President's Island questions
- Thread starter Muy Grande
- Start date
ghostdance56
Member
I plan on using crossbow if I get drawn. Buck wouldn't qualify for Pope and Young but would still look good on the wall.
Going in with 12pts this year I will be lucky to get drawn for PI in the next 3 years.
I would stay the course and keep putting in for PI. It may not be what it once was but I would go back in a heartbeat if I got drawn. The big deer are there and it's a bonus buck.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Is that still the case?
I thought TWRA had changed it where the quota hunts are no longer "bonus"?
Buzzard Breath
Well-Known Member
Some still are, but Presidents Island is not one of them. PI counts towards statewide limit. It appears that the least desirable quota hunts are still bonus bucks; probably to attract more people to apply for them. When I say least desirable, I mean they are the ones that would typically have leftover tags after the draw. Now, there are hardly any leftovers, but these were the ones that used to be.
Didn't realize that was the case
Tell me you are joking
I only have 10 pts. 
I will be 80 by the time I get drawn.
I wonder how many that get drawn actually show up to hunt?
It takes so long to get drawn and people do get older for each year they are waiting.
If you start your points at 60, you get drawn at 75, you could be dead or in the hospital waiting to die.
I will be 80 by the time I get drawn.
I wonder how many that get drawn actually show up to hunt?
It takes so long to get drawn and people do get older for each year they are waiting.
If you start your points at 60, you get drawn at 75, you could be dead or in the hospital waiting to die.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
And/or . . . . . .If you start your points at 60, you get drawn at 75, you could be dead or in the hospital waiting to die.
the Memphis Port Authority could simply decide to sell off most of the island to help the City of Memphis & Shelby County manage their debt?
Most of the areas of the island being hunted (as a "WMA") are brushy woods & fields, and not being used by the Port of Memphis. Many private entities have expressed interest in buying most of the island or just parts of it. Several entities already own significant acreage on the island.
So keep this in mind, that the WMA could simply be eliminated (as a public WMA) at any time.
Some very interesting information about this:
Port Of Memphis – Worldwide Transportation and Distribution Services
portofmemphis.com
My understanding is that the current "public" WMA portion of the island is owned by the Memphis Port Authority which was created as a joint venture between Memphis and Shelby County. Memphis is a democrat city needing money.
And due to the island's strategic location for international commerce, it's value is way to high for any entity to be willing to pay simply for hunting purposes. Never mind all the noise & air pollution. It's main appeal would likely be for shipping & commerce on a large scale.
Maybe some company other than Ford might decide to build a mega-monster-manufacturing facility on the island, like Ford is doing with its nearby Blue Oval City?
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While PI is not officially a "bonus buck", I am fairly certain it acts as a bonus buck for those hunters who mainly deer hunt outside of Unit CWD (where PI is, and where antlered annual bag limit is 3).
For example, if you get drawn for PI, but you typically deer hunt and kill your bucks in Unit L (or any other unit that isn't Unit CWD), I believe you can kill your 2 bucks in Unit L/Unit A/Unit B, and still kill your third buck at PI because it's in Unit CWD that has 3 buck annual statewide limit. I remember reading last year that a hunter can either kill all 3 bucks (antlered) in Unit CWD, or kill 2 outside Unit CWD, and kill #3 in Unit CWD.
Essentially, the only way to exceed the statewide bag limit of 2 Antlered deer is to harvest "at least" one in Unit CWD, or kill a bonus buck (few WMA hunts). Call TWRA to verify this, but fairly certain this is the case. Good luck!
Thats the way I'm leaning right now. I know most people that hunt PI bring ATVs but would there be any advantage using a ebike instead.
^^^ e-bike would likely be a disaster in early December after 4-6" of rain in November on river bottom gumbo mud. Your tires would cake over in an instant and you'd likely want to throw the bike in the MS River. Seriously.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Would this also be the case for Milan?
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Ebike could be a disaster if it's muddy.
ATV can come in handy on the scouting day and for retrieving a deer, but there's plenty of places you might choose to hunt where it's easier to just walk from where you park.
On the scouting day of my 2016 hunt, I noticed most ATV users were mostly going about as far as they could, concentrating more hunters on one part of the island. For that reason, I found an area to just park truck & walk @ a half mile (half that simply across a field) to my climbing tree. Had ATV on trailer in case needed. Actually, I left the trailer with ATV at the camping area so wouldn't have to drag it back & forth across Memphis.
With Milan being in Gibson County (Unit CWD), I'd think so. A call to TWRA would be in order to verify. This exact discussion came up last year, and I clearly remember reading TWRA guidance that stated "The only way to exceed the statewide bag limit of 2 Antlered deer is to harvest one in Unit CWD."
I think it was a Q&A session or last minute guidance shared on a TWRA social media site, sometime around October 2022.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
The high buck limit of Unit CWD must make it hard to practice quality deer management?
I guess those regs will be steadily moving east.
^^^ Some seem to think that about QDM, but we're still seeing good many good bucks killed (4.5+). Assuming TWRA continues adequate sampling, I highly suspect Unit CWD's footprint and liberal buck limits will slowly creep east, just as it has since 2018.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Yep. I'm right on the edge of it with most my hunting in Stewart Co. Just a matter of time, before all the counties bordering either side the TN River have CWD officially "discovered". Hope we can eek out another year or two, but it's already official in an adjoining county.
Considering the range of bucks, the direct losses from CWD, and the increased buck harvests from the "CWD regs", the officially discovery is truly bad news for either QDM or trophy buck deer management.
Back to President's Island, CWD is just another issue going against buck longevity on that area, something that didn't appear to be an issue at all when PI became a public hunting area.
I wonder if CWD had something to do with TWRA doubling the number of "trophy" buck hunting days on PI? Until recently, "trophy" bucks were only allowed on the December draw. Now, allowed on the earlier draws as well?
