JeepKuntry
Well-Known Member
Fyi they canceled again. Nothing really online but when my Uncle called on the permit and app they told him.
Oak Ridge hunts
- Thread starter JeepKuntry
- Start date
2 years in a row. Should help the deer numbers and be some good bucks when they do open it up.
I'm seeing a lot more deer. Deer vehicle collisions are ticking up also on the reservation. Turkeys...not so much, even without the hunts.
flyinpro
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't surprise me if it closed permanently.
1jamey
Well-Known Member
We are talking about the spring turkey hunt? I got an email and saw it on the ornl website but didn't say anything about the fall deer hunt.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
With the anti-gun, anti-hunting cabal now pulling the strings, I'll be surprised if Oak Ridge WMA even remains a "WMA". They will be hiring government employed "sharpshooters" to keep the deer population down, your tax dollars at work.
JeepKuntry
Well-Known Member
Yes the spring turkey hunts. My Uncle called about the permit and map and they told him. He didn't believe it so he drove out there Saturday and where you go to check in, there is a sign on the gate indicating the hunts are cancelled as well.
kkh325
Well-Known Member
Yes lately they are more Deer here inside the City limits of Oak Ridge. See them everywhere in the residential area big time both during the day and night. I have lived in Oak Ridge for 52 years. There is a large number of deer living in the residential area of Oak Ridge. At my Mom's house during late fall last year through around end of February there was a group of five deer coming into her backyard and would eat the wild bird seed and sunflower seeds she puts out for her birds and squirrels she loves to watch. My Mom has a concrete bird bath that has a crack in it and any water leaks out so during the winter she will put the seed in it. The largest doe and one other smaller deer would walk up and eat the seed out of it and completely eat it all up. They would come in the middle of the day and sometimes about an hour before dark. Her residence has houses on both sides and one house behind hers. The greenbelt area starts in the backyard of the house behind hers. You really have to be careful driving on the streets both during the day and night times as you will be driving along and all of a sudden the deer will be crossing the street with houses on both sides of the street and there is cars parked along the side of the streets. Closing the WMA now for 2 years in a row will definitely increase their numbers for sure. But with the way the Plants are with security at both Y12 and X10 (ORNL) it would not be surprising for them closing it down even longer.
I hope they announce it before we have to apply so I can maybe pick something else , hell may be too old to hunt by the time they decide to open it back up and may end up with enuff points for PI if they don't shut it down also lol
Buzzard Breath
Well-Known Member
It's been wiped off the map.
Buzzard Breath
Well-Known Member
This got me thinking that without Oak Ridge, the quota hunts draws could get interesting this year. There are 1,575 available either sex spots and 1,575 available antlerless only spots. Without these hunts being available, I wonder how many of the hunters that normally apply for these hunts will apply for the other quota opportunities? There may be a jump in required points to draw some of the easier to draw hunts. Especially in East TN where good hunting on public land is hard to come by.
The decision is not yet made on deer season and probably won't be for awhile. I can pass along that hunters would prefer to know before the draw is over. The WMA is not gone. Yes it does get reduced in size nearly every year due to new construction of facilities or reuse of old facilities. One of the more productive areas for deer harvest will have construction going on this Fall most likely. I do represent one of the sites for the hunts, I have the hunters interests in mind, but I am only 1 voice for 1 site. There are many competing priorities.
JeepKuntry
Well-Known Member
I sure hope we know something before it's time to even put in for the hunts. That makes 2 hunts that I haven't been able to go on. I love Oak Ridge because it's 15 minutes away but it may be time to move on.
