Deer Harvest Numbers - Why The Pattern?

[contendershooter]

TWRA posts that almost 177K deer were killed in 2102-2013 season and when you look at the counties, all are east of I-65 with the exception of two...

Montgomery County ranked 7th, and I can see that because of Ft. Campbell; Maury County ranked 6th, and that is usually a deer haven. Williamson county dropped out of the top 13, even though it borders Maury...Giles county was number 1 along the Alabama border, with bordering Lincoln county coming in 5th and Franklin county coming in 8th.

But the vast majority are in West TN east of Perry county, and why do these counties have such good deer production and its the same ones every year; Weakley, Henry, Carroll, Madison, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin.

Why is there not as many deer taken in East Tennessee, when you look at the amount of forest there, you would think it would be higher...

Opening this up for discussion...

 

[scn]

You hit on it in your next to last sentence. Forest is not as good of habitat as farmland.

East TN will never support as large of a deer population as middle and wtn due to poorer habitat.

 

[woodsman87]

I have never hunted in the mountains, but I know big woods hunting is tough. The best habitat for deer needs hardwoods, thickets, and fields.
My home county # 1 woo hoo!
Too bad I haven't accounted for any of those bucks in over three seasons now...

 

[contendershooter]

yea I guess, but what about all of the big deer in Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Park? I have seen monsters in there. Now I understand no hunting, but its a big forest area.

I guess this begs another question.... what do you think will put out better deer... 20 acres with a creek that is flat with 5 acres of fields and the remainder woods, but no hollows, or 20 acres with some decent hollows and no fields with a creek;

 

[muddyboots]

Farmland!

 

[cecil30-30]

Those deer in cades cove are concentrated in cades cove.That is definatly not the norm for the the whole park.

 

[stik]

Those deer in cades cove are concentrated in cades cove.That is definatly not the norm for the the whole park.

right. there are actually very few deer throughout the park.

 

[contendershooter]

interesting, learn something all the time on here...

 

[SES]

Panther levels are higher in the east as well. Major factor.

 

[contendershooter]

It is kind of strange how land works...I hunt in Cheatham county on the east side near the Davidson county border, and it is up and down hollows, with creeks at the bottom, hardly no flat land and I see deer periodically, but this past season sucked. Not one deer other than one doe on the opening of archery.

My father-in-law hunted the same land 33 days in a row seeing nothing at all the first 32, but got a good 9 point on the 33rd. By itself, not chasing a doe, during the prime of the rut.

A good friend of mine owns some land no more than 8 miles down the road, but it has a mix of fields and woods, no crops at all, its more flat, and he hunts a field they cut hay out of in between two patches of woods and limited out on good bucks and had a hearty harvest of does last year...

is it the land that is the difference or what? Our land has a bounty of acorns, wild pear trees, persimmons spread around a creek that flows year round for water, some cedar thickets, etc good area.

That being said, would you all hunt the top of the hollow above the creek bed, half way down the hollow looking up at the top and down at the creek bed, or at the bottom by the creek bed, sacrificing seeing the top of the hollow hoping the deer will come down? The top of the hollow has a old logging road that is grown up with grass and briers that deer love to travel... We see deer signs, scrapes, rubs, at the top of the hollow, along the middle and by the creek, so its hard to pattern them. The cedar thickets are bedding areas, but the way the hollow lays out they have you any way you come in from so we have usually stayed away from there. Recommendations?

 

[Football Hunter]

You hit on it in your next to last sentence. Forest is not as good of habitat as farmland.

East TN will never support as large of a deer population as middle and wtn due to poorer habitat.

Yep,was my first thought

 

[Beardendy88]

Is there a link to that page?

 

[Bayou Buck]

How much land are you hunting? Sounds like you are are on a small tract of timber with not much on it to attract or hold deer.

 

[contendershooter]

19 acres, mostly woods with big hollows, my neighbor across from me has 119 acres that goes over to Marrowbone Lake area

mostly all acorns, and underbrush the deer can munch on...no farmland really around, too hilly...

 

[Football Hunter]

19 acres, mostly woods with big hollows, my neighbor across from me has 119 acres that goes over to Marrowbone Lake area

mostly all acorns, and underbrush the deer can munch on...no farmland really around, too hilly...

Would be VERY easy to overhunt 19 acres,be careful,deer will avoid human intrusion,and go nocturnal quick

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Are you saying 19 acres was hunted 33 days in a row or was it another place that was hunted by your FIL 33 days in a row? Even with 30 times that amount of land, thats a ton of hunting pressure.

 

[contendershooter]

he hunted this parcel and another 33 days in a row, two different stands, never arrived or left from same trail. My 19 acres was probably 20 of the 33 days... he is retired and has that luxury!!!

 

[PinchPoint]

Farmland!

^^This

 

[bbuck14]

West Tn. definetly holds a high number of deer. On the farm I hunt it has 90 acres agriculture land. The farmer in the past has tried to plant soybeans but with no luck. The last 2 years he planted them he tried twice each year with the deer completly eating them up. He was never able to even put a combine in the field. The second year he tried he took 62 deer off of it during the summer the last time I had talked to him. Still he wasn't able to put a combine in the field. With all the agriculture in the area and adaquate amount of cover these areas are literally filled up with deer. Thats why also alot of us around her are more selective in killing larger bucks. There's not that much problem at all to kill a legal buck anymore because of the high numbers. I couldn't tell you the last time I've been hunting and haven't seen a deer.

 

[woodsman87]

I mainly hunt Giles, which was #1, and secondly Lincoln, which was like #6.
I must be a terrible deer hunter, because I haven't killed a buck in 3 seasons and I hunt two of the most productive counties in the state.
Also, I see deer on probably 25% of my hunts, but it wasn't always like that. I used to kill 2 or 3 a year, and see deer all the time. I either killed them all or am very unlucky. I think it is the luck though.