Hunter numbers are down nation wide. Economy, loss of land, cost too much just ain't cool no more.. Who knows what it is. I can only speak for land I've hunted but coyotes are the biggest problem as far as deer numbers go. I was in a club that used to see 20+ deer on a hunt and they'd kill 120+ a year. They don't shoot does. U go there now and you will be lucky to see 20 deer in a month. 20 years ago they had big hardwood timber and no coyotes.. Now they got mostly pines and ate up with coyotes.. They are lucky to kill 60.

How many acres were y'all killing 120+ deer on?

8k

So, they killed 120+ bucks a year on 8k acres? I think the mismanagement and the thicker cover would translate to the decrease in kills.

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We've been told over the last few years that the youth days has recruited so many more hunters. These youth days have been going on long enough that those hunters would be buying licenses by now. Where are they? [/quote]

This would happen if we as hunters were recruiting new hunters. I never see many folks(including myself) taking kids from the neighborhood out hunting. I carry my son all the time but never any of his buddies. That is on me not the state. Personally I would be fine if in addition to the early youth season they restricted the last two weekends in December as youth only. Let the kids hunt while they are out of school for Christmas.

A lot of people take the week between Christmas and New Year holidays as vacation, and a long one if those dates fall nicely between weekends.

Telling adults who take a week or more vacation they cannot hunt during that time would never fly. The kids already can hunt when they're out of school.

Back in the day they had some guys that killed 20-30 per year. Club is 75 years old. Mismanagement or not. They just started seeing a decline in the last few years. Some of their kill numbers in 50-60's are incredible

In the area that we hunt, Sumter County, there has been less does killed since allowing does to be harvested all season long. When you had a doe season people knew that they had a limited time to harvest a doe for meat in their freezer. Now that people can shoot a doe anytime they have the perception of I will just wait I have all season and then they never have the opportunity to kill another doe again.

I have seen this first hand from working at a deer processor for 6 six years.

Something else that I have not seen anyone mention is the economy. That is playing a big part in people joining a club and having a place to hunt. You think about it $1000-$2000 to join club. Then add up all the fuel you will burn to go back and forth. Just a thought.

Have heard more than one wildlife official and/or biologist say this same thing.

The shorter "doe days" was the carrot dangling on the string in front of hunters. When the all-season ability was put in, that carrot disappeared and there was no rush or urgency to hunt those few 'doe days.'

It's not just something that happened in Alabama, either.

2000-2001 season was the first season more does than bucks were killed in the state. Since 2003-2004 season it has been above 50% every year. Ranging between 51% and 58%.

I agree....the numbers don't back up the idea that fewer does are being killed.

To be honest, i think horn porn has got a lot to do with less deer being killed. Everybody's waiting on that monster buck to appear, and a lot of people just don't care anything about shooting doe's. 1 guy i know, used to shoot doe's when it was illegal, now he wont shoot one. Processing fee's have gotten out of hand, most people dont want to fool with cutting up a deer. I had to bite my lip, when i saw a man drop off a 35lb doe at a processor. He might have got a walmart sack of meat back, but it still cost him $60.

The number on does killed has went down but as a percentage of total harvest they have not went down Total deer killed went up a lot in 2000-2001 the increase was almost all a result of the increase of doe harvest. The total harvest along with number of doe killed increased until about 2004-2005 then started a slow decline in total harvest but percentage harvest made of doe has not went down. 2011-2012 season was lowest number of bucks killed in at least the last 28 years.

When I look at the The Final 2013-2014 Schedule I see that (in Jackson Co) there are only 2 weeks during which gun hunters can kill does on PUBLIC land... Dec 15 - Jan 1. It's Nov 23-Jan 31 for PRIVATE land

This was a huge impetus for me to buy a bow this season instead of waiting until next season. Being my first deer season ever, I plan on taking 2 does and putting them into my deep freezers every single day I can hunt

How is it we know the kills and ratio in this State and still not know the population? This is what the Game Check is suppose to do.

Umm damn don't no about that "carrot" "logic" I've seen many people take advantage of shooting 2 deer per day!

Obviously

Dang!!!

Trying to read those piled up posts is about as bad as trying to read piled up hunting rules.

Quit it!!!

BDhunts,


We've been scolded on the way we post by 49er. We've finally made it. Haha

Just cut and paste. It's much easier to read.