THE BEST MANAGEMENT HUNTS FROM 2006
Looking at the harvest figures from last season, you can easily see which ones produce the greatest numbers. Fort Campbell was back on top with 693 deer harvested in the Volunteer State. LBL was a not so distant second with 617 deer tagged, followed closely by Tennessee NWR (the 2005 leader) with 615 deer killed. AEDC was next with a total deer harvest of 483 whitetails, and AEDC was fifth with 469 deer harvested during 2006 hunts.

When it comes to harvesting bucks, Fort Campbell produced 520 overall in both Tennessee and Kentucky. The breakdown of how many came on this side of the border wasn’t available. LBL produced 338 antlered deer, and Chuck Swan had a respectable take of 244 bucks. Catoosa was just as strong with 242 bucks tagged, and Eagle Creek saw 202 bucks harvested. You can look at the total deer harvests by clicking the Big Game Harvest link on the TWRA Web site at www.tnwildlife.org.

Taking a peek at the odds, here are percentages found at some of the more productive draw hunts. The first November gun hunt at Yuchi Refuge saw 64 percent of the hunters participating harvesting a deer (32 out of 50). At the Tennessee NWR, the first gun hunt in October had 39.8 percent of hunters taking deer (199 out of 500). The November gun hunt there was also good with 32.6 percent of hunters harvesting deer (163 out of 500 hunters).

At Presidents Island, 30 percent of the hunters drawn on the December archery hunt harvested deer (nine out of 30 hunters). Also, 23.4 percent of hunters took deer on the November gun hunt at Oak Ridge (117 out of 500). Oak Ridge hunters also had a success rate of 22.8 percent on the first December deer hunt (114 out of 500). The Hatchie NWR had a 27.3 percent success rate on the November gun hunt (68 out of 250). Last and most impressive was the November gun hunt at Cross Creeks Refuge with a harvest of 78 percent (78 out of 100 hunters).

REGION-BY-REGION ADVICE
Region I
Region I TWRA biologist Alan Peterson said Presidents Island is clearly the best chance for a great big buck and the hunt of a lifetime in his region. It not only stands far above the WMAs in Region I, it’s the most highly sought draw hunt in Tennessee. However, just as obviously everyone knows, thousands apply for just 80 spots. Thus, the chances of taking a big buck are really good if you are drawn, but the chances of being drawn are minuscule.

The WMA that Peterson points to as one to keep an eye on in 2007 is also one of the best of all time. Peterson said he thinks LBL has been underutilized in recent years. He said the area doesn’t get the huge numbers of East Tennessee hunters that it used to.

If he had to pick a WMA to be drawn at personally? As you’d guess, Peterson said Presidents Island would be his choice. However, since that option would only allow him to hunt once every 20 or 30 years, Peterson would consider some of the Kentucky Lake federal refuges (Tennessee National -- any unit, or Cross Creeks) if his main concern was the chance to take a deer. He said they take many deer on those refuges. For big bucks, he would look at WMAs and refuges along the Mississippi River like the Lower Hatchie NWR, Chickasaw NWR, John Tully WMA, Moss Island WMA or Ernest Rice WMA.

Region II
Russ Skoglund, one of the deer biologists working out of Region II, said most Region II WMAs are showing signs of harvesting better bucks due to the low buck bag. As for any one WMA standing out among the rest in the region, he said specifically Laurel Hill WMA is seeing some very nice deer since they have a spike or 9-point or better regulation.

Deer harvest numbers at the Region II WMAs are relatively constant, and Skoglund said the ratio of older age class bucks is increasing. There are plenty of choices for taking bucks as well as just a chance to put deer meat in the freezer, but his picks for optimum success would be Cheatham and AEDC WMAs.