What are y’all seeing pressure wise for the public land hunter…

[ImThere]

I think in 25 + years of hunting Ca public land we had 1 run in with others. In 22 years of Tn public lands I've had 3. It's really not that bad. I appreciate the YouTubers running the deer to me! And in truth the run ins I've had were with others from Tn.

 

[Atchman2]

Not sure of why you guys don't like cameras. I have a POV camera on my crossbow that I turn on when I'm calling. It isn't any big deal and it doesn't intrude on anyone else. I have a friend that has a Tactacam on his bow. I really enjoy his videos!

 

[Hduke86]

Not sure of why you guys don't like cameras. I have a POV camera on my crossbow that I turn on when I'm calling. It isn't any big deal and it doesn't intrude on anyone else. I have a friend that has a Tactacam on his bow. I really enjoy his videos!

The problem isn't cameras, it's the dummies that go about it with the "kill at all cost" carrying the cameras. Having 2 or 3 people trying to make videos and running to the "action" which is a gobbling turkey on public land is the problem. I haven't ran into the camera crews but I have had my fair share of people doing the new cool fad of " owl hooting and coyote howl" by mouth at roads. Yes people have done that for a while but you can DEFINITELY tell where they get this new method from. I have no problem with doing that IF you check up the road a little ways to make sure the area is empty. If you see a vehicle then shut up screaming from the road and move on.

 

[BrokenArrow]

I'd be all for quota hunts and maybe some archery only areas around where I live. I think it would help in a lot of ways on the smaller WMA's.
Put a little more of a challenge in it and watch the group diminish a bit to those who are really into it for the real reason.
Don't get me wrong ...social media has its good points....I'm using one now...


Learning from one another and help those newbies get better at the "Game" ...but new challenges would separate the "Attention Wh%$ es" from the real sportsmen.

 

[EastTNHunter]

I only deer hunt, but the amount of pressure on the public lands that I hunt has increased drastically over the past few years. And the sloppiness and rudeness of many of them blows my mind. Some that I've met have been kind and cool, others are just sloppy jerks, with many being poachers

 

[Atchman2]

The problem isn't cameras, it's the dummies that go about it with the "kill at all cost" carrying the cameras. Having 2 or 3 people trying to make videos and running to the "action" which is a gobbling turkey on public land is the problem. I haven't ran into the camera crews but I have had my fair share of people doing the new cool fad of " owl hooting and coyote howl" by mouth at roads. Yes people have done that for a while but you can DEFINITELY tell where they get this new method from. I have no problem with doing that IF you check up the road a little ways to make sure the area is empty. If you see a vehicle then shut up screaming from the road and move on.

I get you. I hunt by myself and enjoy getting go look at the video when I have time. I send them to my friends in other states and they send me theirs.

 

[Urban_Hunter]

Guess some aren't as bad as others by reading these posts. I've been on Cordell, priest, and old hickory. I've been on 3 because I've been absolutely ran over with people. I think boat access only went from limiting the crowds due to inconvenience, to increasing the crowd due to a coolness factor or something. Old hickory and priest has an entire John boat navy that would put some countries to shame

 

[Roadracer6]

I've been hunting TN public Land for a while and can tell you it's going downhill fast. I've ran into more people this yr than ever before. Delaying the opening didn't stop people from other states as I've seen a bunch of them already. I hunt mainly middle TN around Nashville. I've also never seen as many people flying up and down on boats chasing gobbles its ridiculous. I'd say I see 2 boat hunters to every person walking in by foot. I agree with the comment above about some new "cool" factor.

 

[younggun308]

Yesterday was my first day on public (been busy) and I was surprised by how much better the pressure was than years past.

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

I've been hunting TN public Land for a while and can tell you it's going downhill fast. I've ran into more people this yr than ever before. Delaying the opening didn't stop people from other states as I've seen a bunch of them already. I hunt mainly middle TN around Nashville. I've also never seen as many people flying up and down on boats chasing gobbles its ridiculous. I'd say I see 2 boat hunters to every person walking in by foot. I agree with the comment above about some new "cool" factor.

Opening weekend was a bit crazy on places like Old Hickory WMA. Opening morning, I saw four different individuals dropping in Kayaks on one local creek that connected to a part of Old Hickory. I can only imagine what the foot access areas were like with a combination of foot and boat traffic on opening weekend. During the week was actually not bad though. Ran into one other hunter in three days of hunting parts of Old Hickory this past week. Working this weekend, so I have no idea what this weekend has been like there.

 

[woodsman04]

Guess some aren't as bad as others by reading these posts. I've been on Cordell, priest, and old hickory. I've been on 3 because I've been absolutely ran over with people. I think boat access only went from limiting the crowds due to inconvenience, to increasing the crowd due to a coolness factor or something. Old hickory and priest has an entire John boat navy that would put some countries to shame

Boats definitely add to the coolness factor. We have a lot of the left over duck dynasty recruits

 

[ImThere]

Surprised at the please take more hunting opportunities from me so the wma isn't as crowded answers!?!?

 

[Atchman2]

I've been hunting TN public Land for a while and can tell you it's going downhill fast. I've ran into more people this yr than ever before. Delaying the opening didn't stop people from other states as I've seen a bunch of them already. I hunt mainly middle TN around Nashville. I've also never seen as many people flying up and down on boats chasing gobbles its ridiculous. I'd say I see 2 boat hunters to every person walking in by foot. I agree with the comment above about some new "cool" factor.

I think the rise in WMA hunting is from two things. The first thing is that so many people post their land and do not allow hunting. In the good old days, most people didn't care. Now it is SO hard to get permission to hunt. I've seen people with a dozen deer in their yard-no hunting allowed. They don't realize that their property is out of balance. It is even hard to find a place to hunt squirrels! That used to be the big thing when I was a kid. I LOVED the first day of squirrel season!

The second thing is the rise of the hunting lease and paying to hunt. It is becoming a rich man's game in many ways. Now not only do you have to have all of the stuff to hunt, you need to have several hundred more dollars to get on a lease. I've paid to hunt a few times and don't object to it, but then again I am old and have money. The young me could never have afforded to do that.

You may even throw a little shade on all of the articles on public land hunting and television shows. There used to be a few shows that were only filmed on public land.

What I would like to see in Tennessee is a "Walk In" property system like in Kansas. It works out there, and the landowner gets some compensation for doing it, even if it is just a tax write off.

So my advice is that you will just have to tolerate the antics on public land or pay or get permission to be on private land. Let's also hope that forums like this one will educate people on how to act when they are around other hunters.

 

[th88]

I think boat access only went from limiting the crowds due to inconvenience, to increasing the crowd due to a coolness factor or something. Old hickory and priest has an entire John boat navy that would put some countries to shame

Popular YouTubers started doing it, even in TN. There's your answer. Was some PHENOMENAL boat in only public land hunting in TN til a few spoiled it for all.