Turkey, squirrel, dove and ducks in Tennessee: the guns that fit

Deer season takes the headlines, but the Tennessee hunting year is really built around small game. Squirrel opens in August and runs to the middle of March. Dove opens on the first of September. Ducks come down the valley after Thanksgiving. Spring gobblers close the loop in April. This guide gives the 2026-27 dates published by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and works through the shotguns, chokes, loads and rimfires that suit the hills and lakes of East Tennessee.

Spring turkey

For spring 2027, the young sportsman hunt runs March 27 to 28 and the general season runs April 3 to May 16, 2027. The statewide bag is two male turkeys for the season, only one of which may be a jake, with a limit of one per day. Hens, including bearded hens, are off-limits in spring. Legal weapons are shotguns firing No. 4 shot or smaller, archery equipment including crossbows, and pre-charged pneumatic guns.

The gun that suits this country is a 12- or 20-gauge with a short barrel, because most East Tennessee gobblers are worked on a steep sidehill or in a laurel-choked bench where a 28-inch barrel is in the way. A 3-inch 20-gauge with modern tungsten-alloy shot kills further than a 3.5-inch lead 12 did twenty years ago and weighs a couple of pounds less on a long climb. Choose an extra-full turkey choke, pattern it at 40 yards on a life-size target and mark the load that puts the most pellets in the head and neck. A red dot on a turkey gun is worth more than any other single upgrade.

Common choices: Mossberg 500 and 835, Remington 870, Benelli Super Black Eagle and Nova, Browning A5, Winchester SXP, Franchi Affinity, and the dedicated turkey models with camouflage and sling studs already fitted.
Loads: No. 5 or No. 6 lead for a traditional gun, or tungsten No. 9 for tight-patterning small gauges. Buy the pattern, not the marketing.

Squirrel

Squirrel season runs August 22, 2026 through March 15, 2027 with a daily limit of ten. That is nearly seven months of hunting, and in the hickory ridges above Knoxville and through the Cherokee National Forest it is the best way to learn a piece of ground before deer season.

A .22 LR is the classic tool: a Ruger 10/22, a Savage or CZ bolt gun, a Henry lever or a Marlin. Use a 2-7x rimfire scope and subsonic or standard velocity ammunition for close shots in quiet woods. Once the leaves are thick, a 20-gauge with No. 6 shot and a modified choke gets more squirrels than a rimfire does. A .22 WMR or .17 HMR is a good compromise on the open plateau where shots run longer.

Dove

The 2026-27 dove season runs in three parts: September 1, opening at noon, through September 28, 2026; October 10 to November 1, 2026; and December 8, 2026 to January 15, 2027. The daily bag is 15.

Dove fields are a social hunt and the gun matters less than the swing. A 12- or 20-gauge semi-auto or over-under with improved cylinder and modified chokes and 1-ounce loads of No. 7.5 or No. 8 covers it. The shotgun must be plugged to hold no more than three shells for migratory birds. Bring more shells than you think you need, and check the field rules before you shoot.

Ducks and geese

Tennessee sits in the Mississippi Flyway. For 2026-27, the early wood duck and teal season runs September 12 to 16, 2026. The regular duck season runs November 28 to 29, 2026 and December 5, 2026 to January 31, 2027, with a daily bag of six ducks including no more than four mallards, of which no more than two may be hens, three wood ducks, three pintails, two canvasbacks, two redheads, two black ducks and one mottled duck. Canada goose seasons run September 1 to 20, October 10 to 22, November 28 to 29 and December 5 to February 14 with bags that change by split.

East Tennessee duck hunting is lake and river hunting rather than flooded timber. Douglas, Cherokee, Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun and Norris all hold birds, and the Hiwassee and French Broad bottoms pull geese and sandhill cranes. A 12-gauge 3-inch semi-auto with an improved modified choke, plugged to three shells, loaded with steel No. 2 or No. 3, is the workhorse. Non-toxic shot is required for waterfowl, and you need a hunting licence, the state migratory bird permit, HIP certification and a federal duck stamp.

Common choices: Benelli Super Black Eagle, Beretta A300 and A400, Browning Maxus and Silver, Franchi Affinity, Mossberg 940 and 500, Remington 870, Stoeger M3500, Winchester SX4.
Care: a cold wet blind is hard on guns. Rinse and oil after every hunt, and keep a spare choke tube in the bag.

One gun or three

If you only want one shotgun for the whole Tennessee year, a 3-inch 12-gauge semi-auto with a set of interchangeable chokes will do turkey, dove, squirrel and ducks, and it will hurt slightly at each of them. Three guns is the honest answer: a light 20-gauge with an extra-full choke and a dot for spring gobblers, a 12-gauge semi-auto for the lakes, and a .22 rimfire for the long squirrel season. Buy the turkey gun first if you hunt the mountains, the waterfowl gun first if you live on Douglas or Watts Bar.

Buying the gun

Every shotgun and rimfire in our catalog ships to the licensed dealer you pick at checkout, and ammunition goes to your door. Tennessee has no permit to purchase and no waiting period, so the pickup is usually the same visit; the gun laws guide has the detail. If you are building a two-gun kit, a 20-gauge turkey and squirrel gun plus a 12-gauge waterfowl semi-auto covers the whole Tennessee year. The deer and bear guide covers the November side of it.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.