Howdy Y'all. Well bow season I upon me here in Tennessee and so far I haven't had much luck. I've been hunting several times and still don't have a deer down yet. I got skunked for the season last year and am trying not to let that happen again.
My first hunt was the weekend of Sept. 20-22, the week before archery season opens here. It was a draw hunt at Prentice Cooper WMA and several of my friends and I were drawn for it. Here's how my weekend went:
I got to camp around 2 pm(central) and Sam called me. I talked to him and to the guys set up next to us. I started unloading the car and setting my tent up. I got all of that done and Sam arrived and help me set up the canopy and I helped him set up his tent. Like he said, we sat around and shot the breeze with our neighbors and waited for Joe and Jason. They got there and we helped them unload. I had a few beers so I went to bed around 10:30 or 11.
Sat. AM.
Joe and Sam got up and tried to wake me up. I told Joe I was good and that I had a plan. He said ok and him and Sam talked some smack about me being sleeping beauty (lol), left and I went back to sleep.
I got up about 7 and headed to where I was planning on hunting. My plan was to hunt the bottom, towards the river, and get the deer that were scattered from the top by the traffic. I was not the only one with this idea as there were about 10-12 vehicles on the river road. But this wasn't a problem so I went down to a spot I had been told about, parked and started climbing. I got to the shelf I wanted to hunt and set up.
I wasn't there long and heard something coming through the woods. My thoughts were a deer or another hunter. Well I was wrong on both counts. It was turkeys, about 5-6 of them and they were very nice ones. There were a couple of toms and three hens and a jake I think. The two toms were very nice. One had a double beard and they looked to be about 9" long and the other one had one about the same length. After that, I came out and went back to camp. I was getting hungry so it was lunch time.
Sat. PM.
I went to a spot where we had turkey hunted in April and checked it out. Another hunter was there but he was hunting the other side of the road so I went and set up on a creek bed. I sat there for a couple of hours and heard a vehicle pull up and stop. I few minutes later, two guys came walking past me talking and waving. Well, after that, my day was done.I went back to camp and waited on the guys to come back and we went to get supper. I had a few beers and went to bed around 11 or so again.
Sun.
In the morning I got up around 7 again and went back to the river. I had two does go across the road in front of me and saw some more turkeys. I hunted a couple of different spots with no luck and went back to camp.
That afternoon, I rode out with Jason and we checked down a jeep trail. We thought it looked pretty good so we did a quick set on opposite sides of the road. My first spot wasn't all that great so I moved over and found a nice draw with some select cuts. The draw had three funnels and looked real good but nothing was moving.
I thought I heard Jason come out so I went back to the truck. He wasn't there so I sat down and waited. It turned out there were two guys who had hiked in down an old logging road. They didn't have a clue where they were at. While I was talking to them, Jason came back. We offered them a ride, they refused, and we left. We went where Jason wanted to hunt Mon. and it was the two fields Sam and I hunted in April that I had been looking for.
Jason set up in one field where Sam had told him to set up and I put my blind up in the back corner of the other field.
We went back to camp and waited on the others, ate and went to bed late.
Mon.
I didn't get up and neither did Jason. When we did get up, we rode out and got his stand and my blind, came back and started taking down camp. I came home with fond memories of a great time camping, meeting new people, and spending time with some very good friends. I look forward to the next trip I have with them and hope we all have better luck next time as far as bringing home some meat.
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