So what are the best ky counties for quality deer, plenty of cover, decent deer densities and affordable land to purchase
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Trigg County KY hunting
- Thread starter Rackseeker
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TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I am talking more in terms of private deer management potential, than whatever either county is "known for".
But all things being equal, if seriously managing for high-scoring mature bucks, will gladly take Trigg Co., KY over ANY county in TN, especially if we're attempting this on less than 5,000 acres. Heck, even the 20,000-acre Ames Plantation (with maybe the most intensive large-acreage trophy buck management in TN) has struggled to produce bucks scoring like what is regularly killed on "un-managed" small private tracts in Trigg Co., KY (at least on a per acre or square-mile basis).
Every single square mile in these counties has some different dynamics in terms of management potential. Many areas of Montgomery have more potential than many of Trigg. The soil and deer food supply/quality of both may be more similar than different.
In terms of someone "privately" managing for top-end mature bucks, the biggest thing going against this in Montgomery Co. are the TN statewide deer regs, which in turn leads to a higher hunter harvest rate of the best antlered young & middle-aged bucks (antler high-grading).
We still have plenty of bucks surviving to maturity in TN (maybe even more than in KY). At issue, is "which" specific bucks are allowed to survive to maturity. And, to what extent can you control that after those bucks cross over onto neighboring properties?
Because TN's rifle season is over twice as long as KY's, because TN has a 2-buck limit compared to KY's 1-buck limit, it's just no contest, generally speaking as to which county has the greater private "management" potential.
But then the waters get very muddy in comparing the management potential of these two counties.
Ft. Campbell has a lot of acreage within Montgomery County. Truth is, the average square mile within Ft. Campbell may already be "managed" better (for top-end mature bucks) than the average square mile within Trigg Co., KY (outside of Ft. Campbell). Not only does this Ft. Campbell management "spill over" in greatly effecting the bordering TN properties, but also effects the "mindset" of many TN hunters hunting the properties bordering Ft. Campbell.
And, yes, can say the same about those private properties in Trigg Co., KY also bordering Ft. Campbell. But Ft. Campbell's deer management, relatively speaking, has a more dramatic effect on the TN side than the KY side. KY's statewide management is so good, that Ft. Campbell becomes less a factor; TN's statewide is so bad, that bordering Ft. Campbell makes a huge difference.
But as Popcorn pointed out, many areas of Trigg Co. have a lot of commercial hunting operations (and non-resident hunting leases) where despite good deer nutrition management, they simply have too much "trophy" buck hunting, resulting in too much antler high-grading of their best-antlered younger bucks. But then, that's much the problem anywhere in TN even without those commercial hunting operations.
For what it's worth or not, my opinion is any property bordering Ft. Campbell, either in TN or KY, has similar potential, as the big difference from the rest of either county is the bordering of Ft. Campbell, not the county.
In fact, I believe the manner in which deer have been managed on the expansive Ft. Campbell has made Montgomery Co., TN the #1 County in TN for "registry" bucks. But that does not mean you wouldn't have a better opportunity to produce higher scoring bucks on private land in Trigg Co., KY, especially if you were bordering Ft. Campbell, and NOT bordering some commercial hunting operation. I'd much prefer to be bordering neighbors with the "brown & down" mentality, as they generally don't high-grade the best antler genetics like most "managing" for "trophy" bucks.
Generally speaking, the #1 obstacle to producing top-end (highest scoring) mature bucks is the selected hunter-harvest criteria under which most intensely "managed" and commercial operations utilize in defining what is or is not a "shooter" buck. In many instances, the very best antlered 2 1/2 & 3 1/2-yr-old bucks are killed at a higher rate on intensely managed properties, than they are killed on the more average hunted tracts elsewhere in the same county.
Everything above was meant in the context of someone managing private acreage for top-end antlered mature bucks (5 1/2 yrs old or older). Unless your acreage were bordering Ft. Campbell, you would generally have better odds for any square mile (640 acres) in Trigg Co., KY than Montgomery Co., TN (where you're neighbors can rifle hunt twice as long and kill twice as many bucks, compared to your neighbors in KY).
Exceptions abound in both counties, and in both states.
But every exception we come up with does not change the generality
that most private properties are largely at the mercy of their neighbors
when it comes to top-end antlered buck management.
To the surprise of many, I believe TN's statewide deer management is generally superior for the majority of deer hunters than KY's. I might personally prefer something "in between" TN's long rifle 2-buck limit and KY's short rifle 1-buck limit, but otherwise prefer TN's current deer regs over KY's. Exception would be should TWRA declare my TN county a CWD-reg county. Those particular regs do more harm than CWD itself.
I understand much of what you're saying (agree on many points). I'm talking specifically about managing for top-end mature bucks (antler score), in Trigg Co., KY vs. Montgomery Co., TN. I even said Trigg Co. was near "average" for KY counties.
But all things being equal, if seriously managing for high-scoring mature bucks, will gladly take Trigg Co., KY over ANY county in TN, especially if we're attempting this on less than 5,000 acres. Heck, even the 20,000-acre Ames Plantation (with maybe the most intensive large-acreage trophy buck management in TN) has struggled to produce bucks scoring like what is regularly killed on "un-managed" small private tracts in Trigg Co., KY (at least on a per acre or square-mile basis).
Every single square mile in these counties has some different dynamics in terms of management potential. Many areas of Montgomery have more potential than many of Trigg. The soil and deer food supply/quality of both may be more similar than different.
In terms of someone "privately" managing for top-end mature bucks, the biggest thing going against this in Montgomery Co. are the TN statewide deer regs, which in turn leads to a higher hunter harvest rate of the best antlered young & middle-aged bucks (antler high-grading).
We still have plenty of bucks surviving to maturity in TN (maybe even more than in KY). At issue, is "which" specific bucks are allowed to survive to maturity. And, to what extent can you control that after those bucks cross over onto neighboring properties?
Because TN's rifle season is over twice as long as KY's, because TN has a 2-buck limit compared to KY's 1-buck limit, it's just no contest, generally speaking as to which county has the greater private "management" potential.
But then the waters get very muddy in comparing the management potential of these two counties.
Ft. Campbell has a lot of acreage within Montgomery County. Truth is, the average square mile within Ft. Campbell may already be "managed" better (for top-end mature bucks) than the average square mile within Trigg Co., KY (outside of Ft. Campbell). Not only does this Ft. Campbell management "spill over" in greatly effecting the bordering TN properties, but also effects the "mindset" of many TN hunters hunting the properties bordering Ft. Campbell.
And, yes, can say the same about those private properties in Trigg Co., KY also bordering Ft. Campbell. But Ft. Campbell's deer management, relatively speaking, has a more dramatic effect on the TN side than the KY side. KY's statewide management is so good, that Ft. Campbell becomes less a factor; TN's statewide is so bad, that bordering Ft. Campbell makes a huge difference.
But as Popcorn pointed out, many areas of Trigg Co. have a lot of commercial hunting operations (and non-resident hunting leases) where despite good deer nutrition management, they simply have too much "trophy" buck hunting, resulting in too much antler high-grading of their best-antlered younger bucks. But then, that's much the problem anywhere in TN even without those commercial hunting operations.
For what it's worth or not, my opinion is any property bordering Ft. Campbell, either in TN or KY, has similar potential, as the big difference from the rest of either county is the bordering of Ft. Campbell, not the county.
In fact, I believe the manner in which deer have been managed on the expansive Ft. Campbell has made Montgomery Co., TN the #1 County in TN for "registry" bucks. But that does not mean you wouldn't have a better opportunity to produce higher scoring bucks on private land in Trigg Co., KY, especially if you were bordering Ft. Campbell, and NOT bordering some commercial hunting operation. I'd much prefer to be bordering neighbors with the "brown & down" mentality, as they generally don't high-grade the best antler genetics like most "managing" for "trophy" bucks.
Generally speaking, the #1 obstacle to producing top-end (highest scoring) mature bucks is the selected hunter-harvest criteria under which most intensely "managed" and commercial operations utilize in defining what is or is not a "shooter" buck. In many instances, the very best antlered 2 1/2 & 3 1/2-yr-old bucks are killed at a higher rate on intensely managed properties, than they are killed on the more average hunted tracts elsewhere in the same county.
Everything above was meant in the context of someone managing private acreage for top-end antlered mature bucks (5 1/2 yrs old or older). Unless your acreage were bordering Ft. Campbell, you would generally have better odds for any square mile (640 acres) in Trigg Co., KY than Montgomery Co., TN (where you're neighbors can rifle hunt twice as long and kill twice as many bucks, compared to your neighbors in KY).
Exceptions abound in both counties, and in both states.
But every exception we come up with does not change the generality
that most private properties are largely at the mercy of their neighbors
when it comes to top-end antlered buck management.
To the surprise of many, I believe TN's statewide deer management is generally superior for the majority of deer hunters than KY's. I might personally prefer something "in between" TN's long rifle 2-buck limit and KY's short rifle 1-buck limit, but otherwise prefer TN's current deer regs over KY's. Exception would be should TWRA declare my TN county a CWD-reg county. Those particular regs do more harm than CWD itself.
I agree Its not uncommon to see several deer a sit here across the line in Polk. Now the national forest is a different story.
I understand all your saying, however Trigg Co joins the worst deer hunting areas on FC. Montgomery Co joins some of the best, so that's not comparing apples to apples.
Honestly I'm not sure why the "trophy deer" numbers are not any better in Trigg than they are….. a couple reasons could be 1) not a lot of agriculture in parts of the county. 2) lots of small farms. 3) increasing number of Amish land owners.
My guess is that there are pockets of very good deer hunting. Off the subject but it always been same in Trigg with the turkey hunting, most every county joining it has better turkey hunting.
