Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting NE Tenn or SW Virginia for public land deer?

There's a chance I might be making a move to either NE TN or SW VA. I'm just beginning my research into towns and public land hunting opportunities close to them. I'm trying to decide which state to move to and the deer and turkey hunting will play into that decision. What I'm turning up so far is those mountains have a lot of mature timber and are not known for either high deer densities or large bucks but I'd like to hear from some of the locals as to what to expect. PM if you prefer and thanks in advance.

Low deer and turkey numbers, at least compared to what I'm used to (NW Pa) - but there are some big deer, mainly because they actually get a chance to age. In either area you mention, be prepared to hike. My normal deal is walk 1-2 miles, climb 1-2000 feet. It's eastern "elk" hunting.

Ideally you can find logged or mining areas to add a bit of diversity in the sea of trees. In E TN, every flat green spot in Campbell, Scott, Claiborne counties has elk on them. Some years I've seen more elk than deer. I've only managed to kill a couple big bucks since moving to TN but am a bit relaxed about it. I concentrate my time and effort on elk in the west and deer in PA. Hunting in E TN is a bit more casual for me. I really like hunting in the mountains and will spend more time doing it when I retire in a couple years.

Jefferson National Forest in SW Virgina. More land than you'll ever be able to hunt but it is tough hunting. I've hunted National Forest that you had to have permission from private land owners to get to and it was ate up with game, but mostly because of the farm land adjacent to it.

JNF in Virginia, if one doesn't mind hiking in a ways there are big deer that know most of todays hunters won't put in the effort required. But there are monsters killed every year deep inside the NF there.

I am noticing more and more deer in upper east Tenn as well.
Seems like the last two years the population has grown immensely there.

Don’t know if employment is an issue for you, but if you’re retired, or otherwise free from that constraint also look into West Virginia. We’re pretty free here, and unlike VA, the state’s not run by big-city Dems and suburbanites.

If you bowhunt, there are four counties around Charleston that are archery-only, no crossbows allowed, and the deer there grow some seriously impressive racks. There are also true wild boars there, not ferals, and significant numbers of bears. Elsewhere in the state, deer limits are generous, and there are no draws, everything is OTC. No huntable elk yet, but they’re working on it, and the adjoining states have seasons now.

I live in SW Virginia (for now) and hunting is better here but Tennessee is the much better state to live, no income tax and and not run by a bunch of East coast dumbass liberals, My advice would be to stay well away from Virginia politics as it is a freaking joke!....Good luck...Hb