Tennessee public

[Big Pine]

Hey everybody, I am going to try and make my first trip out of Alabama to hunt turkeys this year, and am strongly leaning toward Tennessee. Anybody here willing to offer their experiences on Tennessee public land good or bad? Also very interested in Kentucky. Thanks everybody

[catman529]

Start doing some homework... there's a ton of public land across the state. Turkey numbers and hunting pressure vary quite a bit. Generally the more birds there are, the worse the pressure is. I'd look for somewhere that has decent harvest numbers, not too high, not too close to a big city. You can look up harvest numbers by county or WMA.


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[The Southpaw]

I've hunted all over the state. Like mentioned above, the more birds there are, the more pressure there is. I could not get away from people last year in the place that I hunted, but was still able to find success due to the sheer number of gobblers. With that being said, I will not be returning to that part of the state this season.

[rakkin6]

Land Between the Lakes is pretty good for birds. But it does get some pressure. If you don't mind walking a little off the beaten path you can find them. I grew up near Catoosa and there are birds there but it is pretty rough terrain steep hills and a lot of bluffs. And I hunted Oak Ridge quite a few times with quite a bit of luck (helps that two of my uncles and aunt work security there and drive around it all the time so they tell me where they see deer and turkey) but Oak Ridge is shut down this year because of the Wuhan Virus since it is D.O.E controlled

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[Remington700]

I hunt TN public with good success. Last year was great because I was off work due to Covid. I think a few things helped. Walk a ways in away from others. If you can go mid week when others are working, it helps. Do your homework like said above. I live in west TN and we have a fair amount of birds. I believe Mid and East have higher kill numbers.

[Big Pine]

Thank you guys for all of the helpful info. I have hunted the Alabama river swamp my whole life, and while I love hunting these turkeys, I am looking forward to a change of scenery and the challenge of hunting some different terrain

[catman529]

Thank you guys for all of the helpful info. I have hunted the Alabama river swamp my whole life, and while I love hunting these turkeys, I am looking forward to a change of scenery and the challenge of hunting some different terrain

Better get in shape if you're hunting the hills, they'll whoop you if you aren't used to it. But I love nothing more than calling a gobbler up a hardwood ridge. It's hard to beat


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[deerhunt1988]

If you head to the WMAs with the highest kill numbers, be sure to bring a kevlar vest. Don't worry about beating anyone to a gate, because they will still park right by you and come in on you.

If you have a boat, look into the WMAs and other public lands around the lakes. The YouTubers let that secret out of the bag this past spring. Take that boat up there and get in on it while its good!

[deerhunt1988]

Here are a few of the WMAs around lakes that had STELLAR seasons last year. A few have had quite the turkey booms the past few years. Still will have another season or two left of good hunting before they get absolutely overrun with hunters.

Old Hickory - 63 toms on 6000 acres. Simply incredible.
Percy Priest - 83 toms on 11000 acres.
Tellico Lake - 38 toms on 8000 acres.

[catman529]

Here are a few of the WMAs around lakes that had STELLAR seasons last year. A few have had quite the turkey booms the past few years. Still will have another season or two left of good hunting before they get absolutely overrun with hunters.

Old Hickory - 63 toms on 6000 acres. Simply incredible.
Percy Priest - 83 toms on 11000 acres.
Tellico Lake - 38 toms on 8000 acres.

Percy priest has been overrun with hunters for years. Last year with covid and the amount of fishermen on top of hunters it was insane, I stopped by there one day just to check it out. From what I've heard old hickory is not far behind in turkey hunting pressure. Both lakes are in highly populated areas and we have a lot of hunters here in the city.


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[Big Pine]

I do have a boat that is set up to hunt out of, so areas with boat access only land definitely interest me. I live close to the mobile tensaw delta in south Alabama, and due to gate closures and high waters getting in by boat is the only way to get beyond the crowds. Again, thank you guys so much for the information. I am a turkey hunting freak as well as an ER nurse, so I have spent the majority of my time since March 26 last year in an emergency room wrapped up in PPE and had to miss a lot of days in the woods in 2020. I have been daydreaming about turkey season everyday and can't wait to explore some new ground this year, I'm sure I will meet some great new people along the way as well, just as I have on this forum

[shatcher]

I'd avoid anything within an hour of Nashville until folks go back to work.

[GobbleNut]

As a long-distance nonresident, I have only hunted TN one time, and that was several years ago.  Three of us hunted a week on several of the WMA's in the central part of the state.  We went where we hunted because of "cousin of a friend" connections,...and that cousin wasn't a turkey hunter.  ...Big Mistake!

My lasting impression is that I was shocked at how much great looking turkey habitat there was that held so few turkeys, as far as we could tell. We heard very few birds and saw very little sign indicating they were there.  The few gobblers we did find, most of those birds had folks already on them. 

So, my takeaway for a nonresident that is not familiar with hunting there and will not have lots of time to scout and/or hunt, try very hard to find someone who can give you "insider" info on where to start.  Unless you are very lucky and happen to stumble into a turkey hotspot on public land there, you may well find yourself in the same spot we were,...saying "Where the hell are all the turkeys that TN is supposed to have?"     

[Fullfan]

I have hunted SE Missouri for the Past 28 years, Hunted Tenn several years back. Tenn is what Mo was 20 years ago. Lots of birds..

[Nathan_Wiles]

I grew up in middle TN. in the 80's there were no turkeys there. I know because my FFA chapter as well as others were there when the boxes were opened as the turkeys were restocked/released. I finally saw a WILD turkey there in the early 90's when I was back visiting my folks and went for a stroll on the old farm place I hunted as a kid. It was a lone gobbler and I watched him fly across a holler.
Spectacular sight. Fast forward to the early 2000's and I watched a big gobbler strutting with hens and jakes in the orchard behind my parents house with my daughters.
I've never hunted turkeys in TN but I know what the woods are like without turkeys. I prefer having turkeys.
Like others have said and from discussing with my family and old friends a boat to access from the lake is still standard procedure hunting there as it was when I was a kid. We hunted deer and squirrels from a boat. The you tube guys didn't come up with that we were doing it in the 80's and we learned it from the old guys who started it as soon as the lakes were flooded by the Corp. Of Eng.

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