East Tn MTN Deer?

[coontracker49]

Where are all the East Tn MTN deer the past 2 years I have been all over Bumpass Cove Dry creek Paint creek Unaka Mtns and I have seen nothing is anyone else having this problem? Is there any mountains showing deer

 

[tnhunter83]

You are not alone deer hunting those places are tough but there are deer there but hunted to death

 

[Hill Country Hunter]

"Hi" to you, too.

Ummmm, welcome to TnDeer?

 

[coontracker49]

I havent even seen a deer track where I have been spoke to a guy while huntin today he said he hadnt seen any tracks poo or nothing

Hill Country Thanks for the hello and the welcome I think I am going to love it here

 

[Hill Country Hunter]

Don't shoot the messenger, but just so you know, the TnDeer admin sent a crew up there to run all the deer off the mountains and over toward middle Tennessee. So, I can understand why you are a little mad. We hope you'll stick around, though. :grin:

 

[coontracker49]

Shoot The way huntin has been Im sure you could do a deer drive and still come up empty handed about to pack up and head to Indiana to kill a deer thing is IDC if its small or big im a food hunter not a trophy hunter be nice to get both but I would settle for anything with horns now I spoke to a warden today he said the food source is high so they arent moving like normally but I have found food and water thickets everything they would need and not one single track scrape rub nothing

 

[coontracker49]

Poser I do not doubt that one bit

 

[bgwdsder]

Seen a buck chasing a doe sunday in bumpass cove but they where high seen quite abit of rubs towards the top going towards 107

 

[BluegrassDan]

Buddy of mine killed a 6 pointer up near Roan Mountain last week. I killed a four pointer opening day of muzzleloader in Carter County way up high in the mountains.

What I've noticed this week is that they're staying near food sources in thickets and not moving far from them. Gotta get around the thick stuff and hope that one peeks it's head out for a shot.

I have noticed the deer population seems slightly down in my hunting areas this year. Fewer on cam, fewer tracks, and zero rubs. Time to kill some coyotes.

 

[coontracker49]

I started to come up to carter co today but decided to stay around here since idk where im going up that way besides one spot in johnson co by the lake

 

[coontracker49]

I think I may give paint creek another try if I can figure out whats tn and nc I was looking at my garmin and once you get to the top the road that goes to the right says your in tn the whole time but I dont need to get busted for hunting in nc with tn lic...


I was told to go to Camp Creek but I have no idea how to get there or what its like im about to pull out the 3030 and start thicket jumping

 

[Football Hunter]

TWRA stocked East TN with Mtn Lions. That is why there are no deer left. #SoSorry

And rattle snakes

 

[7mminatree]

East Tn. Mountains are tough to hunt and a tough place for deer to live as well. I can't say I've had the same problem as you. It's been a decent year for myself and the friends I hunt with as all of us have only one tag left to fill. We have a saying that "80 percent of the deer will be on 20 percent of the land". This is a good rule of thumb to use especially in the Cherokee NF. You just haven't found that 20 percent spot yet. Sometimes you just have to slow down and stay put in an area. If you have fresh sign, they are there. Bumpass Cove has more bear than deer, and the deer can be skiddish because of the high bear population. Try hunting areas with a lot of turkey sign. Because if the turkeys are there so are the deer.

 

[Unicam]

Don't shoot the messenger, but just so you know, the TnDeer admin sent a crew up there to run all the deer off the mountains and over toward middle Tennessee. So, I can understand why you are a little mad. We hope you'll stick around, though. :grin:

RUGER made me do it! :D

 

[coontracker49]

Lmao Unicam

Guys I havent even found any turkey sign other than one spot I have not seen a deer track one seen plenty of bear sign and yote tracks though if my neighbors would let me hunt I would be tagged out with bucks and does left to spare

 

[BluegrassDan]

Killed a four pointer yesterday in Carter County, but only because some rabbit dogs chased him right to me.

 

[coontracker49]

I love some rabbit dogs when i rabbit hunted I carried a slug with me just incase we jumped one up but we never did.. Had someone elses rabbit dogs run a buck plum over top of me a few years ago though I didnt even have time to blink the dogs came up to me as I was sitting there and I petted them up like they were mine thinking to myself go get another one lol

 

[coontracker49]

Does anyone know where holston mountain is I was just told about it and would be interested in checking it out but the directions I recieved was poor at its best

 

[BluegrassDan]

Holston Mountain is on the boarder of Carter and Sullivan Counties. Several ways to access it either by the eastern Stoney Creek side or the western side by Cherokee WMA roads. Holton is quite vast and deer numbers are low, although I know of some people who have taken some deer from up on top near the tv and cell phone towers.

 

[coontracker49]

im not big on going to new places and when someone tells me they see alot of deer somewhere im not the type to go to that area and start huntin takes the agravating and work part out of it I would like to find new wma spots in carter and johnson just to try them

 

[Hill Country Hunter]

Killed a four pointer yesterday in Carter County, but only because some rabbit dogs chased him right to me.

I'm surprised you are bragging on the internet about doing something against the law.

 

[Treestand Troubadour]

Theres tons of places to hunt up holston, but you gotta spend the time hikin to find them. Good huntin up around the lake but there are always a ton of people up there. I stopped huntin up there cause all the pressure then i figured out how the deer avoid people up there. Mountain deer are tough but they are still there just gotta find out where the orange army is drivin them.

 

[holstonangler]

Killed a four pointer yesterday in Carter County, but only because some rabbit dogs chased him right to me.

I'm surprised you are bragging on the internet about doing something against the law.

What is he doing that is against the law?

 

[holstonangler]

Im finding alot of sign up in the mtns, just have to find the right spots.

 

[coontracker49]

Dad went to paint creek today I will talk with him and see what he had seen or found and post it on here but its bad when he wont even tell you where he is seeing deer when he was on vacation opening week all I got was I seen a doe in Unaka but thats it well where were you up there his reply in the mountain he likes hunting the rock creek side i go up the other way so he could tell me and I wouldnt have a clue

 

[coontracker49]

spoke to dad he said he seen 4 this morning going into the mountain 1 nice buck chasin does in someones front yard went on up the mountain and found horned trees and scrapes that has not been there until now so sometime in the past 5 days this may become a promising spot for him

 

[scn]

Killed a four pointer yesterday in Carter County, but only because some rabbit dogs chased him right to me.

I'm surprised you are bragging on the internet about doing something against the law.

What is he doing that is against the law?

It is illegal in TN to take deer chased by dogs. That includes rabbit beagles.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

If they weren't his dogs or had someone running deer to him on purpose.... not his fault the deer was running from the rabbit dogs.... they may have been running a rabbit anyway and just bumped him out of the area.

 

[BluegrassDan]

Around 9:30 a.m. I heard some beagles a long way off � to 1 mile away. They were barking for about 5 or 10 minutes and quieted down. All was silent until a few hours later, just after noon, when this little four pointer jumped out of a laurel thicket to my right about 100 yards out and slowed down to a stop about 60 yards in front of me. He stopped, looked behind him, and stayed still long enough for me to zoom my scope up a little, shoulder my gun, aim, squeeze the trigger with the safety accidently still on, flip the safety off, re-aim, and shoot him. The deer dropped right there.

A few seconds after my gun went off I heard a dog sound off, then accompanied by a couple more, on the other side of a ridge, about 100 yards past where the deer jumped out (probably 200 yards away from where I was sitting). A few minutes later they appeared from down the holler and ran up to where the deer and I were. I waved my hat and hollered to run them off.

In my earlier post I said imprudently that they chased the deer right to me, which was a hasty and precarious statement without an explanation. I�m very much aware of the law of knowingly taking a deer being pursued by a dog or dogs, and I do not advocate illegal activities because I value the privilege of the sport.

 

[Hill Country Hunter]

If they weren't his dogs or had someone running deer to him on purpose.... not his fault the deer was running from the rabbit dogs.... they may have been running a rabbit anyway and just bumped him out of the area.

The law does not say they have to be your dogs or running at your behest. Otherwise, you could just get a bunch of yahoos out in the woods and run your deer dogs, as long as they all say, "Well, I didn't ask him to run those deer dogs."

As far as shooting a deer that was not being run by the dogs, but just decided to clear out of the area, that may very well be okay, but that was not what Dan said. He said the dogs were chasing the deer. I have no personal knowledge whether they were or weren't chasing the deer, all I could go on was his own post.

Edited: Dan, I saw your follow-up post after my response above. It sounds like there was no way for you to know the dogs were involved when you shot. Congrats on the deer, and good luck with the rest of your season!