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Looking for opinions on season date changes

Having a condensed season sucks.
I'm glad this is my last year in Illinois.
I don't bow hunt and I get 3 days for 1st gun,4 days second gun and 3 muzzleloader.
If I gotta work, there goes a day or two.
If it rains, that's not good.
1st gun in Illinois is nuts.
Longer season means the woods are less crowded and guys are more spread out.
 
catman529 said:
No and no.

There are places that are managed for trophies, and that's a good thing.

But on a statewide level, herd health and hunter opportunity are the goals. Gotta have something for every type of hunter while keeping the deer herd as a whole in mind.

I heard land is cheap in Kentucky, you could always start house hunting up there. Then you'd have your one buck limit and shorter gun season that you want.
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You hit the nail on the head. Well stated Catman.
 
Dumbluck said:
Take muzzleloader out completely, let people shoot a rifle if they want. Muzzleloaders wound and lose more deer than all other weapons combined.

Muzzleloaders should be used for civil war reenactments and boat anchors.
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Just wondering where you get your figures on "Muzzleloaders wound and lose more deer than all other weapons combined"? I kill one or two every year with a muzzleloader and so far have not lost one I shot at.
 
oldmanelrod said:
Just wondering where you get your figures on "Muzzleloaders wound and lose more deer than all other weapons combined"? I kill one or two every year with a muzzleloader and so far have not lost one I shot at.
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I talk to atleast 2-3 hunters every year that lose a deer from a muzzleloader. And those are the ones that know they hit the deer.

A lot deer don't bleed when shot with a muzzleloader. I've found plenty of them and talked to people that have found plenty of them.
 
Dumbluck said:
I talk to atleast 2-3 hunters every year that lose a deer from a muzzleloader. And those are the ones that know they hit the deer.

A lot deer don't bleed when shot with a muzzleloader. I've found plenty of them and talked to people that have found plenty of them.
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Ok.
 
Have you considered hunting KY? I hunt in KY and hate there season 1 buck limit and a 2 week gun season. To me the season is to short and only 1 buck means you can end your hunting quick. You may not have a kid but I have learned by taking my son that if we only had a 1 buck limit he would not be interested in hunting cause after he killed his buck he would be done. Also with the short season he doesn't leave a lot of time for him to go in KY. With TN he can go several days and if he kills 1 buck he has the opportunity to still hunt for a buck with the 2 buck limit. Leave TN alone in my opinion if you want shorter season and 1 buck go to KY
 
If you didn't get vaccinated, then you should get to hunt with any weapon Oct. 1 to Jan. 1. If you got the "shot," then atlatl only and no limit.
If you can't tell, I'm trying to be absurd to match the initial post. There wasn't any biological reason to lower the buck limit from 3 to 2, just a wanna-be biologist on the Commission who wanted to be the trophy buck god of Tennessee.
Yes, passing up young bucks leads to more in the next age class the following season. That harvest mentality was already manifesting itself 20 years ago, which bumped a lot of bucks into the 2 1/2-year-old class when they were killed. That was twice as old as the average buck killed when I started hunting in Tennessee during the bow season in 1981. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that biological data collection is so thin on a state-wide level that there's no way to prove that the average age class of bucks killed has matured any further than the data that was collected 15 years ago. That being said, LEAVE IT ALONE. If you want your home state to have a 1-buck limit and shorter gun season, move to Kentucky.
 
Some Trophy Hunters suck Bad, always wanting to restrict others from enjoying a sport by making a size limit or a time limit. Twra only cut the buck limit down to 2 because of said trophy hunters. this is a deer hunting forum not a Deer trophy website so don't expect a lot of support from here. I say open season set limits and use what weapon you want, bow hunters get the first shot over everyone including juveniles, also they are given 4 doe in this unit for some reason and we need to drop that by at least 1/2 imo.
 
Monk74 said:
Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's when you could legally take 15 or more bucks, I can't believe I'm asking this. How would you guys feel about shorter deer seasons? I feel like our 100+ day season is way too long. And a one buck limit would be nice. Make archery season basically the month of October. Muzzle loader is one week after juvenile. And rifle is from the first weekend in November until Sunday after thanksgiving. And I understand everyone who depends on deer meat. Let's keep the generous doe tags. Two to three years of that, I believe would drastically improve the age class of bucks in tn.
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The 7-8 weeks of rifle season is a bit much. Maybe some of it could be a late muzzleloader. I'm all about opportunity to hunt but the rifle season is too long.
 
Monk74 said:
Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's when you could legally take 15 or more bucks, I can't believe I'm asking this. How would you guys feel about shorter deer seasons? I feel like our 100+ day season is way too long. And a one buck limit would be nice. Make archery season basically the month of October. Muzzle loader is one week after juvenile. And rifle is from the first weekend in November until Sunday after thanksgiving. And I understand everyone who depends on deer meat. Let's keep the generous doe tags. Two to three years of that, I believe would drastically improve the age class of bucks in tn.
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Tn already does hold great age class bucks. they're just not easy to get to. plus shortening the season could have a negative impact on the amount of licenses sold. for example : why would i buy a license if i may not be able to hunt that year cause of a short season? and the one buck thing would be great and all but unless they allow more antlerless hunts then that is pretty poor, especially if you're someone who wants to consume more deer. I personally think that TN has got it figured out. just needs a few more years to marinate. so i can't say i agree with any of that.
also important to note that the number of deer actually taken each year is less than what's permitted.
 
I'm very pleased with the layout of the hunting seasons and weapons for each season here in Tennessee currently. There's lots of opportunity for all varieties of Hunter spread across a generous timeframe. You wanna kill bigger deer you gotta work for them. Unfortunately the majority of hunters complaining about the size of bucks they're not killing is 90% due to their lack of skills and or motivation to locate that target buck. No reason to impose restrictions on our fellows woodsmen for your shortcomings. We're never gonna have a deer herd in this state that will consistently produce B&C bucks year after year in high numbers no matter what restrictions are placed on the hunting seasons or herd. If your not happy with YOUR status quo then do something to change YOUR results…
 
No. Shorten archery and give more to muzzleloaders, rifle season is ok. Basically I see this post as an attempt to create a division between hunters and their favorite weapon.
 
poorhunter said:
Scratch all that....TN has such a long rut season depending on where you live that this wouldn't work.
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went hiking in smokies on New Years Day...by the way that is Jan 1. to get to trail head we had to drive thru Cades Coves. GIANTS chasing does everywhere ALL DAY LONG in cove.
 

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