Laurel Hill

[Duck dogn]

Carried my daughter on juvenile hunt this morning and seen no sign of deer, acorns everywhere, heard tons of traffic on the gravel road I was on from 8 am on and I never heard a shot and didn't see a deer.lol but we had a great day enjoying God's creations!

 

[Duck dogn]

The harvest report shows 13 deer killed this weekend

 

[Antler Daddy]

Two weeks too early...hold it on same weekend as juvy for those without a lot of private. That will be a good hunt.

 

[Headhunter]

ALL juvenile hunts, if in any way possible, should be in November, preferably the first weekend.

 

[Antler Daddy]

ALL juvenile hunts, if in any way possible, should be in November, preferably the first weekend.

I'm pretty sure they were on first weekend before muzzleloader was expanded. I don't have an issue with last weekend in October.

There are just too many early open and quota WMA hunts in October for guns. Let the people without access to private have more opportunity. The season is long and plenty of opportunity for private hunters to hunt thier land later if that is what they are doing.

 

[Duck dogn]

Not bashing anyone but alot of parents only take their kids on juvenile but if I go and they want too, mine go all year long but I do wished laurelhill would have one in nov for the kiddos I just seen last weekend as a chance for her to hopefully get a bonus buck with her rifle

 

[CJM1284]

I've bowhunted Laurel Hill in early bow season, same experience there is so much food and the deer don't have reason to move very much. Now the Veterans Day and Thanksgiving hunts are much better with either pre-rut or rut going on around that time.

 

[Split Brow]

Cool deal, will be there for the first gun hunt. Looking forward to it, be first trip.

 

[Duck dogn]

We got this weekend and a rifle hunt

 

[Smo]

Good Luck Guys!

Here's one from LH a couple years back…

 

[jejeffrries71]

Let the people without access to private have more opportunity. The season is long and plenty of opportunity for private hunters to hunt thier land later if that is what they are doing.

I don't follow? How does a landowner hunting on their land in any way impact persons hunting public lands? Even if I was allowed to hunt my land 365 days a year, I don't see how that might impact someone hunting at Natchez State Forest 30 miles away.

 

[Antler Daddy]

I don't follow? How does a landowner hunting on their land in any way impact persons hunting public lands? Even if I was allowed to hunt my land 365 days a year, I don't see how that might impact someone hunting at Natchez State Forest 30 miles away.

Maybe I was not clear. I believe many of the quota hunts held in October could be held in November and December.

I believe these hunts are held early in October vs November because many of the hunters would choose to hunt private land vs. the WMA if both were open on same date.

So, if that is the case, a person without any private land options could also enjoy increased options to hunt public lands.

 

[catman529]

Maybe I was not clear. I believe many of the quota hunts held in October could be held in November and December.

I believe these hunts are held early in October vs November because many of the hunters would choose to hunt private land vs. the WMA if both were open on same date.

So, if that is the case, a person without any private land options could also enjoy increased options to hunt public lands.

Not sure I understand what you're saying. Laurel hill and many other quota WMAs already have hunts going through November and into December.

 

[Antler Daddy]

Not sure I understand what you're saying. Laurel hill and many other quota WMAs already have hunts going through November and into December.

Eagle Creek used to have an early rifle hunt in October. People from all over the state would come to rifle hunt with green leaves still on the trees. It could be hot.

Most of the hunters would have never gone on that hunt if it were open on the same weekend in November as another WMA or during regular rifle season.

I'm not a fan of early October hunting. I think open WMA nonquota hunts just overhunt and overuse the land. I like quota hunts.

TN used to offer a full page of quota hunt choices on the application. Perhaps the 90's-mid 2000 is before your time. There were quota hunts at many WMA's. Now, many of those lands are open under statewide seasons.

Put the Laurel Hill juvenile hunt on the same weekend as the statewide juvenile hunt. Those with private access will likely choose to hunt thier private land. If so, there will be more room and opportunity for those that want to hunt public.

 

[deerfever]

Eagle Creek used to have an early rifle hunt in October. People from all over the state would come to rifle hunt with green leaves still on the trees. It could be hot.

Most of the hunters would have never gone on that hunt if it were open on the same weekend in November as another WMA or during regular rifle season.

I'm not a fan of early October hunting. I think open WMA nonquota hunts just overhunt and overuse the land. I like quota hunts.

TN used to offer a full page of quota hunt choices on the application. Perhaps the 90's-mid 2000 is before your time. There were quota hunts at many WMA's. Now, many of those lands are open under statewide seasons.

Put the Laurel Hill juvenile hunt on the same weekend as the statewide juvenile hunt. Those with private access will likely choose to hunt thier private land. If so, there will be more room and opportunity for those that want to hunt public.

I understand what you are saying but I take my son on some of these juvenile hunts that are before the statewide and I have never seen one that is crowded or over used. I can only speak for the areas I go to. Some of the early ones are quota and others are non quota I have been on both. I think the whole point is to provide the kids with more opportunities than just the statewide weekend. We have a quota hunt this weekend and I am thankful to get that extra opportunity to spend time with him as opposed to just one hunt , one weekend per year. Again before anyone says it , he is welcome to go with me anytime he wants and he does sometimes but the fact is both quota and no quota juvenile hunts are a lot less crowded and safer for him on public land than normal season on public land with adults.

 

[Antler Daddy]

I understand what you are saying but I take my son on some of these juvenile hunts that are before the statewide and I have never seen one that is crowded or over used. I can only speak for the areas I go to. Some of the early ones are quota and others are non quota I have been on both. I think the whole point is to provide the kids with more opportunities than just the statewide weekend. We have a quota hunt this weekend and I am thankful to get that extra opportunity to spend time with him as opposed to just one hunt , one weekend per year. Again before anyone says it , he is welcome to go with me anytime he wants and he does sometimes but the fact is both quota and no quota juvenile hunts are a lot less crowded and safer for him on public land than normal season on public land with adults.

I understand the extra opportunity for juvenile hunts, but it also works the same way for adult quotas.

I'm tying to convince my son to go to Catoosa this weekend. He says it is hot and leaves are not changing! It's tough with sports activities and friends.

If for no other reason, I want to go because I have the ML hunt on Halloween weekend. Either kid is welcome to go with me, but they are already planning last trip to Six Flags and a ha7nyed House night.

Next, we have juvenile hunt at LBL. Next we have an open weekend on 13th and undecided where I/they will Same for 20th, or head to Ohio for juvenile hunt. Then, we have Laurel Hill during Thnaksgiving and then FC juvenile hunt. After that, we may do Cohutta bear/buck during rut and we drew a special juvenile quota post rut hunt way down near the coast in south GA during Christmas week.

I would say they are hunting spoiled and my old body gets worn out driving and packing.

 

[catman529]

Eagle Creek used to have an early rifle hunt in October. People from all over the state would come to rifle hunt with green leaves still on the trees. It could be hot.

Most of the hunters would have never gone on that hunt if it were open on the same weekend in November as another WMA or during regular rifle season.

I'm not a fan of early October hunting. I think open WMA nonquota hunts just overhunt and overuse the land. I like quota hunts.

TN used to offer a full page of quota hunt choices on the application. Perhaps the 90's-mid 2000 is before your time. There were quota hunts at many WMA's. Now, many of those lands are open under statewide seasons.

Put the Laurel Hill juvenile hunt on the same weekend as the statewide juvenile hunt. Those with private access will likely choose to hunt thier private land. If so, there will be more room and opportunity for those that want to hunt public.

Honestly I like it the way it is. The early bow hunts that open before statewide are crowded the first weekend, then everyone gets tired of the heat and bugs and you got a lot of land to yourself. The early ML and rifle draw hunts are a good time as well. Yes they are crowded but you get that with quota hunts, and the last day is always the quietest. The quota number dictates how crowded it can potentially get. Then there's plenty of statewide season WMAs, as well as TVA land, Corps land, state forest, national forest etc. Plenty of opportunity out there. I'll never touch all the public land in Tennessee just because there's so much of it. But every year I try somewhere new, and I put in for a few quota hunts as well to have a chance at a bonus buck or to take the gun out before gun season opens. I like it the way it is

 

[bjohnson]

Eagle Creek used to have an early rifle hunt in October. People from all over the state would come to rifle hunt with green leaves still on the trees. It could be hot.

Most of the hunters would have never gone on that hunt if it were open on the same weekend in November as another WMA or during regular rifle season.

I'm not a fan of early October hunting. I think open WMA nonquota hunts just overhunt and overuse the land. I like quota hunts.

TN used to offer a full page of quota hunt choices on the application. Perhaps the 90's-mid 2000 is before your time. There were quota hunts at many WMA's. Now, many of those lands are open under statewide seasons.

Put the Laurel Hill juvenile hunt on the same weekend as the statewide juvenile hunt. Those with private access will likely choose to hunt thier private land. If so, there will be more room and opportunity for those that want to hunt public.

My first deer camp experiences when I was a teenager was those early rifle hunts at Eagle Creek. The campground would be full of tents and campers, everybody just having a good time. I miss those hunts.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

LH used to be a magical place 20+ years ago

EHD and antler restrictions destroyed the deer herd. Lot of does were killed Because everyone knew seeing a 9pt was about impossible.

They did finally shut the doe hunting down for the most part so at least they are trying to correct it. I'm sure EHD was the biggest impact though.

Was common back in the 90s and early 2000s to see a bunch of deer.

 

[catman529]

LH used to be a magical place 20+ years ago

EHD and antler restrictions destroyed the deer herd. Lot of does were killed Because everyone knew seeing a 9pt was about impossible.

They did finally shut the doe hunting down for the most part so at least they are trying to correct it. I'm sure EHD was the biggest impact though.

Was common back in the 90s and early 2000s to see a bunch of deer.

Antler restrictions have been 4/side or 15" spread for years there now, not 9 points. Many of the hunts allow for does, but many people pass on does because they want a bonus buck. I've heard about the EHD outbreak and I'm sure that's 100% the reason for any decline. I was not yet hunting during the big EHD outbreak. It also hit Cheatham as well. Takes a while for deer to recover from that.

 

[Antler Daddy]

Too much mature Forest....nothing to eat and no where to hide in a lot of the area.

The tornado and some recent tree cutting has helped.

 

[catman529]

Too much mature Forest....nothing to eat and no where to hide in a lot of the area.

The tornado and some recent tree cutting has helped.

Nothing to eat but millions of acorns and lots of green browse...it's not old growth forest. It's good habitat and the deer use terrain to hide like they usually do in the hills. Tough hunting, but you get that with hill country.

 

[bjohnson]

Nothing to eat but millions of acorns and lots of green browse...it's not old growth forest. It's good habitat and the deer use terrain to hide like they usually do in the hills. Tough hunting, but you get that with hill country.

Agreed. Its not a closed canopy forest, there is plenty of mid story and high stem count areas. A lot of forbs, woody browse, and they have food plots there. In my opinion the hunter quota is too high. 500 per hunt, should be half of that.

 

[Smo]

500 would be a good number if they all didn't hunt with 100 yards of the road….

 

[Headhunter]

Agreed. Its not a closed canopy forest, there is plenty of mid story and high stem count areas. A lot of forbs, woody browse, and they have food plots there. In my opinion the hunter quota is too high. 500 per hunt, should be half of that.

I hunted there Saturday. I don't think 500 is near enough or most no one showed up. I drove most every road early Saturday morning, got there late and didn't want to walk in on anyone, and I did not see more than 15 vehicles. Didn't see a deer either, but being middle of October and full moon kind of expected that. I found 2 great looking places with lots of sign but did not see any deer, sat from 1 til dark.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

I know Catman

I'm going all the way back to the original ARs that were 9pt like PI. They did finally change it years later

But EHD started it I'm sure. At least they finally cut the doe killing back.

In the 90s and early 2000s seeing double digit deer a sit was common

 

[catman529]

I hunted there Saturday. I don't think 500 is near enough or most no one showed up. I drove most every road early Saturday morning, got there late and didn't want to walk in on anyone, and I did not see more than 15 vehicles. Didn't see a deer either, but being middle of October and full moon kind of expected that. I found 2 great looking places with lots of sign but did not see any deer, sat from 1 til dark.

The October hunt is not a very popular hunt and not many deer get killed. Last year they had leftover permits for the October hunt. November is where it gets busy

 

[Carlos Viagra]

It's hard for area managers to find a reasonable balance of mature timber and various degrees of clear-cuts or natural succession.
I've hunted LH a few times, really likes the big timber areas, with open woodlands. At Catoosa there's WAY too much clear cutting going on. This leaves a ton of areas that are pretty much unhuntable. I'm talking about thickets 10-12ft high that rabbits can't hardly run through.

From what I saw, comparing LH with Catoosa, they were at opposite ends of the spectrum. I'd prefer something right in the middle between these two WMA's.

 

[CJM1284]

I know Catman

I'm going all the way back to the original ARs that were 9pt like PI. They did finally change it years later

But EHD started it I'm sure. At least they finally cut the doe killing back.

In the 90s and early 2000s seeing double digit deer a sit was common

Just telling y'all that even with EHD or whatever else might've reduced the deer herd at LH, it's still light years better than 90% of public land in North Alabama and most private also. I didn't start hunting LH until 2017 and have saw more deer per sit there on avg than I'll see on public and private lands I hunt in North Alabama.

Here's a pic of a 7 point I killed there in 2018