2017-18 Tennessee gun hunting deer season to open Saturday

NASHVILLE —Tennessee's 2017-18 gun hunting season for deer opens Saturday, Nov. 18. Deer gun season has the traditional opening date of the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving.During gun season, sportsmen may also use muzzleloader or archery equipment. The season will continue through Jan. 7, 2018 and the second Young Sportsman Hunt is Jan. 13-14.Anyone born on or after January 1, 1969 is required to carry proof of satisfactory completion of a hunter education class or be in possession of the Apprentice Hunting License (along with other required licenses) while hunting any species in Tennessee.For more information about Tennessee's 2017-18 deer hunting seasons, refer to the 2017-18 Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Guide available at all license agents, TWRA regional offices in Jackson, Nashville, Crossville, and Morristown or on the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org.This is the third year that the statewide bag limit for antlered deer is two. The number includes those taken during the archery only, muzzleloader, and gun seasons.The start of muzzleloader season was on Nov. 4, and like much of the fall season across the state, temperatures were above normal for the weekend. The harvest was 4,823 deer as compared to 10,960 over the 2016 opening weekend.Since archery only season began in late September, there have been 30,505 deer harvested through the first weekend of muzzleloader season, which also includes the Young Sportsman Hunt in late October. The total is 3,048 less than through the same period in 2016.