^^
I got more old deer than i ever had and keep pressure way down. On a stand today the first time i hunted it all year 🤣🤣. Got one stand been there for 5 years in the hardwoods - just started hunting it this year. Had 2 six year olds daylighting - but they aint 130 🤣🤣. Most people just dont hold stands for years waiting to hunt and its on fringe of hardwood sanctuary

All i am saying is 130 rare. The Town had a 130s 14 point last year but it rare here - he was not on me but close and they were hunting crap out of him - my pressure stays down. I can go most all of jan and never hunt my buck field most seasons. Studs hit it - 6 year olds hit it - but no 130

I hav one that may reach 130 this year. Lot of my property is a sanctuary. In 6 years i hav had prob 4 120s and this maybe 130. I think it can produce a 140 - had a mega stud few years ago that disappear at 4. Just very hard to see here. Think i maxing out potential. Got 9 deer over 5 on a 256. Thats hard to do on a 1000

Feel lucky - watch some of same deer every year - lucky to hav this place

My 7 year old son is educated enough on the matter to the point where he has allowed about 8 bucks to walk over the last two seasons that people in this thread would’ve shot…

I’m not saying: DO NOT PROMOTE THE OUTDOORS!!! I’m simply proving a point that it doesn’t take very long to decimate the future buck potential when folks are hunting every tract of property in an area and choose to shoot every 1.5 and 2.5 year old buck that they see.

I dont think too many folks are buying y'alls bullchit......but by all means keep it up.

James, you ever thought about taking up golf? Youd look good in a pair of those nickers with your two inch long leghairs sticking through the long plaid sox. Maybe one of them flat golf hats with a ball on top of it. Say "fore" real loud one time. I bet you like it.

^^
I got more old deer than i ever had and keep pressure way down. On a stand today the first time i hunted it all year 🤣🤣. Got one stand been there for 5 years in the hardwoods - just started hunting it this year. Had 2 six year olds daylighting - but they aint 130 🤣🤣. Most people just dont hold stands for years waiting to hunt and its on fringe of hardwood sanctuary

All i am saying is 130 rare. The Town had a 130s 14 point last year but it rare here - he was not on me but close and they were hunting crap out of him - my pressure stays down. I can go most all of jan and never hunt my buck field most seasons. Studs hit it - 6 year olds hit it - but no 130

I hav one that may reach 130 this year. Lot of my property is a sanctuary. In 6 years i hav had prob 4 120s and this maybe 130. I think it can produce a 140 - had a mega stud few years ago that disappear at 4. Just very hard to see here. Think i maxing out potential. Got 9 deer over 5 on a 256. Thats hard to do on a 1000

Feel lucky - watch some of same deer every year - lucky to hav this place

The increase is 100% all out of staters coming in to finish off what is remaining of the Alabama deer herd. Inflation and loss of buying power hasnt hurt anyone in other states financially and these out of staters are just jumping at the chance to drive a couple hundred or more miles, pay $400 for an out of state license, $50 for their out of state corn permit and get to blasting some big ole Alabama 1-2 yr old basket racked bucks and a hundred or so nannies apiece.

Wait a minute, hold the presses. Let's toss out a few facts into the conversation. Google says:

Here are some other hunting statistics for Alabama:
2021-2022 deer season: Nearly 238,000 hunters hunted deer for 5.4 million days, harvesting over 301,000 deer
2022-2023 deer season: Over 233,000 hunters hunted deer for more than 5.4 million days, harvesting nearly 309,000 deer
2023-2024 deer season: More than 235,000 hunters hunted deer for more than 5.4 million days, harvesting over 314,000 deer

Looks like CNC is right on target again. The massive increase in deer hunters over the last 3 years appears to be a net loss of 3,000 deer hunters. Yep that's a -3,000 deer hunters.

From the Alabama Department of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries 2011-2012 Hunter Survey (oldest I could find)
"The 2011 National Survey of Fishing Hunting & Wildlife Associated Recreation indicates that approximately 535,000 residents (licensed and unlicensed) and non-residents hunted in Alabama during the 2011-2012 season. Of the 535,00 individuals that hunted during the 2011-2012 season, 249,686 were licensed. Comparing these figures indicates that resident hunters who do not or are not required to buy licenses contribute significantly to the overall hunting effort and harvest of game animals in the state."

Point to Note: In 2011-2012 season there were more unlicensed hunters in the state of Alabama than there were licensed hunters. There is no reason to believe that this is not still the case.

License sales for 2011 were 249,686. Tex is correct in saying that today it is holding at around 290-300K. So license sales have increased by somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 in the 14 years between 2011 and today. Why could that be? Alabama's population has increased by about 345,000 people or about 7.5% during this same period. Land fragmentation and development has occurred too. CNC says everything is getting busted up and bought up which is 100%correct. So now people that were hunting family land no longer have access to hunt that 100-500 acres the family used to own. So now, if they want to hunt, they lease land or hunt a neighbors and guess what? Now those same people are required to buy licenses. How many residents are there that were just hunting friend's property without a license (illegally) in Alabama, before Chuckie Check was instituted and especially before it became mandatory and you had to have that pesky little harvest ID to drop a deer at the processor, that have now started buying a license as a result. That number is probably a really large number and a big part of the increase. The chances of getting caught hunting without a license in any given county in AL, especially for deer is very small. Everyone already knew this, same as hunting over corn before it was legalized. Most people did it because there was not much of a chance of getting caught. I contend that a bunch of people simply were not taking the time or hassle to get that annual $35 license. Point is, just looking at the total numbers does not always show what you think it does. Dont become fixated and enamored with the "shiny object". Look behind the numbers at all the details and other factors influencing, driving and affecting them.

All this said, I agree completely with CNC. I too am 100% sure that Marsh and his cajun buddies and all their Florida friends are pilfering all of Alabama's wildlife resources, killing all the little bucks and responsible for 99% of the annual doe harvest, and will be the sole cause for the eminent crash and complete extinction of Alabama's deer herd. Thus ruining the hunting for all the residents and landowners. Dang you Marsh, you and your cajun reebok wearing buddies better stay over in LA!!!!! By the way, I'm driving over to LA this weekend to fish and pilfer some or your LA redfish and speckled trout. Where do you think would be better? Delacroix or Point Lahache this weekend? Are the siphons open at Lahache, I'd like to grab a couple limits of bass too?

What is the difference in you enjoying your property and doing what you want from them enjoying their property and doing what they want. You don’t want them shooting “your” future buck potentials, put up a fence or make them an offer they can’t refuse and buy them out. Or you could maybe try to form a coop and work together.

^^
I got more old deer than i ever had and keep pressure way down. On a stand today the first time i hunted it all year 🤣🤣. Got one stand been there for 5 years in the hardwoods - just started hunting it this year. Had 2 six year olds daylighting - but they aint 130 🤣🤣. Most people just dont hold stands for years waiting to hunt and its on fringe of hardwood sanctuary

All i am saying is 130 rare. The Town had a 130s 14 point last year but it rare here - he was not on me but close and they were hunting crap out of him - my pressure stays down. I can go most all of jan and never hunt my buck field most seasons. Studs hit it - 6 year olds hit it - but no 130

I hav one that may reach 130 this year. Lot of my property is a sanctuary. In 6 years i hav had prob 4 120s and this maybe 130. I think it can produce a 140 - had a mega stud few years ago that disappear at 4. Just very hard to see here. Think i maxing out potential. Got 9 deer over 5 on a 256. Thats hard to do on a 1000

Feel lucky - watch some of same deer every year - lucky to hav this place

I think the drought was/is a HUGE factor this year.

It’s affecting everyone’s future buck potentials, not just “mine”…It’s absolutely sickening to see grown men (who have killed lots of deer in their lifetime) shoot 1.5 and 2.5 year old bucks and say “I needed some meat!”. But, they just allowed multiple does to walk by that literally weighed more than the buck they waited for and pulled the trigger on.

In today’s world: #1) people can’t think for themselves any more; #2) people can’t think logically. Therefore, the state has to apply these blanket type regulations that don’t fit for everybody in an attempt to try and guide today’s average hunter that doesn’t have a clue about the local deer herd…It shouldn’t be too hard for anyone to run game cameras and get an idea of the deer herd and then make logical decisions about what needs to be killed off of the property. Or even simpler: go hunt 4-5 hunts and see how many deer you see before making a decision on what to shoot…But, instead, people run to the shooting house and blast the second small buck that steps out to their corn pile “because they saw two bucks and needed some meat”. Next thing you know, they’ve killed about 5 small bucks between them and their sons (also “grown” men) off of an 8 acre patch of woods, while never shooting a single doe. All in an attempt to “fill the freezer”.

Look, I’m not bashing anyone for “filling their freezer”!!! Between my household, my parents’, and our hunting camp: we eat 10 deer per year. I’m all about killing deer to feed your family!!! But, there’s right deer to kill and then there’s what I described above. It’s not that dang hard…

I’m just disgusted and when sedgefield with 6,000 acres has one shooter on cam something is wrong.

I’m not sure if ehd is the culprit this year or neighbors have decimated the population. But I’ve never in my time running cameras at my house had 2 2 yr old rack deer on camera in the rut and that’s it. Hell I had 5-6 different 2-3 yr olds on camera 3-4 weeks ago and one have been seen in that time frame. I normally have 7-10 minimum rack deer this time of year filtering through. I’m just disgusted and when sedgefield with 6,000 acres has one shooter on cam something is wrong.

This thread seems to happens every December….

I agree with everything you said until you said what you think is the right deer people should shoot. Not everyone thinks like us and they are happy with any deer. Not just big mature bucks. I’ve been those people and on occasion I still am. But I’d never want to keep people from shooting what they want. Hunting supposed to be fun.