Top 5 Bucks Killed at Presidents Island

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Was reading through some PI threads and the question was why such a low success hunt was so hard to draw and the answer was because of the increased chance at a worldclass deer. Ive seen some good ones come out of there but idk about world class, maybe i missed them. Anyone know of exactly what the top 5 bucks killed there scored? World class is probably 180+

 

[easy45]

There was one killed last year or possibly year before that was a giant but I never heard the final score of it. I don't think 180" is what they meant when they said world class because those type of deer are rare no matter where your at but it has produced an above average amount of deer from 130-160 and occasionally one bigger. The floods over the last decade have hurt the hunting there though. There are still some big deer there but the numbers are way down. I hunted it in either 2004 or 2005 and saw tons of deer including a 150" 10 point and got drawn again in 2014 and saw way less deer even though I killed a 136" 9 point. I still think it holds the best chance of killing a Pope & Young class animal of any draw hunt, and if it will stop flooding it will be incredible again.


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[Bucket]

I think this is the one easy45 is talking about. Killed in 2017. I'm not good at estimating scores but it is definitely in the monster category.

 

[BULL MOOSE]

Nice buck with good mass long armed out to the camera....I would love to know what it scored.

 

[Bucket]

TNdeer member mrw killed a 146" deer on the island and checked it in the same time this thing came in. He said his deer would fit down inside of the hoss.

 

[JeepKuntry]

PI is living off it's reputation from years ago. The past few years I've seen some mention about wanting to skip and put in for other hunts. How many deer came off the island this year? Last I heard from the topic here 1 had been killed for the year. Not sure of the exact numbers, but roughly 100 hunters over 2 weekends and 1 deer. Why wait 10+ years with odds like that?

 

[Os2 Outdoors]

I don't get why people even bother. Even during the glory days. I can travel 4 hours to 3 different states an hunt public with a higher success rate.

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[Spurhunter]

Was reading through some PI threads and the question was why such a low success hunt was so hard to draw and the answer was because of the increased chance at a worldclass deer. Ive seen some good ones come out of there but idk about world class, maybe i missed them. Anyone know of exactly what the top 5 bucks killed there scored? World class is probably 180+

I don't think there is a defined number for "world class". It's a subjective term. Remember, we are talking about a 3 day archery hunt with 1 scouting day. Your odds are low right off the bat. I would assume the guys that put in and wait for 12 years are like me: I hate hunting public land. If I had to hunt public land I would fish year round. There are no other draw hunts I am even remotely interested in, so if PI didn't exist, I wouldn't put in for anything.

 

[fairchaser]

I've hunted Ensley 3 times and the first two times, had no comparison to anywhere I've hunted even out of state and Canada for the number of mature bucks. The warden said in the glory days, you could drive the levee rd and see 1000 deer and multiple mature bucks. It's all different now and I didn't even hunt the 3rd day this year. I wouldn't even put in for several years now. But, I'll start building points again as I live here and it's free to me.

 

[Ski]

Although I may have been misinformed, I believe I read or saw that the typical archery record for TN was 177". That's a humongous deer. No way around it. However, within 6hrs of where I live in Coffee Co. I can be in Indiana, Illinois, or Ohio where 177" is not a record or runner up for anything. It's just another big deer. And I can hunt public land with over the counter tags. Memphis is almost 4hrs away. I am relatively new to TN so perhaps I am missing the point that makes PI so coveted. I can certainly be swayed but as of now I don't see the appeal for applying for it.

 

[Headhunter]

Although I may have been misinformed, I believe I read or saw that the typical archery record for TN was 177". That's a humongous deer. No way around it. However, within 6hrs of where I live in Coffee Co. I can be in Indiana, Illinois, or Ohio where 177" is not a record or runner up for anything. It's just another big deer. And I can hunt public land with over the counter tags. Memphis is almost 4hrs away. I am relatively new to TN so perhaps I am missing the point that makes PI so coveted. I can certainly be swayed but as of now I don't see the appeal for applying for it.

I would love to go hunt where a 177" deer is just another big deer. No where that I know of. Well if you pay huge amount of money and hunt a high fence property. Other than that those places don't exist.

 

[Headhunter]

I support the TWRA but I have never put in for President's Island and most likely never will. The antler restrictions make ZERO sense. Just the possibility that a large 8 pointer walks by and one cannot shoot it because it doesn't have a 9th point? And hunting with a bow on top of that? You can shoot a small racked 9 or more points buck, but have to let 150", 140" or even a 130" 8 pointer walk? On a "trophy" hunt, you can't shoot a buck that people, who can afford it, pay thousands of dollars to shoot? That is just wrong IMO. Sure would have been upset if I had been drawn, went on this last hunt, and the only buck I had in range was a giant 8 pointer. That is one and only time I might break a law and fight it in court. I believe it could be proven to a judge that a large 8 pointer is a "TROPHY" in most any hunters view. On top of that, attempting to get drawn for that hunt for many years and then you can't shoot the buck of a lifetime if you get the chance? Something that should be changed or addressed somehow.

 

[fairchaser]

I support the TWRA but I have never put in for President's Island and most likely never will. The antler restrictions make ZERO sense. Just the possibility that a large 8 pointer walks by and one cannot shoot it because it doesn't have a 9th point? And hunting with a bow on top of that? You can shoot a small racked 9 or more points buck, but have to let 150", 140" or even a 130" 8 pointer walk? On a "trophy" hunt, you can't shoot a buck that people, who can afford it, pay thousands of dollars to shoot? That is just wrong IMO. Sure would have been upset if I had been drawn, went on this last hunt, and the only buck I had in range was a giant 8 pointer. That is one and only time I might break a law and fight it in court. I believe it could be proven to a judge that a large 8 pointer is a "TROPHY" in most any hunters view. On top of that, attempting to get drawn for that hunt for many years and then you can't shoot the buck of a lifetime if you get the chance? Something that should be changed or addressed somehow.

I have on a previous hunt and my buddy had on this hunt and very nice 8 point buck below him with plenty of chances to kill him. The 9 point rule was designed to keep too many bucks from being killed. The 20 inch spread addendum was added under political pressure but totally impractical. The racks are all heavy and tall, not wide. If you wait 10 or more years to draw a tag, you should be able to kill what you want. But, I doubt this will ever change. The trophy clubs that surround PI and Ensley don't want their bucks killed. I should add that the draw hunts are also used to chase the bucks back out to the clubs as these places are sanctuaries. The clubs line up in full force during these draw hunts. This year however the clubs aren't shooting any bucks because the stress from flooding shrunk racks by 10-20 inches. These clubs have 170 inch minimums but would rather wait till next year so these 170 inch bucks can turn into 190 inch monsters.

 

[catman529]

Although I may have been misinformed, I believe I read or saw that the typical archery record for TN was 177". That's a humongous deer. No way around it. However, within 6hrs of where I live in Coffee Co. I can be in Indiana, Illinois, or Ohio where 177" is not a record or runner up for anything. It's just another big deer. And I can hunt public land with over the counter tags. Memphis is almost 4hrs away. I am relatively new to TN so perhaps I am missing the point that makes PI so coveted. I can certainly be swayed but as of now I don't see the appeal for applying for it.

177 is rare even in those states. You'll have a much better shot at a 120-140 in the Midwest, but going past 140 or 150 ain't as easy as it sounds.


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[Ahuntin1]

I think this is the one easy45 is talking about. Killed in 2017. I'm not good at estimating scores but it is definitely in the monster category.

That's one heck of a buck. Some pretty good photography as well.

 

[Stlbaseball1]

PI will always have fluctuating populations and success rates with the muddy Mississippi having such a big impact on the island.

 

[Ski]

I would love to go hunt where a 177" deer is just another big deer. No where that I know of. Well if you pay huge amount of money and hunt a high fence property. Other than that those places don't exist.

Hmmm, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin all ring a bell. 177" is as I said a humongous deer, but in none of those states is it ever even contention for the biggest deer killed each year. Start in the 200's and by the time you work your way down to the 170's you progressively have more than a handful. Is every hunter getting a chance at them? No. Does every hunter even see one in their lifetime? No. But compared to TN where it would make the front page of local newspaper, up there it's just another big deer.

 

[fairchaser]

I would love to go hunt where a 177" deer is just another big deer. No where that I know of. Well if you pay huge amount of money and hunt a high fence property. Other than that those places don't exist.

Hmmm, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin all ring a bell. 177" is as I said a humongous deer, but in none of those states is it ever even contention for the biggest deer killed each year. Start in the 200's and by the time you work your way down to the 170's you progressively have more than a handful. Is every hunter getting a chance at them? No. Does every hunter even see one in their lifetime? No. But compared to TN where it would make the front page of local newspaper, up there it's just another big deer.

It's all relative. That's why each state has its own record books. If you are just looking for the biggest deer/rack, then you go where the giants live. But you can't compare those to deer from other areas. A 177 inch deer killed by a bow in TN is a real trophy as long as it's fair chase.

 

[Ski]

It's all relative. That's why each state has its own record books. If you are just looking for the biggest deer/rack, then you go where the giants live. But you can't compare those to deer from other areas. A 177 inch deer killed by a bow in TN is a real trophy as long as it's fair chase.

I agree 110%. That was the point of my original post. I didn't mean to make 177" seem insignificant or small, nor am I minimizing it. It's truly a monster deer of a lifetime. I used that number as a benchmark because it is the TN archery record for a typical rack. It's the record because that's as big as they are....until/unless one larger is bagged. It's not illogical to assign the same scale to TN as you would anywhere else. That means if Illinois annually takes a dozen 200"+ bow kills, then there are a boat load of 170's, possibly thousands of 150's, and countless sub 140's. That tells me I have a pretty dang fair chance at getting on a 140-160 type deer if I do my due diligence, with reasonable hope of something much bigger. Better yet, I can do it on public land, over counter, and choose my own dates within the season. Furthermore, I can scout it on foot as much as my boots allow, plus run trail cameras in spots I feel will be hot. By the time my hunt-cation comes around I have an educated guess at where to start and what animals I'll likely be hunting. Whether I succeed or not, I can try again next year and the year after.

Contrast that with PI where I have to wait a decade plus, get one day to scout, and 3 days to get it done. Both Illinois and PI are respectively about the same distance from my house here in TN. If I am going far enough where I have to pack a toothbrush, PI isn't even on my radar. If I lived near it then putting in for an eventual chance to hunt makes a little more sense. But with having to travel, it doesn't make sense when there are exponentially better and more convenient chances just by choosing a different area. Like I said, I can be swayed and convinced to start putting in for it. But I haven't seen a reasonable argument for it yet.

 

[Bucket]

I will continue to put in for it because it isn't an either-or for me. You can still hunt other areas or states for that matter during the rut and PI wouldn't interfere with that. There aren't any other draw hunts I feel like I'm missing out on by applying, so I do.

One aspect I like is the timing of the rut in SW Tennessee. I hunt my family farm in SW Chester County, along with land near Cookeville where I live. The rut is about 3 weeks apart in those areas and you get to double dip so to speak.