If you are an Alabama deer hunter who lives for the firearms season, the days you have long anticipated are upon you. The season has already begun in Zones D and E, a small portion of the state in extreme east Alabama. The rest of the state opens Nov. 18 (Saturday).

Your thoughts are probably revolving around sighting in your rifle, organizing your gear, choosing tree stands and getting away in the woods with your buddies. Its great to sweat the details and dream about the fun times, but take a little time to take a refresher course on the laws that apply to deer hunting. Failure to do so can make that expensive hobby of yours a lot more expensive.

Although some landowners are exempt, the rule-of-thumb is everyone ages 16 to 64 is required to have a hunting license when hunting deer in Alabama. The offerings for those licenses are varied, which allows hunters to choose what are best for them. They include lifetime licenses which simplify the process, but they are expensive. There are other licenses available that are much cheaper. For an additional $5, you can even select from six collectible hard-card designs. Visit www.outdooralabama.com to see the various license packages.

One thing you’ll want to do now is to download the Outdoor Alabama mobile app. That smartphone app allows you to keep your season organized right at your fingertips. It can be used to store your hunting license, your harvest record, Game Check your deer harvests, log WMA check-ins and check-outs, access WMA maps, rules and regulations; view moon phases and wildlife feeding times, view season dates and bag limits; and much more.

All deer harvests in Alabama must be reported through the state’s Game Check system. Hunters have 48 hours to report their kills. It can be done through the Outdoor AL mobile app, online at www.outdooralabama.com, or by calling (800) 888-7690.