There will come a time when this conservative dude completely retires and my wife and I flee the People's Republic of Maryland. And one of the areas my wife and I have have thought of is east/northeast TN (don't worry, we wouldn't ruin the state!). Two of my fellow retired MD troopers have relocated to NE Tennessee and love it there. I know there's plenty of national forest land in the east. And looking at the state's hunting units map, it'd most likely be units A, C, and D.

So any thoughts for you folks in that general area?


Thanks...Matt

I'm just outside Chattanooga and I don't think you'll go wrong with any part of east TN. You'll find plenty of hunting and shooting in that part of the state. Deer and turkey are plentiful and you can get into hogs and bear the closer to NC you get.

Hey Charlie, we just did that very thing.  After years of living in downtown Charlotte, the wife and I had enough of the big city and moved to E TN (Carter Co) this past summer.  There's a ton of public land nearby, and as SwampDonkey said, we are really close to the NC border so that's another option. There are not as many deer up here in the mountains compared to the Piedmont area of the Carolinas and farther west in TN, but still plenty enough to hunt.  I missed a decent 8 point with my longbow but was able to shoot him a week later with a rifle.  Hopefully by next season I'll have scouted out several good locations for bowhunting.  We really like it here so far, and the cost of living is another great benefit.  Give me a shout if you decide to make the move—it would be great to meet another trad hunter!  mg