Do the math:
Estimated population of deer in Alabama according to Gary Moody when the qdm limits were being debated: 1.7 - 1.8 million deer.
Kill 35% of 1.7 million to keep at same level = 595,000
Total deer killed during 2009-2010 season = 289,000
Additional needed to keep deer in check = 306,000
We better quit killing coyotes. They're doing our job for us already. Add tags and a bunch of other qdm crap and we might need to import some more coyotes to keep the deer population from exploding. Lord knows more hunting opportunity ain't the answer.
There's no way there are 1.7-1.8 million deer in Alabama. Maybe back in the 80's but not now. I've seen the population in my area decrease over the past decade. I used to see a lot more deer then than I do now, both in the woods, on the roads, and in the fields. The area i hunt in doesn't need a lot of doe thinning. I hunt on 225 acres of family land and I take ONE a year and that's it. I killed one buck this year and may take one more if he's a nice one. If anything my area of Autauga county needs LESS doe days, while the buck limit is just about right. I wouldn't argue with only having a two buck limit.
I agree that before any more rules are changed that the every day, run of the mill, deer hunter needs to be surveyed, not these $2,000.00 a year lease hunters. I'd say they are in the minority and shouldn't decide what the rest of us should or shouldn't harvest.
