Top 5 Bucks Killed at Presidents Island

[TheLBLman]

Let my preface this by saying I don't know of any public land in TN with odds so good for a bowhunter to take a P&Y buck on a per day of hunting as the PI WMA.

But that "per day of hunting" is much of the negative.
In order to be drawn for the annual archery buck hunt at PI,
you will forfeit a minimum of 24 days of other WMA quota hunting,
some of which can be on some decent areas (for a P&Y class buck)
AND (if you choose) with your carrying a rifle instead of hunting archery only.

Of course, if you already have 10 or more preference points built up, I'd keep putting in for PI.
But it's not necessarily a "fair trade" to forfeit a minimum of 24 (or more) other quota hunt days (over 12 years) for the potential of getting a weekend archery hunt at PI at some point in the future.
Don't underestimate that word "potential", as I seriously doubt this WMA will exist as a public hunting area a decade from now.
I do hope I'm wrong.

The one thing I find most interesting about it would be getting to see wildlife that's largely uninfluenced by humans.

Maybe if you're just talking about human sport hunting, PI is not as influenced by humans as most WMAs,
but it's pretty influenced otherwise by human activities.
This is not a wilderness area.
Also, some of the private property on the island is heavily hunted, and I suspect almost every rutting buck living on the island spends time on this private acreage while it is being hunting "same as statewide" (with a rifle from early November thru early January).

The age structure there should be as close to optimum as can be.

It might be if the island wasn't flooding so often.
Some of the deer drown, many are hit by cars on the bordering interstate as they flee the flood waters.
IMO, you'll find age structure actually better on many other TN WMAs.

Hopefully it gets back to what people remember it being and folks' odds increase.

This is very unlikely.
Apparently, when TWRA 1st offered the island for public hunting, it had gone longer than usual without flooding, and some subsequent floods weren't as bad as normal. So there was an unrealistic ongoing expectation set.

But what's made the hunting much tougher may actually be a by-product of the worst flood a few years ago.
It was so bad, that many of the former soybean fields became so sandy they could not longer be farmed. They are now just heavy brushy early growth forests.

So now, a lot less deer, with a lot more places to hide. IMO, it's that abundance of heavy sanctuary cover that's most hurting the hunting opportunities. It did not exist like this during the first few years of the WMA (when its reputation came about).

Anybody know if TWRA has considered closing the draw for a few years until things normalize?

Don't see that happening (other than should the island be badly flooded on the days of the quota hunt, in which case, those drawn hunters would just get to hunt a year later).

Eliminating this public hunt would likely make little difference.
The deer herd dynamics there are more effected by other factors.
And if you think some top-notch hunters hunting every day of TN's rifle season (on PI) aren't a significant factor, think again.
It's the private land hunters there who will always have the better opportunities for whatever top-end bucks the island produces.

But again, per day of hunting, there is no better public land opportunity in TN for a bowhunter to take a P&Y class buck.
The question is, is it worth the wait, and/or worth giving up so many other decent opportunities?

I had either 11 or 12 priority points when I was drawn in 2016.
I won't say say it wasn't worth the wait for me, but I will say the experience was overall disappointing, and I was the only member of my hunting group who even saw a deer while deer hunting.
That was 3 years ago.
Doesn't sound like things have changed much.

 

[TheLBLman]

I guess I should add I quit applying for PI,
although mainly because I'm afraid I'll no longer be deer hunting by the time I might next get drawn,
same for my hunting partners, although they wouldn't go back regardless, even if drawn every year.

The aesthetics of this hunt (for us) was deafening industrial noise, horrid aromas, and all kinds of trash in every view.
From my understanding, the 2016 hunt was the most noise polluted year ever because they were laying a pipeline across the island DURING our quota hunt. We did not expect the work to be full blast during the hunt, and had decided to all hunt within 200 yards either side of the pipeline work (which traversed the entire island), so imagine a 400-yard wide particularly noisy construction zone from one side of the island to another. THAT would have been legitimate reason for TWRA to cancel the 2016 hunt.

It is an "urban" hunt, and those expecting a more pristine wilderness type environment will be shocked,
especially when the wind shifts and you become downwind of some of the chemical plants on the island.

Again, I know of no better TWRA-managed public archery hunt, but every deer hunter is not an avid archery hunter, and many avid archery hunters do not find "urban" deer hunting appealing, even with the allure of some large-racked bucks less afraid of humans. The 9-pt rule is also a legitimate source of contention, and is mainly working to the benefit of the private land hunters on the island. Many bucks which actually have "9" points aren't killed because the public bowhunter cannot ascertain 9 points, all at least an inch long. Then some fully mature monster 8-pointers have also been given a pass by the bowhunters, to the delight of the gun hunters.

One more thing.

TWRA was put in charge of the deer management on PI, NOT to make it a "trophy" buck destination, but rather to REDUCE the deer population. Although they were on track to succeed in reducing the deer density to an acceptable level (to the City of Memphis), Mother Nature made it happen faster.
TWRA would likely have made this an archery/shotgun/muzzleloader hunt,
except that the city has demanded it be archery only.

Bottom line is there is no way PI will ever go back to the type opportunity there during it's first many years as a public WMA.

 

[Headhunter]

I guess I should add I quit applying for PI,
although mainly because I'm afraid I'll no longer be deer hunting by the time I might next get drawn,
same for my hunting partners, although they wouldn't go back regardless, even if drawn every year.

The aesthetics of this hunt (for us) was deafening industrial noise, horrid aromas, and all kinds of trash in every view.
From my understanding, the 2016 hunt was the most noise polluted year ever because they were laying a pipeline across the island DURING our quota hunt. We did not expect the work to be full blast during the hunt, and had decided to all hunt within 200 yards either side of the pipeline work (which traversed the entire island), so imagine a 400-yard wide particularly noisy construction zone from one side of the island to another. THAT would have been legitimate reason for TWRA to cancel the 2016 hunt.

It is an "urban" hunt, and those expecting a more pristine wilderness type environment will be shocked,
especially when the wind shifts and you become downwind of some of the chemical plants on the island.

Again, I know of no better TWRA-managed public archery hunt, but every deer hunter is not an avid archery hunter, and many avid archery hunters do not find "urban" deer hunting appealing, even with the allure of some large-racked bucks less afraid of humans. The 9-pt rule is also a legitimate source of contention, and is mainly working to the benefit of the private land hunters on the island. Many bucks which actually have "9" points aren't killed because the public bowhunter cannot ascertain 9 points, all at least an inch long. Then some fully mature monster 8-pointers have also been given a pass by the bowhunters, to the delight of the gun hunters.

One more thing.

TWRA was put in charge of the deer management on PI, NOT to make it a "trophy" buck destination, but rather to REDUCE the deer population. Although they were on track to succeed in reducing the deer density to an acceptable level (to the City of Memphis), Mother Nature made it happen faster.
TWRA would likely have made this an archery/shotgun/muzzleloader hunt,
except that the city has demanded it be archery only.

Bottom line is there is no way PI will ever go back to the type opportunity there during it's first many years as a public WMA.

I disagree. The worst managed TWRA hunt by far. The rules make no sense and waiting a bunch of years to hunt and very possibly have the buck of a lifetime walk by and you are not allowed to shoot it? Poor management along with another hunt allows spikes to be killed, very likely killing bucks that have potential of being bucks of a lifetime.

 

[Winchester]

I would have to agree that these 2 pieces of property (Endsley and the Island) could be put to much better use for the TN Hunter with very little change. The current regs are ludicrous in the world of deer hunting! Any time a trophy managed area doesnt allow the harvest of fully mature 8 pt bucks, yet you allow the very top end young bucks with basket 9 pt racks to be killed, you are already going backwards of the goal intended! Thats just for starters!

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

How did my thread of wanting to see the top 5 bucks killed at PI turn into whether or not its worth putting in for. There was one suggested deer early on in the thread and very well is a top 5 buck.

 

[TheLBLman]

How did my thread of wanting to see the top 5 bucks killed at PI turn into whether or not its worth putting in for.

Legitimate question, I don't have the answer for you :tu:

I quess most giving thought to the thread were thinking more in terms of whether they should apply or not for the hunt.

Also suspect you've seen little what you sought because the top bucks killed at PI may not be as high scoring as some had assumed they should, and maybe more of the better ones have been taken on the private property, rather than the public WMA portion of the island.
Never mind that the private acreage is a relatively small portion of the island,
it is all within the rut range of 100% of the bucks on the relatively unhunted public portion.

Those killed on the private property would be listed as Shelby County kills,
but I suspect most are not officially scored as many people just don't want to draw adverse attention to their hunting locations.

 

[JeepKuntry]

Where are the pics of this years kills? From the post of from members here only 1 had been killed going into the last day. That is probably why the post derailed.

 

[Crosshairy]

Remember that PI is not typical WMA land. It's owned by the Memphis Port Authority and the TWRA is allowed to have a window of archery hunting on it. I'd be interested to know the specific language of the agreement, but point is that there's a limit to what the TWRA would be allowed to do. Some changes that folks might want may not even be allowable within the agreement.

All that said, with it only being an archery hunt, I wouldn't really have any problem with relaxing the antler restrictions, but I understand what they were trying to accomplish by having them in place.


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[DoubleRidge]

How did my thread of wanting to see the top 5 bucks killed at PI turn into whether or not its worth putting in for. There was one suggested deer early on in the thread and very well is a top 5 buck.

How did the thread run off the rails? Not sure? Many opinions about PI.....it's been an interesting conversation though.

So a more direct answer to your question is: I'm not aware of any single location that you can see a listing of President's Island bucks ranked by score....so I know of no possible way to see the Top-5.

Are the top PI bucks "world class" ? doubtful if we're saying world class is 180+ .....but are there bucks on the island in the 135-155 range....per the testimony of members on here....yes....or atleast there have been....so maybe not "world class" but above average WMA.

 

[BULL MOOSE]

Unless aTWRA manager or a commissioner reads this thread then nothing will change! There could be more similar opportunities on some other off limit areas across the state as well. Where they are, I don't know, but I am sure they exist.

 

[BULL MOOSE]

Unless aTWRA manager or a commissioner reads this thread then nothing will change! There could be more similar opportunities on some other off limit areas across the state as well. Where they are, I don't know, but I am sure they exist.

 

[UpperTully]

Unless aTWRA manager or a commissioner reads this thread then nothing will change! There could be more similar opportunities on some other off limit areas across the state as well. Where they are, I don't know, but I am sure they exist.

I know this is off topic from the OP but I'd like to chime in on this.

Even if they do read it, it still wont change. The Region 1 Biologist Jim Hamilington has his head stuck so far up his back side its comical. Keep in mind, he was pushing a either 9 points or an a 22" outside spread which is absolutely ludicrous. After making said proposal during the 2018 TFWC Committtee Meeting he was questioned on the outside spread. He was asked how many has been killed that was meet 22", he couldn't provide a number but said there was some. Then he claims he WOULD BE hanging some cameras to see what they exactly have. By their own admission after the 2011 flood, there was a 25% loss of agriculture and a 40 % loss in population was discovered by Dr Kennedy after performing a aerial thermal imaging study.

I've said this countless times pertaining to the unprotected lands along the Miss River. After the 2011, 2015/2016 and 2018 record book floods. The deer have been hammered to dang near nothing. As some one sitting at 8 priority points for Presidents Island, I've lost interest in hunting the island. President's Island glory days are a thing of the past.

Run the video up to the 10:00 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjCNl3-KC6E&t=793s

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Unless aTWRA manager or a commissioner reads this thread then nothing will change! There could be more similar opportunities on some other off limit areas across the state as well. Where they are, I don't know, but I am sure they exist.

I know this is off topic from the OP but I'd like to chime in on this.

Even if they do read it, it still wont change. The Region 1 Biologist Jim Hamilington has his head stuck so far up his back side its comical. Keep in mind, he was pushing a either 9 points or an a 22" outside spread which is absolutely ludicrous. After making said proposal during the 2018 TFWC Committtee Meeting he was questioned on the outside spread. He was asked how many has been killed that was meet 22", he couldn't provide a number but said there was some. Then he claims he WOULD BE hanging some cameras to see what they exactly have. By their own admission after the 2011 flood, there was a 25% loss of agriculture and a 40 % loss in population was discovered by Dr Kennedy after performing a aerial thermal imaging study.

I've said this countless times pertaining to the unprotected lands along the Miss River. After the 2011, 2015/2016 and 2018 record book floods. The deer have been hammered to dang near nothing. As some one sitting at 8 priority points for Presidents Island, I've lost interest in hunting the island. President's Island glory days are a thing of the past.

Run the video up to the 10:00 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjCNl3-KC6E&t=793s

He presented a 20" wide rule which im glad he did because it has allowed for some really good deer to be targeted and some good bucks to be taken in the other wmas grouped with PI. i personally have 2 shooters this year that fall into the 20" category that the 9pt rule nixed. One his a 6pt one is an 8

 

[Ahuntin1]

I've said this countless times pertaining to the unprotected lands along the Miss River. After the 2011, 2015/2016 and 2018 record book floods. The deer have been hammered to dang near nothing.

It's not near as bad as you say on the land I own. We have a good share of 3.5 yr old bucks. Just no monsters this year. It's in lauderdale county. It seems to be doing much better than most of the places I hunt in Fayette county. We were covered up in water for months but the deer either came back or found some high spots to hang out on. But in all honesty, I keep coming back to this thread hoping for the pics of the top 5 bucks from presidents island! I'm sure someone has a TWRA connection to get the pics from all the hunts. Maybe we could have a vote on the top 5 based purely on pictures.

 

[Andy S.]

I've said this countless times pertaining to the unprotected lands along the Miss River. After the 2011, 2015/2016 and 2018 record book floods. The deer have been hammered to dang near nothing.

My buddy and I have hunted the MS River bottoms in Lauderdale County a fair amount this year and my observations align with this. Sightings have been next to nil.

 

[AT Hiker]

He presented a 20" wide rule which im glad he did because it has allowed for some really good deer to be targeted and some good bucks to be taken in the other wmas grouped with PI. i personally have 2 shooters this year that fall into the 20" category that the 9pt rule nixed. One his a 6pt one is an 8

One of the TWRA guys told me only 4 deer in over a dozen years would have meet the 20" rule at PI. Ironically enough, the only deer checked in this year was a 20" 9pt.


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[BULL MOOSE]

Here are the approximate 5 largest in the trophy room.

 

[BULL MOOSE]

.

 

[TheLBLman]

Here are the approximate 5 largest in the trophy room.

An Observation:
None added in the past 15 years?

 

[Andy S.]

There has been several killed north of 160", and I know of a few personally north of 170". With that said, most (not all) of them were killed in the early years of the hunt.

Private club on the island killed a 200" buck several years back. I posted pics of it on here.