I too think that the season should start later and got into Feb state wide.

The last thing this state needs is Feb. Hunting statewide. Give it where its justified, and leave everybody else alone.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

I vote year around season...kill em all.

I know on my land in Marshall county that the rut is just now starting really. Scrapes an tubs started showing up jan. 27 and I seen 2 mature bucks chasing today.

That would be ideal.

How bout we don't complain about when we get to hunt.. take Kentucky for example .. look at their restrictions and dates

https://app.fw.ky.gov/SeasonDates/Default.aspx

Take it how y'all want but I'm happy to be able to hunt 3 1/2 months straight..

You are correct, Sir.

That would be ideal.

NO!

Kentucky is one of the more liberal "Midwest" states. Not really sure what your point is.

I wish Alabama would tighten down on it's game laws. The 3 buck maximum was a start, but I would guess more people than not, pay no attention to that law.

Bottom line is. They will never make every hunter happy.

Highway 80 and I-85 lines would suck donkey kongs.

If an adult cant kill a mature buck with all the days we have he isn't spending enough time in the woods or there just aren't any where he is hunting! Bow season should open earlier!!! There should be a youth weekend the following weekend after deer season closes along with the one we have already. That way the kids can get in on the late rut areas without the adults jacking it up! Just my opinion!!!!!

not for me, would be about right for south Montgomery Co. Checked cams yesterday and had 2 mature shooter bucks on cam that I had never seen or had pics of before. Been running cams since early Sept.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for
me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

Same way here in Etowah. An hour south or north of here the rut is around Christmas.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

I'll upload pics of those three when I get home this evening, for whatever reason my work laptop won't do it. And I know my long rant above sounds awful, but I just get frustrated about the whole "we're missing the rut" issue. I get no more excited when I see a buck chasing a doe than I do when it's a crisp and calm December morning and hear limbs breaking in a cutover, then you see the horns, and ultimately get a shot!!! Woooo! I just don't understand the need to "hunt during the rut", unless the reason is that this hunter isn't seeing bucks otherwise. Am I off base on this? If I shoot a mature buck, it's exciting regardless of HOW it happened. So the logical deduction is some folks aren't SEEING bucks unless they are "rutting". My perception of the issue is that it's about not SEEING bucks at your land unless they're rutting. So I don't feel unjustified by casting a curious eye at a hunter who can't see a buck in the 3 1/2 months we already have. I've said this: If you just want to move the entire hunting season, then no problem. Let's make it Jan 1 till March 14th. But it's absurd to ask for "10 more days" so we can experience the rut. What is this romanticized idea about the rut that I don't get?

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

I'm just worn from this never-ending saga of extended deer seasons.

Pavement is the sole factor that determines where the various ruts are.

You are gonna have to learn to deal with it, our brothers in southwest alabama got a lollipop and now the rest of us wants one too.

Bazinga.

Clem, I hope that means you just farted.

No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

What law did he admit to breaking?

Be specific.

Originally Posted By: ikillbux

I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7.

Originally Posted By: ikillbux
I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe.

Then he later stated:

Sorry, third buck was killed Jan 17th, not 7th. I had the image saved on my laptop as "Jan7buck", so I didn't even catch my typo when I wrote that. But guys, don't crucify me because I don't just joyfully jump in the majority flow of wanting to extend hunting season. It's not against my religion or anything, it's just a pragmatic approach. If I can't kill one in 3.5 months, I just believe there's more of a problem than missing the rut. I probably took it a little too far and pointed a finger. No offense intended.

roscopee said it above, if you can't kill a buck in 3 1/2 months, maybe needing to hunt during the rut isn't the real problem. I am 40 years old, have hunted my whole life, and have hunted in Lowndes, Lee, Chambers, Macon, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Calhoun, and Cleburne counties. I have seen deer chasing in October, Nov, Dec, and Jan. I have hunted multiple seasons in a row without seeing even a spike walking behind a doe. And I have killed at least one good buck virtually ever year. I couldn't care less if I see a buck chasing a doe or not, and I don't need that to happen for me to see a mature buck. My point is I (nor you) need the rut to happen in order to kill a mature buck. Every time a hunter tells me "I never see mature bucks until the last week of January" (or February, or Spring Turkey Season), I immediately want him to show me where he's been sitting. If that's your case, the problem is NOT needing the rut to occur, but rather you need to move where you can see a big buck. Get out of the shooting house, get off the fields, don't ride you ATV within earshot of your tree, be in the tree WAY before daylight, sit till WAY after dark, quit hunting in that "pretty spot" where you want deer to be, and on and on and on. Big bucks are in the cutovers from Thanksgiving through January, period. If you don't have cutovers, find a new club that does, because you got jacksquat chance of seeing a big buck in any other place. But quit screwing up a 3 1/2 month long hunting season because you've bought into the "Outdoor Channel" hunting worldview. If you have racked deer on your cameras at night, they are there in the light!!! And they don't lay flat all day long, they're not in a cave, they will actually stand up and move during daylight SOMEWHERE on your land. If your land is thick, all short pines, etc., find another land!!!! Quit being a "hunting club" member. Put the climber on your back, walk as far as you need to, don't be stupid with the wind, and hunt where the bucks are, not just on the big pretty greenfield that he is NEVER gonna walk out on. In the last 20 seasons I have killed more mounter bucks from Oct 15 - Oct 31 than all the rest of the season combined. And I have NEVER hunted anywhere that a genuine rut didn't occur between Christmas and Jan 10. Deer are poly-estrous, meaning they'll cycle every 28 days till bred. The rut will get stronger each cycle because fewer does are remaining. First rut will be weak, 2nd rut stronger, etc. What you're seeing from Jan 25 thru Feb 10 is the stronger 2nd cycle. The first true Alabama rut happened between Christmas and Jan 10. You may not have seen it, but those scrapes didn't show up mid-December for nothing. But I guess you were expecting every racked deer on your land to be wide-eyed and fighting, standing in the powerline with a doe, and otherwise acting like the Outdoor Channel shows?? It's Alabama, it's just the genetic dispostion of our deer, and the overall poor deer structure. You can't depend on a defined, dependable rut. If Bama's season ran from June 1 through Sept 15 (3.5 months) I'd still kill deer. I reckon I sound like a know-it-all, but it's just common sense. If you had to kill a buck to eat (or you'd starve to death), how would you do it???....men, you've got 3 1/2 months to kill 3 bucks. Don't piss it all away hoping (against hope) that they'll finally walk the last day of season. And don't take my October away because you want an Outdoor Channel rut-hunt in February. I killed three good racked bucks this year...you want to know when I killed them? Nov 29, Dec 11, Jan 7. I also shot a buck and lost him on Dec 7. And I probably saw at least 10 racked bucks this year. Not a single one of them was chasing a doe. The common denominator?....Hardwoods in bow season, cutover in gun season.

So, what's the law he would have broken if he hadn't missed?

Sorry, third buck was killed Jan 17th, not 7th. I had the image saved on my laptop as "Jan7buck", so I didn't even catch my typo when I wrote that. But guys, don't crucify me because I don't just joyfully jump in the majority flow of wanting to extend hunting season. It's not against my religion or anything, it's just a pragmatic approach. If I can't kill one in 3.5 months, I just believe there's more of a problem than missing the rut. I probably took it a little too far and pointed a finger. No offense intended.

I didn't take into consideration who I was replying to grin

He would have killed 4 bucks.. no law perhaps a regulation

Baybuzzard,


Well?

The law defines when the CAB meets but they ignored it and held the meeting where their rule was passed.

So, is it really a rule?

3 meetings or 3 bucks. The message the CAB sent is to ignore it if it don't fit your needs.

DuckDown, sorry for hijacking your post. Y'all carry on.

This whole story sounds a little crawfishy to me

And there's someone every year that gets on here and says if you can't kill 3 bucks in 3 1/2 months yadda yadda yadda

Also... you previously admitted that you had already killed your 3 bucks by January 7th, yet you were still hunting on January 17th, so are you openly admitting you don't obey game laws?

Especially when he posted in another thread on Sunday the 19th that he missed a big 8pt on Friday...which would have been the 17th......

Maybe im full of shucks like a christmas turkey too!!.... But i hunt covington county only, and i usuall knock my biggest bucks out early, by the time my rut starts (if i see even see it) there basically aint even a deer left! Hard to see the does m when i do i spike or small immature deers behind her. I dont and will not depend on the rut to kill my bucks, all the rut is good for to me is to bring a bonus buck in from a neigjboring property. I agree 110% with ikillbux

No, I'm not gonna be MIA for a while, and no there's not any funny business with my harvest limit and kill dates. I just don't want to be the butthole of aldeer, acting like a juvenile arguing with strangers on a message board. Duckdown didn't ask for an argument when he made the post, and it was my fault that it turned that way. Just bowing out of this thread (and deleting my $.02) as a peacemaking gesture.

... Im simply petitioning for a shift of the dates amount of time already given.

...(7) To close the season of any species of game in any county or area when, upon a survey by the department, it is found necessary to the conservation and perpetuation of such species and to reopen such closed season when it is deemed advisable.

Do you really think it would harm the species if we were to vary from the "amount of time already given" from one area to the other?

How would not having a season, at all, harm the species? Predators have been managing the population long before hunters.

...All wildlife taken shall be disposed of as directed by the issuing agent, and except for feral swine it may not be utilized personally.

Ask the people where depredation permits are issued after hunting season closes if predators are managing the population.

Why does that matter?

What's the difference?

It makes no sense whatsoever to argue that all areas of the state should have deer season set for the same number of days.

Currently, areas in north Alabama have fewer days in the antlerless season. There is no reason why seasons should not be set differently according to the population density in different areas.

That is the intent of the law.

[quote=ikillbux]No, I've never hunted extreme South Alabama, except for a few times as a guest here and there. But I still say we're talking different narratives. If you think I couldn't come to Clark Co (just picking a random place) and kill at least one mountable racked buck in 3 1/2 months (from Oct 15 - Jan 31), then the problem is NOT when the rut occurs. The problem is your land sucks. Ain't no way in Hades I'd pay a dollar to lease any land where I couldn't have a successful season during the traditional state dates. And NO, I don't need a chasing phase to do that in. I'm saying the narrative is about SEEING deer without the rut. It sounds like your narrative is not being able to experience the rut while hunting. If you just want to experience rutting activity, just go sit in your stand in February, or go to Cades Cove with your video camera, or buy an Illinois trip in November, but leave my hunting season alone. And I'll let the pictures above speak for me when I say I may not know the difference between an a$$ and a chipmunk hole, but I know how to see and kill good bucks before February. And two of those three deer above were killed on public land. I also missed a large buck on Barbour WMA on Jan 17th, chasing a doe. I saw 6 bucks chasing does on Jan 17th and 18th on that Barbour hunt.

GW told us last week the push is to get it to Hwy 80 and I-85 and include everything south of these 2 roads.

Like I said earlier, the rut is controlled by the pavement.

I would like to see Smoothbore Muzzleloaders included as a lawful means of take during any open alabama archery season - including all wildlife management areas and state parks.

You do know why the State uses roads and natural features, right?

N2--I would have a guess, but the roads weren't built with the future rut taken into consideration.

No, I'm not gonna be MIA for a while, and no there's not any funny business with my harvest limit and kill dates. I just don't want to be the butthole of aldeer, acting like a juvenile arguing with strangers on a message board. Duckdown didn't ask for an argument when he made the post, and it was my fault that it turned that way. Just bowing out of this thread (and deleting my $.02) as a peacemaking gesture.