Proclamations are online

[recurve60#]

I forgot to add, when I was a "juvenile" hunter, the TN archery season ended on October 31st, and there was simply no deer hunting period until the gun season opened close to Thanksgiving.

It's not that I don't greatly enjoy TN deer hunting ANYTIME in November, but the reality was that small-game hunting was also at its best in November, and once enjoyed by more Tennesseans than currently deer hunt in TN.
Think about that for a moment.

Hard to believe, but I lived it when the Opening Day of Squirrel Season saw more hunters afield across TN than the Opening Day of Deer Season (in November).

Change is the only constant, and the reasons things change are numerous.
But among those reasons, more deer hunting days is a reason fewer people are small-game hunting today.

True. I was there and I have no complaints.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Just hunt South Cherokee, the gun deer season there is 2 weeks in November and 2 weeks in December. Plenty of time for small game hunting. Best part. Plenty of targets.View attachment 227757

Thanks for the tip.

And what brand is that knife @timberjack86 I think I need one of those. Sure looks good and perfect size for little critters

 

[timberjack86]

Thanks for the tip.

And what brand is that knife @timberjack86 I think I need one of those. Sure looks good and perfect size for little critters

It's a buck. I've had it for several years and really like it.

 

[Lt.Dan]

It's a buck. I've had it for several years and really like it.

I've been a Buck knife fan since I was a kid. Just never saw one with a handle like yours. I will be looking for one now.

 

[killingtime 41]

Pro & Cons any date choice.

Was just thinking back to a time in my childhood when no juvenile hunter felt disenfranchised because we didn't yet have a special juvenile weekend hunt. Also just seemed "normal" to be hunting ducks, doves, squirrels, rabbits, etc. during the first 3 weeks of November, since we had no special muzzleloader season either.

I know deer hunting has not been the primary driver of a decline in juvenile hunting, but it was once much easier, and still is, to take a kid small-game hunting. I continue to believe lifetime hunters are created more by frequent small-game hunting than deer hunting.

And we'd maybe be developing more youth into lifetime hunters if we had less emphasis on deer hunting (at the expense of other types of hunting)? I'm putting this in the context to how much deer hunting opportunities today's youth actually have compared to only a few decades ago, and, the extent to which so much deer hunting emphasis may reduce the opportunities for the same kids to hunt small game.

So count me neutral as to any particular date for a special juvenile hunt.
If anything, just do away with the post-season juvenile deer hunt.

No way they or we have the same opportunities. We have a lot less hunting land to begin with. Use to be paper mills and logging companies with endless amounts of public land to hunt on. Now we're forced to be herded in to much smaller tracts of land. Much of it over here in the far east Tn. Not void of deer but population is very small. Now try to take a kid on hunt after hunt with not even a sighting much less an opportunity. And have people on top you at the same time. Kids and not even me are interested in that anymore

 

[BSK]

No way they or we have the same opportunities. We have a lot less hunting land to begin with. Use to be paper mills and logging companies with endless amounts of public land to hunt on. Now we're forced to be herded in to much smaller tracts of land. Much of it over here in the far east Tn. Not void of deer but population is very small. Now try to take a kid on hunt after hunt with not even a sighting much less an opportunity. And have people on top you at the same time. Kids and not even me are interested in that anymore

I can certainly understand that. The entire experience needs to be good to get kids into it.