The mortality rate is what it is. They died of disease or someone shot them. "They" (neighbors) are going to say nobody shot "too many" bucks... but obviously that has happened. Either way they are dead. If they were hit by a car or EHD this has to be factored in as a dead deer and you have to adjust accordingly.

IMO what has happened here is that in your general vicinity the majority of the bucks have been shot. Realistically that can happen. We are talking last year, they year before and the year before that.

Every year what is getting killed are small bucks. Even if that number killed is low that is simply because you started with low numbers. There is no net gain at the end of deer season. It's just math.

Year after year you have few bucks and the ones you do have are young, save maybe one or two that has gotten lucky or remained hidden. There are always those.

What all this means... you have is a bunch of does. I say... Welcome to most properties in Alabama. IMO this is typical scenario.

If you are not seeing 3 and 4 year old bucks, someone shot them when they were 2, or at least they shot too many and now you can't replenish the stock.

This is just like raising cows in a pasture and this is not rocket surgery. It doesn't take a biology degree only common sense.

DCNR says go blast all the does and problem solved. That's stupid. Don't do it. You need the does to build back the buck population if you want to get it right. BUT this might not be in your control simply because you can't manage a small tract in isolation.

What has happened to a lot of hunters/clubs is they listened to the academic theory and went and shot up all their does.. now they don't have nearly as many deer period... that's bucks or does.