Deer Seasons & Bag Limits
Tennessee
Hunting
| Deer Seasons and Bag Limits | |||||||||
| Antlered Deer: Male or female deer with at least one (1) antler that is a minimum of three (3) inches in length. Antlerless Deer: Male or female deer with no antlers or with antlers that are less than three (3) inches in length. Antlerless deer hunters may harvest up to the unit antlerless bag limit in each unit. Moving to a different county within the same deer hunting unit does not increase the hunter’s bag limit. | Archery equipment is legal during muzzleloader and gun seasons, muzzleloading equipment is legal during gun season. Statewide Bag Limit: Two (2) antlered deer (one per day, not to exceed 2 for the license year). The statewide bag limit of two (2) antlered deer may be exceeded if taken as a bonus deer, if taken under the Earn-A-Buck Program in Unit CWD (see CWD in Tennessee), or if taken as a Replacement Buck (see CWD in Tennessee). | ||||||||
| Season Type | Season Dates | Antlerless Bag Limits | |||||||
| Units A, B, C and D | Unit L | Unit CWD | Unit A | Unit B | Unit C | Unit D | Unit L | Unit CWD | |
| August1 | Aug. 28 – 30 | Closed | |||||||
| Archery (A) | Sept. 26 – Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 – 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3/day | |||
| Young Sportsman2 (G/M/A) | Oct. 31 – Nov. 1 and Jan. 9 – 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3/day | |||
| Muzzleloader/Archery (M/A) | Nov. 7 – 20 | none3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3/day | ||
| Gun/Muzzleloader/Archery (G/M/A)4 | Nov. 21 – Jan. 3 | Nov. 7 – Jan. 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 (Nov. 21 – Dec. 6 only) | 1 (Nov. 21 – 27 only) | 3/day | ||
| Private Lands Only5 (G/M/A)4 | Closed | Jan. 4 – 8 | Closed | 3/day | |||||
| 1 Private lands only and archery only, except in Unit CWD where guns and muzzleloaders are allowed and select public lands are additionally open for hunting. See Region 1 WMA regulations to see which public lands are open during this hunt. Fluorescent orange required in Unit CWD. 2 Youths 6-16 years of age may participate. Participating youth can use gun, muzzleloader, and archery equipment (G/M/A). Young sportsmen must be accompanied by a nonhunting adult, 21 years of age or older, who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device and who must also comply with fluorescent orange regulations, as specified for legal hunters. Multiple youths may be accompanied by a single qualifying adult Antlerless bag limits for Units A, B, C and D are not to exceed a total of 2 antlerless deer for the four days combined. 3 Unit CWD begins gun season (G/M/A) on Nov. 7 and therefore does not have a muzzleloader only (M/A) season. 4 A Type 094 permit is required to hunt antlerless deer during this season except for landowners hunting under the landowner exemption (as described in T.C.A. 70-2-204) and Sportsman License holders. A Type 094 permit is required for all ages. 5 Hunting is allowed on all privately owned lands in Unit L and Unit CWD (including leased land and lands owned by individuals). It is the responsibility of all hunters to obtain verbal or written permission to hunt on privately owned lands. No public lands or WMAs are open during this period. No antlered deer may be taken during this period in Unit L. Antlered deer may be taken during this period in Unit CWD (statewide bag limit still applies). | |||||||||
Treestand Safety
The TWRA urges all deer hunters hunting from treestands to use a fall-restraint system. Most deer hunting accidents involve hunters falling from a treestand. Proper use of a fall-restraint system could prevent or lessen the severity of these accidents.