Long time hunter - new member

[Gmed]

Been hunting since I was old enough to walk and keep up. Grandfather took me grouse hunting every holiday and most weekends as these were the days before there were many deer. He never took a deer but was one of the finest rifle and shotgun wing shooters I had ever seen. I deer hunted several years (with no mentors, it was a struggle) and took my first one at age 18. A huge 3" spike taken in the Cherokee National Forest in Johnson County, TN. I worked 31 1/2 years in law enforcement, retiring in June of 2020. I am enjoying the retired life and ability to get out more often. My youngest is 23 and just started his law enforcement career, but he hits the woods and waters with me as much as possible. He has already taken 30+ whitetails starting with his first one when he was seven. I watched him take several of those until he was old enough to sit by himself. Hope to put many more years in with him. Teach em to hunt and you'll never have to hunt for them….

 

[Safari Hunt]

Welcome to the group. Nothing like retirement.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Welcome from Middle TN

 

[tndeerman]

Welcome northeast Tennessee

 

[rooketnhunter]

Welcome

 

[Big Pop]

Welcome to the site.! Love NE Tennessee! Used to grouse and deer hunt in Hawkins County 30 years ago. Hard to beat.

 

[cbhunter]

Welcome to the fire! Thank you and your son for your service in law enforcement.

 

[PossumSlayer]

Welcome!

 

[Friday]

Been hunting since I was old enough to walk and keep up. Grandfather took me grouse hunting every holiday and most weekends as these were the days before there were many deer. He never took a deer but was one of the finest rifle and shotgun wing shooters I had ever seen. I deer hunted several years (with no mentors, it was a struggle) and took my first one at age 18. A huge 3" spike taken in the Cherokee National Forest in Johnson County, TN. I worked 31 1/2 years in law enforcement, retiring in June of 2020. I am enjoying the retired life and ability to get out more often. My youngest is 23 and just started his law enforcement career, but he hits the woods and waters with me as much as possible. He has already taken 30+ whitetails starting with his first one when he was seven. I watched him take several of those until he was old enough to sit by himself. Hope to put many more years in with him. Teach em to hunt and you'll never have to hunt for them….

Welcome from a fellow new member. My grandparents took me deer hunting from a young age, will definitely never forget that.

 

[Steyrhunter]

Welcome!

 

[Speedwell-Hunter]

the finest rifle and shotgun wing shooters I had ever seen. I deer hunted several years (with no mentors, it was a struggle) and took my first one

unbelievable hunters, the two of you are, 30 plus deer for your son, hell i just want 1.

Why are the deer numbers so tough in the tricities area? I hear it is even worse there than down here near the knoxville area.

Also, do you hunt all over or just the Johnson city/ tri cities area?

 

[Gmed]

unbelievable hunters, the two of you are, 30 plus deer for your son, hell i just want 1.

Why are the deer numbers so tough in the tricities area? I hear it is even worse there than down here near the knoxville area.

Also, do you hunt all over or just the Johnson city/ tri cities area?

Speedwell, there are deer everywhere now. When I first started deer hunting, you had to travel to the national forest or a managed area just to see a deer track, much less two or three deer. We have a couple of farms we run cattle on and they hold deer and turkeys….one in Tennessee and one in Virginia. We hunt those and a couple of small plots here and there but we normally don't travel to hunt. We are planning to hunt a couple hundred acres in Wise County, VA (about 45 miles from where we live) this fall that is very private and rough to get to unless the owner lets you use his access. It borders the national forest so with difficult access to the national forest and the rest private, we hope we have several hundred acres to hunt undisturbed.

 

[utvolsfan77]

Why are the deer numbers so tough in the tricities area? I hear it is even worse there than down here near the knoxville area.

It is much better than it was 40 years ago, but there are still fewer deer than in Middle or West Tennessee. Game laws have also changed drastically since then. For example, when I began deer hunting as a teenager here in Greene County in the 1970s, hunting for deer WAS ONLY LEGAL south of the Nolichucky River and east of Highway 411. Pull up a map of Greene County and you will quickly see that that area was just a very small portion of southern Greene County.