Post by muzzy on Dec 6, 2005 8:42:20 GMT -6
So you want to hunt for tennessee's big southern bucks but dont want to pay thousands of dollars for a guide, hotel, food, deer stands, food plots, ect...then this is right up your alley. tennessee has thousands of acres of public land available to hunt ranging from the heavily wooded appalachian mountains to the flat and fertile mississppi river plains in west tennessee.
The top 5 wma's to apply for if you are insearch of a big southern buck are 1. Presidents Island 2. Ft. Campbell 3. Land Between the Lakes (LBL) 4. Catoosa 5. Laurel Hill. LBL and Ft. Campbell, located near Clarksville in northern middle tennessee, just have some excellent genetics and good age structure. Presidents Island and Catoosa, located in totally different parts of the state with Presidents Island being just south of memphis and Catoose being north east of Crossville, both have antler restrictions and good genetics. not excellent but with the antler restrictions there are alot of really nice bucks. Presidents Island is definately the cream of the crop, but good luck getting drawn. they only about 100 ppl hunt for thier big bucks. With the combination of fertile west tennessee soils and the 9 pt or better antler restrictions, odds are really high that you'll get a shot at an old mature whitetail 3 1/2 years old or older. and with it being an archery only hunt you'll probably land yourself in the pope and young record books. The age structure at Presidents Island is probably the best in the state.
Laurel Hill is an up and coming big buck wma. They just started the 9 pt or better rule 3 yrs ago. Laurel Hill is located in Lawrence county which has been in the top 5 for total deer killed each each of the last 4 years.
I hope this little bit of insight is helpful to anyone wanting to hunt some of tennessee's biggest bucks, while sparing the hastle of having to pay lease fees, purchase your own private property, or spending thousands of dollars for an outfitter. If you would like more information on any of these or other wma's across the beatiful state of tennessee all you have to do is go to www.tnwildlife.org, you can also go to www.mytopo.com and order arial photo's and topographical maps for scouting instead of spending an entire pay-check on gas for a scouting trip.
The top 5 wma's to apply for if you are insearch of a big southern buck are 1. Presidents Island 2. Ft. Campbell 3. Land Between the Lakes (LBL) 4. Catoosa 5. Laurel Hill. LBL and Ft. Campbell, located near Clarksville in northern middle tennessee, just have some excellent genetics and good age structure. Presidents Island and Catoosa, located in totally different parts of the state with Presidents Island being just south of memphis and Catoose being north east of Crossville, both have antler restrictions and good genetics. not excellent but with the antler restrictions there are alot of really nice bucks. Presidents Island is definately the cream of the crop, but good luck getting drawn. they only about 100 ppl hunt for thier big bucks. With the combination of fertile west tennessee soils and the 9 pt or better antler restrictions, odds are really high that you'll get a shot at an old mature whitetail 3 1/2 years old or older. and with it being an archery only hunt you'll probably land yourself in the pope and young record books. The age structure at Presidents Island is probably the best in the state.
Laurel Hill is an up and coming big buck wma. They just started the 9 pt or better rule 3 yrs ago. Laurel Hill is located in Lawrence county which has been in the top 5 for total deer killed each each of the last 4 years.
I hope this little bit of insight is helpful to anyone wanting to hunt some of tennessee's biggest bucks, while sparing the hastle of having to pay lease fees, purchase your own private property, or spending thousands of dollars for an outfitter. If you would like more information on any of these or other wma's across the beatiful state of tennessee all you have to do is go to www.tnwildlife.org, you can also go to www.mytopo.com and order arial photo's and topographical maps for scouting instead of spending an entire pay-check on gas for a scouting trip.