Tennessee — where you can actually hunt
Tennessee sells tags over the counter — there's no draw. So the question is where: which counties have public land you can walk onto and hunt. And “public land” isn't one thing — a national park or a refuge is closed or permit-only, so we count only what's truly open, and show the rest honestly. Pick your species below.
What “huntable” means here
National forest, BLM, and state game lands / WMAs are open to hunting (state wildlife-agency lands are managed forit); state forests generally are. National & state parks and military land are closed; wildlife refuges are permit-only — those are excluded from the number.
By huntable public land
Most huntable counties first
Ranked by open public land — state game lands / WMAs and national forest are the open categories that push a county up. The mix shows what kind; deer harvest (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reported deer kill) shows where the animals are.
| County | Huntable | Land mix | Deer harvest | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicoi | 54.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 47.4% · National Forest 6.7% | 1,409 | |
| Polk | 53.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 50.2% · National Forest 3.7% | 369 | |
| Carter | 39% | State Game Lands / WMA 36.7% · National Forest 2.3% | 1,312 | |
| Monroe | 37.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 37.4% | 1,141 | |
| Campbell | 31.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 31.5% | 1,019 | |
| Scott | 30.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 30.2% | 1,013 | |
| Johnson | 28.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 26.8% · National Forest 1.4% | 869 | |
| Stewart | 22.6% | National Forest 20.2% · State Game Lands / WMA 2.5% | 1,481 | |
| Cocke | 20.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 20% · National Forest 0.7% | 710 | |
| Sullivan | 14% | State Game Lands / WMA 13.9% | 2,808 | |
| Pickett | 13.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 13.2% | 1,367 | |
| Union | 12.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 12.9% | 1,229 | |
| Cumberland | 12.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 12.8% | 2,401 | |
| Claiborne | 12.4% | State Game Lands / WMA 12.4% | 1,332 | |
| Fentress | 11.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 11.3% | 1,698 | |
| Greene | 11.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 9.6% · National Forest 1.5% | 1,956 | |
| Cheatham | 11.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 11.1% | 1,044 | |
| Lake | 11% | State Game Lands / WMA 11% | 1,299 | |
| Morgan | 10.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 10.8% | 1,088 | |
| Anderson | 10% | State Game Lands / WMA 10% | 1,086 | |
| Washington | 9% | State Game Lands / WMA 8.5% · National Forest 0.5% | 1,491 | |
| Jackson | 8.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 8.5% | 1,939 | |
| Franklin | 8.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 8.2% | 2,550 | |
| Marion | 7.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.8% | 1,449 | |
| Coffee | 7.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.7% | 1,460 | |
| Henderson | 7.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 7.7% | 1,653 | |
| Dyer | 6.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.9% | 1,478 | |
| Wayne | 6.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 6.9% | 1,822 | |
| Meigs | 6% | State Game Lands / WMA 6% | 1,161 | |
| Obion | 5.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 5.1% | 1,183 | |
| Lauderdale | 5% | State Game Lands / WMA 5% | 1,097 | |
| Carroll | 4.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.5% | 2,538 | |
| Overton | 4.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.2% | 1,543 | |
| Smith | 4.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 4.1% | 2,102 | |
| Chester | 3.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.9% | 981 | |
| Fayette | 3.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.8% | 2,161 | |
| Shelby | 3.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.7% | 1,252 | |
| Maury | 3.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.6% | 2,421 | |
| Lawrence | 3.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.6% | 3,086 | |
| Van Buren | 3.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.3% | 1,116 | |
| Hardeman | 3.3% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.3% | 1,914 | |
| Benton | 3.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.1% | 1,316 | |
| Trousdale | 3.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 3.1% | 1,463 | |
| DeKalb | 3% | State Game Lands / WMA 3% | 1,607 | |
| White | 2.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.9% | 1,364 | |
| Roane | 2.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.9% | 2,052 | |
| Blount | 2.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.7% | 1,268 | |
| Bledsoe | 2.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.5% | 1,209 | |
| Rutherford | 2.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.2% | 1,931 | |
| Hardin | 2.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.2% | 1,851 | |
| Lewis | 2.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 2.1% | 1,260 | |
| Weakley | 2% | State Game Lands / WMA 2% | 2,803 | |
| Rhea | 1.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.9% | 1,595 | |
| Henry | 1.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.7% | 3,049 | |
| McMinn | 1.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 1,755 | |
| Hickman | 1.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.5% | 1,712 | |
| Sequatchie | 1.2% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.2% | 1,151 | |
| Crockett | 1.1% | State Game Lands / WMA 1.1% | 575 | |
| Hamilton | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 2,013 | |
| Gibson | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,528 | |
| Wilson | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 2,768 | |
| Haywood | 0.9% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.9% | 1,349 | |
| Loudon | 0.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.8% | 1,519 | |
| Cannon | 0.8% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.8% | 890 | |
| Davidson | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 1,269 | |
| Bradley | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 1,163 | |
| Madison | 0.7% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.7% | 2,010 | |
| Knox | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 1,607 | |
| Hancock | 0.6% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.6% | 684 | |
| Montgomery | 0.5% | State Game Lands / WMA 0.5% | 2,697 | |
| Decatur | 0.3% | — | 1,244 | |
| Dickson | 0.3% | — | 2,123 | |
| McNairy | 0.3% | — | 1,951 | |
| Sumner | 0.2% | — | 3,572 | |
| Clay | 0.2% | — | 1,843 | |
| Warren | 0.2% | — | 1,190 | |
| Lincoln | 0.2% | — | 2,746 | |
| Bedford | 0.1% | — | 1,718 | |
| Jefferson | 0.1% | — | 1,211 | |
| Grainger | 0.1% | — | 1,557 | |
| Hamblen | 0.1% | — | 1,353 | |
| Robertson | 0.1% | — | 2,294 | |
| Williamson | 0.1% | — | 1,246 | |
| Humphreys | 0% | — | 1,719 | |
| Hawkins | 0% | — | 2,384 | |
| Giles | 0% | — | 3,378 | |
| Moore | 0% | — | 1,628 | |
| Perry | 0% | — | 1,180 | |
| Macon | 0% | — | 1,717 | |
| Marshall | 0% | — | 1,895 | |
| Sevier | 0% | — | 1,523 | |
| Tipton | 0% | — | 1,081 | |
| Putnam | 0% | — | 1,425 | |
| Grundy | 0% | — | 1,383 | |
| Houston | 0% | — | 1,448 |
huntablePct = state WMAs + national forest as a share of the county (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) GIS + PAD-US, EPSG:5070); deer = Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reported deer harvest by county. Turkey = TWRA game-check spring gobbler harvest by county (2026), reconciled to TWRA's reported statewide total (34,990). National & state parks, military land, and permit-only refuges are computed but shown as the “mix,” not counted huntable; confirm the specific tract with the state agency.
Tennessee — best of, ranked