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Free Hunting Day for Tennesseans begins on opening day of squirrel season

Tennesseans will be allowed to hunt without a license on August 26 on the opening day of squirrel season.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MAY 07: A squirrel eats an acorn during round one of THE PLAYERS Championship at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course on May 7, 2015 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

One of the busiest hunting days of the year in Tennessee is quickly approaching.

On Saturday, Aug. 26 the state will allow all Tennessee residents to hunt without a license as part of Free Hunting Day.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said it hopes the day will produce an increasing interest in hunting in the area, saying it provides an excellent opportunity for people who have not tried the sport or are looking to be reintroduced to it.

That day is also the opening to one of Tennessee's oldest traditions: squirrel hunting season. On Free Hunting Day, state residents are exempted from needing hunting licenses and Wildlife Management Area permit requirements, but still need to meet hunter education requirements and complete the state hunter education course if they were born on or after Jan. 1, 1969 to receive an apprentice license.

The license exempts the hunter from mandatory hunter education law for one year after it is purchased for up to three years, and hunters under age 21 need to be accompanied by an adult.

Many of the WMAs are open to hunters seeking public access that day. TWRA said hunters should check information on a particular WMA in the latest Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Guide online at www.tnwildlife.org.

For squirrel season, hunters are allowed to bag up to 10 squirrels a day until Feb. 28, 2018, with hunting days beginning a half-hour before sunrise and ending a half-hour after sunset.

Hunters are also allowed to hunt species that have a year-round season, such as armadillos, beavers, coyotes, groundhogs and striped skunks.

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