I haven't killed a doe in 10 years but know a guy that killed 10 this year he hunts three different 40 acre blocks. To me that is just ignorant.

I gotta side with 49'er on this one........

It is very hypocritical of the ALDCNR to place a limit on the number of bucks that can be harvested by an individual while allowing 2 does a day the entire Season to be harvested by everyone who wants to go hunting!!!

I agree I think the doe limit should be what ever the buck limit is. So in this case it should be 3 does per season.

Cooperatives among neighboring landowners are encouraged by QDMA as part of a management strategy that encompasses many aspects including habitat, killing bucks and does, etc.

They can work well when the cooperating landowners can agree on mutually-beneficial strategies. But it takes someone making that first offer for discussion to see if the idea will take root and then flourish.

The "can't shoot enough does" mentality is SO ingrained in people nowadays, though.....that grown men that have NEVER set foot on, or even near, the property that you hunt on will get on this forum and bash you for not knowing how to hunt, being a consumer of wildlife or some other QDM BS while telling you how irresponsible you are to NOT being trying to shoot more when you tell them how few there are!!![/quote]
HogWild.
You hit the nail on the head. I agree 110 %

On places that are well managed and have been for the last few decadea, the population has not changed much and the current regs are working well. Many NEED the ability to kill 2 does a day - I did last week.
On places that were overpopulated, the numbers are down significantly - actually kinda nice since if it is WAY down, gives the habitat a chance to recover. However, in light of the down numbers and fawn predation, hunters should exercise restraint. They have the option of NOT killing 2 does a day. On places that were underpopulated it probably has not changed much and the hunters there should have been and should now, exercise restraint in harvest. They still have that option.

Just take a moment and imagine the irony of that post........

People HAD the option to not kill more than 3 bucks. Heck, they had the option to not kill ANY!!!

Why the different viewpoint based solely on the sex and number of antler points of the animal???

Because no one pursues or brags about their "trophy does."

That is very true. I specifically posted what I have seen this year, but it's been going on for several years. I was arguing with someone the other day who has been brainwashed into thinking that NOT shooting a doe is bad. They said the deer were just moving at night now. I told him that my cameras run 24/7 and if the deer weren't on my cameras they weren't in that area. I've put up utilization cages here for the past 3 years. There is no more vegetation in the cage than there is outside it. There are many things I am not proficient at, but growing high quality deer forage is not one of them.

A good friend of mine, a member of aldeer who never posts, could tell you a tale about his hunting club that should raise eyebrows with folks besides me. 1200 acres of pristine deer habitat, with no deer sightings by any club member in the last month to 6 weeks and one or 2 sets of tracks in all the greenfields combined, no tracks in the roads, very few if any trail cam pics........ That should be a sign to the state.....

I'm sure most will say I'm wrong or crazy but I'm still not convinced that yotes kill that many deer. We have a pretty big coyote population, more than I like and a lot more than 10 years ago, but that being said I've only seen signs of one deer that appeared to have been killed by a coyote, in 25 years of hunting our land. Further more, we also saw a very large number of fawns this year, more than ever before...probably one fawn for every doe on average. So with such a healthy coyote population it would seem that we would see more sign of fawns being killed through either a carcass or by low fawn numbers.

Along the same lines I did get to watch something pretty cool this year. Early January I was watching 2 bucks chasing several does, about 500 yds below me in the bottom in a sage grass field. After about 30 minutes I noticed 3 yotes running in. It seemed to bother the deer just a small amount for just a few seconds and then the bucks continued to chase the does around. Two of the yotes left and one sat down in the sun for 30 minutes or so and just watched the deer running around. The doe walked to with in 20 yds of the yote several times, both knew the other was there and neither seemed to care about the other. So although this was just one experience on one morning it gave me even more reason to believe that a coyote will not spend it's energy trying to kill a deer unless there is no other food around. I still kill em any time I get a chance cause they do kill quail and poults and probably a fawns every now and again but I think our yotes live off of rabbits for the most part.

So as deer hunters Furflyin what can or should we do to help in this matter as far as writing letters or calling someone.

I don't think the problem is with the limit. The problem is with too many people preaching that hunters need to shoot every doe they see. With education, in most cases hunters will make reasonable decisions.

Same can be said for the buck limit. Things were improving before the limit was put in place. Fewer and fewer people were shooting every buck without at least some kind of self imposed standard.

Has nothing to do with the number of points - has LOT to do with the existence (or lack of) a uterus. I will assume that you will agree with me that the population is controlled (increased or decreased) by manipulating the FEMALE component of the herd!? That and what Clem said - antler envy - don't see it much in doe killers.

Oh yes they do I hear people brag about the number of does they kill like it is a badge of honor.

I hunt in Choctaw county,our west border is the Ms.state line,we have +/-12000 acres with 60 members we are 2 does per paid membership,3 bucks.These rules have been in effect since the doe shooting started,we knew it was going to be a problem.The deer herd on our land has not changed much in 20 years,we still see plenty of does and plenty of bucks,the majority of the does have 2 yearlings every year.Over all I would say our deer herd is in good shape.EDUCATION is the key thing here,if you need to thin the does do it,but if not leave them alone.We had some guys from the B'ham area come hunt with us this year,and they had never seen as many deer and deer sign as they did on our club.I have seen the mentality change that some of you are talking about and it is sad.

Truedouble, here I go again, I think coyote kill is prolly lower in the moutains of No. East Bama than in LA. Add some timber cutting up here and you got some serious cover. Cover is huge in keeping yotes from killing large numbers of deer. Maybe our yotes are just dumb and lazy.

Yep.

I ain't trying to be an azz to you!!!!!

But, it is ironic that many people feel that the general hunting population is either not educated enough, or lacks the restraint to keep the herd healthy by limiting their buck harvest.......

BUT, then they turn around and give the SAME people credit for being able to determine populations, sex ratios, recruitment rates, etc and then develop meaningful harvest strategies concerning the doe population of the herd!

I envy people who still hunt areas with good numbers AND good quality!

But, down here in my World.....it is DAMN EXPENSIVE to hunt an area where you have realistic expectations of consistently seeing deer and having any semblance of a chance to kill a nice mature buck.

I have hunted AND managed good quality property and seen the results of hard work and management. Shooting every doe you see is NOT what made the places so good!!!!

Go to the CAB meetings. They are held in Montgomery. Will be a 3 hour drive for me, but I hope to attend.

No.... Our rut seems to be getting stronger and stronger over the past three years and we havn't changed how we manage our does or bucks for that matter. We have 1600 acres and and getting better quality and overall hunting. We hunt on the Bullock/ Barbour line and enjoy seeing what is happening with our club.