......or it could be that people have been shooting a chit load more deer....especially since the numbers back up that theory......Not sure why that seems far fetched to some of yall

I'm about done messing with deer hunting in Alabama. The last two years, I've spent more hours planting fields/working than in a stand. It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to consistently kill mature deer here, and more often than not, those mature deer will never touch 130".

I'd rather drive 4-8 hours and hunt a place that doesn't have a 3 month gun season and elmer fudd sitting on a corn pile every 20 acres.

I’m in the same boat. Take me about 2 weeks a year off and go hunt hard when time is right. I got out of hunting clubs all together because of Elmer Fudd and corn piles.

You want to lease you place to some out of state hunters? I may know a few!!

I have a friend of mine who spends most of his time in Illinois and Kentucky deer hunting. They kill some whoppers.

Because the game check system is not a dependable resource for accurate information. There’s to many variables that can be theorized to why the numbers are the way they are. Also percentages mean nothing if you don’t have definate numbers to go by.

Reached this point couple years ago. If u like spending time at a camp for 3500 for now and climbing then go for it. U might get lucky and kill a good buck but chances getting fewer and far between with 30 other people in ur club and locals with pictures of the same deer. I know it ain’t for everyone but if I’m gonna spend that I just go to my spot in Texas. I do have a couple small tracks here but only take a couple does off it for freezer. The bucks rarely live around those tracks so nothing I would shoot in couple years.

Dude you kill bigger deer than the majority of people in the state consistently…I honestly see and don’t see your frustration as you have to see how blessed you are with the ones you do continue to get. It’s like my buddy in Montgomery complains, and I’m like come hunt the places I hunt and I’ll show you tough hunting with minimal deer numbers and max size of a 110” buck at full maturity… just saying.

And yes…out of state hunting is way easier even in Tennessee for consistently giant bucks pushing 130 plus. My friends out of state always kill studs not having to really work for em

^^
If we grow one to 130 - we done something. I got a slew of old this year. The very best i got this year and i think he the best i ever grown - not sure he hits 130 and i may never grow a 130. I got a stud 3 year old 10 - but does he make it? So many variables. We are not in 140 inch territory amd 130 is super rare

Come on Tdog, there are a bunch of 130s killed in Clarke and Wilcox every year, along with quite a few better than 140. Enough that a 140+ is not a unicorn or anomaly and there are more being killed than you realize. They just dont get advertised when they are killed. It might be that your particular property that you're hunting is limited by your neighbors and your deer that have the potential to reach those type score numbers are being high-graded out as1, 2 and 3 yr olds, but the counties you're hunting in certainly can and do produce them on a fairly regular basis each and every year. It is not a genetics issue in Clarke or Wilcox. Sure the majority of bucks killed will not make 130", but that is the case anywhere you hunt in the southeast US. Alabama just has a harder time getting bucks into the 130+ category due to killing higher numbers and a substantially higher percentage of our younger age class bucks than any of our neighboring states do and we have been doing it for a very long time.

I know of a place on the river in Clark County that only shoots old mature bucks. They kill some absolute monsters. Been doing it for as long as I’ve been knowing them. And believe it or not, everyone is killed on corn piles you could see from a satellite. There’s has been the same corn piles on that place since his dad was hunting in the early 80s.

Tdawg, Im not sure where your located in clarke but the guys who deer hunt the place we have turkey rights to in peachtree kill some sho nuff hammers off of it every yr. in the past 5 yrs i know they've taken 2-140+ & 3-4 130+ & have pics of a couple pushing 150.. They few & far between for sure

I hunt near t…I’m in the bottoms and we rarely will have a 120 much more 130… out pocket of genetics suck…peach tree has very good genetics as well as other places

Sightings and cameras.

Hamma - my good friend has a place in peachtree amd they never get 130s and they got over 1000 acres. I use to hunt his place some - they keep pressure down. He kills toads in kansas - 150s so they almost never shoot in bama amd i see his pics. Now years ago he had place by tville he would get occasional 130 and one that may come close to 140. I share with his neighbors too around tville - 130 rare. But there places in clarke that may grow bigger not close to town. Heck i talked to a processor less than an hour from peachtree and said he may see 1 140 every 2-3 years 🤣🤣. Now wilcox county is totally diff - get some bigger deer in places

So tell your buddy he got a really nice place. All i can give em is age and they do what they do. Got a lot drawing social security this year. But other parts of clark will be better than me

Ok......must just be a bad year then

It's a very good place other than its covered up with hogs.. place is surrounded by some of the harrigan / omelia trust properties

Or way more people are actually using game check now that didn’t use it before. I know quite a few that are now using it because the processors want a confirmation number or they have gotten caught transporting deer without checking them in. As I said there are a lot of variables to consider before making a claim that hunters are fixing to eradicate whitetail deer from the state of Alabama. Is there or should there be a concern, sure but as long as the all mighty dollar is in charge, nothing will happen. Also greedy hunters will be greedy hunters.

Yep, I'm sure that's all it is......Nothing to see here.

Could this also be that Hunting Licenses were going at 170k ish a year and dropping pre-pandemic and now appear to be holding steady at 290-300k. That is a lot more hunters in the woods over the last 4 years.