I’ve got a theory about those southeastern counties …….I don’t think its big plantation X…..or big hunting club Y…….or landowner Z changing their doe harvest patterns in the southeastern portion of the state that has caused the 4 year increase in doe harvest numbers that we see peaking this year (assuming this is where it peaks)…..I think the increase is coming from more and more of the smaller properties around them being utilized to take advantage of the good populations….. I bet most of the big players are shooting the same as they have been.
I know that there’s always been folks hunting around the big plantations and such but now anyone who can put up a feeder in his uncles back yard can have an impact. There’s just FAR more of these small properties now with the ability to kill more deer than they could in the past. The increase is coming from these folks skimming more of the cream off the top as more properties are utilized to pour out a bait pile. I think the cream has already been skimmed off of North Alabama and why you see the decline this year. The southeastern part may just be a year of so behind in declining due to there being better populations. I think the southwestern portion may be a little less impacted because its so much more rural with less small property fragmentation…. It would blow everyone’s mind if you could see the true scale of baiting that’s occurring……The more the land is divided up into smaller properties, the higher the feeder/corn pile density.
Frankie is right……Sometimes folks gotta learn the hard way. I’m guessing its gonna be another “weird year” next season again for a lot of folks.
