Eastern Draw Hunts

[BluegrassBilly]

Thought I'd create a thread for those of us on the eastern half of the country who might be looking for opportunities this fall. Feel free to add your state's opportunities and dates.

Land Between the Lakes offers 170,000 acres of undeveloped hunting opportunity in western Kentucky and Tennessee. Deer applications due by the end of the month at https://lblquotahunt.hometracker.com/.

Kentucky quota hunt (deer, waterfowl, sand hill crane, pheasant) applications are open during the month of September at https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Quota-Hunts.aspx.

 

[TriStar Hunt]

Thank you for posting this information! I know we are beyond the TN Elk quota hunt application. Happy to talk to others about the additional TN quota hunts as well as the current opportunities in the state. I’m new to the state and happy to learn from everyone as well!!

 

[JohnCushman]

No one gives a shit about the Eastern half of the country

 

[LopeHunter]

Missouri has some deer hunts on draw that bundles access to public land. Deadline July 31.

Deer: Managed Hunts

Missouri offers over 100 managed deer hunts for archery, crossbow, muzzleloading, and modern firearms from mid-September through mid-January, including hunts for youth only and for people with disabilities. Hunters are selected by a weighted random drawing. The Managed Deer Hunt application...

huntfish.mdc.mo.gov

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Permits for special areas in NJ are available first come first serve in early Sept. This year's date is not issued yet. Some good hunts are available in the special areas, though there are tons of equally great opportunities in the regular areas too.
For all the faults NJ may have, I am grateful to have incredible deer hunting opportunity here for nearly 6 months out of the year. Contrary to what most may think, there is tons of public available as well. I think it's hard to find a state with higher deer densities and opportunity than NJ for whitetails. I don't know how most hunters across the country make it through a year only being able to hunt for a month or two. The withdrawal would be too much for me!
NJ F&W

 

[Zim]

I drew a few special hunts in Illinois but all past application deadline. My current state of Indiana has several public deer lottery hunts open now but they are not so great due to 3 months of crossgun pressure. Doubt I'll even apply this year.

 

[dgc1963]

No one gives a shit about the Eastern half of the country

NOW thats funny and I even live in Pa

 

[3855WIN]

Never been on this one, but it’s good.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

PRESIDENT ISLAND & ENSLEY UNIT WMA HUNT There were 10 bucks harvested during the President Island & Ensley Unit quota hunt held December 1-3. Antlered deer must be at least 9 points. Six of the...

www.facebook.com

 

[3855WIN]

Flooding has hurt this Arkansas NWR, but it is an amazing, vast big river swamp. Great experience.

Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge

Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established on September 5, 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the purpose to protect and conserve migratory birds and other wildlife resources.

www.fws.gov

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Never been on this one, but it’s good.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

PRESIDENT ISLAND & ENSLEY UNIT WMA HUNT There were 10 bucks harvested during the President Island & Ensley Unit quota hunt held December 1-3. Antlered deer must be at least 9 points. Six of the...

www.facebook.com

Some of those bucks are real studs - love the gnarly racks!

 

[3855WIN]

One day, I’ll jump through the hoops and hunt Ft Campbell.

Astounding Record-Class Fort Campbell Buck Killed by Vehicle

An astounding record-class whitetail buck estimated to be at least 7.5 years old with giant antlers was killed by a vehicle on Fort Campbell military base.

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

 

[TriStar Hunt]

Never been on this one, but it’s good.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

PRESIDENT ISLAND & ENSLEY UNIT WMA HUNT There were 10 bucks harvested during the President Island & Ensley Unit quota hunt held December 1-3. Antlered deer must be at least 9 points. Six of the...

www.facebook.com

It looks like such a cool hunt. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation has a raffle for seven prizes, one of which is this hunt. https://www.twrf.net/ Another prize is one of the eight elk tags in the state with a lot of gear thrown in for good measure. Still selling tickets.

 

[brushcreek]

Some of those bucks are real studs - love the gnarly racks!

I hunted the Ensley unit last year. No bucks harvested by any of the 30 permit hunters. Floods have knocked back the population and the Hunt is nowhere near what it used to be. 15- 20 years ago It was one of the best archery hunts in North America.

 

[LandPro]

I hunted ensley in 2015, my son killed a nice 2.5 yr old, 9 pt. It took around 9 pp for the tag. Maybe the herd will rebound when I draw again in 5-6 years.

 

[LandPro]

One day, I’ll jump through the hoops and hunt Ft Campbell.

Astounding Record-Class Fort Campbell Buck Killed by Vehicle

An astounding record-class whitetail buck estimated to be at least 7.5 years old with giant antlers was killed by a vehicle on Fort Campbell military base.

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

FTCKY is the premier public land whitetail in the SE. It's just tough for civilians to get a daily permit on a consistent basis for some of the better units.

 

[Old man bob]

No one gives a shit about the Eastern half of the country

That correct John, all Private land and mostly CARP..LOL............BOB!

 

[Old man bob]

I hunted ensley in 2015, my son killed a nice 2.5 yr old, 9 pt. It took around 9 pp for the tag. Maybe the herd will rebound when I draw again in 5-6 years.

You mean a 3x4? ...................BOB!

 

[BluegrassBilly]

One day, I’ll jump through the hoops and hunt Ft Campbell.

Astounding Record-Class Fort Campbell Buck Killed by Vehicle

An astounding record-class whitetail buck estimated to be at least 7.5 years old with giant antlers was killed by a vehicle on Fort Campbell military base.

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

One day, I’ll jump through the hoops and hunt Ft Campbell.

Astounding Record-Class Fort Campbell Buck Killed by Vehicle

An astounding record-class whitetail buck estimated to be at least 7.5 years old with giant antlers was killed by a vehicle on Fort Campbell military base.

www.deeranddeerhunting.com

In the 70s my great uncle was a cook on base and snuck a copy of the artillery schedule. He and my grandfather snuck onto the back side to, well, poach. Keep in mind this was when most folks hadn’t seen many deer in the wild.
Anyyway, they found out the artillery schedule was off when shells started falling all around them, so they high-tailed it out of there and lived to tell the tale.

 

[jmveverka]

I think nearly every state in the east has some public land draws. Not all of them are "great" hunts since the purpose of having a quota drawing is not to give hunters a chance at a trophy, but is instead intended to manage hunter numbers so that regardless of harvest you can have a pleasant day afield without too much competition. Virginia has quota hunts on some WMA's, state parks and refuges for deer, turkey and waterfowl. Also have some reservation hunts on state parks. The only hunt that offers a truly "quality deer" experience is the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Its a fully fenced facility with a resident deer population that has been managed under QDM for a lot of years. The hunt is managed jointly by the Army and Virginia DWR. The archery hunts can be drawn nearly every year, but takes a few years for the shotgun hunt. You also must participate in a doe only hunt first, before being eligible for a buck hunt. Deadline to apply is July 31. www.vaquotahunts.com

I would be interested to hear from others in the east about what the really good hunts that are part of your quota hunt systems. I am sure these are not secrets to those in-state, but for a non-resident that information is sometimes hard to come by. Georgia for instance has a ton of quota hunts and preference points are required for a bunch of them. Been applying for points for years to one day go down there to hunt when the schedule lines up, but when I do, I want the hunt that best balances harvest opportunity with trophy potential and I don't have a lot of information out on the internets to go by.

Throwing another one out, in Pennsylvania there is a lottery hunt for the Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area deer hunt. Like any hunt the quality has gone up and down over the years (decimated by EHD one year and the hunt was actually shut down for a time), but the best buck I have killed was killed just outside of the unit. This is a protected waterfowl propagation area with very limited access. The kicker is that there are no online applications (unless that changed in the last year). But if you are in Northwest PA or plan to be it is worth checking it out.

 

[nettereo16]

I scored a Maine moose permit for this fall