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.