First I want to thank everyone for contributing their thoughts on how to handle the occasional problem reader/commenter like the one I featured in my post Wednesday called “Dealing with Camo-clad idiots“. Everyone was in unanimous agreement that the “killing them with kindness” approach is the way to go, and of course that is exactly how I normally handle things as well as how I will continue to do so in the future.

I really just wanted to have some fun with this one, as I imagine that all of us would sometimes enjoy responding a little more harshly to those whose outdated attitudes are detrimental to preserving our great hunting traditions. And I must say that it was kind of fun! However I have said it before in a 2007 post about how I will deal with any conflict on this site or in our hunting community:

I understand that everyone is looking to take different things away from their time outdoors – and that is what makes this such a great sport. My personal feeling is that if you obey all laws and hunt ethically, you are a true hunter. And that is what I want to focus on in this blog – true hunters hunting.

And I will repeat and restate it here: I love hunting, and I am here to only promote and preserve the sport. I will also never knowingly do or say anything that will detract from that mission.

Now to the question posed by The Outdoor Bloggers Summit in their latest challenge called “Non-Traditional Faces of the Outdoors“ of who really belongs in the outdoors… We all do! And I guess that is why the “locals only” or “stay out of my woods” attitudes really upset me. We live in the greatest country on the planet, full of unbelievably beautiful natural resources along with an incredibly diverse animal population which are both painstakingly preserved for our enjoyment and use. And when our species has spent eons relying on this habitat and its animal inhabitants for our very survival, we would be very misguided to ignore that connection or abandon its continued contributions to our lives as well as our mental stability. We would also be very short sighted to allow anyone or any group to intimidate or block us from this connection or its contributions.

And while I would love for everyone to hunt, I understand that is not a reasonable expectation. However having everyone enjoy experiencing the great outdoors is not. It is open 24 hours a day no matter where one lives. It can be as easy to access as a hike in a local park or as difficult as an extended camping trip deep in the wilds of Alaska. But either way, it is there for all of us – young or old, black, white or brown, christian, muslim or agnostic, etc.

It is there for us to rekindle the connection with our primitive past, to refresh our soul with its amazing beauty and stir our exploring spirit. It is not just for any one person, one organization or one activity. It truly doesn’t matter if you ever pick up a weapon and attempt to harvest an animal. What is important is that everyone finds a way to get out in it, be that by hiking, riding a bike, bird watching, canoeing or simply taking a drive. And anyone or any organization that attempts to limit this ability to enjoy our great outdoors should be dealt with in a reasonable but respectful manner. The preservation of our natural resources as well as our great hunting tradition depends on it.

I look forward to keeping up the fight! Thanks for reading.

Jeff Hunt

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Between writing for two hunting blogs, volunteering with QDMA, living in the sportsman’s paradise of the lowcountry and working for a hunting lodge, I get to meet some great outdoorsmen and women. And that is one of the things that really makes my jobs and life so wonderful.

However I also occasionally run into some real morons who claim to be hunters, and they remind me why we have to work so hard to keep our sport/heritage safe from groups like PETA and the HSUS… Because while we are fighting between ourselves, it allows them to go unchecked and progressively whittle away our hunting rights.

One of these camo-clad idiots left a comment yesterday on a post that I did a while back on a neighborhood in GA that was being overrun with wild hogs. I wrote the story because I thought that it was a great example of how feral pigs are spreading into our suburban areas. I also thought that I was being funny by encouraging hunters to go and help them out… Obviously the neighborhood is private property that would probably be hard to get permission to gain access to hunt, so I pretty much assumed that everyone would see the intended humor in the post.

However not only did one moron not see the humor, he actually wanted to warn me and others not to try and hunt there. It seems that the G-town hog slayers think that they have the sole right to hunt those hogs, and they don’t want any outsiders infringing on them…

I am truly torn, and that is why I thought that I would write about it here. Part of me wants to send a nice, carefully thought out email back reminding the writer of my humorous intentions as well as how he shouldn’t take that kind of attitude/approach with fellow hunters that help protect/promote the sport that he claims to love. I would also like to point out that it is the “locals only” mind set that often keeps others from taking up our great sport as well as discourages those that are trying to find a place to hunt so that they stay with it -   I will call this the “killing them with kindness” approach.

On the other hand, I just want to write the following:  Dear Moron, Glad to see that you are killing your own food since it is obvious by your email that you can hardly read and write, so that must make getting a job to buy groceries very tough. I also recommend that you keep your wife and sister out of the yard, and then maybe the local paper would quit writing about wild hogs invading your slum. And while I was just being funny about encouraging hunters to hit your woods, I now plan on hunting there everyday that I can. I also look forward to running into you there so that you can try to “remove” my 225 lb ass from your woods.

Anyone have a preference or recommendation on which email I send?

Jeff

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Cypress Creek Hogs

Hog hunting can be a ton of fun, and it is a great way to accumulate some stand time when deer season is out. However after killing many, many hogs and helping to put a lot of others on them as well, I have found that there are generally 5 BIG reasons that some hunters will not take one home this Spring.

1. Smoking in the stand! It doesn’t help if you smoke anytime and have that smell on your clothes (much less any other smell) when you hit the woods. However it is MUCH worse to actually smoke in the stand. I believe that smoke smell just floats all through the woods and sticks to everything. And when a hog has such a great nose, you can bet that he will pick it up pretty easily and not come in to your stand.

2. Not taking the first GOOD shot. It is nice when a hog comes in to feed and stands (fairly) still for  an easy shot. However sometimes that hog will catch a scent he doesn’t like and run off or a big boar could be just cruising by looking for sows.  So always be ready to shoot, and then take the best shot you have at the very FIRST opportunity.

3. Missing. A hog can be a tough animal to hit when he is scurrying around eating, much less doing the fast trot that they do everywhere they go. So like I said in #2, take your first BEST shot. And that means standing still for most people in most conditions.

4. Hunting sign, and not hogs. Hogs travel a lot to find food, and much of that travel is at night. So just because you see tons of sign like rooting and scat doesn’t meant that spot is the best place to set up to kill one. You need to follow the trails that lead from their feeding areas back to their bedding areas to see exactly how far they are traveling to get there. If it is too far, then you need to get closer to where they actually live to have any chance of catching them out in daylight hours.

5. Hunting pressure. Hogs like to feed in the dark to begin with, so that already makes it hard to catch them out during shooting hours. However if you pressure them too much, they will either leave the area or totally confine their movements to after dark. So make sure and pick good stands that are easy to get to and get out of so that you don’t constantly bump them on your hunts. Also skipping several days between sits helps to keep them from feeling the pressure as well.

I know there are lots of reasons/excuses for not killing a hog, however these are the biggest 5 that I see on a regular basis. I hope that the next time a lowcountryhunting reader hits the woods in search of a hog, that being aware of these will assist them in bringing home the bacon that they were looking for!

Jeff

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From the SCDNR:

SPRING TURKEY SEASON FORECAST IS FAIR IN 2009

An estimated 50,000 hunters will take to the woods during the upcoming turkey season, generating an estimated $30 million in direct expenditures for South Carolina’s economy.

The 2009 wild turkey season runs April 1 through May 1 for all Wildlife Management Areas where turkey hunting is allowed and on private lands in 34 counties that make up Game Zones 1-5. The season opens March 15 and runs through May 1 on private lands only in Game Zone 6: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton, Jasper and Orangeburg counties.

For more information on wild turkeys including how to order turkey tags online, the 2009 Turkey Brochure, the 2008 Summer Turkey Brood Survey or the results from the 2008 spring gobbler season, see the following link on the DNR Web site: www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/index.html. Also get more information on turkey age and sex determination at: www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/turkeyage.html.

Hunters in Game Zone 6 should note that the season will open on Sunday, March 15 not Saturday, March 14. The old law that provided for hunting on Saturday when the season opening date fell on Sunday was repealed last year by the General Assembly at the request of DNR. The opening date falling on Sunday, a situation that arose only every seven years, created confusion among hunters and presented problems with dates on printed materials that DNR publishes. This law was a carry-over from a time during which many people did not hunt on Sunday and when Sunday hunting of big game was actually prohibited in certain parts of the state. In the future, the season for all species of game will open on the date specified by law regardless of whether a Sunday is involved.

Saturday, March 28 is Youth Turkey Hunt Day in areas where the season opens on April 1. On this day, youths 17 and under who are accompanied by a properly licensed adult (age 21 and older) may hunt turkeys. Only the youth can take or attempt to take turkeys. Tagging requirements remain in place for this special youth day.

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In case you haven’t noticed bucks running around without any headgear, let me be the first to tell you that it is time to look for some sheds.

Amy and I took the boys over to the Webb Center on Thursday for some food plot hiking, and we found 4 sheds in just over 4 hours (she found 3 of them along with an old jar!). That is not a great return, but when you consider how long it takes small legs to get around, it is not bad! And of course it doesn’t matter if we find anything, everyone has a great time being in the woods anyway.

Many of our hunters are also reporting seeing bucks that have already dropped their racks or have only one side left, so there should be some bone laying around your area too. As a matter of fact, we found 2 sheds this past weekend over on some Cypress Creek land in about 10 minutes when Bubba and I had a few minutes to kill before picking hunters up (its called speed-shed hunting when you run through the fields).

However if you are not finding any, don’t panic. Just keep looking. We are still seeing some bucks with full racks, so more will be hitting the ground every day this Spring. And remember, don’t just look in the food plots. Check those trails leading to the plots, and since green up hasn’t started yet, get into those bedding areas and check those too.

Jeff

PS: And I don’t mean to rub it in, Arthur. I know you are still looking for your first one… maybe you just need Jenn to do like we do for the kids and throw one down for you to find – she can claim that she really did it for Abby. Then once the spell is broken, you will probably find them everywhere you look

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This past Saturday, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Clemson 4-H program and the Salkehatchie Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association all worked together to provide a great day of fun at the Palachucola shooting range for local kids and their families.

Me helping Bo shoot on the .22 range

The event ran from 10am until 2pm, and I would guess that we around 40 to 50 kids along with about that many parents/grandparents. And while that did not meet last years attendance of 100 youths, it was still an amazing day. And if anything, by not being so crowded, it allowed the kids that were there to take multiple turns at each station and enjoy the day that much more.

David from the Webb Center assisting Will on the archery range

As for the stations, we had a youth archery range set up with targets and life-size 3D animals for them to shoot with special youth bows. We also had an air gun range that was totally self contained in the back of a 4-H trailer that allowed 2 kids at a time to shoot paper targets along with small metallic animals, 5 .22 rifles with instructors on the rifle range shooting metallic animals and 4 skeet stations where the kids could bang away at the flying orange discs.

Everyone really had a good time, and I know that our two boys sure enjoyed it. Amy brought them by around midday, and we took them all around… You would have thought Santa Claus was there the way that they ran from station to station giggling with glee!

David helping Bo shoot a doe

Both boys really loved the archery range, and I must commend David from the Webb Center on his patience. He managed to not only help 4-year-old Bo shoot the deer target, but 2 year old Will as well. They both also really loved the air gun range, and Will even out shot his older brother! I then held Bo in front of me while we tried in vain to hit those flying orange targets that the trap

Bo and Will with the instructors on the airgun range

machine through out; while we didn’t ever connect on any of them, Bo really loved helping me shoot the BIG gun.

I must really commend Webb biologist Jay Cantrell and his whole crew for planning such an amazing day along with all of the SCDNR employees and game wardens in addition to the 4-H volunteers that helped at each station and provided such a quality event for our youngsters.

Bo's friend Jackson getting gun safety instruction

And I would be remiss if I left out own QDMA branch contribution of money to help purchase much of the ammunition that was used Saturday. These were funds that we raised by hosting our REACH banquet last August at the County Line, and these are the type of great local events that it was meant to be used on. So the next time you are wondering what the banquets are for and where the money goes, you will now know!

QDMA volunteer and master long-range shooter Mike Casstevens helping on the .22 range

Dan from the Webb Center helping on the archery range

Russell from the Webb Center assisting with the skeet shooting

Jackson's mom taking her turn with the .22

Even the volunteers got a turn

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I have thousands and thousands of trailcam pictures. And I have caught just about everything on them including big bucks, does, fawns, coyotes, bats, birds, even trespassers and thieves. However I have never gotten a bobcat on one of my cameras until NOW. And what is even funnier is that I didn’t even know he was on there because when feeder ran out of corn,  I didn’t even bother to check it until yesterday!

Check out this big guy cruising around looking for a quick bite to eat at 3am… and what is he looking for, well probably not the nice buck that was also hanging out near this feeder, but more than likely the nice little rabbits that love cleaning up the corn scraps.

NOTE: I am still working on getting caught up from a busy weekend of work, and I should have our Range Day photos up tomorrow.

Thanks, Jeff

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You read that right! There is no such thing as a cull buck, and the research is in to prove it.

After many studies on captive deer, one has finally been done on wild, free-range deer. And it shows conclusively that shooting “inferior” deer will NOT improve your herd. As a matter of fact, it will hurt it since you will be removing bucks that would have grown older and increased the percentage of mature bucks on your property.

You can read all about the results of the recently published study by Dr. James Kroll and Ben Koerth on Deer and Deer Hunting’s website. It is called The Culling Myth Exposed, and it is a fascinating read.

Some of the highlights include the discovery of 3 different growth patterns for antlers in deer, by 4½ years of age there were no differences in any antler measurements regardless of what a buck wore on his head as a yearling and that a yearling buck with small antlers is just as likely to attain trophy status as one with larger antlers at yearling age.

As a matter of fact, if a trophy buck is defined as a deer that scores above 150 inches B&C, about 17 percent of the yearlings in the small antler category and 13 percent of the yearlings in the large antler category will reach that benchmark when mature. This proves two things… one that it completely doesn’t matter what size of a rack a young buck wears in his first couple of years, and two, that NO MATTER WHAT bucks you pass up, only so many are going to become Monsters.

I just love that we can finally put this argument to rest. I can’t think of another subject that is so debated around any deer camp, so please take a minute to educate yourself so that you you can educate others.

Jeff

PS: Everyone had a great time Saturday at the Youth Range Day, and I will have a full write up of it along with lots of pictures tomorrow. See you then.

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Shane with his hogs

About two weeks ago, I wrote a post on how to trap hogs in 10 easy steps. That post came about after a couple of emails from lowcountryhunting readers who were looking to knock down the hog population on their hunting leases after deer season ended.

One of them was Shane from Columbia who has a lease over in Bamberg County. Well, he just sent me an email letting me know that my “steps” had helped him catch several hogs along with some pictures of his success… Just take a look at those fat corn thieves!

And I know a lot of hunters and trappers don’t care about scent control, but I will let Shane’s comment speak for itself, “Thanks again for all of the advice, it really did help us, especially the advice on the scent control. After killing the first round of 3, they avoided the trap a full two weeks before we caught a second sow.”

I also wanted to share with you another hog hunting success story from over on the Savannah River near Jackson, SC. Dr. Havird, a frequent guest at Cypress Creek, was hunting with his friend Clayton Hodges on Monday when they knocked down a 225 pounder with “deuce’s” help. I will let Dr. Havird’s short email straight from the woods via his phone tell the story…

dog trailed and bayed. hog charged dog who decided a good time to leave neighborhood. dog ran back to us wide open with pig coming fast. Clayton made one 60 yd head shot on dead running pig with open sights lever action winchester 32 special.  dog then returned for payback to pig.

Thanks guys for keeping us updated on your successes. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am jacked up and ready to hog hunt!

Jeff

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