Well, my friend and I didn’t kill anything on camera over the last two days, and he headed back home this morning with an empty cooler… the weather just did not cooperate. Monday afternoon we had to bail out of our metal tower stand about 7pm when a huge storm complete with lots of lightening came by. And a similar storm came by last night too; Fortunately, it just happened to hold off until after it got dark.

We saw lots of young deer and a few does, just no big bucks or hogs. However we had a great time in the lowcountry woods, and Will was just greatful to get out of town after enduring a week of rain from Tropical Storm Fay -he lives in Melbourne where they received over 25 inches from it!

However we did pick up a nice set of antlers off of a good buck that was hit just down the road from my house on Monday. (My wife not only was nice enough to call and tell us about the deer, but to stay with him to make sure no one else picked him up.) He was a beautiful 3.5 year old buck that had already shed his velvet as well as his summer coat. And a car must have just grazed him because he didn’t have any marks on him, just one dangling antler… That is Bo proudly showing the two sides off, and please note his “toy” gun. It is a Knight and Hale muzzleloader stock with a dowel for a barrel, topped by my dad’s old Redfield wideview 4x scope. I see a lot of toy guns at Walmart, but I have yet to see one like that!

As for the hunting this week, Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge has 5 hog hunters in for two days of hunting starting this afternoon and a film crew from Hunting the World… Southern Style trying to get a monster velvet buck. So hopefully I will have some new kill shots and a story or two tomorrow.

Jeff

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It’s Monday, and I am headed to the woods tonight. My good friend from Florida, Will, will be here shortly, and we are headed over to hunt on Boggy Branch this evening. I am hoping to catch him killing either a nice boar or a good buck on camera, so wish us luck. And since it just started raining, pray that the weather clears up too.

I also wanted to share a beautiful story with my readers that was written by my friend’s wife. Her name is Gillian, and she is married to legendary local hunter and former Pleasant Hill Plantation manager Mike Casstevens. She sent us many great photographs of mature bucks this past Spring, and I believe you will truly enjoy her story.

Behind Every Good Hunter, Is an Incredible…………DOG!
By Gillian Casstevens

When I first met my husband, Mike, and after all the vital information was exchanged (kids, hometown, political views, and all that important stuff), Mike told me about his best friend, his dog. I wish I could write this with Buck lounging at my feet, but as life happens, Buck’s ended after a wonderful life, but a battle against cancer that just could not be won.

Mike bought Buck as a puppy and raised him with the same amount of love he has for his children. Matter of fact, I met Buck before I met his two daughters! My first encounter with Buck was much like “meeting the parents.” Only instead of getting eyeballed by mom, I got the total sniff treatment from Buck, along with a little drool. At the point I met Buck, he was the reigning “Legend of Pleasant Hill.” Any hunter who needed a deer tracked, Mike and Buck were hot in pursuit. I had the pleasure of watching Buck flush deer on a few walks and one time, I saw the dynamic duo in first responder mode. The phone rang, all I could hear was Mike and a lot of guy talk. We flew to the house, Mike ran to the safe and as soon as he pulled out his handgun, ol’ Buck was mounting the truck and ready to go to work. Buck was like a 6-year old kid on Christmas morning, rambunctious and wide-eyed. I stayed at the house and waited. Within an hour they were home. Now out of those 60 minutes, it only took Buck 15 to find the deer. The rest of the time spent was the storytelling and dragging the deer out of the woods. I am not sure who had the greater pleasure, Mike or Buck. Most likely Mike, as he had the bragging rights on Buck.

Buck’s chocolate coat had many war wounds, snake bite scars included, but he wore each and every one with pride. Buck and Mike were two in the same, best friends, two old men growing old together. Mike used to tell me every morning when he took Buck outside, they both had their own bush to “fertilize.” I could just see those two boys each morning walking out on the front porch, griping about being stiff, Mike grumbling and Buck making those low rumbly grouchy dog noises, and finally assuming their positions. Most people who know Mike, know that he has a morning ritual, besides the bush fertilizing. Mike heads to the local diner each and every morning for his guy talk and storytelling with the locals. Many of mornings, Buck rode along proudly sitting up front with Mike. He was like a little kid who just worshipped his Dad. I just never understood why Buck was not allowed a seat of his own in the diner with all the other fellas!

I do not know who has loved white-tailed deer more, Buck or Mike. Buck loved to chase deer and many times he would disappear for a day or two and head to Tye Branch where he met up with the many women in his life. After a day or so, Mike would head up to Tye Branch, call for Buck and as Mike tells it (each and every time), “the ol’ bastard could barely get in the truck, he was so worn out.” Months later, driving through Tye Branch, Mike would spot little chocolate colored Buck puppies. As Mike would say, “a damn good thing I don’t have to pay child support on all of Buck’s kids.” Buck’s longest adventure was 15 days. Nobody had seen him and there were just no signs of Buck coming home. Now Mike would never admit this, but he was one sad soul. We would ride all through Pleasant Hill looking for Buck and it got to the point, Mike would actually look for buzzards. We all worried he met up with the snake who did him in, wondered if he got snatched by a gator, or shot by a land owner. As the fears mounted, Mike’s spirit was slowly breaking. One evening, with all hopes of Buck’s return dwindling, Mike went outside and up stumbled Buck. Thin and weary, fresh wounds and all, he made it home! Never have I seen Mike happier, to include our wedding day. After that scare, Mike would load Buck up in the truck, drive him to Tye Branch and Mike would take a nap or read the newspaper while Buck spread his DNA amongst his groupies! As he got older, Mike had to load the old man up after his passionate episodes.

The hunting season Buck died in was a sad one for everyone, but more so for Mike. Though he did not realize it at the time, I noticed he just did not have the same zest for deer hunting. I would ask him if he was going hunting and he would have something else to do. In seasons past, we never saw Mike during hunting season until well after dark only after meeting up with his friends to share what they had seen. Buck’s partner was aching for his best buddy, but again, Mike would never admit it!

Every trophy in Mike’s “guy room” has a story which includes Buck. Every person in Mike’s life had the pleasure of knowing this legendary dog and the only person who could have loved Buck more was Mike’s daughter, Faith. Losing Buck was equivalent to losing her twin brother because if Faith was a dog, she would most certainly be Buck’s equal. “Faith-ful” and loyal until the end with a love for their Daddy like no other.

Though we all miss him, Buck’s best running buddy, a black Lab named Luke, remains in our home. Luke grew up on Pleasant Hill with Buck and Faith, along with a few other dogs who guarded the property. Though he is not the tracker Buck was, he has filled a void in all our hearts and has made our new family complete.

Coincidentally, Mike is back in the deer stands and continues to tell his stories, however, now that we are married and live in town, he does not fertilize the bushes in this yard! At least, I hope not!

Rest in peace our precious Buck……We know you are up there on that plantation where all bucks are trophies, and all shots are true…….and you are looking and waiting…..

Truly a great story, and I also love the picture of Mike, Faith and Buck from about 10 years ago. Thanks Gillian for sharing that with us…

Jeff

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Roger Wells, Quail Unlimited National Habitat Director, has compiled a report on 2008 fall quail hunting. I have included his write up on South Carolina and Georgia, however you can find the entire article at http://www.qu.org/content/news/press_room/article.cfm?id=704.

The Southeast U.S. is still recovering from the hot dry summer of 2007. The impact of hot and dry weather conditions had a devastating effect on southern quail populations. Hot, dry conditions adversely impact quail production along with food and cover for bobwhites.

The drought continued into 2008, with June one of the driest Junes on record. However, rainfall increased in July. If the rainfall continues, it may be enough to boost quail production and result in an increase in quail populations over last year.

In areas where habitat improvement was implemented, quail, songbirds and rabbit populations have increased. A number of agencies and organizations are actively engaged in habitat improvement and landowner assistance programs, including Quail Unlimited chapters and state and federal land management agencies. Numerous programs are now in place to assist landowners, including Farm Bill Conservation Programs and state agency programs. The result of these programs is a substantial increase in quail populations.

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With Tropical Storm Fay closing in last night, the Monster Plots TV crew hit the woods hoping to kill a good buck before the weather shut the movement down or they had to leave. And they did!

Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge owner Danny Harrell filmed the Monster Plots shooter killing a nice 2.5 year old 8 point that was running with 3 other nice bucks while I sat with Matt the cameraman to see if he we couldn’t double the chance of someone getting a good shot on film. Unfortunately we only saw a couple of young bucks along with some does and fawns at our spot. However, with the storm blowing the extreme heat away, it was a beautiful afternoon watching those deer. We also had a big bobcat jog by with a rabbit in his mouth, so we were definitely entertained.

We then met back up at the lodge this morning to shoot some pictures as well as watch the footage, and it looked good since there was nice light on the deer and they were very close. Unfortunately the shot on the buck was kind of obscured by a branch, but other than that it all looked great. And fortunately Danny did a better job on the commentary than I did on opening day. He managed to sound together and calm with the bucks closing in while you would have thought I had never seen a big buck…

“Wow, that’s a big buck that just stepped out! He is definitely a shooter… Are you on him????? Oooohhhh, he is a monster! I mean a monster! I’m on him…. Wait! There’s another big one coming out! Oohh my gooodddd, that one is huge too!”

And on and on I went. No wonder my shooter missed the first time. Who could possibly hit anything with me carrying on? Fortunately I think I have learned my lesson and will keep my mouth shut when the camera is rolling in the future! I will also see about getting a copy of the tape so that everyone can hear and see it as soon as I can… I think my ego can handle the humiliation of sounding like a idiot.

Jeff

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Just in case my readers haven’t heard, I now work for Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge as their marketing and media coordinator as well as a guide. And what an opening weekend we had!

The weather was hot and muggy as it always is in August here in the lowcountry, but that did not stop the big bucks from moving. We had a lodge full of hunters, and most saw some buck movement including the two pictured here in this post. Ken, up from Florida, shot the nice 105 inch buck above while Hank, from North Carolina, shot the giant 130 inch buck below.

We also had two misses and one wound, and they were all by the same Florida hunter that was sitting with me on our Pleasant Hill Plantation tract on opening day. I was running the video camera in hopes of catching a monster being shot, and I thought that it was all going to come together about 6pm when a great 130 inch buck stepped out at 350 yards. I dialed in the camera on him and gave the go ahead to shoot if he wanted.

However before my hunter could pull the trigger, I saw more bucks coming in to the field and told him to wait. Another great buck walked in to the food plot that ran down the edge of a huge millet field along with another two year old buck and a doe. And as I was trying to figure out which one was bigger and hoping that possibly more bucks would ease out, my hunter rushed a shot on the wider buck as he was heading out in to the field full of high weeds and millet.

Most of the deer just stood there, but the one he shot at jumped so I thought he had hit it. However a few minutes later we saw his rack walking around in the tall field, so we were pretty sure he had missed him. The other deer then joined him, and we spent the next 20 minutes watching racks, but not the deer, eating in the field. Finally they moved deeper in to the field, and we lost sight of them.

The two of us then just sat there quietly in total disbelief. And if you believe that, I have a bridge across the Atlantic Ocean to sell you… it was total chaos in the stand as we debated the shot, size of the deer and what exactly what had happened. Finally we both settled back down, and we waited to see if anything else would come out.

Unbelievably, about 30 minutes later, both bucks stepped out at 160 yards right under the feeder! Unfortunately, for some reason, the camera started acting up, and I could not get it to work right (later we would figure out that I had knocked a cord loose). So I put it down and grabbed my binoculars to try and help figure out which one was better. I decided that the taller buck would definitely score better than the wide one, and told Bob, my hunter, to shoot when he was ready. BANG!

The tall-racked buck dropped while the rest ran off. I congratulated Bob, but then told him to keep on eye on the deer since he was laying behind some tall grass still kicking. I then started looking through my back pack for my phone to call the lodge, and as I was doing so, I looked up and saw the buck standing up. But before Bob could shoot, he fell back over. Now I was worried that he wasn’t hit well, and I told my hunter to shoot him immediately if he stood up again. Sure enough, a minute or two later, the buck stood back up. However when I ordered Bob to shoot him, nothing happened…

Bob had forgotten to put another round in the chamber, and the buck was now starting to amble quickly down the edge of the field. He hurriedly shoved another round in, and as I “calmly” suggested that he shoot, did so. However he missed the buck just as he was hitting a thick patch of bushes. I was now really worried about how well the deer was hit, so we waited on Danny, the owner, to come and get us before looking for the buck.

About a half an hour passed before Danny go there, and the light was fading fast, so we ran over to the spot were the buck had fallen. There we found a round blood spot, but no trail leading away from it. So we headed over to where we had last seen the buck and fanned out in search of him. Bob and Danny headed back in to the woods to see if he had gone through the thicket while I worked the thicket he was headed into when Bob last shot at him. And as I stuck my head in to one of the big bushes, the buck bolted out of the other side.

I heard him run a little ways, but thought that he had stopped. So we headed over to where I was pretty sure he had gone and continued the search. However darkness finally settled in, and we gave up about an hour later to return to the lodge where we discussed what to do about the deer.

We decided that we would go back in the morning with all of the guides as well as see if we couldn’t find someone with a trail dog to help us. And after getting everyone to their stands before daylight, that is what we did. However, while we found a dead 8 point from last season, we did not find Bob’s deer. And neither did the trail dog that Pete Simmons from Buck Run Hunting Lodge brought out to help us.

After reviewing everything that happened, we all decided that the buck had been hit high in the back, and that is why he dropped but didn’t die. Pete also said that they hardly ever find bucks hit like that with the dog, but instead usually end up shooting them later since it is normally a non-fatal hit.

There are several lessons to be learned from such an experience. One is to wait for a good shot. Bob had consistently hit the 300 and 500 yard target the day before at the lodge’s shooting range. However that is not a big buck on the move! Most hunters heart’s are racing when they shoot at a deer, especially a big deer, and targets don’t move like a deer does. The second lesson is to sight your rifle in at 100 or 200 yards and compensate for drop only. Bob had his gun sighted in at 300 yards, and that caused him to hit high at 160. It is tough to remember to hold low for short shots and high for long shots when you are looking at a monster! The third lesson is to always chamber another round and keep an eye on your “dead” deer just in case he isn’t.

We have a few hunters in the field this week including a camera crew from Monster Plots TV, so hopefully I will have more kill shots and stories tomorrow.

Jeff

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Deer season opens today in the lowcountry of South Carolina. Thousands of local and out-of-state hunters will be hitting our woods in search of a buck in velvet, and I wish all of them “Good Luck”.

Check back Monday for some great hunting stories and pictures. I promise you will not be disappointed!

Jeff

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Like I talked about yesterday in my post on our QDMA REACH Banquet, we had a very nice time in Virginia while up shooting a cousin’s wedding. We also got to see lots of deer in the many parks right around our hotal in Yorktown including one monster that easily went over 140 inches in the Colonial National Historic Park.

Unfortunately, while there are many special draw hunts for the local parks, they do not allow any hunting in the national historical parks. And when I called the park to ask about how they manage their herd, I did not get much helpful information from them. As a matter of fact, the park rep that I spoke to was obviously horrified that I was even considering shooting one of the park pets.

And I know I said that I wouldn’t reveal the location, but I was just having some fun and Matt over at Bright Ideas out of Virginia seemed to be on to me anyway. Of course living and hunting in Virginia, he has all of the secrets about hunting the park lands and even posted about some of the drawings for special hunts the other day. If you are interested in some great Virginia hunting info and great writing, I would check his site out.

During our trip, I was also very impressed by some of the other deer that we saw at the local BassPro Shop that had come out of Virginia. They were having their yearly “hunting special” weekend, and we had time to kill, so we spent a few hours wandering around looking at all of the great stuff, beautiful mounts and booths that were manned by local groups such as the NWTF and Hunters for the Hungry. We even bought some raffle tickets for a gun drawing to support the NWTF in addition to a drawing for a hunt at the Southwark Hunt Club. They had some great pictures of bucks that they had taken on their club so I am hoping for a call to let Amy and I know that we have won their 5 day hunt.

While there, we also got a chance to speak with Bub Jackson from the Outdoor Channel who was doing a deer hunting seminar as part of BassPro’s special weekend, and he had quite a few monster Virginia bucks with him on display. Interestingly enough, he also had a beautiful buck in velvet in his collection that he had killed right here in the lowcountry at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge. He obviously knows where to hunt for great bucks!

Stay tuned. Opening Day is Friday, and I will have exclusive coverage of some amazing hunts at one of the premier hunting lodges in the Southeast.

Jeff

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What a weekend! We made it back on Sunday from our trip to Virginia capturing a cousin’s beautiful wedding to learn that our QDMA REACH Banquet had gone off great. By all reports it was an amazing time and everyone that I have talked to all agreed that it was a total success. We gave away tons of great stuff and raised a great deal of money for the Quality Deer Management Association as well as recruited lots of new members. So, while I hated missing it, I could not be more pleased.

I want to send out a HUGE Thank you and job well done to all of the committee members that assisted with the planning, set up and running of the night. I also want to thank all of the other volunteers that showed up to help out as well as all of the supporters and donors that contributed to our cause. Without all of these wonderful individuals, our Salkehatchie Branch could not have put on such a successful event. So again, thank you to everyone!

As for our trip, only we could accidentally get a hotel room right by a national park that held a huge un-hunted deer population. I just wish we could have spent a few more days exploring it because, while the buck to doe ration was obviously off, it was loaded with monsters. We even saw one buck that easily went over 140 inches and possibly topped 150! I would tell you the name of the park except I believe that they may open it up to bow hunts soon and a hunter (ME) swore me to secrecy

And in case you have been living on the moon, opening day is just 2 days away now! I will have complete coverage of some fantastic hunts here on LowcountryHuning, so you definitely want to check in as I get back to full-time writing.

Jeff

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With opening day just a little over a week away, I wanted to show everyone how bad our local deer are flaunting their current safety during daylight hours. I had a bunch of my work/hunting clothes hanging out back overnight, and when I went to get them yesterday at 1pm, a yearling buck and young doe were scrounging for corn scraps under them. And this is why I always laugh when I see people putting up the white, plastic grocery bags around their gardens… because after just a night or two, the deer know that they are no danger and just eat right around them. And don’t forget we also have a yard full of dogs that protect the corn.

As for the lowcountryhunting team, we have a big wedding this weekend up in Virginia. So unfortunately we will miss the QDMA REACH banquet that I have helped organize for Saturday. But the event isn’t about us, it is to support the QDMA mission and philosophy, and we were already committed to this job, so we will just have to deal with it. However I hate that we will miss it when it is going to be such a great event. We even just got word that QDMA founder Joe Hamilton will be attending as well as Mark Buxton, former QDMA deer manager of the year. So I hope everyone that can attend will. I truly believe that you will not be dissapointed.

As a matter of fact, we had a meeting last night to work out all of the last minute details, and it has come together perfectly. We will be having a deer scoring contest, where if you guess the closest to the gross B&C score of a nice lowcountry buck, you will win a gift certicate for a head mount from an award-winning taxidermist. We will also have a minnow race, where you can bet on your fish to outswim the rest of the pack to win a tower treestand as well as a guess the number of corn kernals in the jar to win a 30 gallon spin feeder complete with corn. And, like I posted about before, we will have several great hunts offered including a ladies-only hunt from Lightsey Hunting Club for Ladies, a deer hunt from Paradise Valley hunt club and the one from Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge that will be filmed for the Outdoor Channel. We will also have tons of stuff to raffle off and on the silent and live auctions such as deer/hunting prints, hunting grear and lots of guns! Like I said, you don’t want to miss it.

I will be back late Sunday night, but have to go right back to the deer season preparation grind on Monday, so my next post will be on Tuesday. Then I look forward to letting everyone in on the work that I am currently doing. And with the season in, I should have lots to write about, allowing me to get back to my usual posting frequency.

PS   You may also want to keep an eye out for the next South Carolina Sportsmen; word has it that there is an excellent article on patterning big bucks with your trailcam, and they speak to an “expert” from the hunting blog world that lives in Garnett

Thanks for reading!

Jeff

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Did you know that there is a job out there that actually pays a hunter to cut shooting lanes, plant food plots and put up stands? A job that requires you to scout extensively on properties that are managed exclusively for mature bucks, video them, capture them on trailcams and then blog about it? A job that forces you to work with some of the biggest names in the hunting industry as well as the Outdoor Channel?

Well there is… And I have found it! So I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but no one said that a dream job was easy or did not require a LOT of time. I will have details very soon, so please check back.

Also, I hope to see everyone at our QDMA Salkehatchie Branch REACH Banquet this Saturday. It is going to be a GREAT time!

Got to run now and get back to the grind

Jeff

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