Well he’s been reported several times. But he’s not poaching. He just has a lot of places to hunt and that makes it hard to get caught. My guess is he never will be caught. But that deer count was in December. I’m sure it’s higher now.
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If he killed 8 racked bucks in Alabama he's poaching. If he killed 3 and didn't report, he's poaching[/quote]

You can only kill three bucks, yet you can kill every doe you see. come up with some sensible regulations if you want folks to comply.
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Lol, no one makes anyone shoot does. There's a Three Buck limit, if he's killing more than that he's a poacher.

Since you have so many places to hunt maybe you should give one up

If he killed 8 racked bucks in Alabama he's poaching. If he killed 3 and didn't report, he's poaching[/quote]

You can only kill three bucks, yet you can kill every doe you see. come up with some sensible regulations if you want folks to comply.
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Lol, no one makes anyone shoot does. There's a Three Buck limit, if he's killing more than that he's a poacher. [/quote]

You are right no one make me shoot does, and I do not, however I can only control what my trigger finger does. Stop all this doe killing, there will be more bucks, and the need for the 3 buck limit goes away.

actually very funny. I hunt on about 75,000 acres in Oregon and I can only kill one buck so by your math I should probably be able to kill about 70. And I should also be able to kill about 35 elk. You can hunt four properties at total 800 acres another guy can hunt one property that totals 1,000 Acres, so why should you be allowed to kill more than him

The 3 buck limits nor in place to increase the deer/buck population. Its my opinion that it's there to get a higher percentage of bucks past the 2-2.5 year age. People needed more 110in bucks to shoot

You hunt in Oregon. y'all set the regulations how y'all need to. Pretty sure what I kill here will have little affect there. Glad I do not hunt in Oregon.

Just a few points and y'all carry on.
1). Alabama does not have a 3 buck limit. It's a 3 antlered buck limit. BIG difference because under a 3 antlered buck limit a knob head can be killed every day of the season along with 3 antlered bucks. A 3 buck limit is 3 bucks.
2). The limit was put in place in 2007 to aid in getting some older bucks around. After 13 years. has it worked? What was the starting data points? Where are we now? 13 years should be enough to see if it's working or does the program need to be tweaked some.

Carry on.

I could care less if you hunt in Oregon and you're missing out on some fun hunting. I also hunt in Washington County and Monroe County in Alabama where the regs are set just like here. We tag and report our kills in both states and do not try to blame a system for people's reason to poach is all.

The post-season survey was used for decades and was statistically valid, meaning the methodology and +/- outcomes were acceptable for the desired results. The survey was sent to a percentage of licensed hunters each year, after deer season. Although not mandated that they return it, I was told several times that returned surveys provided enough information for -- at the time -- the department's goals.

That survey was deemed to be - paraphrasing here - unacceptable, unreliable trash once the GameCheck system was put in place and mandated. Poor optics and PR about implementation didn't entirely help the situation. But it's what we have now.

As for what GC can accomplish, the reporting data can and should provide better info but only if hunters respond.



Killing a deer and not reporting it is easy to do right now. Mandatory physical tags visible on any dead deer would help curb this problem.

The tags to help a little bit. I think the confirmation numbers on the tags are the real enforcer here now

actually very funny. I hunt on about 75,000 acres in Oregon and I can only kill one buck so by your math I should probably be able to kill about 70. And I should also be able to kill about 35 elk. You can hunt four properties at total 800 acres another guy can hunt one property that totals 1,000 Acres, so why should you be allowed to kill more than him[/quote]


I'm pretty sure one buck that you kill in Oregon will have little affect in Alabama, same as a buck that I kill off one property here will have little affect on one of my other properties. But by your reasoning, you should count a deer in Oregon as one of your three bucks here.

Thirteen years with a 3-buck limit, shouldn't we be seeing more mature bucks and a healthier herd all over the state?

Mature bucks = stronger herd = fewer does thanks to years of doe harvest = more intense, visible peak rut = stronger, stable younger year classes

Isn't that what we should be seeing right now, even in counties like Marshall, Morgan, Winston, Hale and some others where hunters have seen legitimate declines in deer numbers?


Maybe we need to go to just one buck a season, mandatory tagging, any male deer is a buck whether "unantlered" and that's your season buck, and possibly within 13 more years we'll have "quality experiences" for hunters with healthier deer populations.

Like Outback, I will comply with the checking requirements when I kill a deer or turkey.

But if I were of the mind to not report, I would have zero fear of being stopped with an unchecked deer. Cheating the system is comically easy.

I know the agency here has for years eschewed implementation of physical tags, either issued by them or required to be created and affixed by the hunter. And also possibly has roadblocks about requiring taxidermists and processors to be (IMO psuedo) agents of the state and requiring confirmation numbers before doing any work.

But if they want GameCheck data to be more reliable, one or both of those is going to have to happen. I think it would suck because I'm for fewer government intrusion and regulations, laws and requirements. But it's clear that after multiple seasons of mandatory GameCheck and a lot of hunters giving the big "FU" finger, they'll either have to use what they have or add more requirements.

I'm pretty sure one buck that you kill in Oregon will have little affect in Alabama, same as a buck that I kill off one property here will have little affect on one of my other properties. But by your reasoning, you should count a deer in Oregon as one of your three bucks here.
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Your swinging lol... Why would someone count a legally killed animal in one state towards a limit in another? Nothing in my reasoning as pointed that direction. The reasoning above was from you stating you hunt 4 properties but can inly kill 3 bucks. Its no biggie.

Sincerely, this is legit. But I also think most folks, even folks who aren't intentionally being "outlaws", don't care enough to fool with it because (1) they can't see how it helps or matters, or (2) realize there's next to no chance of being caught. And what I mean by that is there's a subconcious implication that if they aren't gonna enforce any more than they do, then apparently it isn't important.

I've always said, for some reason(s) (some I know, some I don't, some I agree with, some I don't) Alabama hunters are MILITANTLY against any notion of "deer management". Just look at this site, the overwhelming majority of members on here think the DCNR is corrupt, and/or imposing "television trophy mentality" on us. I wouldn't have originally thought this, but I've become more and more convinced most folks are purposefully not reporting purely for the same reason all those "meat in the freezer" posts litter the social media sites. Alabama is a curious bunch of hunters. I really do think I could talk about their mama and get away with it, more than I could challenge someone about killing a 1st year 4 point. They'll laugh at their mama, but they'll go full "yee yee redass" on you about some doe meat.

Your swinging lol... Why would someone count a legally killed animal in one state towards a limit in another? Nothing in my reasoning as pointed that direction. The reasoning above was from you stating you hunt 4 properties but can inly kill 3 bucks. Its no biggie. [/quote]

You shouldn't, and that is my point.

There is NO solution to this problem because most Alabama hunters don't believe there's a problem. I could stop there, because that really says it all, but I just want to flesh that out a bit more...

Hunters have to WANT something more, because people really only do what they WANT to do. Fences only keep out honest folks, but after a while if the gates stay open, then even the honest folks subconsciously assume it's not important.
Something as vast as a State is impossible to police, even with physical tags there's still virtually zero chance of being stopped and inspected. I could kill a deer legally and ethically, load it in my truck untagged, and what's the likelihood of being caught with that untagged deer?....absolutely NO difference than it is now with the GC system. If I'm stopped or spotted NOW, I have to show my GC card and confirmation number. My point is until hunters WANT something different than they have, not only will nothing work, but they'll actually fight against it.

Alabama hunters for the most part simply are "if it's brown it's down, meat in the freezer" hunters. The only hunters in the State who are interested in, and in favor of, "deer management" are rack hunters like myself. I"m probably only gonna kill one or two (max of 3) deer per year, and they should all be bucks big enough to shoulder mount. Now that puts me at odds with the majority of hunters surrounding me, not because I think I'm better, not because I think everybody should hunt like I do, but just because of the general lack of concern with improving things (we don't all WANT improved buck structure).

I’ll answer it like this. I don’t know of anyone that has killed a deer this year that has checked it. Of course I’m not going to ask them, “did you call that into game check”? Think about that. That’s basically asking them if they broke the law which is a crappy question to ask that deserves a punch in the nose.

This is leading to tagging the deer anyhow , too many hunters and not enough wardens,,,, we are going to be made to stop at check in stations before you know it...