The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) announced that the state’s Free Hunting Day this year will be on Saturday. Free Hunting Day is a yearly event with a goal of increasing interest in hunting and “for people to experience the enjoyment of the sport.”
During this day, Tennessee resident hunters are “exempt from hunting licenses and WMA permit requirements,” according to TWRA.
However, hunter education requirements are not waived for Free Hunting Day. According to TWRA, anyone born on or after January 1, 1969 is required to have successfully completed a hunter education course. An apprentice license is required for those born on or after January 1, 1969 if the hunter education course has not been completed. This license exempts the hunter from the mandatory hunter education law for one year from the date of purchase but may only be purchased for up to three consecutive years during the lifetime of the hunter.
Additionally, as noted by TWRA, those under 10 years of age do not need a Hunter Education certificate but must be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years of age who must remain in a position to take immediate control of the hunting device.
On Free Hunting Day, many of the Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are open to hunters seeking public access. However, TWRA encourages hunters to check the information for specific WMAs in the 2022-23 Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Guide.
Each hunting day begins a half hour before sunrise and ends a half hour after sunset, TWRA notes, and, as always, sportsmen are required to ask for permission to hunt on private lands they do not own.
Free Hunting Day this year coincides with the opening day of squirrel season, where hunters are allowed to harvest up to 10 squirrels a day through March 15, 2023.
For more information about hunting in Tennessee, please visit TWRA’s website at www.tnwildlife.org
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
