Tennessee Turkey Trip 2020

[.243 WSSM]

Will you have birds roosted for those arriving Friday night, Apr 3rd?

[TwoHighways]

Half the fun is getting out and finding your own birds to hunt. I’m debating where to hunt easterns this year. Part of me wants to go to western Missouri just to be close to Kansas if I tag out quickly, but those guys from the hunting public did very well in Tennessee last spring and not having to stop hunting at 1:00 PM is another plus. New Mexico is on the agenda as well. I’ve done well out there the last three springs. Decisions, decisions...

[TN_boy]

What part of TN? I got kinfolk in Murfreesboro

Knoxville is the closest city.

Flying into Nashville for cheap then driving 2.5 hours home.

[TN_boy]

Will you have birds roosted for those arriving Friday night, Apr 3rd?

Unfortunately No, I won't get into town until Saturday evening. But I could give you GPS coordinates of where to start.

After hunting the same areas for 20 years we have a pretty good idea where the birds will be. We don't roost them at night, that's like hunting over a feeder and takes the fun out of the hunt.

We'll drive in Sunday AM early and locate while driving down dirt roads in the area.

[Outback]

So you would start Sunday April 5. I can do that and look forward to chatting with you and making this work. Sounds like a blast. Curious what the closest Southwest Airlines friendly airport would be. I have points I could use. Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta? I suppose driving is an option but that's a LONG way!

Jayson

[TN_boy]

Southwest flies into Nashville. That's an easier drive that Atlanta. Driving sucks. I've done that more times that I care to count.

[TN_boy]

Trip is booked boys and girls. Jayson (Outback) and I will be meeting up in Nashville and driving to Knoxville on Saturday April 4th. It'll be balls to the wall Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs.

We will primarily be hunting the North Cumberland WMA. Public land 30 minute drive.
The North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area spans four counties: Scott, Anderson, Campbell and Morgan. Maintained by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the WMA consists of more than 140,000 acres in three units — the Royal Blue Unit, Sundquist Unit and New River Unit. It is a popular destination for ATV riders and hunters, and is home to one of the largest wild elk herds east of the Mississippi River.

With a backup plan to hit TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) land, comparable to USCOE land here. 20k acres within 30 minutes of us.

And, if it comes down to the last day, we will just go across the street from my parents house and tag one there on private.

[.243 WSSM]

Sounds like a great time. I was half joking about getting birds roosted Fri night for others. I never considered roosted is roasted while turkey hunting especially for Easterns. It's that easy to kill one if you have him roosted the night before? Opposite experience in northeast TX for me and rarely do they gobble in the evenings. Are atvs allowed on that wma during spring turkey? That would be frustrating to have one drive up while working a bird

[Outback]

Looking forward to it. I've only hunted Rio turkey in Llano. I know where they are and call them in from near their roost. It's not that hard to do. I'm looking forward to actually hunting them like they do on TV. I've got my TBH made slate call and both owl and crow locator calls. If Justin doesn't kill me running and gunning it will be a great memory! I'm hoping we can find a little home brew while we are in the heart of moonshine country.

[.243 WSSM]

Looking forward to it. I've only hunted Rio turkey in Llano. I know where they are and call them in from near their roost. It's not that hard to do. I'm looking forward to actually hunting them like they do on TV. I've got my TBH made slate call and both owl and crow locator calls. If Justin doesn't kill me running and gunning it will be a great memory! I'm hoping we can find a little home brew while we are in the heart of moonshine country.

Have you ever killed an Eastern on public land?

[TN_boy]

It's that easy to kill one if you have him roosted the night before? Opposite experience in northeast TX for me and rarely do they gobble in the evenings. Are atvs allowed on that wma during spring turkey?

They aren't that easy to kill, even if you do roost 'em. All depends on how horny he is and if he is with/around he's.
The fun is in finding them and playing cat and mouse.

Yes, quads, 4x4s, sedans, bicycles, hikers are all allowed on the 400+ miles of roads within the area. Animals see these everyday and they don't seem to be affected. I've deer hunted 10ft off the road before. They make for good travel routes when chasing birds and trying to circle them. Most places we tend to hunt you could walk for a mile or two before crossing one.

[.243 WSSM]

Cool. Man with all those roads so close together it sounds like it would be hard to find an area that hasn't been called to death if the roads are more or less 2 miles apart. How is hunting pressure in that area? I assume you would keep driving down the road to the next spot if a truck is parked where you want to go? I commonly see 3 or 4 trucks parked in one spot and they all end up working the same bird which is stupid and dangerous.

[TN_boy]

T-minus 7 days till we leave Texas.

[.243 WSSM]

Are yall still flying? I see Tennessee has exploded with cv19. I'm kind of surprised it's one of the higher states with it in the southeast

[Outback]

No. We are driving and staying at a hotel at this point but bringing camping gear just in case. Heading out early Saturday.

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