You said both people 'saw' the weapon. Can you carry openly in TN even without a permit? Here in WA, you can. And some do, in the woods. Only need a permit to carry concealed.
http://www.opencarry.org/
No, you have to have a permit to carry opening or concealed in TN unless you are on your own property. We can carry openly with a permit though. The ranger just chose to ignore the obvious gun for reasons known only to him. The drunks didn't care if I had a permit or not but the ranger ignored it.