Originally Posted by daylate
Originally Posted by ikillbux
Now I don't really know why folks bicker and condemn others about things like which weapon, that's petty and pointless. I can make some humorous comparisons, but they aren't hills I would die on.... like the "vertical bow vs crossbow" argument. But I can see why there are argument s out there about deer management (for lack of a better term). I don't care what they say about the decline in hunting, that's total BS to me.... it might be somewhere in the country, but it DANG sure ain't in the south. I've hunted all over Alabama since the 80's and I've never seen so many people hunting. Lease prices are insane because the demand is insane. My point is competition has become worse, and we're much more connected and crowded than we've ever been. So as crazy as it sounds, what you do DOES affect others. We have extended seasons because select locales wanted it. We have point restrictions on WMAs now because indiscriminate harvests have resulted in SHITTY (forgive my profanity, but it's the word that best describes it) herd balances and/or overall numbers. And just in general, the vast majority of Alabamians have a much worse hunting experience today than ever before, all because indiscriminate harvests and free-willy ideals have ruined it. You simply cannot have "if it's brown it's down" for two generations and sustain it.

So where am I going with that rant? I'm in northeast AL, so is the guy in Mobile county REALLY bothering me at all with what he kills? Is the guy on the Tennessee line REALLY bothering me? No, not directly. But by extension, ultimately even if some years down the road, rules get made that affect ME. (refer back to my first post on page 1 about "people really don't care until it affects THEM") So a lot of times when I read social media arguments between hunters, what I sense is at the root of it is one guy saying to other, "Hey buddy, be careful, have bigger and higher ideals, because I've got 20 more years of experience than you and I see where the last 20 years got us."

But again, crossbows aren't bowhunting! laugh grin

There is no place in the state that is not being hunted or sought after to be hunted. High lease prices are forcing clubs to sign on too many hunters for their acreage. Same thing is happening with fishing. There are more people out there than I have ever seen or dreamed there could be. Not that long ago, I could go flounder gigging and not see another person all night. Now it looks like an airport runway there are so many people out there and after way less flounder. And that is just one example. Try to find a spot on the beach where you can set up during the pompano run or a place on Grenada from February through November where you can't see a dozen spider riggers at once. All of the holier than thou finger pointing and shaming about how someone else is hunting is only going to get worse from here. Having said all of that, I don't think any of you should shame yourselves by using corn. I will do it and you can all tell me about my lack of woodsmanship.


I also notice it worse in fishing. We fished Wedowee this past weekend, middle of November, hunting season is open and it's youth weekend, freezing cold, and it looked like the first warm weekend in March out there with so many boats. They had a doggone high school tournament with apparently tons of boats, plus all of the ramps we went by had lots of trucks/trailers. I mean, good grief!!!! It seems like just a couple of years ago by now you'd have the lake to yourself. Folks who say "there are less hunters/fishermen" can go take a flying leap slap

We were on the edge of Eternia, when the power of Greyskull began to take hold.