A few weeks ago, Amy took the boys hiking along the train tracks that run through the Palachucola WMA that is a part of the Webb Wildlife Center and WMA. There she found a great buck that had recently been hit by a train, and that is him in the picture with Will holding the half a rack left from the collision.

From his pedicle, beam length, mass and teeth, it appears that this great buck was at least 3.5 years old, so definitely a good one produced by the great management program that the Webb Center runs for their deer. However the fact that a good quality deer management plan produced a great buck like this one after 6 years of antler restrictions is not a big surprise. The fact that it has a knife-like G2 just like the original Webb Monster is!

If everyone remembers, two seasons ago, a young man killed the great buck called the Webb Monster that we had been watching and trying to kill over on Cubbedge Hill Plantation that runs through the Webb Center. And that beautiful buck that gross scored 146 inches had a very unique rack that sported flat, knife-like back tines (Bo is holding one of his sheds from when he was 4.5 years old). And amazingly enough, so does this one.

Of course, since the Webb Monster was 5.5 years old, he obviously was able to breed quite a few does over the years. So it isn’t unusual for a deer living just down the dirt road and in the same management area to have a similar rack. But since we haven’t seen any others like it since then, I just thought that everyone would love to know that there are more giants just like the Webb Monster running around the 26,000 acre WMA. And if you are lucky enough to get drawn for one of the hunts this fall over there, you might just see and kill one!

Please note that the applications for the hunts become available June 1st, so you might want to apply.

Jeff

PS: the boys are standing in front of Amy’s garden which she has been taking great care of. And the vegetables are coming right along, so put your orders in now!

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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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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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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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The SCDNR and QDMA Salkehatchie Branch’s quality deer management workshop held this past Saturday at the Webb Wildlife Center here in Garnett was a complete success! We had about 45 attendees including 24 registered guests and 10 branch board members as well as quite a few employees from the South Carolina DNR, law enforcement and forestry commission.

Our three main speakers were Dr. Guynn, professor of Wildlife and Forestry from Clemson University, Charles Ruth, SCDNR deer project supervisor, and Marion Barnes, our county’s Clemson extension agent. The workshop started at 10am and ran to 5pm, and in that time we listened to each speaker address their area of expertise, ate lunch and toured several food plots on Webb. Dr. Guynn spoke about the four pillars of quality deer management, Charles Ruth covered trends in South Carolina hunting such as baiting and the use of tracking dogs and Marion Barnes addressed food plot and orchard planting. Webb biologist Jay Cantrell also covered how to keep deer out of your food plot while they are being established (a real problem here in the South) as well as helped Webb technician Ted Rainwater show how to plant food plots with various farming tools running the gamut from an ATV with a spreader to a tractor with a grain drill.

Everyone came away from the day with lots of new knowledge and a renewed excitement about quality deer management. We even handed out a anonymous survey at the end of the day to assess how well the day went along with the quality of our speakers… and much to our pleasant surprise, we had almost unanimous agreement that it was well worth a whole Saturday!

It is through efforts like this that will allow hunting to flourish as our true great American past time in the 21st Century. I truly want to thank everyone that attended, helped with the preparations and spoke at the workshop!

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Beginning tomorrow, South Carolina lowcountry turkey hunters will have tens of thousands of public land acres to hunt on. Because while the private land season opened on March 15th, public land hunts for region 6 (which covers the lowcountry) runs from April 1st to May 1st.

One of the best public hunting areas lies just across the road from me here in Garnett, and that would be the Webb Wildlife Management Area, Palachucola WMA and the Hamilton Ridge WMA. These three tracts sit right beside one another and total almost 27,000 acres!

There are also many other wildlife management areas open around the lowcountry as well as across the state, and you can find a complete list of them on the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources website. Hunters must possess a South Carolina WMA stamp ($75) and follow all other state and WMA rules. Interested hunters can check those out on the SCDNR Turkey Regulations website).

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I have been going through some of Dwight’s old hunting albums and transferring all of thepictures in to new albums. They were not stored very well, so they are pretty dusty. However most of the pictures are fine, so they look great in the new albums.

The couple of albums I am working on right now are of the Webb Wildlife Management Area’s harvested deer from 1996 until 2004. So I thought I would pull out a couple of the nicest bucks I have come across that were killed on the 5,500 acres in 1996, 97 and 98. I also thought I would show a typical hunts harvest since they did not have their antler restrictions in place at the time… only one buck out of the 6 displayed would be legal since the change 3 years ago, so you can imaging how many bucks are getting a chance to grow old now!

The picture of the two guys with two great bucks was taken on Nov. 23, 1996 while Sam Mounts is pictured next to them with his 162 pound, 9 point with a 16.5 inch spread that he killed on 10/25/1997.

Daniel Richards, in the blaze orange vest, is shown below with his 175 pound 7 point (19.5 inch spread) , and Jeffrey Wirchball displays his 144 pound, 10 point (17.5 inch spread) that he killed on 10/29/1998.

And just to let you know, I am working on a great story about my worst hog hunt ever, so please check back. You don’t want to miss it!

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That’s right, one of kill shots that I took of Cody Whittle and the Monster buck he killed while on a Webb Center draw hunt is on the January cover of South Carolina Sportsman. The same shot as well as one of our trailcam pictures was also used to compliment the story on the inside.

I always love to see my work being appreciated, so it was fantastic discovery when my wife came out of the gas station holding up the issue. I also truly love to see the Webb Center, Hampton county and our amazing lowcountry bucks being showcased in a state-wide periodical.

And while it is on the Cubbedge Hill web site’s old blog, I thought I would include the trailcam picture of the buck when he was just 3.5 years old. What a difference two more years makes! And if you haven’t seen the shots of him in velvet, check it out…

I also want to let our readers know about a local website SCOutdoorAdventures. I see a good number of viewers coming from that site’s forum, thanks to “2Tired4Dux”, and I truly appreciate the link! I have also registered on the site as well since it seems to have good discussions in the forums WITHOUT catering to the belligerent idiots who constantly spew venomous comments!

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As usual, Arthur over at Simply Outdoors is ahead of the game. This time he has a great post up about the coming Spring (and with it, turkey season) and how he is looking to take his first big redhead this year. Since I am already getting ready myself, I thought I would create a short post from my comments to him on how I believe is the best way to kill one of those darn things – Because I too spent several years trying to bag my first gobbler.

The one thing I would recommend is to forget what you see on TV. Those guys usually have lots of land to run and gun on, which is fine if you know the technique and have room to roam. And while I have definitely killed some birds doing it, I have found that calling aggressively and moving around so much usually just burns out a small chunk of property in a hurry. I believe the best way to hunt them if you only have a small tract of land is to set up/build a blind and hunt them almost like deer. This means that you must pattern them so you know where they like to go – it is always much easier to call them to where the they want to go than where they do NOT. Once you have picked your best spot or two, call SOFTLY off and on (maybe every 30 minutes) and WAIT.

That big, ugly bird has nothing else to do but survive, so he usually is in no hurry to die by rushing in. And he may or may not gobble, but I will bet that he IS coming. Your task is to keep from giving up and going home before he gets to you. Your hunt may not look exactly like the ones on the Outdoor Channel, but my 5 birds last season all agree the technique works!

The big gobbler in the picture with me is the largest bird I have ever killed (a 5 year old bird with 1.5 inch spurs and an 11 inch beard) that I truly doubt would have been stupid enough to fall for the run and gun approach. A dinosaur like that will usually take hours to come in! So the next time you don’t hear any birds sounding off, let your buddies go home while you wait him out…

And if you have never killed a turkey, just remember that you will make lots of mistakes before you do! Some of my best ones were: stepping out of the truck at daylight and having my wife’s locator call make one gobble – only to realize that I had forgotten my gun at the campsite; working a bird for an entire morning before finally getting close enough to realize that it was in a neighbor’s pen; leaving my spot after having a truck bust my

working bird – only to have another hunter come in talking about the strutting bird right were I had been just 30 minutes ago; and, while taking a bathroom break out of one blind window, looking out the other to see a giant gobbler watching me!

Unfortunately there are lots of ways NOT to kill an old bird. But if you use my technique I think you will find one that WILL.

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I just came in from loading up the corn on Aunt Mary’s tract over in Scotia, and I saw a GIANT buck run across the road at 11:30 on the dot. He was only 75 yards from one of their stands, and he was a true monster!

Like I have been saying, if you want to kill a big buck right now, you have to be in the woods during the midday hours. The big ones just do not seem to be moving until at least 8:30am, and often much later. I believe that most of the mature bucks are tending does right now, and the only times they are moving are when they are chasing the doe they are with, or when they move around during the midday looking for a new doe.

As for the weather, it is like summer here. And it is not supposed to get much better over the next week. About the only thing we can look forward to is a small cool down this Saturday. However the cold weather did not help us last weekend, so I am not counting on it now. I think everyone just needs to accept that the abundance of acorns still in the woods along with the heat is KILLING the deer movement… and is going to for the rest of the season!

So just remember it is the RUT, and hunt hard especially during the midday, preferably as deep in the woods as you can get, and you might just luck up. If you are not willing to do that, then just go ahead and cut on the Outdoor Channel because that is as close to a big buck as you are going to get.

And as if I needed more proof of what is going on with the deer movement, two friends of J.O. were down last weekend hunting on Palachacola, 6500 acres of prime WMA land. And one of them had this to say about his hunt:

Jeff,

Buddy and myself were down this weekend staying at the house hunting the Palachacola Drawed Hunt. Just dropping a line to let you know it was terrible. There were 21 hunters hunting 3 days, the result for the whole weekend equaled 7 does, 1 button buck, NO antlered bucks. The weather was bad Thursday night with 22mph wind but Friday and Saturday the weather was no excuse. I have read your notes and you are probably right, the bucks are in the woods with the does. I saw 3 bucks Friday night but they were small basket racks. Mr J.O. invited us back in December to help you guys take a few does out of the herd when yall start doing so. Have a good week and good luck

   Thanks, Bryan
So there you go… Now suck it up, get up here and hunt like you mean it!

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