Could this also be that Hunting Licenses were going at 170k ish a year and dropping pre-pandemic and now appear to be holding steady at 290-300k. That is a lot more hunters in the woods over the last 4 years.
The increase is 100% all out of staters coming in to finish off what is remaining of the Alabama deer herd. Inflation and loss of buying power hasnt hurt anyone in other states financially and these out of staters are just jumping at the chance to drive a couple hundred or more miles, pay $400 for an out of state license, $50 for their out of state corn permit and get to blasting some big ole Alabama 1-2 yr old basket racked bucks and a hundred or so nannies apiece.
Wait a minute, hold the presses. Let's toss out a few facts into the conversation. Google says:
Here are some other hunting statistics for Alabama:
2021-2022 deer season: Nearly 238,000 hunters hunted deer for 5.4 million days, harvesting over 301,000 deer
2022-2023 deer season: Over 233,000 hunters hunted deer for more than 5.4 million days, harvesting nearly 309,000 deer
2023-2024 deer season: More than 235,000 hunters hunted deer for more than 5.4 million days, harvesting over 314,000 deer
Looks like CNC is right on target again. The massive increase in deer hunters over the last 3 years appears to be a net loss of 3,000 deer hunters. Yep that's a -3,000 deer hunters.
From the Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries 2011-2012 Hunter Survey (oldest I could find)
"The 2011 National Survey of Fishing Hunting & Wildlife Associated Recreation indicates that approximately 535,000 residents (licensed and unlicensed) and non-residents hunted in Alabama during the 2011-2012 season. Of the 535,00 individuals that hunted during the 2011-2012 season, 249,686 were licensed. Comparing these figures indicates that resident hunters who do not or are not required to buy licenses contribute significantly to the overall hunting effort and harvest of game animals in the state."
Point to Note: In 2011-2012 season there were more unlicensed hunters in the state of Alabama than there were licensed hunters. There is no reason to believe that this is not still the case.
License sales for 2011 were 249,686. Tex is correct in saying that today it is holding at around 290-300K. So license sales have increased by somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 in the 14 years between 2011 and today. Why could that be? Alabama's population has increased by about 345,000 people or about 7.5% during this same period. Land fragmentation and development has occurred too. CNC says everything is getting busted up and bought up which is 100%correct. So now people that were hunting family land no longer have access to hunt that 100-500 acres the family used to own. So now, if they want to hunt, they lease land or hunt a neighbors and guess what? Now those same people are required to buy licenses. How many residents are there that were just hunting friend's property without a license (illegally) in Alabama, before Chuckie Check was instituted and especially before it became mandatory and you had to have that pesky little harvest ID to drop a deer at the processor, that have now started buying a license as a result. That number is probably a really large number and a big part of the increase. The chances of getting caught hunting without a license in any given county in AL, especially for deer is very small. Everyone already knew this, same as hunting over corn before it was legalized. Most people did it because there was not much of a chance of getting caught. I contend that a bunch of people simply were not taking the time or hassle to get that annual $35 license. Point is, just looking at the total numbers does not always show what you think it does. Dont become fixated and enamored with the "shiny object". Look behind the numbers at all the details and other factors influencing, driving and affecting them.
All this said, I agree completely with CNC. I too am 100% sure that Marsh and his cajun buddies and all their Florida friends are pilfering all of Alabama's wildlife resources, killing all the little bucks and responsible for 99% of the annual doe harvest, and will be the sole cause for the eminent crash and complete extinction of Alabama's deer herd. Thus ruining the hunting for all the residents and landowners. Dang you Marsh, you and your cajun reebok wearing buddies better stay over in LA!!!!! By the way, I'm driving over to LA this weekend to fish and pilfer some or your LA redfish and speckled trout. Where do you think would be better? Delacroix or Point Lahache this weekend? Are the siphons open at Lahache, I'd like to grab a couple limits of bass too?
