Sharpshooters with guns(legal), silencers(legal), at night(legal) have already been used in the park to reduce numbers....

Sharpshooters were used quite effectively the first few years.

I'll say it again: I'm glad they're allowing hunting. But if they want to reduce numbers, bring in the scopes and bullets and close the park to kill the bony goats at night and also let the hunters participate during the day.

Wow, An opportunity is created for competent bowhunters vice hiring "sharpshooters" and some of you think that is a bad thing and want to badmouth the volunteer organization that is trying to make it happen best they can....


1. The point of the program is to thin the herd of deer in OMSP to carrying capacity NOT to create another hunting opportunity for the "public".

2. The park is public land NOT public "hunting" land.

Y'all need to do a little more research or critical thought on urban depredation (ie.. do you really want "just anybody" selected by a lottery/chance to be shooting at deer (or not) in a populated area? - Sounds irresponsible to me).
If your arguments aren't based on the facts of the issue and some research, they seem baseless and more or less sound like whining.


Now if you're just giving Barry a hard time for "sport" he's used to that (and sometimes he does deserve a good ribbing ) - but he deserves more support than tearing down for his efforts in this program and BHA. I'm sure he would appreciate constructive criticism or ideas to make the program (and BHA) better for its purpose, not necessarily better for a few individuals, much more than listening to people who complain because what seems to be best for the group isn't the best for them individually.

Thanks for the kind words DY!

All those years of going out in the back yard and argueing with my giant red oak tree has prepared me for these types of situations!

1) What's wrong with creating another public hunt while at the same time reducing the herd population. It's a known fact that access to hunting land is a problem in our sport.

2) The park for years has not been public hunting land. Now we have an opportunity to open up the park land to public hunting on a limited basis. Once it works in this part it may lead to opening up other parks creating more public hunting opportunities and again, addressing the major problem of access to hunting land.

I never said I had a problem with the competency test so I am not sure where your description of "just anybody" comes from. However, if more hunters qualify than their are spots to hunt, a lottery is the fair way to determine who hunts.

Maybe you should check out our neighbor GA who has been having hunts on their parks for several years. They don't seem to be having a problem including many firearms hunts while others are archery and I believe one may be primative weapons. They have created a great hunting opportunity and opened up a lot of land that had previously been off limits to hunters while at the same time helping to control the deer populations on their parks.

Where can I find this "known fact"?

Alabama has over 600 thousand acres of public hunting lands and there's something like 93 million acres across the lower 48 states, with much of it getting little or no hunting pressure.

How is access to public hunting a problem?

I keep hearing folks says that "hunter numbers are declining and we're loosing access to hunting lands". I'll agree that license sales are declining and it's more expensive to buy or lease land ... but neither of those are proof of loosing hunters or hunting land. In fact, all the evidence proves just the opposite.

I think the WMA's are prime for bowhunting. Hell, Black Warrior alone is over 90,000 acres and that doesn't include the access to the rest of Bankhead. If you are a bowhunter and have $20.00 to spare, there is plenty of land to hunt...

36 Alabama WMAs offer more than 768,000 acres of public hunting and access.

That does not include the refuges and national forests.

Hunting numbers are down "statistically." That's a fact.

It helps to say that, too, when Johnny's generation wants to play YouTube Rock Hero instead of coming in to grab the BB gun and go out in the field. But there is no field, the BB gun will get him arrested for possession of a weapon and Daddy's having to work his ass off because the economy sucks so they can't go hunting as often.

When they can go, the old Johnson place has been turned into a strip mall, the farmers who still have property lease the hunting rights to doctors from out of state or won't allow anyone on it due to liability and Daddy can't figure out how to take his kid on a public land gun hunt b/c he doesn't know the land and is afraid he'll get shot.

So they don't go. License sales decrease and people say there's no place to hunt.

Hunting numbers are down.

But that doesn't mean there are no places to hunt. You just have to put in some time, legwork, be appreciative of the spike or few does instead of the RackDaddyBigPecker wallhanger everyone believes is their God-given right to shoot in a 2-hour hunt and go do it.

And just how do you know that 80 won't show up? What if all 160 show up and you have to turn 80 around at 4:00 AM after they have taken off of work and driven a long way! I bet you would be dang popular then!

I have said it before and I am going to say it again. It is REAL easy to sit on the sidelines and complain. But, it is a entirely different ball game when you have to get in there and run the plays. The lottery wasn't working. If this doesn't work, I am sure the DCNR will try something else.

But, we are trying to do what was asked of us and we are going to try and make it a success. Each hunter had a choice to make, they could join in or sit out. I just don't understand those that want to sit out but still complain.

But, it is a entirely different ball game when you have to get in there and run the plays.

Can you check off at the line or do you have some scramblin' moves to get out of trouble?

I expected something from you on that one. Just like life, we have to make decisions as we go.

nobody got my point :rolleyes:

I got it. I just thought it was a brick!

You would since you head up BHA. :rolleyes:

1. Check the acres of public land available per hunter. And everywhere I've been stationed, a friendly request and an offer to do some work has found me plenty of hunting opportunities.( I do agree that it is a lot harder to find private opportunities than it used to be and that expensive leases exclude many folks that used to have access to property for free. On the other hand I have no shortage of offers to "help" me with the deer on my land in Ok. I don't really need any "help" killing the deer, I need help putting up stands, trimming lanes, planting food plots, general upkeep, mowing fields etc...only had one person take me up on that offer.....)
2. Right to start, then ....this is in an urban area and the "hunters" should be screened due to the close proximity to suburbia and the high possibility of critical scrutiny by antis/fence sitters (as in most states that have urban bowhunting opportunities).

Then - Why not choose the "best" based on competent reasoning vice a lottery??
Or Qualifying individuals based on shooting skills, committment to the cause and sportsmanship determined by references and an interview - then if too many remain - a random drawing for position on the hunt list.

Maybe Barry would be better off forming a private consulting firm to offer hired "sharpshooters" vice offering an opportunity to any SPORTSMAN who can shoot a bow competently.... He could make a lot of money and suffer a lot less grief!!

I am sorry you are upset. BHA was asked to help out and that is what we are going to do. I am sorry some seem to think this is wrong, but the lottery system wasn't providing the desired results. If this doesn't, I am sure the Commish will come up with another idea.

Barry is not offering an opportunity to any SPORTSMAN who can shoot a bow competently. He is offering the opportunity to those who can shoot a bow competently and who he picks. It worked out this year because there are not as many hunters wanting to hunt as there are spots to fill but that may not always be the case.

I am only asking that a lottery be used to pick from the pool of competent archers rather than an arbitrary system of someone "picking".

I also don't believe that you should be required to join a certain organization to be able to hunt on land that is owned by the public.

Conservation Advisory Board meeting will be February 2009, most likely in Montgomery at the Capitol Auditorium.

DCNR Commissioner - (334) 242-3486

Oh well, Guess you'd prefer to have a private company kill the deer in the public park... Never a 100% perfect solution to please everybody.

No....since the public owns the land I would like for the public to have an equal opportunity to hunt the land.