Young Hunters Harvest 100 Deer During Juvenile Hunt

Young hunters harvested 100 deer in DeKalb County Saturday and Sunday during the Juvenile Hunt.
TWRA Officer Tony Cross says a lot of hunters took advantage of the Young Sportsman Hunt.” The kids had a pretty good weekend. They harvested exactly 100 deer in DeKalb County over those two days. Our total harvest for the first segment of the archery season, prior to that (juvenile hunt), was 99 so we’ve taken right at 200 deer now.”
Meanwhile, the second segment of the archery season began Monday, October 27th and runs through Friday, October 31st.
The first segment of Tennessee’s Muzzleloader/Archery Deer Season opens on Saturday, Nov. 1 and goes through Sunday, November 9th in all three of Tennessee’s deer hunting units, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
The statewide bag limit for antlered bucks is three. Hunters are also allowed to take up to four antlerless deer in Unit-A (DeKalb County) during this segment of the muzzleloader season.
TWRA Officer Cross says if you haven’t already harvested your limit, you may take up to three bucks during this hunt. “You are allowed to harvest all three of your bucks (limit) with a muzzleloader, if you want to. If you haven’t taken any bucks with a bow yet, you can harvest all three bucks with a muzzleloader. Of course, that would prohibit you from being able to take any with a gun because the year long statewide limit is three bucks. The antlerless bag limit for the muzzleloader segment is a total of four deer.”
“There’s two different muzzleloader segments, November 1st-9th and December 8th-14th. You are allowed a total of four antlerless deer for those two weeks. So if you harvested one during this first segment, you would still have three remaining in the second segment, or two and two, or three and one, or you could take all four of them during this first segment, but you wouldn’t be able to harvest any doe or antlerless deer in the second segment. Just remember that there’s a three buck bag limit for the entire year. If you want to harvest all three during the muzzleloader season, then that is legal. However, the stipulation that you may only harvest one buck per day is still in effect. So even if you do take them all with a muzzleloader, you can still only harvest one buck per day.”
Muzzleloading firearms of .40 caliber minimum plus long bows, compound bows and crossbows are legal hunting equipment for this season.
Resident hunters ages 16 through 64 must possess, in addition to other appropriate licenses, an annual big game license for the equipment used. Lifetime Sportsman license, Junior Hunt/Trap/Fish, Adult Sportsman license and Permanent Senior Citizens license holders are not required to purchase supplemental big game licenses.
In addition to private lands, including public hunting areas, several wildlife management areas (WMAs) will be open to hunters during this muzzleloader season. Hunters need to refer to the 2008 Hunting and Trapping Guide for a listing of these WMAs or go on line to TWRA’s Web site at www.tnwildlife.org.
Meanwhile, Officer Cross says you still have a chance to purchase left over permits for the fall turkey hunt, which begins November 15th. “On Wednesday, October 29th the left over permits for the fall turkey hunts will go on sale, beginning at 8:00 a.m. DeKalb County had 112 left over permits for the hunt. You can either go on line and complete your application. If you have a sportsman’s license or a lifetime sportsman’s license, it’s free. It doesn’t cost you anything. If you have just a regular hunting and fishing license and a big game stamp, it’s still a $20 permit fee. You can also go to a license agent that has the REAL system machine and they can apply for you too.”