I called you a politician. Get over yourself.

We reduced the limit because of listening to hunters AND the data supported it in some places. We can't make drastic bag limit changes without overwhelming evidence that the resource is in danger. It's not. I manage a WMA that I cut down to 5 doe days all season. Why? I think it needs it for a few years. You have no idea what all goes into making these decisions. We can't make split second decisions based on a few complaints. I'm done with this thread. Every time I try to help someone understand anything it goes south. And y'all sit around and wonder why Every biologist that has ever signed in on this forum has left.

Look Matt is not God but please don't slam
The guy he is Only telling what the research
They do and facts present . When you deal with
Millions of people trying to deer hunt there are
You guessed it millions of opinions
My suggestion is hunt your place the best way
You can according the State law and get with your neighbors and try to come up with a happy medium . Mike is my neighbor by Hunting Clubs
They are on the State plan we are not but hope
To be soon we hunt large parcels of land and can
Definetely make a difference to our deer herd , Matt thanks for doing your job in a Professional manner .

I agree with Matt. Hell if he was a politician I would vote for him.

I've only been able to hunt 3 times this season so far and saw one either small buck or doe. It was just at dawn and a long way off. This is in southern alabama and really not too uncommon for the property or the area. lots of greenery in the thick woods and still some acorns around....and still quite warm most days. Unless you get in the thick stuff with them you won't see them........they haven't much reason to move around right now on this property and no need to be hitting food plots. If I hunted the plots only or based my numbers on tracks in the road, ect........I would say the population is down.......but I know better. It doesn't get good down there for another few weeks and then rut is a long ways off after that. We don't need to shoot many does on this property based on sightings and trail cams.

I could go to a buddies place 20 miles down the road from our place and see a field full of does every hunt. They know they need to kill more does.

It's very site specific on how any place should be managed and there will never be a fit all suit all number for does or bucks. Matt is offering you good advice as far as talking to neighbors and biologists. Saying there is an overwhelming trend statewide is silly and there way too many folks that hunt all over the state that can prove other wise. Some places need to slow down the killing of does perhaps, but that is the landowners duty to execute.......not the states.

Most people think they are supposed to show uup where they hunt 3 months out of the year and think they are supposed to see deer everytime....I work every weekend at my club and I am rewarded for my hard work and knowledge of the land. I have noticed that alot of hunters are lazy and want to blame everyone else for not seeing deer

X2!

Matt, Please don't let one or two knuckleheads keep you from continuing to provide good info and solid advice. Myself and I'm fairly certain many others on here appreciate the knowledge and educated insight you bring to the table.

Every place is different. The habitats are different, the food sources and seasonal food sources are different, predation, hunters and management styles..all different. You've got to learn about the variables for managing the deer where you hunt and work with those. You get out of it what you put into it. We see lots of deer regularly and I've seen plenty of deer the few times I've gone this last week but we work hard to make sure all the holes in our habitat management bucket are plugged up so we can increase our carrying capacity and health of the deer.

Well I'll probably be called a democrat too but Matt gave the answer to most of the reasons fewer deer are being seen.
They changed Habitats, they moved to where people aren't at times when people aren't, namely night time and mid day. You cant hunt at night so there ya go.

I once heard that the Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

If you are not seeing deer at a specific time in a specific habitat type then....get ready....do something different!!
Switch times of days, sleep in and climb into that stand at 11 AM and hunt till 4PM. If you aren't seeing deer morning and evening in a food plot then back off the plot and into the woods. If you still don't see them morning and evening, sleep in and climb into the stand at 11 and hunt till 4.

The Deer dont leave and they dont stay bedded down in a single bed for 16-18 hours a day. They are more active during the night when pressured and/or full moons but they dont just lay up all day in a bed. They will get up and move, maybe not far but they will move.
It is unlikely they will come into a food Plot during daylight hours at almost anytime after the woods fill with rifle toting hunters. The young and dumb one may at the crack of dawn or dusk but the older ones will wait till it's good and dark.

you just gotta find them and go to where they are and be there when they get up and move regardless of the time of day.

show off

X3
Thanks for your hard work.

My concern is the area where I live. Between mine, my family, and neighbors there is probably 1500 acres here that is basically not hunted. Sure, there is going to be poaching but I believe we have reduced it to a minimum. The deer numbers have dropped drastically to a critical point. So not shooting deer to get those numbers up is not an option. Not sure what to do. This is why I blame coyotes so heavily.

where I hunt we have deer on camera all at nite, if were lucky we harvest 1 a year . And at the WMA I see deer but there are small, no big Bucks 4's & 6 point there small . good to read that I am not a lone with this ?????

I think your ridicule of Matt is unwarranted, whether I agree with you or him. You minimized what you actually said. Yes, you did call him a politician. However, next you went political in derision of a political position to which, obviously, you are opposed and look down upon.

Admittedly, I am no expert in deer management and obviously hunting, since I haven't put anything down this year. I am coming here to learn and make connections with others to improve myself and have fun. I too am curious about why I haven't seen anything since gun season started. Is it the fact that so many does are being killed? I honestly don't know. Is it the warm weather, moon phase or that I haven't put out my clorox stumps? LOL

If you look back through the thread I think it bears out what Matt has been saying. Some on here like me aren't seeing deer. Others are seeing so many I can't believe the numbers. That, in my humble opinion, points to differences in regional factors affecting deer behavior and populations.

You have every right to disagree with Matt, but don't resort to personal or political attacks. His insight, observations and opinions are just as valid as yours. Let's all learn from each other and enjoy the wildlife and outdoors we are blessed with here in Alabama.

Matt, i enjoy the knowledge you share with us, unlike some uneducated backwoods goobers on here, that couldn't kill a deer at the zoo. Alabamians, for some reason, think they know more than biologist. IMO, the main reason people are seeing less deer now, is because they've been plugging away at them for years. They shoot them on foodplots, everytime one steps out. After being hunted and shot at, doe's learn not to step out on plots before dark. They learn to stay in the thickets, instead of the pretty hardwoods, that so many like to hunt. People overhunt stands, disreguard the wind and trample all thru the woods, and wonder where all the deer are. Deer pattern people more than we could ever pattern them. Please disreguard these people, we need folks like you, Matt.

This is what it all boils down to. The man is right. I haven't seen a buck but twice since gun season opened. Pressure changes everything. I save a few honey holes for rut and ours are in the early stages now. My son hunted one spot for the first time today and had 3 bucks cruse by. 7:00 am, 9:00 am and 10:am. He would sit all day but has school.We will not go back to that spot until Sat. Deer cruse that area for a year. Human's intruding on their place and they gone. If a dog can trail a deer 24 hours after it was shot, how much better do you think a deer can smell you.

Agree with you. I own a small patch of property up in Fayette (300 acres of thinned pines) that is basically un-hunted until the last two weeks of January and that's only by myself and I only hunt for bone up there, no does. Ain't no pressure there and still there ain't a whole lot of deer. There are some deer and I saw at least one on nearly every visit last year, but nothing like what Matt and others are describing what they see on their sits. One thing the property does have a huge amount of is coyotes. And there are hunting clubs that border the property that may have suspect harvest rules (but according to the "rules" outlined in this thread this outlying pressure caused by the clubs should make the deer flock to my place since it is essentially a sanctuary 90% of hunting season). Makes you go hmmm.

DD, where are you located in Fayette County? Most all of the hunters I'm talking to in Fayette are seeing deer.

Near Bankston. I went up there for the first time Sunday since I wasn't seeing anything on my "traditional" hunting spots. Got skunked, but the conditions weren't great (too windy). I'll probably let the property lie until January again unless things get real desperate. Good to know your hearing good things about the area.

I second that motion Blum!!