Baiting has been bad for me. In general. I simply don't need a corn pile myself and since I own my own land I've been hunting it for 30 years. I've got a pretty good idea of the hunting dynamics under both scenarios. Legal/Illegal......

My takeaway is simply this..... We are living through the "Wild West" era of Deer hunting as it pertains specifically to Alabama. Since re-stocking at NO point in time before today in this State have rules been as lax while also being completely dismissed and ignored in this manner. And no other State in the entire United States is currently or has ever been this flippant about hunting while trying at the same time to claim they are "managing"

Nobody is managing a dam thing in Alabama. There are plenty of people doing research and trying to make it seem as if they are doing something beneficial, collecting pay checks and doing "studies" but whatever it is they are allegedly doing is a failure from top to bottom.

Hunters in this State have lost respect for game laws and the animals we are hunting. Seems like we are all dancing around something. I don't know what exactly that something is, but if the DCNR wants all the deer dead we need to start rifle season October 1st and lower the out of state license costs. Because there is money involved. Because large landowners make a lot of money off their hunting leases. And these have become the decision points.

Love shooting some crappy AL Bucks but it's getting harder and Corn is yet another headwind for those of us who enjoy the sporting aspect of deer hunting. There is nothing profoundly "sporting" about shooting a doe over a corn pile in Alabama. Pouring something out on the ground and hunting over it. That's not difficult given the deer population. The more difficult thing it appears for a lot of AL hunters is keeping their trigger finger in their pocket. The only way to worsen that tactic is to put a fence around it IMO. Baiting is not legal in most States because it's a bad idea. But Alabama isn't most States....Our deer are all 2.5 year old 4 pointers. However, THAT is NOT a shooting a doe over a corn pile problem. That took a lot of work over a lot of years to get here...

I heard you say you plant food plots and see 20-30 deer in them while sitting in the shooting house. And this is different because one is instantly edible and one takes 3-4 weeks to become edible? Both are baiting. Can you explain how one is sporting and the other is not please?

Baiting has been bad for me. In general. I simply don't need a corn pile myself and since I own my own land I've been hunting it for 30 years. I've got a pretty good idea of the hunting dynamics under both scenarios. Legal/Illegal......

My takeaway is simply this..... We are living through the "Wild West" era of Deer hunting as it pertains specifically to Alabama. Since re-stocking at NO point in time before today in this State have rules been as lax while also being completely dismissed and ignored in this manner. And no other State in the entire United States is currently or has ever been this flippant about hunting while trying at the same time to claim they are "managing"

Nobody is managing a dam thing in Alabama. There are plenty of people doing research and trying to make it seem as if they are doing something beneficial, collecting pay checks and doing "studies" but whatever it is they are allegedly doing is a failure from top to bottom.

Hunters in this State have lost respect for game laws and the animals we are hunting. Seems like we are all dancing around something. I don't know what exactly that something is, but if the DCNR wants all the deer dead we need to start rifle season October 1st and lower the out of state license costs. Because there is money involved. Because large landowners make a lot of money off their hunting leases. And these have become the decision points.

Love shooting some crappy AL Bucks but it's getting harder and Corn is yet another headwind for those of us who enjoy the sporting aspect of deer hunting. There is nothing profoundly "sporting" about shooting a doe over a corn pile in Alabama. Pouring something out on the ground and hunting over it. That's not difficult given the deer population. The more difficult thing it appears for a lot of AL hunters is keeping their trigger finger in their pocket. The only way to worsen that tactic is to put a fence around it IMO. Baiting is not legal in most States because it's a bad idea. But Alabama isn't most States....Our deer are all 2.5 year old 4 pointers. However, THAT is NOT a shooting a doe over a corn pile problem. That took a lot of work over a lot of years to get here...

^^^
Many hunters do not hav morals or respect game - think turkey hunting is the worst! Many kill over limit - how do you manage that?

As far as sporting - many dont own their own land. Try Be a hunting club vet for 40 plus years with folks breaking rules and laws and rampantly hunting the wrong wind - kill a good one there and i can teach you a thing or 2 about sporting. Not all clubs good - most i been in Were not! Had a few good ones

Heck - you know your own land like back of your hand for 30 years - how easy is that 🤣🤣. Be hard not too! Thats a given! But most of us dont hav that silver spoon in our mouth to be able to do that 😀. I hav learned a public wma like back of my hand in less than 3 years and ruled some turkeys - but i was in Shape then and nobody cares. We dont need hero hunting stories!!

Blessed to be able to go and gonna try to enjoy heck out of it while i still able! I would rather not hav the corn but most states are corning - over half the states. Pretty easy to research - or you can just spew info and not give a crap if it accurate or not 😀

It still is free if you want to do it that way. The dcnr redefining "area" to 100 yards away and out of sight was what opened the door for almost anyone to bait, and once everyone was baiting, that made it possible to get the corn license passed and make them a lot of money. And making money for the dcnr is the whole point of having wildlife in the state.

I think everyone is right in their own eyes The jealousy in bass fishing during tournaments made me quit them. This obsession with growing a monster is ok if that is what you want. But going by the happy smiles on people's face when they just get to kill a deer. They need to just quit . A buddy of mine took kid on one of the cancer hunts. The other guide kind of shamed the boy for what he killed. Some of yall need the talk he got from my friend. Do the deer belong to the state or landowner?

Anyone who would shame that kid needs a butt chewing.

But I will shame a grown man that’s been hunting and killed for years and years that gets in our club, signs our rules saying he will follow them, and then breaks them. And he deserves it. Whether it’s about killing a deer to young or leaving little Debbie snack wrappers in the shooting house. A rule is a rule.

Yeah. That guide needs fired and publicly humiliated. But, apples to oranges on the comparison. That kid was hunting a special place because of special circumstances and not everyone has that chance. It was for him and he should enjoy it how he wants. Comparing that situation to the every day hunter/manager and the challenges they face on private property are not really the same. On private property, there are so many different objectives and every one hunts for difference reasons. What brings one a smile will not another, and vice versa. Some are killers, some are managers, some are watchers, some are trophy hunters, some are a variation of QDM, some bait, some don’t, some rifle hunt, some bow hunt. With the modern technological advances in equipment and its usage, with relaxed regulations, longer seasons and legalized baiting, there’s not a way for all of those types to coexist given land use patterns. Caring about this trend is NOT being a whiner or crybaby. Caring about the resource is what everyone should be concerned about over their personal satisfaction. I don’t get this mentality that concern is whining. I do what I do because I love to help ppl reach their objectives, whether that be a first time hunter smiling over a spike or a trophy manager holding a 160”. They’re all important. There should be a way that folks with all the various objectives have a way to enjoy hunting.