The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has just released its 2008-2009 hunting and fishing regulations, and in it are several important changes.

I have already written about the new alligator season that they have enacted, but there are three other important changes that have just gone in to affect. One is the legalization of crossbows for use during any primitive weapon’s hunt. They were already legal during the state’s firearm season, but this now allows their use by anyone, not just disabled hunters, during special archery seasons and WMA hunts.

The second change is the increased limit for mourning doves from 12 to 15, and the third important change is the re-legalization of shining deer at night. It was legal to shine deer on your own property (owned or leased) until 10pm as long as you didn’t have immediate access to a gun and its ammo. Then the SCDNR outlawed that last year, but they have now gone back and made it legal again, and this time until 11pm. Along with this change, they also made it legal to use trail cameras, which I don’t think was illegal, but the new laws just clarify it.

Since South Carolina has always had a very long, and liberal deer season as far as which weapons were allowed, I don’t think legalizing crossbows during archery-only seasons will cause as much dissension as it will/has in other states. However I would still love to hear everyone’s thoughts on it. I would also love to hear some pre-season hunting reports from anyone that has been working on their clubs or leases over the last few weeks as well to see some trailcam shots of any nice bucks in velvet. So please leave some comments.

Thanks, Jeff

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Our QDMA Salkehatchie REACH banquet plans are coming along perfectly, so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell everyone about some of the great prizes and bid items that we will have available on August 9th. Right now that includes lots of great hunting gear such as rifles, shotguns, bows, treestands and camo clothing as well as deer processing, wildlife art and mounts.

We will also have several amazing hunts available. One is a  womens only deer hunt from Lightsey Hunting Club for Ladies that includes lodging at their bunk house. Another is a very unique two-day combo deer/boar hunt from Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge that will include lodging and meals as well as the processing of their kill and a head mount of their trophy! And as unbelievable as that sounds, it gets better…. the hunt will also be filmed by Hunting The World… Southern Style for use on the Outdoor Channel! That’s right, banquet attendees will have a chance to live out the dream of many sportsmen to have their hunt shown on TV.

And all you have to do is come join us for a great night of partying at the County Line at 6pm on August 9th in support of the Quality Deer Management Association to have an opportunity at all of this. Tickets are $50 for singles and $75 for couples, and they are available by calling me at 803-842-1155 or by stopping by Wiggin’s and Son Hardware in Estill or Garbade’s General Store in Tarboro. We hope to see you there.

Jeff

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Did you know that there is a new camouflage on the market and ALL of the products made with that it are not only made in America, but made right here in South Carolina?

Well, there is. It’s made by Swamp Fox Products out of Andrews, SC, and the two patterns that they offer are Black River camo for deer, turkey and dove hunting and Cord Grass camo for all waterfowl hunting. These two great patterns are available in different length rolls (54 inches by 12 feet to 54 inches by 100 feet) for use on all kinds of hunting blinds. And best of all their camo cloth is strong, odor free and will not fray when cut.

Swamp Fox Products also puts their two camo patterns on many types of hunting apparel and supplies including ponchos, gun socks and game bags as well as on some great specialty items such as place mats, coasters, table cloths, tri-fold beds, curtains and even carpet tiles!

I encourage everyone to check out their website (www.swampfoxproducts.com) for more information on their camo patterns and the products they make with them.

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Kip Adams, QDMA’s Director of Education and Outreach for the Northern Region, just released a new article that he has written reflecting on how quality deer management has drastically changed the face of deer hunting over the last 10 years.

In “Deer Harvest Trends”, Adams highlights the amazing improvements in buck age structures across the country as well the ratio of does to bucks in the harvest from 1999 to 2005. For instance,

• the percentage of yearlings in the buck harvest declined from an average of 51% in 1999 to 45% in 2005

• the percentage of 2.5-year-olds increased from 28 to 32% and 3.5-year-olds or older increased from 19 to 23%

• In 2005, about 2/3 (65%) of the states shot as many or more antlerless deer than bucks

• the percentage of yearlings in the buck harvest declined from an average of 51% in 1999 to 45% in 2005

Please click below to read the entire article! You will be amazed at how QDM has positively impacted our hunting. And please note that I have included the entire article instead of linking to it since it has not been released on the QDMA website yet. Read the rest of this entry »

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What happens when you are taking care of life’s business and not hunting enough? Birds invade your hunting gear and claim it as their own!

I have written about many of the changes I am currently making in my life, and unfortunately implementing them takes a lot of time and energy. I also still have a wife and two boys, and they are a priority. So actually hunting has taken a backseat to writing about hunting.

However a pair of Carolina Wrens has decided that if I wasn’t using my gear, they would. I have posted about how I leave all of my hunting stuff on our screened in porch so that it always stays scent free. Well, after accessing a hole in the screen, the birds decided that they hated to see all of my good stuff not be used, so they took it over as a nest.

I caught them a few times about a month ago putting twigs in my backpack, so I made sure and took it out before they got finished. I thought that would do it. Well, it didn’t. It seems that while I wasn’t paying attention, they managed to sneak back in and completely build a nest, then lay eggs in their new home. And since I didn’t want to break up the happy family, I decided I would just leave them alone until they were finished raising their new family. And sure enough, when we came back from Florida this past weekend, there were the baby wrens waiting on supper to be served.

In the pictures, you can see my Scent Lok backpack hanging on a hook on the porch, then you can see the eggs laying in it, then mama bird sitting on the eggs and finally the baby birds sleeping…Hope they enjoy my Olympus binoculars in there!

As for our trip, we had a very nice time in Florida doing absolutely nothing for a few days. We took dive gear with us, but we basically ended up just hanging out, going out to eat a few times and letting the grandparents enjoy the boys. And while it is always nice to get away, it is even better to be home. I am ready to get back to work on all of my plans… Thanks to everyone for their support, and for reading this site!

Jeff

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I guess I should have mentioned that we’re in Florida this week… My regularly scheduled posts will return on Monday.

Thanks, Jeff

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This morning I wanted to update everyone on a few changes that have happened around here over the last few months. First, as I briefly wrote about a while back, I will not be managing Cubbedge Hill Plantation this year. I have run out of time to do everything that I want in my life, so some changes had to be made. Giving this up was one of them. And it was a tough decision since I have so enjoyed working with my family and having access to truly one of the best chunks of deer country in the state.

I will also not be managing Jericho either. Times are tough and filling memberships on highly managed deer hunting clubs has been even tougher. Don’t get me wrong, I would have filled up what I needed to, it just was taking longer than expected. And there was another group that was committed to treating the place right (and had the funds ready), so they have taken it over. And while I was a little disappointed in this, this development has also worked in my favor as far as my goals and time management go.

Please note that I didn’t immediately stop advertising my lowcountry hunting services since I considered leasing a smaller piece of property for just a few of the right clients. However again, this was going to take up too much time for not enough return. So a couple of us are headed over to hunt with Marion at Gohagan’s Guide Service. He is doing everything that I would have done and just as good, so I am going to enjoy the benefits of hunting a great place without expending all of the time.

Don’t misunderstand. I love managing prime hunting properties. However the amount of time required to properly do so is enormous. And so is the money. Just to give you an idea of what it takes to fully fund one here in the lowcountry, take a look at these numbers… A prime lease will run around 25$ an acre; that makes a 1000 acres worth around $25,000 a year! Then add in 500 to 1000 bushels of corn at the current $8, and that will tack on an additional $4000 to $8000. And of course everyone likes to have a nice place to stay at night along with sitting over some nice green fields that require planting with $5 a gallon diesel, good seed and fertilizer. Add that all up and you are at around $35,000 to $40,000! Do the math, and 12 members (about right for that acreage) and each one will have to pay $3500 a season. That is a lot of money for most folks right now… And that is all just to cover the costs.

I also have a family that I must take care of, so that has made me look at my life goals as well as at our finances. In addition, I have something else that I would like to do more of that requires time – writing about managing for big bucks and hunting in the lowcountry. So, since there are only so many hours in a day, I have decided to use my time for other projects including several new websites and a magazine. I will be posting much more about these undertakings very soon. However that may not be on this blog (or this blog in its current form).  I may have to switch this site over to a self-published one in the very near future, so please bare with me as I make any of these changes.

As you can see I have lots of big stuff going on, but believe it or not, there is more. Since I still want to continue to work in the hunting field, manage for big bucks and gain valuable experience, I have another exciting development to tell you about very soon…Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

Jeff

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This was a shot I took about 12 years ago during the 4th of July fireworks in Sanford, FL.

Enjoy your holiday and please be safe!

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Look what showed up in our backyard this morning at 9am to check for fallen pears… With a month still left for his rack to grow, he should turn out pretty good. And he had better hope that I don’t sleep in and hunt the backyard opening morning!

I also wanted to wish everyone, including our great country and all of the members of our armed forces defending it, a happy 4th of July. Please be safe and enjoy some family time outdoors. With our youngest son’s birthday this weekend and my mom up for it, I know that is our plan. Next post will be Monday.

Jeff

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To view today’s article about “What Does Your Hunting Journal Tell You”, please visit Simply Outdoors where I have a guest post up. Arthur is on a great vacation and somebody had to stay home and work!

Jeff

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