Tennessee deer and elk hunting: WMAs, deer units and county harvest
Tennessee hunters checked in 153,343 deer in the 2025-26 season, 11,710 of them from WMAs and other public areas (TWRA's Hunter's Toolbox, county and WMA reports added). Tennessee's 2026-27 deer archery season opens September 26, 2026, the muzzleloader season November 7, and the gun season runs November 21, 2026 to January 3, 2027. The statewide antlered limit is two (one a day). Antlerless limits depend on the deer management unit: 3 a day in Units 1, 2 and 3, and set numbers per season in Units 4, 5 and 6.
Data updated October 2026. Seasons and limits: TWRA's 2026-27 guide. Harvest: TWRA's Hunter's Toolbox to 2025-26.
up to 2.3 deer per sq mi2.3 to 3.1 deer per sq mi3.1 to 3.6 deer per sq mi3.6 to 4.8 deer per sq miover 4.8 deer per sq miWMAs with a page
Tennessee hunt plans are coming
Hunt plans for Tennessee are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free. Join the Tennessee list.
When are Tennessee's 2026-27 deer seasons?
| Season | Dates | Antlerless, Units 1 to 3 | Antlerless, Units 4 to 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| August (archery only; private land and select Unit 1 WMAs) | Aug. 28 to 30, 2026 | No antlerless harvest | No antlerless harvest |
| Young Sportsman (gun, muzzleloader, archery; ages 6 to 16) | Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, 2026; Jan. 9 to 10, 2027 | 3 a day | 2 (for the four days combined) |
| Archery | Sept. 26 to Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 to 6, 2026 | 3 a day | 4 |
| Muzzleloader and archery | Nov. 7 to 20, 2026 | 3 a day | 2 |
| Straight-walled single-shot rifles, private land only | Nov. 14 to 20, 2026 | 3 a day | 2 (counts toward the muzzleloader limit) |
| Gun, muzzleloader and archery | Nov. 21, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027 | 3 a day | 2 |
Two antlered deer for the season, one a day. An antlered deer has at least one antler 3 inches or longer. The two may be exceeded only with a bonus deer on certain WMAs, under Earn-A-Buck in a CWD-positive county, or as a replacement buck.
Source: TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Guide, page 67.
What are Tennessee's deer management units?
| Unit | Counties | Deer off WMAs, 2025-26 | Which counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 21 | 32,320 | Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lauderdale, Lake, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, Tipton and Weakley |
| Unit 2 | 19 | 36,927 | Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Perry, Robertson, Stewart, Sumner, Wayne and Williamson |
| Unit 3 | 18 | 27,115 | Bedford, Cannon, Clay, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Macon, Moore, Overton, Putnam, Rutherford, Smith, Trousdale, Van Buren, Warren, White and Wilson |
| Unit 4 | 14 | 14,156 | Anderson, Bledsoe, Campbell, Claiborne, Cumberland, Fentress, Grainger, Grundy, Hancock, Morgan, Pickett, Scott, Sequatchie and Union |
| Unit 5 | 9 | 14,316 | Bradley, Hamilton, Loudon, Knox, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Roane |
| Unit 6 | 14 | 16,799 | Blount, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Monroe, Polk, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington |
Source: TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Guide, page 66; TWRA deer management unit counties; harvest, TWRA Hunter's Toolbox, Deer Harvests by County / WMA.
When is turkey season in Tennessee?
| Season | Dates and limit |
|---|---|
| Spring turkey, Young Sportsman | March 27 to 28, 2027 |
| Spring turkey, statewide | April 3 to May 16, 2027; one male a day, two a season, only one a jake |
| Fall turkey, archery | Sept. 26 to Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 to 6, 2026 |
| Fall turkey, shotgun and archery | Oct. 17 to 30, 2026; one male |
Source: TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Guide, page 74. Many WMAs set their own turkey dates; see each area's page.
Where can you hunt public land in Tennessee?
116 WMAs and refuges have a page here, each with its own section of TWRA's 2026-27 guide and its deer harvest by season. The most deer in 2025-26 came from North Cherokee WMA (433), North Cumberland WMA (419), AEDC WMA and Woods Reservoir Refuge (406) and Yanahli WMA (391). See every WMA.
How does Tennessee elk hunting work?
Tennessee's elk hunt is by quota permit only. For 2026, TWRA issued 19 permits: one archery and one gun hunt in each Elk Hunt Zone (Zones 2 and 6 count as one hunt, and Zone 1 has archery only), one youth permit good in any open zone, and one permit raffled by a conservation group. See the hunt zones, dates and how to apply.
Which Tennessee counties have the most deer harvested?
Sumner County (3,572), Giles County (3,379), Lawrence County (3,086), Henry County (3,049) and Sullivan County (2,808) led Tennessee in 2025-26, counting deer off WMAs. See all 95 counties.
| Season | Deer checked in | Antlered | Females | From WMAs and other public areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 153,343 | 82,661 | 63,715 | 11,710 |
| 2024-25 | 168,020 | 91,217 | 69,565 | 11,753 |
| 2023-24 | 152,360 | 84,194 | 60,345 | 11,810 |
| 2022-23 | 163,218 | 86,316 | 68,070 | 12,536 |
| 2021-22 | 132,234 | 74,514 | 50,602 | 9,421 |
| 2020-21 | 160,186 | 86,359 | 64,990 | 10,272 |
Source: TWRA Hunter's Toolbox, Deer Harvests by County / WMA, read October 2026: the county and WMA reports added together.
Questions hunters ask
When does deer season open in Tennessee in 2026?
Archery opens September 26, 2026, the muzzleloader season November 7, and the gun season November 21, 2026, running to January 3, 2027. A private-land archery hunt runs August 28 to 30 (TWRA 2026-27 guide, page 67).
How many deer can you kill in Tennessee?
Two antlered deer for the season, one a day, statewide. Antlerless: 3 a day in deer management Units 1, 2 and 3; in Units 4, 5 and 6, 4 in archery season and 2 each in the muzzleloader and gun seasons (TWRA 2026-27 guide, page 67).
Do you need a WMA permit to hunt deer on a Tennessee WMA?
Yes, unless you hold a Lifetime or Annual Sportsman License: hunters of every age need a Big Game (Non-Quota/WMA) permit for WMA big game seasons (TWRA 2026-27 guide, page 11). Each WMA's section of TWRA's guide lists the permits it needs; a few state forests need none.
Get a Tennessee hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Tennessee are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Tennessee included.
Where these numbers come from
- Seasons, units and limits: TWRA 2026-27 Tennessee Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Guide, pages 66 to 74.
- Harvest: TWRA Hunter's Toolbox, Deer Harvests by County / WMA.
- Maps: TWRA hunting lands layer (HuntingAllowed); TWRA deer management unit counties; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 county boundaries.
FilledTag is not part of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.
Every state Tennessee WMAs Deer harvest by county Tennessee elk