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Cheatham WMA newbie

FTP said:
It is the only place I have to hunt. Been there through ups and downs of Blue Tongue in 2007 and so on. What a waste this beautiful piece of property h
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No disrespect, but it is not the only place that you have to hunt.

it may be close by, but it is not the only place that you have the option or ability to hunt.
 
Correct
deerfever said:
I was under the impression that most WMA's were quota gun hunts only with the exception of a non quota bow hunt for some. Take for instance Catoosa which is 80,000 acres of property. Their gun hunts are crowded enough with a quota I could not even imagine a non quota or open with the season gun hunt without antler restrictions, that would be a disaster. There would not be a deer left on the place. So Cheatam was better hunting when it was non quota , roads all open and Zero antler restrictions? I have never deer hunted at Cheatam but that's interesting. Probably not worth putting in for the quota hunts?
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So in 2007 a devastating Blue Tongue event took place, killing up to 85% of the herd... yes I was told that by the Head deer biologist. Then they left it open that year and the next for the antlerless deer a day. That was a huge mistake. And ever since, the hunters have left. For many years it was totally in alignment with the State season. It was NEVER overhunted and NEVER over pressured. The quality of bucks in the place have absolutely exploded. The problem with the quotas is it was never needed. I've hunted the place since 1993. It has never been better! And it is clearly not because of the guy who runs the place or his 💩 quotas.
 
Antler Daddy said:
No disrespect, but it is not the only place that you have to hunt.

it may be close by, but it is not the only place that you have the option or ability to hunt.
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Yeah it really is. With my work schedule and being on the road so much. Yep. I choose to walk out my back door on to the WMA. 👍🏻
Don't have the time to go anywhere else.
 
deerfever said:
I was under the impression that most WMA's were quota gun hunts only with the exception of a non quota bow hunt for some. Take for instance Catoosa which is 80,000 acres of property. Their gun hunts are crowded enough with a quota I could not even imagine a non quota or open with the season gun hunt without antler restrictions, that would be a disaster. There would not be a deer left on the place. So Cheatam was better hunting when it was non quota , roads all open and Zero antler restrictions? I have never deer hunted at Cheatam but that's interesting. Probably not worth putting in for the quota hunts?
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I cannot speak to other WMA's as I have exclusively utilized Chetham right after the Blue Tongue incident until recently expanding Yanahli into my seasons. It was a little slow right after that, but did not take too many years to bounce back due to the direction taken when Randy was managing it with the guidelines he had in place. There was no disaster with full open seasons even before the antler restrictions that have just recently been implemented at Cheatham. The way Randy had it set up with buck only in ML and FA kept the pressure down quite a bit during those seasons. Maybe a Thanksgiving weekend had some heavier traffic, but overall it was fairly light to moderate as far as pressure goes. Like most WMA's archery was pretty light. Cheatham was just fine with no issues for quality of deer or quantity of deer before Randy left.

The roads prior to being closed off gave more access to a pretty good size continuous piece of land. If you have not been to Cheatham, even with the roads open the way they used to be, still left a good bit of the WMA rarely accessed as it is extremely demanding terrain with its deep rolling ridges and valleys. While having to adjust, the roads being closed off can be worked around. Not as big of a deal on that point. The season limitation and the current quota schedule are another matter of limited access during the heart of the season.

As far as no deer being left in places in general with heavy pressure... I think Yanahli serves to put that thought process to rest. The place gets absolutely pummeled day in and day out throughout all the months of the season with no antler restrictions and 3 does a day per the regulations for middle TN. Still plenty of deer and believe it or not even some nice bucks that make it through. I have passed on some bucks at Yanahli that were pretty nice bucks for many and have had a few really nice bucks just out of range. Catman holds his own out there as well. While not a "big buck" destination for one of our WMA's, there are some good ones out there.

Many just don't get at them as they are limited by skill set, lack of preparation, not going the extra mile on diligent research and scouting and lack of patience and drive to stay 100% committed to overcoming setbacks and other hunters.

Deer are surviving machines and quotas or not they are going to work around hunters through entire seasons and do well in the majority of properties.
While I have been hunting exclusively in mid TN on public since moving here 12 or so years ago and get frustrated with many disrespectful hunters and WMA regs, nothing down here comes close to what pressure really is. In Michigan we harvested more deer throughout a season than the total number of hunters in Tennessee. Most TN hunters have no idea what true hunting pressure really looks like. Michigan public land was brutal. Talk about a pumpkin patch in any ML FA season. Archery was more like ML/FA down here if not worse. Even at that though, there are still a lot of deer to this day in Michigan even having to navigate decades of unreal pressure from massive numbers of hunters.
 
Woody Armor said:
I cannot speak to other WMA's as I have exclusively utilized Chetham right after the Blue Tongue incident until recently expanding Yanahli into my seasons. It was a little slow right after that, but did not take too many years to bounce back due to the direction taken when Randy was managing it with the guidelines he had in place. There was no disaster with full open seasons even before the antler restrictions that have just recently been implemented at Cheatham. The way Randy had it set up with buck only in ML and FA kept the pressure down quite a bit during those seasons. Maybe a Thanksgiving weekend had some heavier traffic, but overall it was fairly light to moderate as far as pressure goes. Like most WMA's archery was pretty light. Cheatham was just fine with no issues for quality of deer or quantity of deer before Randy left.

The roads prior to being closed off gave more access to a pretty good size continuous piece of land. If you have not been to Cheatham, even with the roads open the way they used to be, still left a good bit of the WMA rarely accessed as it is extremely demanding terrain with its deep rolling ridges and valleys. While having to adjust, the roads being closed off can be worked around. Not as big of a deal on that point. The season limitation and the current quota schedule are another matter of limited access during the heart of the season.

As far as no deer being left in places in general with heavy pressure... I think Yanahli serves to put that thought process to rest. The place gets absolutely pummeled day in and day out throughout all the months of the season with no antler restrictions and 3 does a day per the regulations for middle TN. Still plenty of deer and believe it or not even some nice bucks that make it through. I have passed on some bucks at Yanahli that were pretty nice bucks for many and have had a few really nice bucks just out of range. Catman holds his own out there as well. While not a "big buck" destination for one of our WMA's, there are some good ones out there.

Many just don't get at them as they are limited by skill set, lack of preparation, not going the extra mile on diligent research and scouting and lack of patience and drive to stay 100% committed to overcoming setbacks and other hunters.

Deer are surviving machines and quotas or not they are going to work around hunters through entire seasons and do well in the majority of properties.
While I have been hunting exclusively in mid TN on public since moving here 12 or so years ago and get frustrated with many disrespectful hunters and WMA regs, nothing down here comes close to what pressure really is. In Michigan we harvested more deer throughout a season than the total number of hunters in Tennessee. Most TN hunters have no idea what true hunting pressure really looks like. Michigan public land was brutal. Talk about a pumpkin patch in any ML FA season. Archery was more like ML/FA down here if not worse. Even at that though, there are still a lot of deer to this day in Michigan even having to navigate decades of unreal pressure from massive numbers of hunters.
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I have been to Cheatam with my son on some juvenile turkey hunts and it is a nice place. I met Randy when he ran the area and he was a great guy! I have also met Eric and have absolutely zero problems with him as he was nice to both my son and I. I have lived in TN my whole life and can tell you that most of the desirable WMA all have a quota system and several have antler restrictions also. Having been to Cheatam blocking the side roads seems like a way for a man that wants to walk to get away from people if he so desires( I know it helps turkey hunting) , while leaving plenty of room for the crowd that can't walk far or the ones that only go a little ways in the woods . I think what you have to realize is when a new manager takes over they do what they think is best for the property for everyone . I don't believe anything was intentional to just take away from guys that hunted it all the time. I have watched the commission meetings and everything that was done was explained and the reasoning behind it. The situation like you speak of in Michigan is something I would never want to see or be part of at all. I am glad you have found areas here in TN that you don't see pressure like that. What you need to do is go to the next commission meeting when they discuss WMA seasons and regulations. They have a period that they allow public input and you can express your concerns and explain why you think the old way was better. I have also emailed commissioners on occasion when I feel strongly about something and can't attend the meeting. I have always gotten a response . I wish you the best this season and I am glad you are enjoying the hunting that TN has to offer! Good luck this season.
 
NolyRiverrat said:
Thank you. I had noticed from onX that there were a lot of roads in there and was wondering if I needed a four wheel drive or not, is there more than one entrance, and can you camp there or do I need to get a hotel?
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Been few years since i hunted there but last i heard they closed a lot of the roads and made them foot trails only. May want to double check on that
 
deerfever said:
I have been to Cheatam with my son on some juvenile turkey hunts and it is a nice place. I met Randy when he ran the area and he was a great guy! I have also met Eric and have absolutely zero problems with him as he was nice to both my son and I. I have lived in TN my whole life and can tell you that most of the desirable WMA all have a quota system and several have antler restrictions also. Having been to Cheatam blocking the side roads seems like a way for a man that wants to walk to get away from people if he so desires( I know it helps turkey hunting) , while leaving plenty of room for the crowd that can't walk far or the ones that only go a little ways in the woods . I think what you have to realize is when a new manager takes over they do what they think is best for the property for everyone . I don't believe anything was intentional to just take away from guys that hunted it all the time. I have watched the commission meetings and everything that was done was explained and the reasoning behind it. The situation like you speak of in Michigan is something I would never want to see or be part of at all. I am glad you have found areas here in TN that you don't see pressure like that. What you need to do is go to the next commission meeting when they discuss WMA seasons and regulations. They have a period that they allow public input and you can express your concerns and explain why you think the old way was better. I have also emailed commissioners on occasion when I feel strongly about something and can't attend the meeting. I have always gotten a response . I wish you the best this season and I am glad you are enjoying the hunting that TN has to offer! Good luck this season.
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Deer Fever
I don't have a problem with antler restrictions. A mature buck at Cheatham will always meet the requirements. The problem with a quota system... and it still blows me away that experienced hunters keep missing this point ...The damn place is closed right in the middle of the rut. And if you have spent time scouting and patterning a good buck you may or may not have the opportunity to hunt him. Then throw in some bad weather and the days you got drawn for and the whole hunt is blown. If it is not straight open for the whole month of November, you are totally rolling the dice and just about guaranteed to come up empty handed. I wouldn't complain two yugos if he opened the place for the whole month of November and then closed it down. No archery in September or October. Just open for November. I know that is extreme and the bowhunters would be pissed. But give us the best month of the season to hit it. The place is totally large enough that you guys who would say it would get over run with hunters... simply not true. The only times I've ever seen it crowded was when Randy had a muzzleloader hunt in mid October in the early 1990s, it did not coincide with the state wide, and a lot of fellows took advantage of it. NO QUOTAS!!!!!
 
Not sure about deer, but there are plenty of chiggers out there. Just did a quick spray of deet around the tops of my boots and waistline and have been paying for it the last week
 
NolyRiverrat said:
I noticed that studying the topo map. I plan on going out there in a week or two to see how it is and scout. The manager out there seemed like a real smart a** when I called asking a few questions about the place.
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He is a real smart ass! I've talked with him a few times via email and he acted like my question where stupid and a waste of his time.
 
Willysman said:
On

One thing these people forget is that we are paying their salary.
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Man I have talked to umpteen people within various levels of the TWRA about this issue. Once I realized that they are NOTHING but another government agency and that they don't give two 💩 about us and our opinions, I sleep better now. Mention the salary issue to one of the Gestapo agents in green and watch em laugh at ya.
 
I'm glad I don't hunt Cheatam, but I've had nothing but good interactions with the WMA managers and GW's down in Maury, Lewis and Hickman Counties. They've all been great about answering questions and offering to help.
 
Buzzard Breath said:
I'm glad I don't hunt Cheatam, but I've had nothing but good interactions with the WMA managers and GW's down in Maury, Lewis and Hickman Counties. They've all been great about answering questions and offering to help.
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I've meet a lot of nice officers over the years. And there are good ones out there. There are officers that truly enjoy their job and want to help. But there is also some like Eric Tummins that are not. What gets me with him is the questions I asked are questions that aren't listed in the guide or online. I wasn't reaching out to him to just waste his time. But that's the way it is with every department of any business. You got the good ones and the bad ones. Headin out in the a.m to scout cheatham from a draw. Keep your powder dry brother!!
 
Was in there today scouting around a bit. Saw a few doe's and a turkey. There was a logging truck going out a few times from the archery range so hopefully they're done before season starts.
 

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