Hunters Prepare for Velvet Buck Hunt This Weekend

Hunters across the state are preparing for the first hunting opportunity of the season this weekend as Tennessee opens its first-ever velvet buck hunt.

Brian McLerran is the TWRA District 3 Commissioner covering the Upper Cumberland. He said the event gives hunters an early opportunity to fill a tag.

“It was started in an effort to let some people have the opportunity to possibly harvest that buck while still in velvet,” McLerran said. “Some people really like that and travel a lot of states to do that, so we thought we’d try to give them that opportunity here at home.”

McLerran reminds hunters across the region there is a bag limit on the number of bucks that can be harvested during the course of a season.

“[The hunt] doesn’t change the overall bag limit. You’re only allowed two bucks, so if you get one with velvet you’re only allowed one the rest of the year,” McLerran said. “[We] didn’t see that it would impact the herd any at all, so we thought we’d give it a try.”

McLerran advises hunters to be mindful of the warm weather if they are successful in harvesting a buck.

“Try to get some ice in those deer when you field dress them and get them to the processor when you get them,” McLerran said. “Get the meat handled as quickly as you can.”

McLerran said hunters who do not want the meat from the deer can donate it to Hunters for the Hungry, which helps provide food to local food banks and gives it to those in need.

The hunt will last Friday through Sunday and is limited to bucks only. The term ‘velvet’ is used to describe the skin that grows around a deer’s antlers while they are still developing. Deer harvested do not have to be in velvet and can only be hunted on private property using archery equipment.