fishinguitarman wrote:Bow season is OPEN!
TN started REAL early this year!!!
Aug. 23-25: Private land, antlered deer only | Sep. 28 - Oct. 25, Oct. 28 - Nov. 8: Antlerless bag | Units A, B, C, D=4; Unit L=3/day, no season limit.
That's just the Archery only dates, trust me, there's quite a stretch considering Muzzleloader and rifle season.
If I'm not mistaken the current World record came from Middle TN a couple of years ago?!?!? I never thought we would have the possibility, but with the types of food plots that are being used nowadays, you can create your own trophy buck. I was cutting some greens last fall and I heard so much crashing in an overgrown spot between the pond and where I had my spot of greens, I assumed I had a poacher! I had already seen three antlered in the few minutes of getting out of the vehicle. THEN, the doe that was in heat came out of the trees with the REAL monster hot on her tail! Comically, I had only a butcher knife and was too far to try and get in a throw at the big rascal, hehe. It went through my mind, though!
Honestly, until you make your own bow with some Hickory, or even better, Osage Orange/Bois d' Arc, then make a few of your own arrows, you will NEVER enjoy hunting as much!! Jnic sent me an awesome self made laminate bow that he made years ago. Beautiful and functional.
Sadly, I can't physically hold up to using a draw knife and finishing out a self-bow nowadays. I still have some really nice Osage staves, a couple I got down to what I would consider almost finished on the "face". You can't cut through the growth ring on Osage and if you have a knot or old ingrown thorn, you have to work very carefully around the blemish and instead of staying on the same growth ring, you have to cut up into a couple of growth rings above, so as not to have the bow break the first time it gets puled back. That's a terrible sound and feeling when a bow that you put days into finishing becomes kindling!!!
I buy all of my grandkids that live in TN a lifetime hunting and fishing license before their third birthday, best $200 EVER spent in this State!!!! That gives them EVERYTHING required to hunt or fish for LIFE, also comes with the option of one of the TN magazines, even gets them into the draw hunts, no cost, even the Elk hunt. Yep, we have some elk and the TWRA sells or raffles one of the tags off. One year it went for over 7 grand on eBay!!!
Yep, I'm hoping that one of them gets drawn for that elk hunt before I'm gone. I will happily book the hotel near the "Royal Blue" Management area as well as any other costs to be able to help them bag an elk! I'm in West TN and the area where elk hunting is allowed is in East TN, around 5-7 hours away.
The oldest used my "self cocking" crossbow a little over a year ago and after I showed her how to sight with the scope and explained which dot to use for the bag that was at 20 yards, she hit just one inch from dead center of the bullseye with her first shot. Not bad for an 8-1/2 year old little girl that barely weighed forty pounds then!!!
I enjoy getting little ones or hunters that have never bagged a turkey on a good one.
I see no one mentioned raccoon?!?!?! Mighty good eating, IF you know how to cook them. I'm an easy pass on squirrels, never cared for rat meat. Not much on antlers, either. Never was able to figure a cooking method, hehe! They tend to be more "gamey and tough" especially if you get them at the beginning of rut.
