If I were starting over again from scratch, I'd go buy a ladder stand and a muzzle loader. The learning curve on becoming proficient with the ML is much faster than compared to the bow yet you get a longer season than just a shotgun/rifle. You can also get into a decent ML more cheaply than...
Opening day was awful. I went to my normal spot and apparently so did everyone else. It was a sea of headlamps before dawn. Any deer that stood up got mowed down. I saw three deer and they were all flying by. I went back out Monday and saw a doe right at sun up for a split second. The joys...
Carry is legal however the 100 yard from lake Monroe comment is kinda sorta partially inaccurate. The army corps boundary is not a constant 100 yards. In some places it is but it may be more or less depending on what parcel of land you are standing on. I would say it is a good rule of thumb...
There are quite a few in the Deam Wilderness and Nebo Ridge areas on HNF. A lady I know took a picture in the wilderness last week of a rattler and copperhead within a few feet of each other. They posed where you can see both in the same pic!