Fayette county. Having one of the best years in recent history. Seeing plenty of deer. I finished my season on 11/30, except for more doe killing, one son has killed a really good deer and the other son has had some great hunts without pulling the trigger yet.
Right now Fayette Co is on pace to have both the lowest buck and doe harvest its had in the last 6 years…..Not my opinion, just what the numbers show…..
Current totals from the snap poll of actual hunters around the state and the results are a real "shocker"
18 responses that things are actually up
5 responses that things are normal compared to previous years or where they want them on their property based on their management philosophy
0 responses that the sky is falling and there are no deer
Maybe the numbers being reported are not an accurate barometer of what is actually happening with the Alabama herd. Matt has his finger on the pulse of what is going on in Fayette. Lives there, knows a ton of people, lives and breathes deer and deer hunting. I'd be tempted to believe what he says is happening with the herd in his area is the gospel and 100 times more accurate than what Game Check numbers and your charts indicate. The fact that Game Check numbers indicate a potential problem in Fayette and all these other counties is to me indicative that maybe there is a potential problem with using the Game Check numbers to paint the state or certain counties or areas with such a broad brush. There are simply way too many undefined and unquantifiable variables with regard to harvest (weather, acorns, drought, corn, cameras, pressure, lack of pressure, two years of higher than normal Covid harvest, hunter laziness, etc), as well as the unknown variables with actual GC compliance and participation, make the data pretty much useless unless you're looking at overall trends over 10 yr periods at least. Comparing just the last 2-3 years of even 5 is pretty much just an exercise in futility. That's the thing about statistics, garbage in, garbage out. All the other variables have to be factored into the equation before it has any statistical relevance. Looking only at reported kills, from a system that the state cannot even verify is remotely correct, is simply not an accurate reflection of anything on a short term basis.
