Advice needed for West Tennessee trip

[ERIC]

I'm from Jefferson County in East Tn and have two sons, ages 16 and 14. They have taken around 25 deer between them since they started hunting, so opportunity at a shot is not a problem. We own about 40 acres that we hunt on and we all have fun, but there are just very few opportunities for decent sized bucks because all the adjacent land is hunted and most bucks get killed every year. My sons would like for us to go somewhere in West Tn on a Thursday-Sunday hunt this year during Muzzleloader or gun season and try to get a shot at a nice buck. Nice to us would be 6 point or better (preferably an 8). I thought about going to LBL or Ft Campbell, but I don't know anything about the area. Can some of you suggest a public hunting area, or even a leased area that we could get on, for us to try? I need to know if we can use a camper, tents, stay at a hotel, etc. , and what to expect. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[easy45]

Anderson Tully in Lauderdale county has some monsters running around on it. It has a 9 point or better rule and has a state park that you can camp in also at Ft. Pillow. They do have a problem with people illegally riding atvs on it but if you get off the trails it shouldn't be a problem. Its open with the state seasons. Also, Wolf River WMA in Fayette County is know to have some really good bucks without the point restriction. You can hunt with a muzzleloader but after its over it is bow only. Both are true river bottom hunting situations as with Anderson Tully your on the Mississippi river and with Wolf River, well the name says it but there is no place to camp here. There are other WMAs around, Chickasaw State Park is where I work and it is surrounded by over 11,000 acres of State Forest and WMA, and has a very healthy deer population. You should see deer and there were to monsters killed on it last season but its more of a meat hunters place. You can camp at the park here. Hope this helps and if you have any more questions just ask me.

 

[scn]

All LBL muzzleloader and gun hunting is by quota only. The application period is over for the 2012 hunts.

 

[KANATI McD]

Natchez Trace is pretty descent. Never seen any monsters, but a bunch of nice ones

 

[ERIC]

Thanks, guys! This gives me some places to start looking into. Any more suggestions would be great.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Try the North end or Natchez trace. I hunted the south end years back and it's pretty crowded during muzzy/rifle. Probably would be a nice area to bow hunt though.

If your going in hopes to get a deer over 120" I would find somewhere else though. I know a few guys who've been hunting it for 25 years and they've only killed two or three in that range.

 

[A/M/G]

There are 2 Chickasaws, the State Park and the Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge. I would hunt the refuge. It is located along the Miss River as Tulley is. Actually the refuge backs up to Tully on the north side of Tully. Camping is allowed. Again it is bottom hunting, flat as a pancake. No antler restrictions.

On the state park, I have 5 friends that hunt there for a week every year, they camp, rarely do they each kill a deer.

Good luck.

 

[Football Hunter]

There are some GREAT Leases out there,might be worth looking into for next year.Be way less pressure.

 

[easy45]

There are 2 Chickasaws, the State Park and the Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge. I would hunt the refuge. It is located along the Miss River as Tulley is. Actually the refuge backs up to Tully on the north side of Tully. Camping is allowed. Again it is bottom hunting, flat as a pancake. No antler restrictions.

On the state park, I have 5 friends that hunt there for a week every year, they camp, rarely do they each kill a deer.

Good luck.

The Hardeman county side of the park receives less pressure and has more deer, for some reason everybody insist on hunting the Chester county side.

 

[cdave89]

X2 on Chickasaw refuge in lauderdale county.

 

[hootowl123]

Tully and Chickasaw NWR are about 15-20 miles apart. I hunt both places all the time. Tully has the point restrictions and is tougher to hunt,but it is less crowded than Chickasaw. Both have primitive campsites. Tully is very close to fort pillow state park which has nice campsites.Watch the occasional rattlers on Tully. If i was trophy hunting i would hunt tully. Chickasaw has some nice deer, but its more of a meat hunter area. If you need someone to show you around or want to know more just let me know.

 

[Food Plot 101]

I don't think you have to go all the way to the other end of the state to have a chance at a nice buck. Cheatham is 2-3 hours closer and there are some nice deer there, and you won't have to worry about having too many hunters there based on my past experiences. Good luck.

 

[goose2]

I would look in to fort campbell for sure

 

[dirty2]

Start searching on craigslist for different areas. Sometimes you can find good deals on leases.

 

[UpperTully]

I hunt both Chickasaw NWR and Tully religiously and have since I was a child. If you want to kill a mature buck, you have to do your home work and scout. They dont come as easy as some believe. Tully has some slight terrain, Chickasaw is flatter than flat (and will start flooding easier and before Tully), both have very flat terrain features that make it hard to pattern deer. You have to know the thickets, sloughs and features in the woods, most of which you cant see from Satellite imagery. As its previously been stated, Chickasaw will see more pressure than Tully due to the difference in antler restrictions. Another thing about Tully, the Anderson Tully Timber Co went through and cut majority of the timber in the late 90's before selling it to the State. There is mature timber in places, but for the most part, its very thick. Chickasaw has not been cut in decades, the timber is VERY mature and not as thick.

Im not sure I would actually drive from E Tenn to hunt either place though, there are better options closer to you.

 

[ClubHead]

Tva Land in Benton County has some good deer.Harmons creek and sulfur creek tracts,3500 plus acres.Big Sandy Wma also.

 

[UpperTully]

Also in regards to the ATV problem at Tully. I have spoke with WMA Manager Chris Park as well as some of the Forestry guys and they have hit the place hard over the summer with undercover operations and patrol. Lauderdale CO Sheriffs Office has also assisted by keeping the atvs off the gravel roads as well. I know the question comes up all the time and per the officials, You ONLY can use a ATV to RETRIEVE deer that you have killed, other than that keep your atv in the bed of the truck or on the trailer.

 

[UpperTully]

Tva Land in Benton County has some good deer.Harmons creek and sulfur creek tracts.Big Sandy Wma also.

Ditto ! Excellent place to hunt, I loved hunting up there.

 

[hootowl123]

UpperTully. I know they have done some serious crackdowns on the atv's. Thats good. But Ive heard they are not giving any handicap permits. You know anything about this?

 

[UpperTully]

Hoot, When I talked to the WMA Manager he made mention that there were hunters abusing the privilege. I not quite sure of the process to obtain one, but there were very able bodied people that were getting them and riding in on atv's and they were looking into correcting this issue.

I don't see where a true physically disabled person would be denied a permit, though it may become tougher in the future.

 

[Crosshairy]

Hmm... I would give advice dependent on whether you had time to kill or not. Your odds of 8-point quality deer being stumbled upon during a 4-day hunt on any non-quota public land (unscouted) are not that great just because it's in West TN. There are plenty of those deer around, but most require some scouting. If I were you, I would take Poser's advice and put reminders on the calendar for next year's quota hunts, and include LBL and Fort Campbell as possible choices for being higher odds of draw and hunt success.

If you have some time and money to kill, then by all means turn it into a road trip and go break new ground. I would just lower my expectations somewhat for that type of adventure, and I'd be more inclined to follow some other recommendations for middle TN hunting opportunities that are closer.

I think the hunting is more fun there anyway (the terrain seems to make the deer easier to predict). Flat land/bottoms hunting is much tougher, and you aren't going to have much (if any) actual agricultural property to hunt on in public land. A hunt on private land on a stand of timber sticking into a bean field is a different story...

 

[348Winchester]

Why don't you try Big South Fork? It's a lot closer to Jefferson County. You can camp there and it's open with statewide seasons. If you hunted it during muzzleloader and early gun you could very well have opportunities at nice bucks. You can reach Bandy Creek campground from your county in about 2 hours.

 

[Bucket]

If your goal is the best opportunity for your kids at a mature buck, I think your best bet would be the Ft. Campbell youth hunt. The positions may be filled for this year; contact the ODR at (270) 798-2175.

 

[BuckHunter511]

Ft. Cambell

 

[ERIC]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I know its late in the year to plan something, but I'd like to take them on a trip somewhere different with at least a chance at something decent. Next year I'll probably enter some of the quota hunts.

 

[hunter drew]

The fort forsure. But remember you got to use shotgun or muzzleloader. And you may not get to hunt the same area as your sons. But if there young enough the juvy hunt there is great. Must have hunter safety coarse there also

 

[Savage Knight]

what about wayne county? eagle creek has some good ones so does arnold hollow. both places arent far from each other and there are 2 motels in waynesboro