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Tennessee bucks

AT Hiker said:
From what I've seen lately, and its not much, many of today's "adult onset hunters" don't look/dress/act like what I'm used to.
One thing though, tell her if any "bro" with a flat bill and wears more than two logo brands, tells her he is a hunter, she should immediately mace him, yell fire and run. She, nor you, got time for that. You'll be field dressing his deer and stopping for frozen carmel mocha dairy free coffees on the way to your hunting spot, be warned.
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I consider myself warned!
 
Agree we are in the good ole days right now. I'm afraid we may see a decline with the CWD and all the rules surrounding it but hopefully not. In my area there seems to be more deer now than ever. I think primarily it is because of the decline in the number of hunters. Prime public land especially. I never run into other hunters at some of the places I go. Years ago some of these places looked like a pumpkin patch during gun season now its like a ghost town.
 
I do think the quality of TN bucks is improving. The question is why? Regulation changes, hunter numbers dwindling, hunter mindsets changing, or larger segments of land with little to no access that are serving as mature buck safe havens. My guess is all of the above…..
 
BSK said:
At college, I don't think she has met a single guy who hunts. Not one.
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Thank God for MS... my oldest is 19 and a sophomore this year... she is always wanting me to send the newest trail cam pics because her male friends are asking. They accused her of hunting in a high fence. :). But no boyfriends get to shoot a buck on my place unless I think he is a keeper, that's for sure!
 
tntime said:
Sir, I guess I have to admit that I moved to TN and paid an inflated price for my home. I have desired to live here for the past ten years, and the Lord finally allowed us to move. I must point out that the house I purchased (and all the land you spoke of as purchased by Yankees) was sold to me by TN folk. What I desire for my life is here in TN, and a local hit me hard with the price to buy it. I will not become a problem for anyone here as far as voting to change TN. Conservative to the core, and I vote in every election. I do hope we will be good fellow citizens of this fine state and I wish y'all a Merry Christmas!
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Well then may you live your life the way you see fit and good things and happiness come your way now and in the new year. Merry Christmas
 
I think its the use of cameras that has helped save a many 2 and 3 year old bucks .
I know on our little farm here our neighbors where its brown and down a couple years ago till i started showing them trail cam pictures of the progression of a buck as he aged and they haven't
Shot a deer here in a couple years and we have finally seen a couple great deer for next year that will defenatly make it barring any disease
Please have a Merry Christmas and most of all enjoy each other
 
redblood said:
I do think the quality of TN bucks is improving. The question is why? Regulation changes, hunter numbers dwindling, hunter mindsets changing, or larger segments of land with little to no access that are serving as mature buck safe havens. My guess is all of the above…..
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Agree completely. I don't think regulation changes have had a direct influence, but they very well have made hunters think more about their harvest choices.
 
jman 125 said:
I think its the use of cameras that has helped save a many 2 and 3 year old bucks .
I know on our little farm here our neighbors where its brown and down a couple years ago till i started showing them trail cam pictures of the progression of a buck as he aged and they haven't
Shot a deer here in a couple years and we have finally seen a couple great deer for next year that will defenatly make it barring any disease
Please have a Merry Christmas and most of all enjoy each other
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I agree...once we began using cameras many years ago our eyes were open to the opportunities that existed....having pics of mature bucks gave us more patience and discipline to let young bucks walk.....also when multiple hunters are working together on the same property the pictures give you the opportunity to study each buck and discuss....so when a shot opportunity presents itself it's easier to decide based off your history with the pictures....then there is always the bucks that show up we have no history with that always keeps it exciting....but I agree, cameras were a game changer for the properties we hunt and manage.
 
DoubleRidge said:
I agree...once we began using cameras many years ago our eyes were open to the opportunities that existed....having pics of mature bucks gave us more patience and discipline to let young bucks walk.....also when multiple hunters are working together on the same property the pictures give you the opportunity to study each buck and discuss....so when a shot opportunity presents itself it's easier to decide based off your history with the pictures....then there is always the bucks that show up we have no history with that always keeps it exciting....but I agree, cameras were a game changer for the properties we hunt and manage.
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Completely agree. Another benefit of cameras is to "know" the bucks using your property so shooting decisions become instantaneous. Although some hunters feel knowing the bucks beforehand takes the excitement out of the hunt, I find that finally seeing in person a buck I've been watch on camera all season to be a huge thrill. And I don't have to spend time assessing his age/quality from the stand. The instant I see a buck I know who he is and whether or not he's what I'm after.
 
BSK said

"Was against it then. Still am. Wasn't needed. Didn't do anything. Everything we're seeing today (post 11 buck limit) is purely driven by hunter trigger control (which I NEVER expected hunters to do with the ferocity that they do today)."

Bryan,
I have the hardest time convincing people that Tennessee EVER had an 11 buck limit!
In unit B, (Hamilton County) does were VERY taboo. Protected by State limits and peer pressure.

The either sex tag was implied to be a doe tag. We called them doe tags.

When I started hunting out of state buck tags were called either sex. Doe tags were called antler less only.
Almost punched a few either sex (buck) tags on does. ALMOST!
 
DeerCamp said:
Problem in our areas is most of the farms are smallish (40-100 acres), and there aren't many of them that don't get hunted hard.

In this specific area, we certainly still have an issue with too many bucks being killed.

But I guess it is what it is.
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But it is 100X better than it was 15 years ago. And still moving in the right direction.
 
I've said it before...and now once more...
I started using cell cams a couple years ago. And honestly they have never helped me kill a book buck. But they have done a great job of eliminating places I shouldn't hunt.
 
102 said:
I've said it before...and now once more...
I started using cell cams a couple years ago. And honestly they have never helped me kill a book buck. But they have done a great job of eliminating places I shouldn't hunt.
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That's a darn good point. I too avoid hunting areas where cameras are showing little activity by the quality of buck I'm after.
 
My progression as a hunter over the last 20 years owes a lot to this forum, and particularly the information guys like BSK have shared. On our 350 acres we began simple......allow all of the yearling bucks to walk. If a young hunter comes they can shoot whatever. Conversations with neighbors proved somewhat helpful as well. Not all adopted our standard, but some did, which helped.

From there our standards rose but it was because of the sheer numbers of bucks we were seeing. One of us killed a nice 2.5 year old with a big, wide rack, but without much mass. A simple question was asked, "wonder what he would've looked like next year?" Now we use the trail cam photos to identify bucks we want to let walk even more than we do to set target bucks.

I am all for anyone killing whatever makes them happy, but, if you are on the fence, let me encourage you to start simple and let the yearlings walk. Who knows the dividends it might pay.
 
BSK said:
Completely agree. Another benefit of cameras is to "know" the bucks using your property so shooting decisions become instantaneous. Although some hunters feel knowing the bucks beforehand takes the excitement out of the hunt, I find that finally seeing in person a buck I've been watch on camera all season to be a huge thrill. And I don't have to spend time assessing his age/quality from the stand. The instant I see a buck I know who he is and whether or not he's what I'm after.
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Completely agree... Seeing a buck in person...a buck you have studied on and spent hours reviewing pictures of....is very exciting.....also very rewarding when a plan comes together on a specific buck.
 
BSK said:
Although some hunters feel knowing the bucks beforehand takes the excitement out of the hunt, I find that finally seeing in person a buck I've been watch on camera all season to be a huge thrill.
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I can't relate with that logic. I find few things in life more satisfying than watching a buck grow up and sprout into a stud. This last year I had a 4yr old 125" class buck EXPLODE into a possibly 160 5yr old. To say I was excited to see that is an understatement. And to see him on the hoof with that rack was truly an amazing feeling, even though I never shot him. Before cameras & habitat management I would get very excited to see a big buck. But now when I see one it's a whole new level. I've watched that buck grow up so there are years of accumulated anticipation coming to fruition. It's quite satisfying.

102 said:
I started using cell cams a couple years ago. And honestly they have never helped me kill a book buck. But they have done a great job of eliminating places I shouldn't hunt.
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100%. I've set cams on sign that I was sure would reveal a monster or monsters, only to find that it's a lackluster, time wasting spot. The cam can sit on stand 24hrs a day and watch that spot. No reason for me to waste my season on it. Having cams allows me to cherry pick the right spot at the right time. And it's almost completely perennial intel, not in intra-seasonal. I can't recall a single buck I've killed using cam intel that I gathered that season. It's always from previous years' accumulated knowledge.
 

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