majority of the season and whine and complain more than any other group about other User Groups.

It was probably a joke.....but, not a good one.

Clem,

You know my history and the love of the bow. With all seriousness, what if the season was any weapon for 3.5 months instead of bow for 1 month and gun for 2.5 months? Do you think that conversion of the first month to any weapon would increase the deer harvest? I expect it would a ton! And thus I would expect a corresponding decrease in limits to follow. Just be careful what you ask for, you might get it.

So.......by that logic, bowhunter's are not very successful.....and that alone gives them some kind of 'special' privilege?

And, fwiw, I have killed a few with a bow before, too.

Special privilege? I am saying there is a limited resource of deer and more hunters with more effective weapons will kill more deer.

Last year per the Harvest Report:
Hunters hunting with a gun average 12.7 days of hunting to kill a deer and averaged killing 1.2 deer per hunter.

Hunters hunting with a bow average 22.2 days of hunting to kill a deer and averaged killing .5 deer per hunter.

Imagine that.... hunters using a gun are much more effective at killing deer.

If I did all my math correctly, the increased harvest if an any weapon season was implemented would be around 61,100 more deer per season. And it would be even higher if the hunters using a bow used a gun instead.

So, maybe bowhunting is not a viable harvest method???

Or maybe it is great for Alabama giving hunters more time in the woods without having to decrease limits.

And has to be a "viable harvest method", you killed some with a bow!

Nighthunter, please look at the Lowndes dates and tell me how the special opportunity is considered early? I may just be missing something, I'm just confused as hell

Also, they ain't rutting on Lowndes but on 2 of those special opportunity dates...

Lack of Success seems a very weak argument to utilize as a lobbying tool for access to enjoy Public Land.

The bowhunters do a good job of limbing up all the trees around the food plots on the WMA's, though. So, they DO have a purpose! HaHa

Actually... you got me! I thought BW and Choccolocco were the only two having them. I'll try and find out.

I was not aware of any special hunts on Lowndes.

Any joke.....is a good joke.....when aimed in Nighthunter's direction.

And Mr state employee - I peed in a public restroom earlier today. I use public facilities all the time.

Truth!!

True.....But, they may have just fell over dead when they saw my ugly mug!

Please do! You can pm me if you want cuz I'm curious because it makes no since at all to me the way the dates are laid out.

Yup, only ONE scheduled deer hunt and it's a weekend. The rest are the special opportunity dates. Between you and nighthunter, we can surely have an answer fast. I'm sure Chris knows why.

I know a way to increase interest in wmas. Make it worth getting out of bed in the morning. Take hollins management area for instance. Section it off in 50 acre blocks. Clear cut 50 percent. Take the other 50 percent and split it in half. One half gets scraped clean with a bull dozier (which will be paid for by the proceeds from timber harvest) and is leased to farmers for growing corn and soybean only. The other half is left to grow naturally the way a cutover does. The money from the farming leases pays to plant winter forage for the deer and turkeys. I've had it up to my eyeballs with the red dickheaded woodpecker, screw those damn things. Do something for the deer, ducks, doves, quail, and turkeys.