I didn’t want to completely hi-jack Southwood’s thread sooooo…..Here is what Zone C probably needs to be redrawn to look like…..This is basically just reimplementing “doe days” in these counties. Keep in mind that this is just a generalized drawing and exact lines would have to be established

In fairness before anyone jumps on me about it……there are some counties that you could probably go either way with like Tallapoosa and Chambers for example……They have deer but the populations are nothing like areas further south……They would likely benefit from some does days….. I imagine Cherokee, Colbert, Coosa and Franklin are others that are either/or counties

I agree leaving Jackson Co out. No deer or turkey’s there. It needs left alone for many years to come.

I wouldn’t get too complacent with ANY county……Things change over time………Lee county is steadily having deer woods cleared to build houses…….That’s got to have an impact over time….. Jackson Co has a pretty high hunter density with a lot of hunters coming in from the counties around it…..Right now its still showing a 30-40% drop in doe and buck harvest from last season. I believe corn has had a pretty substantial impact there too

One more thing that we need to add into the mix is a DMAP program for landowners to use for more site specific management needs. County “Y” may benefit from doe days but you might still have large plantation “X” within that county that feels they have a further need. Both statements may be true and a DMAP program for landowners to use would address those situations.

How much time have you spent in the woods northwest of Birmingham?

Those far left counties up there are the ones I’m the least familiar with……I’m relying on Matt Brock’s expertise on those and he says most of them are fine from a population standpoint. Colbert and Franklin probably needs to have a closer look taken since GC is showing major decreases in harvest numbers. Zone C already extends into part of those areas now so it would stand to reason they are likely vulnerable areas. You can look at Google Earth and see where you have the most fragmentation and least amount of habitat. The rest of though I'm pretty familiar with

Coosa dang sure doesn’t need in that list. A lot of tallapoosa yes.

I think they should split the state in four zones and then alternate hunting seasons between them. That means if your in zone a you get to hunt this year, then no hunting for the next three, until it cycles back to you. This would solve all problems, age structure, population, and people could still hunt with corn and cameras

The DMAP program still exists

Just WTH are you smoking Man?!!! Do that in the Blackbelt counties and th' Deer will Overpopulate and Starve to Death!! It's pretty simple....if you're not seeing many Does when hunting.....DON'T kill any!! Does were somewhat slim on my land in Chambers County but saw several Bucks. So....guess what....I killed 2 Bucks and ZERO Does. Killed a Doe on a Friends' place in Lee county(Stonewall Plantation) as only 4 had been killed on 2400 Acres. Saw 12 Does when I shot the one.

Yeah, Coosa was one those borderline counties I thought you could go either way with…..In my opinion, one of the uses of a DMAP program is where areas that may be in question could be managed conservatively across the larger area while still having the ability to work with the bigger clubs and landowners through DMAP…… This would help manage some of the excess impacts being caused by small properties now…… I don’t think a DMAP program would issue extra doe tags to a 10 acre property……

I hunt family owned land that is north of 69 and south of Smith Lake (zone C) and I’ve seen more deer the past 3 years than I’ve seen in the past 20. Cullman county has passed some leash laws controlling the free range dogs that used to always run the lake and that coupled with the Zone C rules seem to be working. I can’t complain about the “zone C” impact so far.

I made a boo-boo on Zones D & E……..Can’t believe someone didn’t call me on it…..Zone D should have doe days and Zone E not have them…..Also the folks in the Bibb Co area probably need to be part of Zone E…..They seem to have an early rut too looking at when the main buck harvest occurs….I mean if we’re drawing out half of a county in Russell to delineate a Zone E then the whole county of Bibb plus some would be worthy….The Zone D in Winston with an early rut and doe days would also extend further north instead of it being in Zone C……This is really no different than what we have now, its just redrawing the zone lines to get folks where they need to be. Here’s the new modified map….That’s probably getting closer to how it should look.

Also lets add 4 days back onto gun season…. Zone D & E close on Jan 20 instead of the 16th…….. A & C open on Dec 11 instead of 15…….Zone B starts back on Dec 21 instead of the 25th……..That still takes back the 10 days the extension added but works out better with some of the Dec rutting area……I like those dates just a little bit better on the second draft…..

Bow Season Statewide
Oct. 1- Feb 10……No does until Oct 25

First Gun Season Statewide
2nd Saturday in Nov – Nov. 30 (Either Sex)

Second Gun Season
Zone A......... Dec 11- Jan 31 (Either Sex)
Zone B......... Dec 21- Feb 10 (Either Sex)
Zone C ........ Dec 11- Jan 31 (Buck Only)
Zone D…...... Dec 1- Jan 20 (Buck Only)
Zone E………..Dec 1- Jan 20 (Either Sex)

For folks who want to gun hunt Dec 1 -11 because of the rut in their area, we can move those areas into Zone D or E

A lot of what you drew as zone E is national forest and it already has doe days and no deer.

Somebody around there has some deer according to the data.....it may be on the private lands.......That would probably work out about right being in Zone E with the national forest land having its own doe day rules. Whether we call it D or E just depends on whether the whole area needs doe days or not.

Exact same on the 6 tracts I’m familiar with in Winston, Marion and Franklin. More deer now than ever before.

You don’t have much experience with Bibb county apparently. Cruising/seeking phase of the rut is at the earliest 2nd week of December all the way to mid January, depending on where you are. Density also varies greatly, depending on portion of the county. That same span of dates can be found in most counties in central & northern Alabama. Depending on location within the county itself.

By saying they have an early season rut I wasn’t meaning that they had a Nov rut……The data shows the vast majority of the buck harvest occurring during December.....It sticks out as being a unique area....The main flurry of buck harvesting in that county is coming in well ahead of everything around it.

Here you go…….this is a map from Dec 22 showing each counties’ buck harvest % compared to last year……Look how Bibb is well out ahead just like the other Zone D and E areas . I have periodic maps showing it’s progress….It started making the separation in early Dec and petered out in early Jan……