Aedc report

[timberjack86]

Anyone hunting this weekend? I hunted all day except to cook lunch and I saw 1 deer. Tommorro I am going to hunt said deer and bring him back for supper :grin:

 

[ImThere]

Gettem! Waiting for pics, wish i was there!

 

[timberjack86]

You can go with us next year Ricky!

 

[ImThere]

I need to set a reminder to apply for some quotas! Hard to get them if you dont apply! Lol good luck

 

[Floyd]

I hunted all week end with three other guys. We hunted hard everyday and only saw two does while driving in the first day and two does on Saturday that another hunter jumped out of a thicket. I have hunted AEDC since 1977 with pretty good success. This is the worst i have ever seen, not only no deer seen but very little food sources found over our three day hunt. We hunted sections three five and six with the same results. I think TWRA needs to look at closing this area for a while and also needs to do somthing with the lack of food sources when acorns do not hit.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

Buddy killed a buck and a doe over there the weekend before last.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

I think TWRA needs to look at closing this area for a while and also needs to do somthing with the lack of food sources when acorns do not hit.

You better be careful what you ask for..... if it is ever closed to hunting as you suggest, it may never be open again.... The property the WMA is on belongs to the US Government ie Air Force. If deer numbers become a problem that hunters cannot correct, vehicle strikes become too often, or habitat cannot support the deer herd numbers..... hired help will come in to take care of the problem and hunters would be SOL.

Hunters & Fisherman should be thankful for their hunting privilages.... hunting & fishing can be stopped at any time the Air Force says so.

 

[Floyd]

Yeah, you are right about that. I was just really disappointed with the lack of habitat management i saw over there compared to how it was a decade or two ago when i hunted the same area.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

I don't know what TWRA could do really.... anything would have to be OK'ed by the AF I'm about positive.

 

[Hunter 257W]

Floyd,

I'm with you 100%. AEDC is just a pitiful shadow of what it used to be. Heck, it was the source of most of the deer that stocked the state of TN but now you can't hardly find a deer up there. Sure, they got too thick about 10 or so years ago and cars were hitting them. But they over reacted and went from buck only hunts to allowing 2 does on every hunt all season long. Now you hardly see a deer even driving the roads. I won't hunt up there any more unless it changes. I got tired of sitting in empty woods with success meaning just SEEING a deer - ANY deer - even while driving in to my hunting spot. I just don't see why TWRA can't see that they need to back off on doe harvests. I went by the ranger station this last weekend and the total kill was something like 15 deer mid afternoon Saturday and that was for a hunt that started Friday morning.

I hear guys saying "Well they still shoot some big bucks up there", but is that a fair indicator of success when you have say 5 hunts with 500 or 750 people hunting 2 or 3 day hunts and have a dozen big bucks? Most people are going to get discouraged and quit with those kind of odds. It's about like buying a lottery ticket.

 

[ImThere]

I hunted there once this year. I let a small 4 pt walk and seen 4 does in my days hunt. I seen lots of sign and more different types of acorns than i knew existed. I'm not sure where you hunted but i hope you have better luck next time

 

[Nhill]

Friday afternoon My brother shot at a decent buck (probably an 8 pt) that he missed, and I missed the biggest buck that I have ever seen hunting. My brother's excuse is that he is new, and I don't have much of an excuse; other than I freaked out some and rushed the long shot through the woods.
I did shoot the buck's girlfriend after he ran away, then my brother shot a spike Saturday afternoon.

Good trip

 

[Headhunter]

I hunted all week end with three other guys. We hunted hard everyday and only saw two does while driving in the first day and two does on Saturday that another hunter jumped out of a thicket. I have hunted AEDC since 1977 with pretty good success. This is the worst i have ever seen, not only no deer seen but very little food sources found over our three day hunt. We hunted sections three five and six with the same results. I think TWRA needs to look at closing this area for a while and also needs to do somthing with the lack of food sources when acorns do not hit.

Just saw this. Floyd, IMO AEDC was as good as it has ever been last year. When I was there most everyone killed deer, deer were hanging all over the camp. I only hunted a total of 2 hours, 1 hour each day and killed 2 does, one dressed over 100 lbs. and saw more deer than I have ever seen at AEDC, don' have a map, but it was one of units 3,4,5, or 6. The camp beside us had 8 guys and they killed 8 and another camp had 4 guys and they killed their limit, 8. Deer sign everywhere, only drawback was I only saw does.

 

[Headhunter]

here is a pic of the camp that was beside us at AEDC last year.



My dad and his friend with the 2 does I killed.



and for kicks, next to last day of season, savage 20 ga slug gun.
Great shooting gun.

 

[timberjack86]

Wow looks like yall had a great time! Congrats!