Tennessee Bushy Tail Bash

By: Mary Lynn, TN Artemis Ambassador

Tucked away in the Cumberland mountains in Crab Orchard, Tennessee is a 1700-acre all-women’s hunting lease. This property is managed by Artemis Sportswomen and funded by public grants from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. I have the pleasure of overseeing this unique project, which includes 12 women lease members.
Now in its second year, the Tennessee All-Women’s hunting lease hosts public events such as a turkey hunting camp, rabbit hunting over beagles, trapping events, deer camps, and other great learning opportunities for women in the outdoors.
I have always been an avid houndswoman. My family has been raising beagles for 15+ years in East Tennessee. During my childhood, I was lucky enough to watch my dad and uncles raise some of the best coon hounds in the area. The sound of a hound is very special to me and being blessed enough to be managing this Tennessee property, I didn’t want to just teach the ever-popular sport of big game hunting. I wanted to teach the love of ALL game.
After making several phone calls, I was able to find 3 great houndswomen to bring their hounds for a weekend of hunting, laughs, and adventure. We coined the name Bushy Tail Bash since we planned to chase gray squirrels in the morning and raccoons at night. The raccoons were already looking for dens when the gates opened for these ladies on Friday afternoon!
As the women gathered round the fire, it was great to see the conversation and community growing. The hunters that were out for the weekend were all completely new to running hounds so the glint in their eyes and excitement could be seen as they were picking the brains of these established handlers.
We soon loaded up and headed out. One handler taught the women how to shine, what to look for, and how to spot a racoon as he was hiding in the tree. After 30 minutes or so of shining, the raccoon won out to the heavily-leafed tops. Instead of taking an unsure shot, they called the track dead and cast the dogs up the creek for a second race.
This time the race ended in the bottom of a holler surrounded by a steep incline and a massive tree blowdown. That didn’t dissuade these new hunters though. These girls strapped up their boots and belly-crawled and slid down to the bottom keeping up with the veterans to the tree. The raccoon won out again since the number one thing Artemis has taught us is to not take an unsure shot. After finding the way back up the ridge to the road, the girls called it a night, knowing early next morning they were chasing squirrels.
Saturday morning came soon enough. We went out looking for squirrels, but rain and wind caused the squirrels to nest up, so we returned to camp for lunch and a siesta. The rain made a huge difference that night since scenting conditions were greatly improved with a little moisture on the ground. We loaded up the trucks and split into two groups. One was led by a hound named Coal. As soon as he hit the ground, he struck and treed within 15 minutes in the bottom of an oak holler. It was amazing for the attendees to hear as he gave up that racoon’s location. Without hesitation, the girls went slipping and sliding down the limestone rock bluff to the bottom where Coal sang his song by a 50-foot tree. Two of the houndswomen got right to it, shining for this raccoon and looking for those little beady eyes glowing in the night light. A few girls sat back and watched as it was almost a dance around this tree as the coon would dart in and out of sight. After 45 min of a strong tree, they called it dead and cast him out again. Coal darted off and within minutes he sang out into the darkness with the next tree location. This time, the girls arrived at a 75+ foot tree with a thick canopy allowing nothing to be spotted. The group then laid down in the darkness watching the stars, listening to the “hound music” while they laughed and talked about such an awesome experience before trekking the half mile up the rock bluff again to the truck.

The second group was led by a hound named Waylon. The women listened as this big, beautiful blue bawled out all night. Watching him carefully work from creek to oak stand back to creek to another oak stand. He stayed with it and worked. No instant gratification of a tree in just a few minutes for this group. Instead, they got to see a dog work from feed spot to feed spot. It was amazing to watch, even if no shot was fired.
In one weekend, these 10 new hunters had learned a whole lot. Even though no squirrels or raccoons were shot, all of the women thought the weekend was a huge success. New skills were learned and new friendships were made. The women realized that this lease site was a place where they could come to learn and feel safe and not be judged for not bringing home the meat. That’s what Artemis Sportswomen is all about. It’s not always about the catch when it comes to hounds. It’s about the stories, the adventure, and the comradery.
Thank you to Full Cry Magazine for also featuring this event in their February/March 2025 issue.