The Volunteer State has nearly 100 wildlife management areas (WMAs), so it's a safe bet that you live within easy driving distance of more than one or two that offer some decent, and possibly downright good, deer hunting.

Let's take a look at some viable primitive-weapon public-hunting options all away across the state from a mixture of open hunts to draw hunts. If you've been drawn for a quota WMA hunt this year, this look should offer some help; if you haven't, we'll look at some non-draw primitive weapon options as well.

It's definitely time to weigh your primitive options for Tennessee whitetails. If you bowhunt or are a blackpowder enthusiast, these seasons give you more hunting time in the deer woods. Taking a buck with a bow is a challenge, and even killing a doe is rewarding to anyone with a couple of favorite venison recipes. And the challenge of harvesting either with a muzzleloader is often as rewarding.

We'll take a look at some notable public-land hunts, starting from Region I in the western part of the state and working our way east. Regardless of where you live in the Volunteer State, there is a WMA nearby, and almost all of them feature some type of primitive weapon hunting.

REGION I
Presidents Island
There's no doubt in anyone's mind this is the best public bowhunt for trophy whitetails in the state -- maybe even in the country. It takes years of patience and years of building up priority without getting drawn to get one of the coveted spots at Presidents Island. Even with the slim odds, there are thousands of hunters who put in each season for this opportunity to harvest a big buck.

You just can't overlook mentioning the state's top trophy destination and most highly sought big-deer draw hunt. Presidents Island WMA only produces a handful of bucks with 9 and 10 points each season and few more with 11 or more points harvested to boot, but they are all world-class takings.

Presidents Island is obviously the top bowhunt around. What specifically makes it that way is the deer found there. They have absolute protection, and the soils are rich, which grow big antlers. The island is off-limits to everybody but the farmers that farm it.

The first bowhunt usually happens the third weekend in October with a quota of 100 hunters. On this first three-day hunt, participants are allowed two deer, but the harvest is limited to antlerless deer or spike bucks. The second three-day hunt occurs the next weekend and features the same quota and limits. The last three-day archery hunt is held the first weekend of December with a 50-hunter quota on the main WMA and an additional 30-hunter quota on the Ensley Unit.

This final hunt, which is the trophy hunt for the year, allows hunters to harvest one deer of either sex on the main unit, but bucks must have at least 9 antler points, and the points must be 1 inch or longer. Hunters drawn for the Ensley Unit can harvest one deer, buck only. Access to the Ensley Unit is permitted from Shelby Drive only. Scout days for the hunts occur one day before the hunt.

Federal Lands
There's plenty of primitive weapon hunting to be done at two renowned federal land opportunities in Tennessee: Land Between The Lakes (LBL) and Fort Campbell's military installation.