I can’t believe a week away from SC can go so fast!

Amy, Bo, Will and I ran down to Melbourne, FL for some rest and relaxation, but ended up doing almost as much there as we do here. We went on an unbelievably fun bowfishing trip in Orlando with Florida BowFishing Charters, a fishing trip on the Intracoastal with friends and a great hog hunt near Lake Okeechobee with Chappy’s Outfitters. And that was all on top of eating out, visiting friends and spending lots of time at the beach and pool with the kids!

We really had a fantastic great time, and I look forward to sharing some of our pictures and outdoor adventure stories with everyone. However I am headed to work this morning, so they will have to wait until later. But until then, please check over at the Cypress Creek Skinning Shed for four great new video clips: a bow hunt for a hog, a monster lowcountry buck by rifle and one of our many lady hunters shooting a doe. There is also a great instructional video clip about how to hunt hogs, and what sign and habitat you are looking for when pursuing them – a real must for those that are new to the sport.

Jeff

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That’s right… The Hunt family is headed to Florida this morning for a full week of fun in the sun. We will be staying in Melbourne visiting Amy’s mom and stepdad that live across the street from the beach as well as catching up with lots of friends that we don’t get to see too often. We also have several day trips planned to Sebastian Inlet, the zoo and on the St. John’s River. So I look forward to sharing those adventures with you when I return, and hopefully I will also get  a post or two up while we are there since I will have internet access.

However to keep you entertained this morning, I suggest you check over at the Cypress Creek Skinning Shed for some new video clips that I just posted. One has some great footage of a big sow being shot by our old marketing/media coordinator and the other has Kerry Earnhardt watching a great boar fight and then shooting the winner. I think you will really like them!

Jeff

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Well it finally happened… One of our boys hurt himself bad enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room on Saturday afternoon.

Amy had the boys outside playing in the yard, and Will was walking on the one foot high brick wall the surrounds my mom’s carport next door when he fell off and put his bottom teeth through his bottom lip and knocked in his top two teeth. I wasn’t here, but my wife says that it looked like a scene out of Saving Private Ryan.

Of course the nearest emergency room is about 30 minutes away, so Amy had to race his bundled, bloody face over to the Hampton Medical Center along with my mom and Bo. There they sewed some of his wounds shut while gluing others, and referred us on to a dentist about his two knocked in top teeth.

I knew as crazy as our two monkeys are that we just couldn’t go forever without a trip to the ER. I mean Will has already missed a couple of good opportunities, so we were do. Heck he took one big tumble about six months ago when he pushed too hard agains the screen on my mom’s porch, and he fell two feet down to the concrete. He just happened to kind of roll as he fell, so it really didn’t hurt him thankfully.

But maybe now that he looks like one of the Africans that wears the big lip plate, he will learn to behave himself – but I wouldn’t count on it.

Jeff

PS. Bo and I didn’t kill any turkeys yesterday, but we sure had fun. He enjoyed listening to me try and coax a big gobbler into our setup while he shot the decoys with his gun, ate snacks and asked “why no turkeys coming out?”. I tell you I still haven’t figured out why we didn’t see anything

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Sorry folks for my disappearance over the last week. The family and I did go down to Florida for a couple of days, and we had a great time. We basically just relaxed and visited friends and family as well as took some family outings to cool local places with the boys. We then came home, and I had to get right to work for turkey season, so that has kept me off of the computer.

And I know that I promised to blog while down there, but it just didn’t happen… First I spilled coffee on/in the keyboard on my friend’s computer, and that killed it. Then even after buying him a new one, I was just having too nice of a time taking a break from the computer to get back to it. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write and blog, but sometimes a man just needs a break. So again, I apologize for not posting, and I will get right back to the grind here at lowcountryhunting covering our turkey season which started Sunday morning.

And since I am guiding every morning, I should have lots of hunts to write about. A ton of time in the turkey woods should also give me plenty of ideas and tips to share here on how to bag one of our lowcountry birds.

As for our trip, like I said we took several small trips while we were there including an airboat ride on the St. Johns River last Monday morning as well as a trip down to Sebastian Inlet to play in the surf on Wednesday. The boys really loved getting to see some beautiful Florida country, playing in the water and getting really close to lots and lots of big gators… So much so that they really didn’t want to leave. However I have promised them some turkey hunting of their own, so they did come back with us. And since I am off this morning, Bo and I are headed out to a blind that I have set up to see if we can’t call in a big bird!

I will report back to tomorrow! Thanks for your patience.

Jeff

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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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Bo and I with our first squirrel

Well, if you didn’t get enough hunting in during the fall deer season and your land/lease doesn’t hold any hogs, then you may need to pick up your rimfire rifle and head out for some small game hunting this winter.

It doesn’t take any expensive ammo, nor fancy camo. It only requires you to be out enjoying the great outdoors. And if you have kids, then they will definitely love you more for taking them too.

I know the boys and I have been really enjoying some quality woods time lately by pursuing squirrels, and it has been a ton of fun. I generally walk while they ride in their F-150 so they don’t get tired during the hunt. The truck is also great for bringing snacks and extra clothing if it is cold outside -  a must to make sure kids enjoy their hunt. We then just meander around hoping for a tree rat to cross our paths.

Will napping in the F-150

Of course by making so much noise and commotion coming through the woods, we are not exactly hammering the local squirrel population. However we have managed to kill a couple -  just check out Bo and I with our very first harvest. Unfortunately, while Will joined us for the hunt too, we were unable to wake him up from his nap in the truck for the photo shoot!

So if you aren’t tired of hunting after our 4 month deer season, consider some small game hunting. And parents, if your kids are looking to keep up the quality time you spent with them in the deer stand this past fall, please consider taking them on some small game hunts as well. I know it will not exactly fill your freezer in a hurry nor make you feel like the Great Hunter with a 5 ounce kill. However your kids will truly enjoy their time with you in the woods. They will also benefit greatly from the education they receive by spending even more time outdoors as well as shooting a lot with a manageable, small caliber gun.

For those in the lowcountry, one of the best places to hunt small game is the Webb Center. It has over 26,000 acres of public land available from daylight until dark for a low, one-time WMA fee of $75. You just can’t beat that for quality small game hunting access! You can also check out the South Carolina DNR website for even more WMAs that allow access for small game hunting.

Jeff

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Buster and Reena with a couple of his recent finds

That’s right! My dog had a better deer hunting season than I did…

For the first time in many, many years, I did NOT kill a buck. I could have, but I didn’t. And while I would have liked to have killed a buck this past season, I have gotten to the point that if it is not Monster, I would rather let him go so that he can grow.

And, heck, if I am looking to just put some antlers up on my wall, all I have to do is wait for my dog to bring them to me. He loves any deer head, but he really loves the ones with nice, big antlers to chew on. And he doesn’t mind if a car hits them or a hunter loses a wounded one; he told me it is all the same to him since all rotten deer skulls taste like chicken anyway

The only problem with this method of antler collecting is the occasional theft! Buster is a 100 pound yard dog who is always hungry, therefore he is unable to tell (or doesn’t care) that a rack has been left outside by a neighboring hunt club so that the meat will rot off and it can be hung inside

But hey, we did return it… Sorry!

Jeff

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A Shooting Range Family Fun Day will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7th in Garnett at the Palachucola shooting range from 10am until 2pm.

The event is being put on by our local Quality Deer Management Association’s Salkehatchie Branch, The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Clemson 4-H. It is for ALL ages, and will feature expert supervision and instruction in target shooting with airguns, .22s and archery equipement as well as skeet shooting with shotguns.

All of the guns, their ammo and the necessary targets will also be provided, so there is no reason not to attend this great event with your young shooters. This is also a great event for ANYONE looking to learn how to shoot or that is interested in breaking into the shooting sports.

Please call the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Webb Center at 803-625-3569 for more information or to get directions to the range.

Also, after the event there will be several hours left in the day to hike the many trails that run through the 26,000 acres of public land that surrounds the Palachucola shooting range including the Savannah River nature trail. So bring the whole family and come enjoy one of the Lowcountry’s true natural gems after a day of shooting.

Jeff

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Jeff somewhere in Panama, circa 1992

Just like I wrote last year, I don’t know where the years have gone. But somehow I have become 38 years old!

Last time I looked I was 21, surfing all over Central America and living in places that you wouldn’t park your lawnmower in. I was also trying to figure out where I wanted to be in 17 years… Today, well you know the story – Happily married, living in the lowcountry with my beautiful wife and boys, and writing, taking pictures and Hunting!

And I wouldn’t trade it for the world…

Jeff

PS. My mom is coming over to watch the boys for the afternoon while Amy and I go hiking – I would like a couple of new sheds for my birthday. Have a great weekend, and I will see you guys on Monday.

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What do you do when you have two boys that LOVE to hunt, but one of them is sick and can’t go outside? You go hunting anyway… Play-Doh boar hunting!

I know, I know. We are sick people who need help. But I tell you, when other parents ask us why our kids love the outdoors so much when they can’t even get theirs to put down the Playstation, our answer is easy – Take them hunting all of the time and make it fun…Go hiking and show them all of the sign that the animals leave in the woods…Read books that promote an appreciation of the woods… Etc, Etc!

Killing an animal only takes seconds, but creating a love of that animal lasts a lifetime.

Jeff

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