THR Members in/near Knoxville, TN

[Chancy]

Hi,
I recently moved to Knoxville, TN. How are the hunting opportunities around here?
Thanks.

 

[22-rimfire]

There are several wildlife management areas north of you. Lots of good deer taken at Oak Ridge. I would suggest you look at the state summary by county for deer hunting kills to give you an idea where most of the deer are in the state at the TWRA website. The deer herd is increasing statewide, but noticeably in East TN as defined by everything east of the Appalachian front or the big mountain that you hit going west toward Nashville or Cookeville on I-40. There didn't use to be many deer at all in East TN. That's changing.

Finding a place to hunt can be challenging. I would suggest you join a club that has some land leased to make life a lot easier on you.

 

[LibShooter]

I'm not a hunter, but I want to share a couple of good gun stores with indoor ranges:

Coal Creek Armory off Lovell Road. http://www.coalcreekarmory.com

Gunnys in Maryville. http://www.thegunny.com/

Welcome to town!

 

[Major Kong]

22-rimfire is right on about the hunting.

I'd respectfully disagree about Coal Creek. Their customer service sucks and their prices are higher than just about anyone around.

Frontier Firearms is just a few miles west on I-40, has better customer service and is opening an indoor range in the spring.

Gunny's has a good range, but they just came under new management and have changed their operating hours. I'd call before you go (the website wasn't correct as of last week).

Also look into ORSA (Oak Ridge Sportsmans Association). They have a great range complex including bench, plinking, long range, archery and indoor pistol. They also host IDPA and do lots of trap/skeet.

 

[SafeGuy]

22-rimfire is right on about the hunting.

I'd respectfully disagree about Coal Creek. Their customer service sucks and their prices are higher than just about anyone around.

Frontier Firearms is just a few miles west on I-40, has better customer service and is opening an indoor range in the spring.

Gunny's has a good range, but they just came under new management and have changed their operating hours. I'd call before you go (the website wasn't correct as of last week).

Also look into ORSA (Oak Ridge Sportsmans Association). They have a great range complex including bench, plinking, long range, archery and indoor pistol. They also host IDPA and do lots of trap/skeet.

I know the owners of both Coal Creek (Jonathan Pirkle) and Frontier Firearms (Brant Williams) and would consider both of them to be reputable people to deal with. I'm about 5 miles away from Frontier. ORSA is members only.

As for hunting in this area, it depends on what you're hunting. Oak Ridge isn't an open WMA in the same respect as others in the area. There are several WMA's in the area that are open including the largest, Catoosa WMA, which is about 40 miles west of Knoxville. We're talking everything from small game to deer on this one, but big game hunts are by quota just like Oak Ridge. You also have WMA's in Tellico and the Cherokee National Forest that are about the same distance.

Maybe this will help. http://www.state.tn.us/twra/

 

[9teenEleven]

I am in knoxville. Depends on what you are hunting. I like the foothills WMA because it is quiet and bigish. However, I've tracked plenty of deer there, but seem few and the terrain is VERY rough and steep. I happen to like this. Most don't, which is why it is quiet. There is ok turkey hunting there and decent bear hunting, except no dogs are allowed.
You should consider putting in for some of the quota hunts. Applications are currently being accepted for quota turkey hunts at the chuck swan WMA.
Most people that hunt the WMAs hunt Royal Blue and Sundquist. They are about 35 mins north of Knoxville right of I-75. There is good hunting there (be careful, there are lots of elk there), but don't be the person who parks, walks 100 yards, then complains about lack of hunting. R.B. and Sundquist are popular, so you have to put you scout hours in, and get away from the roads.
Catoosa is so-so. I was driving past it last week and almost hit a deer. It is a further drive than the others I've listed, and tends to be a little colder since you are up on the plateau.

For ranges, steer clear of Coal Creek. Gunnys in Maryville is tolerable. If you live in the area, consider a membership to Oak Ridge Sportsman's Association (ORSA). If you want info on it, PM me.

 

[SafeGuy]

I'm familiar with Royal Blue, but Sundquist is a new one on me. Did they rename another area or come up with a new one?

 

[9teenEleven]

Yes, Sundquist is really part of what people call royal blue. Technically the whole thing is called the North Cumberland WMA. Sundquist is the eastern most part of the area, and the southwest part (which I think used to be called "new river").

 

[Erik M]

Come up across the ky state line, we now have a yearly elk season and a draw for black bear in harlan and leslie counties. Our whitetail are definelty overpopulated. Lots of bucks taken every year.

 

[9teenEleven]

Anywhere in particular you would recommend Erik?

 

[22-rimfire]

For Black Bear, hunt Pine Mt in the area of Kingdom Come SP (Cumberland area). Seems to be a focus point for bears. They hang out around the park. Black Mountain would might also be a good choice. You will need to get permission as most of the land is owned by mining companies on Black and general ownership on Pine Mt.

 

[Erik M]

22 nailed it. My old stomping grounds. I have bears tearing out my garbage now. I have also seen elk, or as how they are known im my family a 'kentucky moose' crossing the roads here.

 

[22-rimfire]

If you would hunt that area, I would suggest you do it with a local person. Turkey hunting can be very good. Deer tend to be concentrated in a couple of areas in that part of KY. There tend to be more deer in Bell County. There are things to learn if you hang out in Eastern KY. It isn't like many other parts of the country. It can be a bit unfriendly to outsiders in some areas. You're better off hunting deer in Western KY.

 

[Chancy]

Thank you for all your responses. I appreciate the feedback. Please keep your posts coming.