Hunters in this region are still adjusting their tactics to adapt to the changes wrought to the landscape by Hurricane Ivan's passage two years ago. Barnett points to Wilcox, Monroe and Clarke as the top counties for top-quality deer in his district. Scotch WMA in Clarke is his pick as a topnotch public site for buck action.

"There's a good mix of pine and hardwoods on the WMA, with some new clear-cuts and some good broad streamside management zones," he remarked. "It's a real diverse region. It has a little better soil than some of the other areas in our district, which translates to better physical condition and antler development."

The southeastern corner of the state is made up of the counties of Butler, Covington, Crenshaw, Pike, Coffee, Geneva, Barbour, Dale, Henry and Houston. The public area in the district that district biologist Bill Gray singles out: Barbour WMA. He's seen remarkable improvements there since it began being managed on a QDM basis several years ago.

"If you spend some time hunting there, you'll have a pretty good chance to kill an older age-class buck," he said.

For private-land hunting, he likes Barbour, Pike and Crenshaw counties, which, he feels, just tend to yield up better bucks year in and year out than do some of the others.

No matter where you live in the Cotton State, there's bound to be some decent buck hunting somewhere close by. We hope that these tips on locations and hunting tactics can help you in your quest to take a bruiser Bama buck this fall.

Find more about Alabama fishing and hunting at: AlabamaGameandFish.com