Giles County is a rural community with much open space and it ranks as one of the top counties in Tennessee for deer harvests each year.

“Deer hunting is just one of those things that people who enjoy the outdoors love to do here,” says David Mayes, president of the Giles County Deer Hunters Association. “When deer season runs from late September to January, it’s a popular time in Giles County.”

The Giles County Deer Hunters Association was formed in the early 1970s with 30 members, and today the membership stands at more than 350. It is the largest and oldest deer-hunting club in the Volunteer State.

“We promote safe and ethical hunting, which includes hosting a juvenile hunter safety class before the season starts for young hunters ages 16 and under,” Mayes says. “Then we schedule a short season just for juveniles, who must be accompanied on a hunt by an adult. The adults cannot have a gun during this season – they are simply there to supervise.”

The overall deer-hunting season in Giles County begins with archery, then muzzleloader and finally rifle. The Giles County association seasonally awards cash prizes for the top harvests in variety of categories, and hosts an awards banquet for its membership every February.

“We also make an annual financial donation to the Wakefield Scholastic Trap Club, which is a team of local high school and junior high students who practice for deer season at a trap range in Giles County,” Mayes says. “They shoot guns and participate in competitions, and learn the proper way to hunt.”

Meanwhile, for target-shooting enthusiasts, a popular organization in Giles County is the Good Ole’ Boys Air Gun Club. The club simulates hunting by firing at inanimate animal targets to score points at competitions.

“Competitors shoot air rifles, which some people think are BB guns, but they are sophisticated rifles produced in England and Germany,” says Roz Sumpter, match director for the Good Ole’ Boys Air Gun Club. “They are extremely accurate, upscale products that fire lead projectiles shaped something like a bullet.”

Sumpter says participants shoot at metal animal targets from distances of 10 to 55 yards.

“Objects are the size of 1/8-inch to 1 1/2 inches, and in the center of each metal animal is a small round hole with a triggering device,” Sumpter says. “If the projectile hits the triggering device, the animal falls flat and the shooter gets a point. Competitors get 60 to 150 shots per match, depending on the prestige of the event.”

Sumpter hosts local and regional target-shooting matches on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at his Roz Hollow property near Pulaski.

“Hunting and target shooting is popular in Giles County,” Sumpter says. “It’s just the way it is for many of us around here. The outdoors are beautiful, and many Giles County residents love what our outdoors offer.”