need help w/ turkey hunt in KS or TN in may

[stringtown]

going to texas may 6th and hunting 7th/8th and maybe 9th and then heading home. would like to hunt somewhere else that week on the way back to MS or i'll just be sitting around my house rest of my vacation week since our season is closed. my only options b/c of season dates are KS and TN b/c oklahoma/missouri/kentucky all shut down before i leave texas.

running low on cash though so trying to find something affordable - have hunted walk- in land before in kansas a few yrs ago and killed a bird but took a couple of days to find some good turkey hunting and don't have but 1.5-2 days to hunt before having to come back.  Really don't have any experience hunting TN outside of one hunt w/ a buddy in college 10yrs ago.

any advice on some public areas or even some affordable DIY hunts would be appreciated.

thanks

[tnturkeyman28]

I'm not sure where at in TN you will be wanting to hunt but there are some AWESOME public hunting in middle and west TN.

[stringtown]

well, ill be driving back from texas so the further west the better but central would be ok too.  are they wma/state parks or national forest type lands?

thanks

[tnturkeyman28]

WMA land is all over west and middle Tenn. and I believe there are also public hunting land as well In west Tn.

[stringtown]

appreciate it - will do some research

[flydowntn]

There is TVA public hunting in west tn. Its on the south east of pickwick lake. Its about 5,000 acres of hardwoods. I have a map if you want to pm me I can send it to you in an email.
Shane

[beech river game calls]

I would highly reccomend contacting Zach Will of Kansas Big Game Pursuits //http://www.ksbiggamepursuits.com/ . We just returned from there from an opening weekend bow hunt and did very well. I am not sure how much you are planning to spend, but he is the cheapest around on fully guides hunts. I won't make any garuntee's, but if you only have a couple days to hunt you will have a very good chance at killing a bird there. One afternoon we counted over 50 birds in one group with 10 strutters and another 10 longbeards. We live in Kentucky and drive to Kansas to hunt becuase it is cheaper even with the longer drive considering the rediculous prices on TN non-resident license. Tell him Steven Yaste of Beech River Game Calls sent you and he may work with you on dates. 

[stringtown]

thanks, and i will look into it.  just checked the tn website about their licesnses/permits and you are correct - way too expensive - basically just down to kansas at this point.  low on cash so need something pretty cheap or might just do public land again.  thanks for the help.

[stringtown]

looks like if i do end up extending my trip it will be to ks after looking at the pricing for a license/permit b/w tn and ks.  just can't decide whether or not i can afford to pay someone to hunt some private land or will have enough time to scout the public land.  thanks for the help and i'll post some pics hopefully if i end up going.

[beech river game calls]

I have hunted some public walk in ground in Washinton Kansas that is pretty good if that is the direction that you end going. I used to do the same thing running around trying to hunt public ground with only two to three days hunt to try and save money, but I soon realized that my success rate was so low that it was almost a waste of money buying tags and licence. Now if I only have a couple days to hunt I will not go without at least being semi guided. Either way you go hopefully you will be able to tag some birds. Good luck.

[stringtown]

does anyone know anything about the mind land? any turkeys, pressure, places nearby to stay, places to eat?

talked to a biologist today for that area and he said they were down to probably 20% of the population from where they were 10 yrs ago in that part of the state.  making me lean towards paying a little more to hunt public land but just wish i could find something in that SE part of the state b/c of gas prices.

thanks