Flintlocksforme
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2019
- Messages
- 260
First of all I have to brag a little on TWRA for acquiring this property and the work put in on developing it for usability so far. Most public refuges , parks, and wma areas I have been familiar with since 1980 across the state were easy to access years ago when I was a child and young hunter. Now LBL and a lot of the WMAs are no longer farmed and inaccessible as they once were. TWRA sells me a big game and separate small game permit to hunt Natchez Trace WMA while doing nothing to improve it. Sadly the forest and topsoil are leaving faster than I will ever live to see recover. Besides many are the same as statewide and have no appeal to me as they once did.
BRR unit 2 is different. The manager understands deer management. Because of the nature of the high hills and steep hollows combined with a hardwood select cut years ago many parts of this wma are not for the casual hunter. I walked quit a few miles scouting on the scout weekends and found myself needing briar chaps and leather gloves in more than one place. I am sure that I even found a few places where a rabbit couldn't go. Some areas I didn't even look at because I just didn't feel like walking up a hill that steep covered with briars. The thought of retrieving a deer in some of those areas was not something that I was willing to consider. TWRA did clear the ridge tops to make trails for walking or ATV deer retrieval. I did see one nice food plot and found out that there were others. There are fresh graveled parking areas at common entry points.
The manager has knowledge of what the deer on his unit can stand as far as human presence and hunting pressure and the area in only open for 6 scouting days and 9 hunting days the entire year limited to 7 per hunt.
Because all the area I scouted had been cut
I struggled to find a tree straight enough for a climbing stand. It is necessary to get above the ground in the thick under story in most places too. I opted to carry 4 climbing sticks and a saddle platform and found most trees were excellent candidates for saddle hunting. I believe all the good straight trees were cut at least a decade ago.
The hunt area was clearly with signs and the property lines clearly marked. Once again this is a sign of the hard work put in by the manager and his staff. I did see lots of buck sign as this year had a bumper mast crop. It may be a different story on poor mast years. The deer may stay in the thick browse or move down to the bottoms for agriculture and food plots. I was blessed with my biggest muzzleloader buck of my life. What I thought was a 70 yards shot at a straight walking away buck turned out to be closer to 100 steps when I walked it off the next day. I went back the second day to retrieve my sticks and platform and hunted for a doe but didn't find any. I am not sure where to find the total kill for this hunt.
BRR unit 2 is different. The manager understands deer management. Because of the nature of the high hills and steep hollows combined with a hardwood select cut years ago many parts of this wma are not for the casual hunter. I walked quit a few miles scouting on the scout weekends and found myself needing briar chaps and leather gloves in more than one place. I am sure that I even found a few places where a rabbit couldn't go. Some areas I didn't even look at because I just didn't feel like walking up a hill that steep covered with briars. The thought of retrieving a deer in some of those areas was not something that I was willing to consider. TWRA did clear the ridge tops to make trails for walking or ATV deer retrieval. I did see one nice food plot and found out that there were others. There are fresh graveled parking areas at common entry points.
The manager has knowledge of what the deer on his unit can stand as far as human presence and hunting pressure and the area in only open for 6 scouting days and 9 hunting days the entire year limited to 7 per hunt.
Because all the area I scouted had been cut
I struggled to find a tree straight enough for a climbing stand. It is necessary to get above the ground in the thick under story in most places too. I opted to carry 4 climbing sticks and a saddle platform and found most trees were excellent candidates for saddle hunting. I believe all the good straight trees were cut at least a decade ago.
The hunt area was clearly with signs and the property lines clearly marked. Once again this is a sign of the hard work put in by the manager and his staff. I did see lots of buck sign as this year had a bumper mast crop. It may be a different story on poor mast years. The deer may stay in the thick browse or move down to the bottoms for agriculture and food plots. I was blessed with my biggest muzzleloader buck of my life. What I thought was a 70 yards shot at a straight walking away buck turned out to be closer to 100 steps when I walked it off the next day. I went back the second day to retrieve my sticks and platform and hunted for a doe but didn't find any. I am not sure where to find the total kill for this hunt.
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