Hunt WMA or Private land?

[Robert Connell]

This is why I ask. I plan on moving to Tennessee next year and I plan on trying to buy a house with some land so that I can hunt on it. I currently live in South Mississippi and the WMA's suck here. No one really takes care of them and last year I almost got shot out of my stand. This is just due to some very rude hunters in this area. Anyways I have never hunted in Tennessee so I wonder how worthy the WMA's are up there and if it is even worth hunting? Do you guys run dogs up there? I want to buy a house with a little bit of land to hunt on but if the WMA's are good hunting areas in Tennessee I wouldnt mind doing that as well as long as its safe and there are deer to hunt. Can you hunt on public land in Tennessee like the Smokey Mountian National Park and areas like that? Anyhelp would be appreciated I am trying to research good hunting areas or good hunting WMA's before I move so I can buy in a good hunting location.

Thanks

Rob

 

[DKO77]

Lot of good wma's in TN , Im sure some are better than others , there is a lot that I havn't had the chance to hunt. Others could give you more detailed info but you can go to tn.gov/twra and look at the hunting guides, it shows all the wma's and seasons. Also while you're on this site go to the trophy room and look at the pics from the wmas, it might help you make up your mind. Plenty of public land and a good chance to kill game on any of em. No dog running, unless rabbit/deer dogs come by -lol - Good luck and congrats on moving to TN. Lots of good folks on this site - glad to have ya.

 

[trealtree]

National parks are illegal to hunt in everywhere in the country. There are however a lot of national forests that you can hunt in. Cherokee national forest is one of them. But the deer density is extremely low. Middle and west Tennessee have much better deer hunting and more liberal bag limits. No dogs allowed for deer anywhere in tn.

 

[deerhunter10]

personally private.

 

[Robert Connell]

I prefer private as well but moving there (for me and my family) it is kind of hard to predict how much land to get or how much prices are in that area. We have been looking online to check out houses for sale and found some in our price range but have to check out more. The WMA's in Tennessee sound a lot better then down here in MS. I have been on the TN.gov sight read some information about season bag limits and rules and regulations. I did notice that the zones bag limits differ and I am guessing it is because of what trealtree said about the middle and west TN having more deer population then the East side. The bag limit for middle TN is like 3 a day for doe which sounds like that area is pretty populated. Atleast that is what I am gathering.

 

[easy45]

Private if you can

 

[catman529]

Killed 6 deer private and 4 on public last year. I love hunting both and would recommend giving the WMA hunting a try. I have only really hunted 2 or 3 WMAs but if you get in the right spots at the right time you can have plenty of deer and little or no hunters. You just have to get used to the fact that someone can walk up and mess your hunt any time.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

what area are you planning on moving to

 

[MattR]

Private land is easier hunting, less bull crap to put up with, don't have any one ruining your hunt ect ect. It is nice to kill a good buck on a Wma though, very rewarding. but there is so much more that can go wrong, its completely different hunting on Wma's. Even if you have private land though you still have to give the Wma's a try. It's always good to have a back up place to hunt, or a couple, and WMA's are great for that.I love hunting Wma's when there isn't about 100 wanna-be buckmasters running around the woods. With that being said, all WMA's are not created equal.

 

[MUP]

Nothing like having your own land to hunt on, regardless of whether the public hunting is good or not, imo. However, you will likely find trespassers and poachers think that your land is a great place to hunt/poach as well, as has been my case. Good luck and welcome to the great state of Tennessee!

 

[WMAn]

Part of your problem in South MS is one of geography, not just private vs public. How south are you? If you are south of Vicksburg and not near the MS River you are in poor soils and small deer.

WMAs near you may be poor, but there are areas of MS that offer some of the best public land hunting in the nation!

The quality of the hunting in TN will also depend on your location. The hunting tends to get better as you move from east to west, but there are exceptions.

On public land, those who are willing to drive away from major cities are often rewarded with less pressure. Also, you can join clubs offering access to timber company land for reasonable prices.

 

[DirtyBear0311]

Were I you then I would get everything figured out for where I want to go in regards to housing, crime, schools, etc. and then once a place is located, figure out your hunting situation later on. You will kill deer on a wma if you hunt it enough and have a basic idea of what you are doing. This can be done without needing to be too worried for your safety outside of mountain lion or bigfoot attacks. However, private land will naturally be better because you will have it to yourself (mostly, dang poachers) and can shape the land and the herd as you see fit. But like I said, I would put everything else above hunting possibilities. Good luck on your search!

 

[BuckHunter511]

Both are great for the most part