I hope so Jawbone.. I got drawn for the rut hunt at Cedar Creek in a couple weeks. Me and my boy are going to kill our combined 6 does that first evening, then we are going to try our best to kill 2 of the exceptional 2.5s that just meet the antler requirements.

Game check is nothing new and other states have been using it for years. However those states have the resources to enforce the game check/ transport/tagging system. That’s the whole issue with Alabama is not game check but not being able to enforce the rules and regulations associated with it. I’m all for doing whatever it takes to make hunting better for everyone,but if we are not having a problem, don’t force new regs on us because an area a few hundred miles away is having a problem. If the regs are changed, I’ll follow them then just as we are now. I won’t like it but I’ll do it.

Nope!!!😂

Whats this compromise you speak of? Cause majority of Big landowners i know don't want me or anyone else shooting any of their MATURE deer either. There's a fellow member on here that can tell a story/stories about a fairly big landowner we know and how childish he's acted ever since they got a particular piece of property (and shot a few of his deer he grew lol) that THEY (landowner) WOULD NOT SALE OR LEASE HIM. Anyways feller has nearly both feet in the grave and acts like a 5 year old, but that's all he has and it's kinda SAD really, he's known for killing big deer all over, and ya take that away, and he's just another Old Man, his kids don't even care about hunting no more cause he's pushed all his chit (like several on here are apparently are doing) on them for years, so hey they go to the Gulf now and fish and are enjoying Life....

The folks like that absolutely ruin hunting IMO.

I don’t know. The ones I talk to and work with aren’t concerned with ppl killing mature bucks. More like they wish the neighbors would work with them in killing mature bucks, instead of continuing to kill them before they get there. I know there’s always unreasonable ppl. Most of the ones I am referring to are not unreasonable.

Like I’ve said in other threads before, back when buck harvest was a random occurrence and ppl scouted, hunted, shot what they saw, etc deer were still living long enough to reach maturity, so there was still an expectation you might kill one. Now, with cameras, they’re used to scout less, hunt less, but be more successful killing target deer. It’s happening in “some” places so bad that anything over 3 is basically nonexistent. I know some of you have stated you want to hunt like you want to hunt and not have anyone else tell you what to do or look down on you. I get it 100%!! Hunt like you want. So if someone simply wants the opportunity at mature bucks like they used to have prior to technology and baiting, and don’t have that opportunity now, why does that make them the bad guy? They aren’t able to hunt like they want to because what they want isn’t there.

I don’t have the answer. I just see it occurring a good bit. I’ve actually seen folks sell land or give up leases because it’s gotten so bad.

I’ve even publicly stated several times, even on the podcast, it’s still a deer at the end of the day and not worth ruining relationships over. Still stand by that.

We’ll, a lot of the top biologist, with long tenure at the state, have recently quit and I don’t know any of them that are speaking highly of the top brass and decision maker’s decisions over the past 5 yrs,,so yeah, I’d say there are probably conflicting opinions on how the state should be managed.

People are jumping ship in a hurry.

So I’ve heard.

It’s really sad to be honest. The state is losing a lot of expertise, experience and knowledge, in every one of the people that have just gotten so fed up with the continued decisions, that are detrimental to the states wildlife, being made for political and monetary reasons and in complete disregard with their recommendations as professional, dedicated, wildlife experts.

That about sum things up?

Here’s another part of this I don’t understand…….How are the “interests” of wildlife, agriculture, and insurance supposed to function together??......In my mind I have some kind of organized and understood arrangement that gets negotiated and agreed upon kind of thing that should be happening where wildlife gets its fair cut of the deal……When instead it seems more like ag and/or insurance have hijacked the process and wildlife is getting bent over while the other interests reap as much benefit as possible……I’m just saying, it seems like a very unbalanced deal here where wildlife takes a back seat and is managed as low as misinformation and bullchit persuasion can manage it……Just keep shooting those does!!....Everyone is overrun!!!.....Right??.......Is this really the best way to manage this whole scenario over time??.....It seems like bad decisions for wildlife are just inevitable under this process…..The only question really is “how bad can you screw it up before people notice?”

Kind of like the Turkey season dates and limit reduction…screw chuck Sykes and company

I hunted in NE Missouri for 7 years. The first year you got an any deer tag and an antlerless tag with your license if I recall. You could purchase a bonus antlerless tag for $25 for the first and $75 for the second. Total of 4 deer. Only 1 of which could be a buck. Fast forward a few years and the insurance companies started raising cane about deer/vehicle collisions on the highway. The DNR went to a buck tag with your license and you could could buy unlimited antlerless tags for $7 a piece. You want to talk about a slaughter. You could kill all of them in one hunt. You’d see truck beds and trailers full waiting to check them in. I’m 2 years Missouri accomplishes what they wanted and raised the price and set a limit on antlerless deer again. It’s all about the $$$.

Just tell them to stop whining.......

We were the ones whining after shooting multiple deer per hunt. It was fun shooting but all those deer had to be cleaned and processed. And it was COLD up there. We learned a valuable lesson about being greedy!!

Well, I've done less hunting than ever before and have seen as many or more quality bucks, pre-rut, than ever before. Still haven't pulled the trigger yet though.

That may be what it seems like from afar, but I rarely have a deer over 125” to hunt on my places. Like once every few years…..and as far as killing, there’s tons of people on this site who would wipe the floor with me.

The point of my original post, was it’s frustrating to have a piece of land that you never pull the trigger on, yet somehow rarely have mature deer. It’s gotten a lot worse the last few years. I’ve got one place that I’ve killed 2 bucks on in the last 5 years, but the hobby farms that back up to it have likely killed 50 in that span. Effort vs reward is much more appealing a few hours north or west.

Why would the 5 acres need to be more attractive than the well managed land? They just need all the young bucks to occasionally screw up and swing by their corn pile.

Get these land owners to go to their small acreage neighbors and offer a permit to hunt their property’s if they will only abide by the size/maturity rules. I bet those tiny land owners would love that opportunity to get to hunt rather than shooting one from the bathroom window. Win for both, :-)

My two cents on this topic is as follows:
1- Hunters have unrealistic expectations these days. Myself included at times from too many hunting shows..lol.
This is Alabama and a mature buck scoring 125-135 is Great deer in our state.
I’ve not pulled back an arrow or pulled the trigger on anything less than 4 + yo buck scoring 130” or more in over 20 years. Since then I’ve killed a total of 4 bucks in Alabama. That averages out to only 1 every five years and I consider myself very lucky and fortunate to have hunted some of the better parts of our State. I’m not saying that we don’t have a lot of deer bigger than that, but only that they are not going to be where you are hunting every year and even if they are you may not ever see them or get the the chance to shoot them.
I’ve got 3 mature 8 points on property this year that I hope to get my granddaughter at shot at and an exceptional 3 year old 10 point that will be special in another year or two. Other than a trophy 6:5 yo cow horn spike there’s nothing else to ponder shooting until some strange buck shows up during rut.
2- Deer populations and their sex ratios will continue to ebb and flow with various environmental, habitat, and other influences through various sections of property. I always see changes in these make ups from year to year. Never do they seem to remain static. This year I’ve seen more bucks than does by far while hunting. A lot of scraggly antlered spikes, 3-4-5 points and several basket 6-8 points. We’ve got great recruitment. But I know from camera surveys and collective hunter sightings that we are skewed heavy with does. Most does with yearlings have twins this year. We need to remove more does. This is just a snapshot in time of our property, but guess what? Just like the weather it will change and I for one am glad it will. It would probably be boring to have the same groups of deer year after year.
The moral of this story: adjust your expectations and you’ll enjoy hunting more, while worrying less about things you can’t control.