If you deer hunt anywhere near the lowcountry town of Ehrhardt, you need to check out Southern Spice Deer Processing. Monica Martin owns the place, and she does great job on turning your harvest in to cuts that are ready for your kitchen.

I know a lot of hunters do their own processing, and that is OK too. But unless you have quite a bit of experience turning your kill into ready-to-cook cuts, you will generally not get as much meat from your deer. You will also likely put your big chunks in the freezer thinking that you will get to them later, and then when you don’t use them before they freezer burn, be sorry for wasting an animal that died for your pleasure.

So, consider spending a few bucks on your deer to make sure that you get what you hunted for… a delicious meal… by dropping it off at Southern Spice Deer Processing. Monica will skin, gut and cut your venison into steaks, ground and back straps as well as vacuum seal it all for $58. Or for a little more, she will make you sausage, snack sticks, meatloaf and burger patties. Check out her flyer southern-spice-deer-proc for complete details, or call Monica at (843) 866-7365 for more information.

Jeff

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Happy Monday to everyone, and I hope that some of you were able to make it out to the woods this past weekend. The weather was beautiful, and the deer are getting cranked up. However if you didn’t, don’t worry about it – the best time is still to come. And I didn’t get out either because my mom came up from Orange Park, Fl to watch the kids while we shot a wedding on Saturday as well as to visit and drop some of her stuff off. As I posted a while back, she just retired and is moving home to the lowcountry next month.

And like I wrote on Friday, we are now completely moved over to our new house, which is right next door to my mom’s house. Now we just have to clean and fix up for hers so that it is ready when she arrives. But most of those projects can be done a little at the time over the next month, so I will have some time to take Bo back out to the woods this week. And don’t think that he is not excited about that!!!

Other than that, I am just trying to enjoy some down time after the move because my free time will soon be very limited. We have an onslaught of hunters that start arriving at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge around October 10th. Danny generally doesn’t book any hunters during the slow September transition period so that the stands and property sit very quiet and the big bucks don’t feel any hunting pressure. That makes for much better hunting during the rut which should start around October 10th and run through Thanksgiving. So I will be very busy (even busier than I already am!) as well as have lots of new stuff to blog about once we get cranked up in a few days.

But until then, I have several good stories coming and hopefully some good shots of great lowcountry bucks that were killed during the early part of the season; I am trying to track them down now. However this morning, I would like everyone to check out one of Michael Greene’s hunters showing how to shoot a doe at his Greenefield Hunting Lodge in Estill. If only it always went this way…

Greenefield Hunting Lodge Doe Harvest

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I just received an email from Ann, one of the hunters over at my cousin’s Lightsey Hunting Club For Ladies. Read it and admire the nice buck she killed… Congratulations Ann!

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Well, if he didn’t love hunting before, he sure does now!

As I posted on Friday, Bo and I headed to the lowcountry woods for an afternoon of deer hunting. It was an amazing experience – one that I had dreamed about since before he was born – and what a great time we had. We climbed a 20 foot ladder stand, saw 12 deer including four bucks and watched two of them fight. We also almost killed a nice doe except for the fact that when I told Bo to plug his ears so I could shoot, he pointed and exclaimed, “Are you going to shoot THAT ONE?”.

With that, our target high tailed it off of the power line, blowing all of the way to the Savannah River. But that was OK since the goal of the trip was to have a great time, not necessarily to kill a deer. And we sure accomplished that, even with a few minor issues. For one, I didn’t get a blind set up in time for the hunt, so we ended up having to climb a tall ladder. And while Bo thought it was the greatest thing ever to get to go up that high, it made me very nervous, so I promise to get it set up before the next hunt. We also brought lots of drinks and snacks for him, and the top popped off of one while I was trying to get it out, spilling a pint of apple juice in my “scent-free” backpack. And of course I had to answer at least a thousand questions. They ranged from “where are the deer” to “what is that sound”, but at least he asked in a very low whisper so it really wasn’t a problem.

Finally after an hour, our first deer stepped out at about 400 yards. He was a nice 2 year old buck, and while Bo couldn’t really see him that far away, he knew that he must have been a decent one since I was trying so hard to check out his rack. Unfortunately he never came any closer, so I passed due to the distance. We then had six does and yearlings come out and eat on our corn, so we just sat back and watched deer being deer. A little while latter, a spike and a small 6 point joined them at the corn, but instead of eating, they started fighting – not hard, but a lot of pushing and shoving for 15 minutes. It was awesome, and Bo couldn’t stop telling me, “look dada, those bucks are fighting!”.

He then wanted to know what they were fighting about, so I tried my best to explain the rut while we watched them. Finally, the two bucks broke apart, and the spike ran off. The 6 point then put his head down and came back over to the corn to check the does. When he did, they took off with him right on their hooves. At that point, Bo said, “Wow, that was cool. But dada, you never shot one.”

I reminded him that it wasn’t all about killing, but us having a great time. And he said that he was definitely having fun, but that it would be even better if I shot one… So I promised to shoot the next one that came out. Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, a few more deer came out including two does about 50 yards from the stand. That is when I told Bo to hold his ears… and you know the rest of the story

He now can’t stop talking about what a hunter he is, and I think his head is going to explode if I don’t get him back in a stand. Unfortunately we haven’t had another chance to go since my friend Will was up for the last few days helping us get moved in to our new house, and I had to take him instead. And that is also why I haven’t had a chance to post over the last few days – We have been getting everything ready including putting in a septic tank, running power and water, moving all of our stuff and cleaning up the yard after so much traffic. But we are finally in, so things should be back to normal now. Thanks for your patience!

Jeff

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Sorry for the slow posting week, folks. We are moving in to our new house this weekend, and things have been a little busy to say the least. I am trying to get a couple of hunting stories written and pre-posted so that everyone has a reason to drop by next week, but please note that I will not be back up to my usual 4 or 5 posts a week until the following Monday.

So until then, I sure hope that everyone gets a chance to hit the woods. However don’t overdo it. The lowcountry hunting season is in its transition phase right now, so the hunting is slow. But don’t panic; the big boys are eating late at night, getting ready for the rut and not showing themselves too much. My advice, get your work done, your stands out (if you haven’t already) and the food down, and keep the hunting pressure light. That will ensure that when primetime arrives about October 15th, you will be in good shape to kill a monster.

However if you aren’t looking for a monster, then this weekend should be a great time to kill any size deer. The weather has finally broken, and it is actually cool outside for a change with little or no bugs. Therefore I have decided that it is time for Bo to go on his first REAL hunt. We are headed to a small chunk that I have set up just for us to shoot something, and boy is he fired up! I look forward to telling everyone about it…

Have a great weekend!

Jeff

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My first time in a deer stand was two weeks before the season opened and my husband, Mike, wanted to take me out to just “look” as he would say. After my first walk in the woods with him, I was quite hesitant and adamant that I was not traipsing through the woods and was not really thrilled about sitting in the heat of early August. I just could not disappoint him and not go after holding fast to my dislike of walking in the woods, so I toughened up, put on a cool outfit and headed out to the deer stand with Mike.

Having never been in a deer stand, I had no expectations. Oh, I had some fears, and mainly it was of snakes and ticks, but I put on a brave face (and tons of insect repellent) and headed out. We rode the four wheeler out and walked the rest of the way in so as not to spook his white-tailed friends. I must say, when I saw the stand perched high up in the tree, I thought for sure I would die before I made the climb up. Those who know me know I am not fond of heights. I know, I know, I have a lot of quirks, but hey, remember, I’m the princess! Trying to stay quiet was pretty hard when I was sweating like I had sat in a sauna for hours and really felt like hyperventilating. Try having a panic attack and remaining quiet. Doesn’t work well!

Read the rest of this entry »

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I was wrong.

I truly thought that it would take more killings, specifically of more-well-to-do individuals, to make our local law enforcement agencies tackle our local gang problem. However that does not seem to be the case. According to the Hampton Country Guardian, since June 15th, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Department in conjunction with town and county law enforcement agencies from Hampton, Jasper and Allendale counties and the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, have made significant progress in breaking the hold that local gangs have on our beautiful, rural community by arresting 70 gang members.

Six of those arrests were last week. Two of them for allegedly being involved in the killing of Antonio Holmes, whose body was found by two Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge guides several weeks ago. The other four were charged in connection with the killing of Lena store owner Ronnie Wooten, Sr., last year; That brings the total in that case to seven. The rest of the gang members who were rounded up were charged with various offenses including robbery, drug possession and drug trafficking. All of these arrests stemmed from a year-long investigation in to our local gangs, called Operation Gang Busters, which also helped identify another 135 suspected gang members from five different gangs so that they could be watched. The gangs identified in the investigation are The Bloods, The Crips, Gangsta Disciples, Folk Nation and the Cross The Track Thugs.

I truly want to congratulate the local law enforcement agencies for finally attacking our gang problem. This will really help local and out of state hunters keep from being victims of their crimes by reducing clubhouse robberies and vandalism. And with these hoodlums off of the streets, hunters should also feel safer when they visit, shop and eat in our local towns.

Now I want to call attention to the Hampton Country Sheriff’s Office’s new Gang Investigator, officer Maurice Hunt, whose sole job will be to combat our gang problem. Our local residents need to step up to the plate and help him by providing any information they have as well as continuing to call when they see something out of place or when something happens. I say this because in the past, many locals would simply not even bother calling the authorities since nothing was ever done when they reported problems.

While there is still much work to be done to exterminate the gang vermin that are ruining the lowcountry, I believe that this was a significant step forward! Again, I congratulate all of those individuals and agencies that assisted with this massive undertaking to put a dent in our gang infestation. All I, and many others, ask now is that you don’t let up.

Jeff

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In the latest addition of South Carolina Sportsman magazine, there is a great article by Jeff Burleson on how to use a trailcam to survey the deer on your property as well as how to kill the big bucks you find. And in the article, he uses me from Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge, Jonathan Phillips from Black River Plantation and Hugh McCrea from BigWoods Outfitters to showcase how to get the best results. It is a well-written article that is very informative, and not just because he uses your truly in it.

I have put a link to the magazine’s website, however since they don’t put their articles up on it, you will have to pick up an issue to actually read it. I have also included a trailcam picture of a great 6 point that I caught on camera in August of 2006 and later harvested the last week of October; the trailcam picture of him was taken just 350 yards from where I killed him! That just shows that while bucks definitely roam a lot more during the rut, they are usually still in the same general vicinity if your hunting pressure has not run them off.

I also want to thank Blessed for a truly wonderful review of lowcountryhunting over at the Outdoor Bloggers Summit. She really took a great deal of time to go through all of my posts to showcase the ones that really reflect what my site is all about.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and gets to spend some time in our beautiful outdoors. Please take your child or loved one with you if they are interested!

Jeff

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I have written before about the unique lowcountry hunting club that my cousin Beth runs strictly for women, aptly named the Lightsey Hunting Club For… Ladies! Well I wanted to let everyone know about their new website that showcases her program, property, rules and hunt prices. It is really informative, and it will get even better as I have more time to work on it

She and her good friend/property manager, Robin, have also joined the ranks of outdoor bloggers by starting to chronicle everything that they are doing over there as well as how their hunts go. So please check out their new blog and welcome them. And if you are blogger, please consider adding them to your blogroll.

Thanks, Jeff

PS  It’s Sept 11th, so please remember all of those that gave their life in the terrorist attacks 7 years ago. And please take a moment to thank our military and law enforcement members that have kept another one from happening!

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It has a been exactly a year since I posted this story about my dad, and with so many new readers, I thought I would put it up again…

It has now been five years since my dad died, and I still think about him all of the time, especially when I am alone in the woods where I spent so much time with him. I wanted to remember him in a post since he was the person who introduced me to the outdoors and first took me hunting. The picture above is of us on opening day in 2002 after I killed a young 8 point. The picture means a lot to me because he had worked all summer to keep my stands corned up although he was already in failing health. I was just thrilled to kill something so we could take a picture together before he passed away. It now hangs on my office wall, and I often refer to it when I talk about my dad with my two baby boys.

I have also written a short story about our last days together, and I thought I would share it here…Caution: This is not my usual post. If you are here only for the hunting reports, you may want to skip this.

Jeff

Listening To Turkeys

As I came into the hospital room, my dad’s eyes lit up. His face said it all. He was always excited to have a visitor, but especially his only son.

I strode over to him and gave him a big hug, then a kiss on his forehead and leaned close.

“You should be hunting” my dad said, his hoarse voice barely audible over the steady inhale and exhale of the ventilator.

“I can go later” I replied, trying to hold back the tears. “Those turkeys will be there tomorrow”.

His deep blue eyes welled up, and he gripped my hand tight. “You’re a good man, bubba”, he replied.

As I stared deep into his eyes, I could no longer deny that my 63 year old father was now quickly losing his war with ALS. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, it is an incurable neurological disease that paralyzes all of a body’s muscles and ultimately ends in death. I just did not want to believe that his disease had progressed so fast, and that it was just a year ago in April that we had gone to listen to the turkeys

It was near the end of South Carolina’s 6 week season, and the birds were gobbling like crazy in the lowcountry. And although my dad had been born and raised here, he had never heard a wild turkey gobble. Turkeys were literally non existent in this part until about 20 years ago, and he had been lured away by city life and big money long before their return. However due to a string of bad choices, he had ended up back home two years ago, just before he got sick.

I was up from Florida for the week hunting, so I encouraged him to go with me one morning late in the season, not to kill one, but to hopefully just hear one. And since he had just been diagnosed with basically a death sentence, I thought it may also be a good time to talk about the things we both knew were coming in the days ahead. On average, ALS patients live less than a year and a half after diagnoses of the disease!

We arrived just before daylight on our lease. I parked my 87 Jeep Cherokee, and we headed off through the planted pines towards the line with our neighbor. He had just recently burned the fields across from us, and I knew a couple birds were usually roosting nearby. And while I also knew those birds were pretty much impossible to call close enough for a shot this late in the season, they would be the perfect candidates to provide the turkey mating calls I longed for my dad to hear. Read the rest of this entry »

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