We probably will. Won't know until Feb
10.

Show me the whining in NA to extend season, please. Didn't happen. It was done against biologists in NA's recommendations. It was a part of a backroom deal with high fence operators to get Gamecheck, this per a cab board member to me face to face.

I never whined to get the season extended in NA, but I'm glad it did get extended.

Those of you who already get to hunt the rut seem to be the ones most against the season extension. What if the state decided to close the season from mid December - mid January? It wouldn't bother me any and would actually help me I'd guess, but I'd imagine that wouldn't sit too well with those of you who's deer rut during that time.

So why should you be able to hunt the rut, but I shouldn't be?

The same applies to the doe season. We don't have enough deer to say Grace over, so cutting the season back is the correct biological thing to do in my area.

If the shoe were on the other foot how would you feel about it 2Dogs? Serious question, not trying to be a smart ass.

I'm not trying to be an ass, but there's plenty of people who are benefiting from the changes made by the state.

As far as Chuck Sikes and his comments about landowners, he should be removed from office for making a statement like that.

I have read this entire thread and noticed something was missing from every post. Many people have posted that the (assumed) reason for all these regulations, rules, apps, etc is to increase the health of the states deer population.

Setting numbers of deer, specific season dates, etc has less to do with what they are hoping to accomplish than the MOST IMPORTANT aspect of a deer herd population needs.

That would be the availability of food. I do not mean the corn in your feeder. I mean row crops and acorns. We do not have the number (and size) of deer in Alabama that they have in IL because of the crop land.

If Alabama wants to improve its deer population then they should offer incentives to move from pine plantations and cattle pastures to more corn, soybeans etc.

I know for a fact that there were many more deer in Sumter county when everyone was row cropping (25 years ago). I am guilty of it myself. I was unable to find someone who wanted to row crop my place and we moved to cattle and hay, because that is what we could lease it for. I have slowly added parcels of pines in areas where the pastures was not leased. My property has gone from 1100 acres of corn, soybean and cotton to about 650 acres of pines, 400 acres of pastures, and a 50 acre lake. The pastures and pines are nowhere near as desirable to deer as would be corn and beans.

I'm somewhere in between. I don't think you should be able to shoot as many and whatever you want on your property unless you own those animals. If it's free-range land, we've gotta have regs to conserve what we've got or we'll lose it. If you put up a high-fence, you should be able to do what you want. If not, you shouldn't be allowed to be negligent with your taking of animals because your choices hurt your neighbor's land as well...

You're suggesting that a state agency that has had just two significant license increases in the last 30+ years (best I remember) and is being hammered by the Legislature trying to get some of its division money -- and only has game/fish money protected thanks to the hands-off laws established decades ago -- subsidize people to plant agriculture crops to help make healthier deer and better hunting?

Winner, winner on the high fence guys pushing the extension.

So fence in the State's deer, then they become yours, then you can do whatever you want?? Help me understand this babble.

The average Joe hunter doesn't have to hunt the extended season if he doesn't want to. It ain't mandatory yet. Just a random thought, there.


Question:
If the stated motivation for the reporting program, season manipulation, limits and so forth is TRULY to help the health of the deer, why don't our Dear Leaders simply collect random OR planned samples of jawbones, say every 20th deer killed or something like that, for an accurate, fast, biologically tested, herd cross section of herd health?

Answer:
Because the herd health and robust population is not really what any of this is all about.
It's about people and money manipulation.

We don't need to abolish the DCNR, the DCNR exists for many valid and important reasons. And we need game wardens.

The problem is what has become of the DCNR the last few years under the dictatorship of Chuck Sykes and certain members of the CAB that have blatant conflicts of interest like Mr. Moultrie.

The way the totally unnecessary Game Check was done, changing dates for the northern part of the State that most up there say they didn't want or need, monitoring field trials, road blocks, carrying an ink pen, and the statute about hunting times being a certain number of minutes vs. the common sense and easily understandable "daylight" rule are just a few examples.

IMO, we don't need to abolish the DCNR, we need to reform the DCNR and the CAB.

That is my 2 cents.

You make some valid points about the fact that the main hunting lobby is we the hunters (a matter of common sense) but your above post is bs.

The deer hunting season should always encompass the rut and in every State and Canadian province in North America it does. Except it didn't in the southern part of the State of Alabma until the extension was implemented. That extension was valid and necessary and totally appropriate - and way over due. So your above statement is hysterical nonsense and pure bs.

IIRC you do not even live or own property in the southern third/part of the State of Alabama so you shouldn't be commenting on that anyways.

yep SE Bama needed the extension. They did get that one right.

As a landowner in Montgomery County, I do.

I have killed a dominant mature trophy class buck in Montgomery County two years in a row during the February part of the season in Montgomery County. Which is exactly what I expected with the extension into the first part of February which decades of experience, the fetal studies and the DCNR rut map reflect is the peak rut for our area.

**********

Why/how in the heck has this thread devolved into talking about the VALID extension that took place for the southern tier of the State vs. the real items of concern that started the "abolish the DCNR" topic to begin with?

Exactly! I hunt in Montgomery, Crenshaw and Monroe county and the extended season is what we all needed and wanted down here. The opportunity to hunt pre, during and a small part of the post rut. I don't know about anything North of Montgomery county. And I will gladly give up ten days or whatever in December to keep all number of hunting days equal across the state for whatever reason. Most of my response was for WmHunter latest reply but I don't know how to do multiple quotes.

Leroy, to make multiple quotes, I have in the past just used one guys quote as you normally would and copy/paste the ones I want to add inside that same quote box. You might have to open up Aldeer two or three separate times, though. A little cumbersome and crude, but I'm one of those guys barely able to surf the internet and I was able to pull it off. And I use Apple and an iPad to boot.

No I am suggesting that the legislature make changes to something like the tax code to make it more attractive to plant crops that benefit wildlife.

I would assume that row crops could bring in more tax revenue than cattle and hay. I make this assumption on the fact that land that is used for row crops demand a higher lease amount, so i would assume that the money made per acre of row crops is higher than cattle prices. But at the same time not all land will support crops.

My main point was that until Alabama has an increase in row crops, whatever rules, regulations, or apps are implemented, will not make much of a difference.

Food is what will grow the population faster than implementing a rule that does can only be shot on Wednesday with a left hand rifle. Or some other stupid ass rule.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you there. I'd love to see row cropping come back, but it would be for the antler growth and fact that it's much prettier than pines.

Crop land won't increase the population. Likely would decrease it because the deer are more visible. The holding capacity of a clear cut is huge........

Typical government agency can't even serve their primary function which is enforcement, so they create a bunch of red tape to make revenue generation easier to accrue. Of all the years my family has managed timberland for clients, we have never had a warden catch a trespasser. We have engaged DCNR on clients request numerous times over the years. They show up to meet and see what the problem is and then you will most likely not see them again has been our experience.

For enforcement the best thing a large landowner can do is to hire a retired outlaw to oversee their place if they want poaching to stop!

It saddens me that my son will never know the freedom of being able to stay within some basic guidelines and roam the woods and hunt till his heart is content. I was able to back when there was honor in hunting. It was an honor to do what was right and never take more than what I needed in an ethical sportsmanlike manor.

You can't over-regulate an activity that is increasingly harder to be able to do and expect good results. The current administration will be cursed in years to come as the generation coming along has enough obstacles when it comes to hunting. I don't understand the ideology of increasing regulations while at the same time license sales are decreasing. Hunting at its core is about freedom to most Alabamians. I have always been content with the quality of our game. I would take the same game, freedom, and the honor of respecting what we are blessed with over "trophy" game any day of the week and twice on Sundays !

If they can have doe zones with different dates and areas , they can have buck time zones as well. But the $ to be made in a high fence is from shooting bucks, Dr. Warbucks doesn't want to shoot does. There are high fence operations all over the state , they want a 4 month season. It didn't have anything to do with a couple of small areas hunting the rut or they would have done it years ago. Lets make a deal and $$$$$$ my friend. Chuck Sykes will piss down yer back and tell you it's rainin'.

It's still happening. The freaking part of the state has little to do with the rut. It is simply the origin of the deer. Marengo county deer have a late rut. A helluva lot of the state was stocked with these deer, during the restocking in, mostly the 40's and 50's. They didn't look around and delay the rut because of what county they are in now.