Damned good question. Any answers???

I hope you are kidding about dropping the limits off GC #s. Think about it this way. People are not following the GC law. So you lower the limit and expect them to follow the new law? The only affect changing the limits would have on are the ones already using GC. I'm not sure who would start taking it serious, those who are taking it serious already or those who aren't and wont?

Because for 50 years Kelly and crew did not allow any doe deer to be harvested period. None. Next question?

I have stayed out of this discussion for the last 3 years, but I'll chime in now. First, I have followed GC since it became required and if I recall I participated when it was voluntary. I simply do it because it's the law and I plan to abide by the rule. Do I think we are getting an accurate number via game check, no I do not. I know of several people like Cuz-Pat mentioned above that simply don't follow the law on many things they do.

In my opinion we will never get accurate information from GC. The reason I say this is because the law has no teeth, there aren't enough GW to enforce compliance and Chucky has pissed off a lot of hunters in this state. I am one of the pissed off hunters. In my opinion he out of touch with the average hunter here. He also gives off the impression he's arrogant and pushing a personal agenda. He got on my bad side when he started pushing a change on our turkey season to be honest here.

I hunt a lot out of state and I'm required to GC my harvest there. As Bigt said the processors and taxidermist are required to record you confirmation# if you use their services. I am not saying Alabama should do this, but if required I'd do just like I do when out of state.

In my opinion if Alabama wants to enforce compliance and are serious about GC, they need to do everything possible to get the word out so the people can't use the excuse "I didn't know". I was once told ignorance is not a valid excuse for not knowing the rules/laws. In my opinion if you are not GC your harvest you are poaching and it should be treated as such! This $100 fine or whatever it might be is chump change and doesn't carry any teeth. Hunters spend that amount on gas in a weekend of hunting. Most hunters know the odds of being checked in this state is extremely low and the odds are in their favor. If they are caught the fine and punishment is minuscule. The only way to change that mindset is to put the fear of them having less money in their bank account and loss of hunting privileges if caught. In my opinion the law needs to have big enough teeth that folks are scared to take a chance of getting caught. This is the way other states look at it, the fines and punishment are substantial. It makes you think twice before you break their laws. They don't play and your bank account and hunting opportunity will be significantly impacted if caught. Why Alabama has a hard time grasping this concept is beyond me.

I sit em up in the passenger seat and put a hat on them.

Hi red....

Doesn’t that seem a whole lot simpler than the chit show we’ve got now? Hell, it didn’t even take you but one sentence.

I’d be willing to bet that a majority of hunters would support going back to what we used to have with more conservative doe days if we could forget about this GC mess and trying to force it on people who obviously don’t want it.

I would very much like that. We haven't shot does in years. Very few bucks also. But what's right for me may not be right for everyone else.

I wouldn’t necessarily label it “the right way”….but I bet it would be “a good way” for a lot more people than we might think….or maybe the best option we could choose. There’s just not that many places that are so overflowing with deer that they should wholesale slaughter the females. I took over a small lease in Bullock Co this year and we’ve decided not to shoot any does until we assess the situation. After having watched it for a while now through cameras and my own observations from the stand and looking at the browse…..there’s definitely not “too many” does on the place. There’s enough that you could take one or two if you wanted for meat but for sure not enough to open up a free for all so everyone can fill their freezer. If you did that then the hunting would go to chit real quick.....and this is in an area traditionally thought of as having plenty of deer.

And that is where the DMAP program comes into play. Specific property prescribed. Tags issued, all pertinent data collected (jawbones, weights, lactation, etc) , all unused tags returned at the end of the season. State gets good data, property owners/managers get to do what is needed to manage their property on a specific basis. Every Tom, Dick and Harry, not allowed to just blast every single doe they see for over 120 days. I'd love to go back to just a couple doe weekends and then if you needed to kill more does for sound biological management reasons, you have the DMAP. You'll never convince me that the wide open, season long doe slaughter was not specifically approved in an effort to entice out of state hunters and bring those $$$$ in to boost those local economies and increase local lease prices for the landowners.

Have you paid any attention to how government operates? This is exactly what will happen.

If you ask me, they're getting exactly what they want: Data that they can point to saying numbers are down and we need to go to a one buck limit

When I learn to unlock my caps, I will be allowed to post.

That was an easy question to answer lol

How in the hell would a one buck limit help solve low deer numbers? The only real way to increase deer numbers is to back off the killing of the baby makers. I certainly hope nobody would try to sell a one buck limit as a way to combat low deer numbers.

It doesn't and I didn't say it did. I believe the state wants a one buck limit and that they will use the GC #'s to justify it

I would think dropping the limit anymore would decrease license sales thus DCNR would be cutting its own throat. It definitely wouldn't increase sales. I realize the limits are suppose to be about the game animal but we would be fools to believe $$$ doesn't play a part.

Extreme Buck Limits (EBL) were REJECTED back when they/we were debating the original proposed buck limit law.

The problem now with low deer numbers in *some* places is over kill of does and all the coyote predation.
People need to do some Spring and early Summer coyote hunts to thin the coyote population.

We have plenty of deer where we are.

This is the answer

I know this is hyperbole, but I remember legally shooting does in 1977. There might have been a season before that, but I'm sure there was one that year. We didn't have any deer at all in the area prior to about 1962, so the does had full protection for about 15 years. Those dates will vary some in other areas.

You’d be believing wrong then. No one in this administration wants a one buck limit and it’s never even been mentioned or discussed. You can remove that one from the list.

Seems I remember it was a 1 day for does. Then it went 2 days. Treestand were homemade if used at all. Boots didn't keep your feet dry or warm and coats were field jackets. As many if not more shotguns used than rifles. Foodplots where grazing for cows. $$$ had not taken over the sport. The "good ole days."