Fort Knox observation

[mossyman]

A little background…

I was stationed at Knox from ‘06-‘09 and hunted whenever work would allow. If I remember correctly they had 3 gun weekends(shotgun or muzzleloader) which I never participated in since I only bow hunted. The quality of bucks that I saw, both alive and taken by other hunters, was unbelievable. It was not uncommon to see 160”+ with 140’s being a dime a dozen. I left in 2009 and haven’t been back since.

My wife has FB and found the Knox fish and wildlife page. I was looking at some of the pics from this season and the quality of bucks has decreased dramatically. I’m sure some of the regs have changed since I was there but it’s amazing how much different it seems to be. It’s a shame…that was the best place I’ve ever whitetail hunted.

 

[Redlined]

Yeah, it's nothing like it used to be and appears to be annually going downhill.

 

[muddhunter]

Still a bunch of big bucks taken yearly. I don’t know about 140’s being a dime a dozen but there are some killed every year. With several exceptional bucks killed every season. There are a lot of places where the deer die of old age in areas that are off limits. I will agree that the actual number of deer numbers and sightings are lower than they were in the early 90’s but again I think that is due to large areas being unhuntable.

 

[At Full Draw]

A little background…

I was stationed at Knox from ‘06-‘09 and hunted whenever work would allow. If I remember correctly they had 3 gun weekends(shotgun or muzzleloader) which I never participated in since I only bow hunted. The quality of bucks that I saw, both alive and taken by other hunters, was unbelievable. It was not uncommon to see 160”+ with 140’s being a dime a dozen. I left in 2009 and haven’t been back since.

My wife has FB and found the Knox fish and wildlife page. I was looking at some of the pics from this season and the quality of bucks has decreased dramatically. I’m sure some of the regs have changed since I was there but it’s amazing how much different it seems to be. It’s a shame…that was the best place I’ve ever whitetail hunted.

There are gun hunts throughout the season for military only, which used to not occur until recent years. I don't remember the exact year, maybe 5 years ago that change happened. I have zero issue with it because that is a fair perk of being a current or retired service member (I am a civilian, Tier 3 member). There are plenty of deer killed during those hunts.

Let's also not forget everyone doesn't post what they kill on social media either. Besides the first two weekends of the quota gun hunts, deer do not have to be checked in at hunt control, so unless a picture gets out, not many know about it. I don't have any social media and I'm sure others are like me, and if they do have it they may not post because they don't want to attract more hunters to compete with on public ground. There was a 200 inch archery kill there this year and I've seen a "legal" buck most times I've hunted, certainly not 140 inch deer, but solid 3 yr old deer. I have primarily bow hunted Fort Knox for over 20 years, but I am gun hunting this weekend to mix it up. No luck so far, just does and fawns.

 

[rockhousehunter]

There are gun hunts throughout the season for military only, which used to not occur until recent years. I don't remember the exact year, maybe 5 years ago that change happened. I have zero issue with it because that is a fair perk of being a current or retired service member (I am a civilian, Tier 3 member). There are plenty of deer killed during those hunts.

Let's also not forget everyone doesn't post what they kill on social media either. Besides the first two weekends of the quota gun hunts, deer do not have to be checked in at hunt control, so unless a picture gets out, not many know about it. I don't have any social media and I'm sure others are like me, and if they do have it they may not post because they don't want to attract more hunters to compete with on public ground. There was a 200 inch archery kill there this year and I've seen a "legal" buck most times I've hunted, certainly not 140 inch deer, but solid 3 yr old deer. I have primarily bow hunted Fort Knox for over 20 years, but I am gun hunting this weekend to mix it up. No luck so far, just does and fawns.

They also have a youth hunt and those deer don't have to be taken to hunt control either.

 

[woodsman92]

I’ve never been to Knox but been wanting to try to figure out how to get to hunt there. I’ve looked at it online enough to see it’s more of a headache than a normal quota hunt, and has a lot of different regs and areas to keep up with

 

[1wildcatfan]

I hunt adjacent to Knox. Zero shots through 11:00 yesterday morning. A few shots last Saturday.

 

[At Full Draw]

And starting May 3rd, 2023, if 18 years of age or older, you will need to have a REAL ID to enter any military base.