Once again our deer season has closed and I and many other Alabamians we reflection on our past season, look at our mistakes, tweak what can be tweaked and for some it might mean a whole new shift in direction. But we all have some reasons for concern as far as where we are headed into the future as you well know times do change. There is much to do about CWD. We are all a little nervous about how Alabama will approach this subject. Then there are the rising costs of land leases and hunting in general. There are issues that have to do with our phone in reporting system, and high fence hunting issues. And of course that doesn't cover em all. I really enjoy hunting this State and I travel abroad to some other States as well. That being said, I have to say I am prouder of a 120 inch Alabama buck than a 150 from the Corn Belt. Why ? That 120 from Bama is a very different animal than from the Corn Belt. Not that shooting deer up North is like falling off a log. But if you have hunter there I think you can relate.Something that troubles me though in our State is the cost of our deer hunting. Let me restate that. Cost vs.return. And we all know that our money is not strictly tied to a harvest. I enjoy the fellowship of other hunters, being in nature, away from everything,etc. And I really don't have to spend a fortune to do that. Heck a $600-$1000 club can accommodate that. But prices are rising. And in many places the hunting is marginal for both quality or quantity. I know someone will say. Well that's not my case ! I have just an awesome place that I shoot a 130+ every season and see all kinds of deer and yada yada. I too have been fortunate enough to have hunter some very good Alabama properties. Now I am a realist. Yes. There are some very good places to hunt but from my experience of 40+ years of hunting from top to bottom of this State I have to say in 2019 they are very few. And you have to remember I came through the "Golden Age" of Alabama deer hunting. If you got to hunt in the 70's, 80's and early 90's in some of our better areas you got to be in on some fine deer hunting ! So your definition of quality deer hunting may vary. But if you call quality deer hunting seeing 20-30 deer per season and a couple of 90-100 inch bucks ;we come from different worlds. And I am perfectly fine with lowering some of my expectations. Let me give you an example of some of my friends experience. You may can even relate. 2 of them leased a 750 acre plot at $8000 in Monroe county. They are very well accomplished hunters. Pulled 1 buck that might, maybe would bust 100 inches. Have another buddy who has invested $8000 in a few years in clubs and had yet to pull the trigger on a 120 +. That is his criteria. I do have a friend who got it done on his place in 2 years that cost him $5000 per year. It scored 125. That to me is a pretty poor return for a lot of investment. And I thought that lease prices might slow down if the quality of the hunting slipped. Boy was I wrong ! I firmly believe some of these guys will keep paying more and more for less and less. A few year ago I was given the assignment of helping a buddy lease some of his properties out for hunting. It was okay property but he wanted to lease it because it was a disappointment for his expectations. When these guys rolled up,it was a cinch. Showed them a few deer tracts and s couple of rubs and they about P'd themselves. If my buddy had the mind to he could have socked it to em on price and they would have had no objections. I'm saying: Wake up Folks. I know lots of you feel like, well if I don't pay it someone will. Let them. You can hunt public land and fare better in some cases. I think all of us can make a difference if we have cut-offs on what we will pay.
