Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
A few weeks ago I shot that 8 pointer and then I mentioned that I was taking it to Chris Melvin of Pin Oak Taxidermy in Great Falls, SC to have the skull done in this new ?camo skull? design. I was anxious to see what the final product would look like and I recently got the mount back from Chris and have to say that I?m very pleased with it. The end product is very nice with a shiny finish and a very detailed design.
When I spoke with Chris he mentioned to me that he?s got some more new designs coming in and that, due to the technique used, no two camo skulls ever look the same so every one?s is unique. If you've shot a deer and don't want to do a full mount then you may want to give the camo-skull some thought. It's a unique design that isn't as expensive, but is still pretty neat.
Again, the price is $165 and the normal turn-around time is 2 - 3 months (given normal workload). Give Chris a call and/or email and tell him that we sent you!
Below is a video of my camo skull in good light to give you an up-close idea of the final product.
If you?re interested in a camo skull, Chris? information is below:
Chris Melvin [email protected] Pin Oak Taxidermy Great Falls, South Carolina 803.519.6203
Regards, Clint
Do you remember the blog I posted regarding the upcoming vote on November 2nd and the South Carolinian?s Right to Hunt and Fish? Well the date is just around the corner and we need to spread the word about this important vote. With enough votes from hunters across South Carolina, the right to hunt and fish will be written into the state?s constitution and ensure that future generations will be able to continue to enjoy the great outdoors.
See more data about the movement
Recently I met with Heather Clarkson from the SC Camo Coalition to talk a little bit about the importance of the Right to Hunt and Fish. Check out the video where Heather talks a little about the Right to Hunt and Fish Campaign.
Be sure to Vote Yes to amendment 1 on Nov 2nd!
If you have any questions or want more info, feel free to contact Heather.
Heather Clarkson [email protected] 803-256-0670
Regards,
Clint
Derrick Outen is a character?and yes...a sharp-shooter. If you know him then this blog entry won?t surprise you much. I?ve been after Derrick to let me video one of his hunts for a while and we finally lined it up. This past Saturday morning, I met Derrick early in the morning and we set out on our hunt.
We ended up in a nice condo stand overlooking a field that is surrounded by woods. We made a point to be quiet and not use much light as we entered because sometimes deer bed down in the areas surrounding this stand and we didn?t want to spook any of them on the way in. It didn?t take us long to get up the stand and get situated. I also made sure I was on the side of the stand that would be filming the ?good? side of Derrick?s face just in case I had to get him on camera.
It was 43 degrees and the air had a crispness to it that felt pretty good. We sat and watched the sun rise from about 30 feet up in this spacious condo stand. It was a very picturesque scene to observe as you could see for a very long distance all the way around the stand. As the sun rose the beams of sunlight shined down onto the field for a really unique sight. As soon as the sun hit the top of the trees it was dead in our face. Derrick looked at me and said ?that?s why this is an afternoon stand? lol! We leaned back to keep the sun out of our face as much as possible. Eventually it finally got high enough not to bother us.
We sat and scanned the field for about 2 and a half hours. We had a great aerial view of everything going on around and beneath us. The only problem was that nothing was moving! Derrick had some food plot product planted in the field and some corn out around the edges?everything seemed just right. I was sure something was going to walk out at any minute. The cut-over had been cut about a year ago and so there was thick brush surrounding the field that we were overlooking. If a deer walked through the brush, as Derrick said he frequently sees them do, you would see the bushes and small trees moving as they came through. Normally one wouldn?t see this kind of stuff, but being up so high you have that visual capability due to the vantage point the stand gives you. He said if it?s a buck, sometimes you?ll just see antlers making their way through the brush in the cut-over. The thought of that scene just kept playing over and over in my mind, but no matter how hard I thought about it? it just didn?t happen.
The clock was ticking and I had to head to the beach to celebrate the one year ?engage-iversary? with the wife. We got down out of the stand and headed back to the shop. Derrick said that there was another cut-over that we needed to check on the way back in. We drove a little while and then parked the truck. We got out and started walking. I?ve never tried to just walk up on a deer before and didn?t really think anything like this would work. So as we got out of the truck I was asking myself all these questions about how we were really about to pull something like this off and if so, how was I going to get it on film. I didn?t have any answers that made sense to me.
We arrived to the edge of a cut-over and this cut-over was looking down on a really steep hillside. Derrick said that the deer were going to be on the hillside somewhere and that we needed to be as quiet as possible. He really knows the land well and we would be shooting at a down angle in a direction that didn?t pose any danger to anyone. Since we were out of the stand I was free handing the camera which equals a ?shakey? video. Also, at this location the sun was in our face again and it was bright. We took a few steps with Derrick leading and me in the back. After about 5 yards it was clear to see that ?quiet? wasn?t the word that would describe our entrance. There were just too many sticks on the ground, brush in the way, briars ripping our pants, and cuckle berries. It was thick and not fun to walk through. We got about 15 yards in and neared a tripod stand that he?s got on the hillside and he said ?there they go? and I looked up and saw 2 white tails just bounding down the brush-covered-hillside. They were getting out of there and I mean quick like. This is the scene that a hunter sometime sees, but hates to see it happen?that is, spooking a deer and watching them flee the scene. Right after he said ?they?re they go? I had started turning the camera on and he was propping up on the tripod stand. To my surprise, one of the deer got right on the edge of the woods and just stopped and turned around. I have no idea why this deer stopped, but when she did I heard Derrick say ?You ready?? Since the sun was directly in our eyes it was really hard for me to find the deer in the camera. I was bobbling the camera and mumbling?"uh, yea-noo, hold on, yeah I got her, go ahead". As soon as I said ?go ahead? Derrick pulled the trigger and the shot rang out and the deer ran to the right going out of the cutover and out of our sight.
I watched the deer in the screen and I told Derrick that I didn?t think he hit the deer. Derrick just stared at me and we had an awkward moment of silence and then he said ?You mean to tell me that you are doubting me?? The look on his face was reminiscent of a look that the football coaches gave us when we had just messed up and they asked a question?knowing that they knew what the answer was! I said, ?Well you could have hit it and I?m not saying that you didn?t hit it, but just from the way she ran off and the dirt I saw fly behind her? I don?t think you hit her.? Another stare down and question??Clint, you?re really going to sit here and say that you don?t think I hit that deer?? I got the camera back out and looked at the video and the video was tough to see because of the light and me moving it around so much ?Blair-witch? style, but at the end of it you could see the deer and the shot. We watched it back again and I said? ?You didn?t hit that deer. I?m telling you...you missed.? Derrick just shook his head in total disbelief that I didn?t think he hit the deer. The look on his face was one that I can?t describe accurately here in words. I think my doubting his shot may hurt our friendship a little! Lol! He said ?Alright?let?s go get the mule and see?but I?m telling you? I hit that deer.?
We headed back to get his mule (yes we?re in SC, but that?s not a real mule but a larger ATV) and on the way back I was thinking to myself that there was no way he hit the deer. I mean think about it?we just go walking through some cut-over, the deer jumps, he props up on a tri-pod, asks me if I?m ready, I give him the go ahead, and he shoots downhill at about 125 yards and he hits the deer?... all within 10 ? 15 seconds? Come on now..the odds were just too high working against us.
We got in the mule and headed out to the location of where the deer was and sure enough?we found blood at the location where the deer was standing when he pulled the trigger. When we found that first drop of blood Derrick gave me another long, awkward pause/stare basically letting me know that I was dumb for doubting him. It was again reminiscent of a look you may have seen in high school football from one of your coaches. We parked the mule and set out tracking. Derrick had also switched guns from the rifle to a shotgun in case the deer jumped again. We set out walking over this cutover again trailing this deer. The briars, cuckle berries, and everything else was sticking to us and getting in our way. Since it was early a lot of the brush was wet and so our clothes became wet after just a couple of yards tracking this doe. We walked and trailed this deer forever and we could easily see the blood trail and this deer was really moving after the shot. We only lost the blood trail momentarily and then regained it. This doe ran back up the hill, made a left, and then headed back down the hill toward the creek. We trailed this deer for about 115 yards and it took us about 20 minutes. We kept thinking we were just about to see the deer, but then there would be more blood further up. I told Derrick that we were going to have to add 5lbs to the weight of the deer because of how long the blood trail was. We were both surprised at how long the deer ran.
We finally found the deer lying down the hillside near the creek. It was a decent doe and, as bad as I hate to say it, he made a perfect shot. I mean the bullet placement was right where it?s supposed to be. When we saw where he hit the deer he kept giving me a hard time about me doubting him. We drug it to the next closest road. When we looked at the doe we noticed that the deer was really old because it only had about 4 teeth on the bottom jaw and those teeth were loose. We also noticed that this deer had been shot earlier in the season by someone. It looked like someone grazed the top of this deer?s neck with a rifle because the hair was gone and you could see the fresh scar on the back of the deer?s neck. I?d never seen one with that few teeth and that been shot before, much less that combination at the same time.
We headed back to the mule and brought it over to pick the deer up and guess what I got lectured about all the way to get the deer, all the way back to the shop, and all the way to the processor and back?that?s right??I can?t believe you doubted me? and on and on and on.
This is a good example of properly having the date in the pic
Below is the video I shot?be ready cause it?s quick and very shakey
All in all it was a good hunt and I won?t ever question Derrick?s shot again (whether he misses or not)! Lol! I will say though that he made a good shot and got it done in a situation that was probably not the best case scenario so I give him kudos for that. His shot was definitely better than my video!
One day while I was at Hickory Hills Smoked Products in Van Wyck, SC I saw something that caught my eye. One of the tables off to the side had some taxidermy displays and I saw something I?d never seen before among the displays. There was a skull mount with the skull painted in a really neat looking camo design. I walked over and looked at some of the samples, felt how slick they were, took some pics with my phone, and looked at the info about the guy who was doing it. The business card in front said ?Chris Melvin, Pin Oak Taxidermy, Great Falls, SC?. I was pretty impressed as I looked at the designs available and the samples that were on display. I made a mental note to myself about it and went on about my business.
The next day was when I shot the 8 pointer right at daylight. This deer was a nice deer, but he wasn?t big enough for me to mount in the style of a normal mount and since it was fresh in my mind I figured I?d give this camo skull mount a whirl?after all it looked pretty neat. I called back up to Hickory Hills and got the phone number for Pin Oak taxidermy and gave Chris Melvin a call. I told Chris that not only did I want my skull mounted with this neat new camo design, but that I also wanted to meet with him and talk to him about it and post something about it here on the site.
A couple of days ago I did just that? I went down and met Chris and got some more information from him about the camo skull mounts and saw some more examples. Chris was a real nice, easy going guy and I have to tell you that this camo skull stuff is pretty neat! I asked Chris some questions about the camo skull mounts and he told me a little about the process etc.
One thing I found interesting was the Chris has a very unique way of getting the skulls clean. He mentioned that many people boil a skull to get it clean, but that boiling it makes it brittle and more likely to crack. In order to get the skulls clean and let them maintain their strength, Chris uses something very unique. He uses a specific type of beetles and they eat everything, but the skull! Yes, you may find that rare, but I have to tell you that these things really get the job done. They also get the job done fast. Chris said that in a matter of days the beetles will have the skull as clean as a whistle. (If you want to see a pic of the beetles cleaning a skull, click here). After the skulls are clean he lets them air dry out for a while and then he prepares the skulls for painting.
While I was at Angelus Deer Processing getting my deer processed I showed some of the camo skull pics on my phone to the guys down there and they really liked this style of skull mount too. I?m writing this blog entry because you may be like me (and the guys down at Angelus Deer Processing) and have never heard or seen this style before. Hopefully I can help spread the word about this new technique in skull mounts and give Chris a little publicity!
Chris said that with all things normal the turn-around time with a camo skull is around 3 months. If he gets really busy then that can affect the turn-around time, but generally that?s about how long it takes. The camo skull mounts go for $165 and you can choose from a wide variety of designs and man I?m telling you they look good. I saw several designs on different skulls and they all looked different and were shining from the glossiness of the finish. I?d definitely recommend this style at least for one of your mounts and I?m going to post the pic of mine here on the site when I get it back.
Another note that is worth mentioning is that Chris can still give you a camo skull mount if you have the horns from a deer you harvested many years ago. Chris can get a fake skull and attach your horns to it. He showed me a camo skull mount that had real horns, but with a fake skull on it and it wasn?t easy to tell so they still look good.
Below is a quick video I made with a few different variations of the camo mounts
So if you have an old set of horns or if you want a neat new type of mount then give Chris Melvin at Pin Oak Taxidermy a call or email. Chris?s info is below:
This is a guest blog entry by Ben Sullivan
Ben Sullivan has been one of my life-long friends and in the past few hunting seasons he?s started getting into hunting. Ben hunts in the Coastal area of South Carolina down around Georgetown. Last weekend Ben got his first deer and it was a very nice buck! Since this was his first deer, a huge buck, and a good story, I asked Ben to give us some info about his hunt and I would post it here on the blog. Ben gave me a brief summary of his first hunt and how it went down.
Last week we had a large tropical storm move up the eastern seaboard and it got really wet here on the coastal region. Wednesday night my buddy Luke and I were planning on bow hunting the next morning since the tropical storm was moving up north. We thought the bucks would be up and moving after three days of heavy rain.
We hunt on roughly 2000 acres in Georgetown, SC and after the tropical storm about 1200 acres of the land was under water. We woke up on Thursday and saw that the rain had stopped and there was a nice breeze (for Georgetown) in the air. Luke texted me around 6 am and said that the weather was perfect and we needed to get in the woods. My favorite bow stand was under water so we decided to sit in the tower stand instead (one of the highest spots on the facility). This was the first time I sat in the tower stand. I had pics on 9 other stands and we didn?t expect this spot to be much of a producer; therefore we didn?t put much effort into it other than putting out corn.
We were sitting in the tower stand just looking and at exactly 9:15 a huge buck walked out. It took him about 4 seconds to get broad sided and give me a clear shot. I didn?t waste any time taking the shot and the deer fell on the spot. Luke?s inclination to go out that morning was dead on the money! We got down out of the tower stand and took the pics that you see below.
We saw 4 other decent size bucks moving that day while we put out corn at the other stands on our property. I?m excited that we have let them walk for 2 years in a row and our management practices are proving beneficial. Another interesting note is that we get a lot of game-cam pics, but the deer I shot had never been captured on camera. It appears that we will have quite a few shooters this year.
Congratulations to Ben on his first deer...a very nice buck! I don?t know if I?ve ever seen on that big in the woods before, but I hope to!
Last Spring Mr. Bruce Puette took me on my first turkey hunt. After the hunt I posted a blog entry titled ?The Day I Learned How to Turkey Hunt?. I got all fired up about turkey hunting and went and bought all kinds of turkey calls, camo, etc. Well, Mr. Puette also deer hunts and we just had another successful hunt.
Two weeks ago I gave Mr. Puette a call to see if he wanted to go deer hunting at some point. I told him that I didn?t plan on bringing a gun and that I just wanted to video one of his hunts again. It seemed to work out well the first time with turkeys, so I figured it would probably hold true with deer, plus I had gotten a better camera since turkey season! Mr. Puette and I got a date on the calendar and I was looking forward to it.
So this past Saturday I crossed the Pee Dee River into Marlboro County and met Mr. Puette at 4:30 in the afternoon. It had rained a lot in the previous week (we really needed the rain) and a cool front had started to moved in. It was still warm, but nothing like it has been. The conditions seemed just right for seeing some deer.
When I arrived we talked around the trucks for a bit and put on our camo. Mr. Puette said he wanted to hunt with his muzzle loader to see if he could get one with it. Mr. Puette was shooting a Traditions Pursuit XLT, Black Powder, 50 caliber. I?ve never even seen a muzzle loader so I really didn?t know much about it. While we talked, Mr. Puette loaded his gun. Me, being slack, didn?t even think about videoing how he did it. After the hunt, I was kind of mad at myself for not getting it on film. Anyway, I think he put in the black powder and then the bullet. I know that he took a rod out from beneath the barrel of the gun and pushed the bullet and powder down the barrel. He really had to put some muscle into it to get it down the barrel too. It didn?t just drop easily. After he got the load down the barrel he dropped the rod down on it and it bounced. He said when the rod bounces then the load is ?set? correctly. I have never I seen anyone load their gun like that, so it was pretty neat to see.
We headed out to the deer stand not too long after that. We rode a 4-wheeler to get there and I?m glad we did because it was a pretty good distance from where we parked the trucks. The rain really did get the road wet and we rode through some big puddles on the way. You?ll see it in the video, but it was pretty scene on the way in as we rode deep into the forest back to the stand.
We arrived to the stand and headed up the ladder. Mr. Puette had us hunting in style in a nice condo-like stand that he had previously built. The stand was situated on the edge of some woods overlooking a cut-over. From our vantage point the cut-over was to the right and the hardwoods were on the left. Mr. Puette sat on the left side with the best angle on the shooting lane and I sat on the right. Mr. Puette had a shooting lane cut out to the left and had some corn down on the shooting lane.
We had been sitting in the stand for about 5 minutes and Mr. Puette said that one of the branches down the shooting lane was bothering him, so he climbed down out of the stand and walked over there and broke the branch off! Mr. Puette returned to the stand and we sat for a little while and observed the scene looking for movement. Not too long after that we heard a shot off in the distance that was really early. Mr. Puette looked at me and said ?That?s a good sign?the deer are moving?. Shortly thereafter Mr. Puette got his grunt call out and grunted a little bit, but nothing responded. We continued looking over the cut-over and shooting lanes for a while and then we heard the sound of stick breaking behind us to our left. If you?re a hunter then you?ve probably heard a sound like this before. It sounded like an old limb lying on the ground that got stepped on and snapped. It?s a distinct sound and it got our attention. For the next little while we were scanning back to our left really hard to see if anything was coming. We kept looking, but nothing ever showed from that side.
I was hopeful to see some deer, but pretty soon the sun would start setting and go behind the trees. When the light gets low it?s hard to film so I was keeping my fingers crossed that something would move sooner than later. Since we heard the sound from the left, I kept glancing over that way thinking I would spot something, but I never did. The cut-over was so thick, I never thought anything would come from that side, but just when I least expected it?I saw a flicker of white out the corner of my eye.
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Anyway, the does came out of the cut-over on the right and headed towards the woods. Mr. Puette said ?They?re headed to the corn? and he got his gun up. He had a little better line-of-sight than I did because of where he was sitting and he whispered ?Here they come?. I zoomed out for a quick view of him and his gun and then zoomed right back in on the corn pile. I saw the first one pop its head out and I knew it wasn?t the largest one. Mr. Puette was saying ?Is that the big one? ?you can hear it in the video. We were waiting on the largest doe to get there and it didn?t take long. Three does stepped out before the bigger came into vision. I told him that the last one was the biggest out of the group. When she stepped into the shooting lane she was broad-sided and Mr. Puette had the perfect angle. Mr. Puette clicked his safety off (which you?ll hear in the video too) and the doe perked her head up?she knew something was wrong?and then BOOOOOM?Mr. Puette had shot and smoke went everywhere.
There were some others hunting in the area so we waited until it got dark before we left so as to not mess up their hunts. While we were waiting we heard another shot. After it got too dark to hunt, we headed back out to the trucks. Turned out that one of the guy?s in the group had brought his wife and she got her first deer that night as well. It seems the deer were moving!
Below is the video of the hunt? sorry for the low-level production, but I?m still figuring all this video stuff out
It was a great hunt and I got some good footage. Looks like Mr. Puette can get it done with turkeys and deer and the type of firearm doesn?t seem to matter either! Next time I?ll be sure to video and document how he puts the load into the Muzzle loader. We had a great time and Mr. Puette told me that I brought him good luck, but I?m not too sure about that?I think he?s just a good hunter.
Also, I got a feeling we?ll be filming a bow hunt before too long because Mr. Puette is also a bow hunter! I bet he?s good at that too?
As you know, we?ve been working a lot on the Tecomate Seed Food Plot Journey over the course of the past year. Most of the time when we?re out working we are talking about deer hunting and optimistically dreaming up scenarios where huge bucks come into the food plots or into shooting lanes and how we would position ourselves, etc. I?m sure you may have had similar experiences. Many times when Adam and I have been out working and having these conversations he kept bringing up the subject of scent control. I have known your scent was important, but I?ve never really thought about it, or taken it to, the level at which Adam does. What level is that you may ask? the level of spraying down when going to check game cams, washing your clothes in odor reducing detergent, taking showers with scent free soap, looking up which direction the wind is blowing before hunting, etc. Initially to me, that was a bit much, but hey?everyone has their own style of hunting.
This season we?ve been using the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag as well as Atsko?s products to work with our scent management. This is a regular routine for Adam, but for me it?s a whole new ball game, so I figured why not try it out and see what happens. So, as you know from previous blog entries, I?ve been using the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag to fuse earth and pine scent into my hunting gear. I mean I?ve been putting everything in the bag?my clothes, m boots, my smaller bag, even my Thermacell, and this past week I also stuck my video camera?s tripod in there too! Literally everything in the bag smells like dirt now. So I?ve got my hunting gear taken care of and smelling just right.
I?ve also started testing out and using some of Atsko?s scent reduction products. Atsko has a 4-pack (the same one that someone is going to win this year) of scent reduction/UV killer products. I put the N-O-Odor soap in my shower and put the N-O-Odor spray right beside my McKenzie bag. I was eager to test all this out because in this early season heat, anything I can do to reduce my scent is beneficial since I sweat a lot and it?s been very humid.
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Ok?jump back in time to one week ago?
A week ago (when we put down lime and seed) I also went out and put some corn out at an area where we?ve had an old stand forever, but that hasn?t been getting hunted out of much lately. We have a feeder out there that hasn?t been working for a while too (you?ll see it in the video). Since I had some time, I took a game camera out and tied it up on a tree and put some corn out in front of it. I didn?t know what to expect or even know if any deer were in the area, but I figured I?d try it out. I put it out and really just forgot about it.
When I came back home this past Friday, I went out to check the game camera. I put a new chip in and brought the chip that was in the game camera back to the house. Looking at the chip I could see that deer had been in there all hours of the day and night. In one week I had 268 pics on it. That answered the question as to whether there were any deer moving in that location. There were a lot of does on the camera, a small 4 point, a small 6 point, and every once in a while an 8-point came through and paused for the camera and ate some corn. I guess I had the game camera really close or something because the majority of the pics were close-ups like these:
With so much activity going on in that location, I figured I?d go and sit there the next morning to see what would happen.
I knew I was going to go sit in this stand on Saturday morning and I was thinking about my scent-game-plan. I let my McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle run all day Friday and all night Friday night while I was at the game and even while I slept. After the game (Eagles dominated Chesterfield again!) I came home and took a shower and used Atsko?s odor eliminating soap. I planned to use it that night and also in the morning. And yes, when you use it?you can?t smell anything. I sat the odor eliminating scent spray near my McKenzie bag to spray my shorts (the shorts that I wore under the camo) and socks down.
So the game plan was this?take showers using odor eliminating soap, put on regular underclothes (shorts & socks) and spray them down with the scent eliminating spray, and then wear the camo and take gear that had been getting scented all day and night with the earth/pine scent. This would hopefully reduce any human scent and/or bacteria that deer smell that may have been on me and then cover-scented my gear with a natural smell. Doing all of this really felt extreme and out-of-the-ordinary for me, but again? I?m just giving all this scent management stuff a whirl.
I executed all scent management steps and set out to the stand. This stand is a very small, old, wooden stand located in a thick forest area. Due to this scenario; I didn?t take the tripod, but was set to MacGyver a way to video or either get busted by a deer moving around trying to video. It was going to be so tight in the stand that I wouldn?t have room for the tripod. I knew this would hurt me in some way, but I just wasn?t sure how.
I sat for a little while and my vision was slowly getting better as the sun was starting to rise. Shortly thereafter I heard something moving behind me in the woods. If you?ve hunted before then you know the sound of a squirrel running through the leaves?they?re loud and go in spurts. This sound wasn?t like that, but rather was a slow pace and sounded like a deer rummaging through the forest floor as it walked. Due to the high activity of game cam pics, I felt sure it was a deer. This sound started out behind me?what would be 6 o?clock on the clock-face and it was extremely close. I was frozen in my stand and wasn?t budging. I knew that however many deer were back there were close and that any movement would leave me busted and hearing deer blowing at me as they ran away. My heart beat was escalating with every step that the deer took. It got closer and closer and was coming up my left side. I was looking to the left in my peripheral vision as much as possible, but didn?t see anything initially. I didn?t want to turn my head and just kept looking to the left. I looked until my eyes started hurting from straining them so much looking so hard trying to find what was making this sound. I?m sure this may have happened to you before as well.
It was still a little dark and tough to focus clearly. Then I finally saw movement and it was about 10 yards away from me! It was heading toward the corn pile. I wasn?t moving for anything as the deer walked right beside me, but my heart started pounding because I saw antlers! The trail I walked into the stand had me coming into the stand in the same path that this deer was walking toward?i.e. his path was going to intersect the path I took and he would be smelling right where I walked as he crossed my path. I knew I did all this scent stuff, but I also knew I was sweating some. I really didn?t know what to think.
As the deer passed around my left side he went behind some brush. If I was going to turn the camera on with any structure in between us, that moment was the time to do it. I reached over and cut the camera on and it started recording. Keep in mind that, due to size constraints, I didn?t bring the tripod and the camera was not secured to the stand, but rather just sitting on top of the side of a 2 x 4. I was nervous that I would knock it off, but I had to get it turned on. After I got the camera turned on I moved my gun a little, cut the safety off, and got my body in position. The deer kept walking and I could hear him getting closer to the corn as he moved. Finally he popped out at the corn pile and was broad-sided, giving me the perfect shot.
Something neat happened when the deer got over to the camera. Obviously the camera sensed movement and starting taking some pics. I was looking through my scope and also looking through the camera at the same time. I was going back and forth with my eyes again from the scope to the camera. Out of my right eye I saw a really bright light flash, but I didn?t see it out of my left. From what I could tell, the video camera picked up on the infrared flash, but my naked eye obviously was unable to and apparently the deer?s eye couldn?t pick up on it either. This may be common knowledge, but when it happened to me in the stand it kind of startled me at first because my initial reaction was that the deer would be spooked. You?ll easily see the camera flashing in the video.
As it got lighter I watched this buck eating corn for what seemed like forever. I mean I had the best case scenario from the moment that he arrived at the corn pile. I let him go for a few minutes without pulling the trigger. I wanted to make sure that this buck was not a 6 pointer because I?m trying to let the deer get to a decent size in this area. I looked and looked and finally counted 8 points, but even then I still debated not shooting this deer. I could tell he had a good sized body, but I just went back and forth in my mind about letting him walk and shooting him. Then I finally decided to shoot. (This is why you see me let him eat the corn for a while and not take the shot until late) The deer was eating corn and I had the perfect angle, but at the moment I decided to shoot he kind of gave me a quarter shot. I waited a few seconds and he raised his head up quickly and his body tensed up. I thought he sensed danger and was about to bolt?so I took the shot. When I took the shot I knew I hit the deer because his back legs jumped up in the air. The bad news was that when I pulled the trigger the camera fell off the ledge of the stand ? the good news is that it fell back in the stand rather than out of the stand! I caught it in my lap. I heard the deer go down about 20 yards away so I didn?t think it would be a tough deer to trail.
I always sit in the stand after I make a shot just to calm down some and gather myself. I want to give the deer time to die and also want to make sure that I get my safety back on my gun and that I don?t get in a hurry and leave anything or hurt myself somehow. On this specific day all my hunting buddies were not around and were out of town or were working. So I put the call in to my parent?s house and told them that I shot a deer and that I was going to start dragging. They said they would come out to help.
After a couple of minutes I got out of the stand and walked over to the corn pile and shot some post game footage. I walked a little bit and then saw the deer lying down about 20 yards away. I knew I had made a good shot. I went over and started dragging. My parents showed up not too long after I had started dragging the deer. My dad has been having some trouble with his knees lately and just walking the terrain of the land was killing him?so what does any good mother do?that?s right?my mom helped me drag the deer out of the woods! Talk about unconditional love. So to the people around Pageland reading this?if you see my mom tell her that you heard she?s dragging deer out of the woods in her slip-ons! I felt bad as one time she fell down when we were pulling the deer across a dried up creek, but she soldiered up right on through it and kept pulling. We had to stop 2 ? 3 times, but soon enough we had the deer to the edge of the woods. My mama has always told me ?They don?t make them like me anymore? and after last Saturday I have to say that I definitely believe her!
That was how the story of the hunt went. Reflecting back on the hunt, I have to tell you that I really think the measures I took of scent control played a big part in my success. The reason is because that deer started out behind me and came full circle all the way around me at a very close range and even walked across the path that I walked in on. The deer ended up in front of me and was clueless that I was even in the woods. If I would have smelled then he would have winded me a couple times over and fled the scene, but you already know how the story went. Needless to say, I?ll be covering my scent and paying more attention to it in all my upcoming hunts. Maybe the deer was dumb or couldn?t smell, but you have to "dance with the one that brung ya" right??? So I?ll keep focusing on my scent and see how the rest of the season goes. Maybe Adam?s scent management techniques aren?t too extreme after all!
After all this I got all my scent control products together and took some pics with the deer. The deer ended up being 8 points, 155lbs. He?s not a monster, but he was a decent buck.
Here?s the video of the hunt?sorry the camera fell, but we don?t have a camera-arm sponsor yet?lol! So next time I?ll take some rubber-bands or start saving my money up for a camera-arm. Also, you?ll notice that my video edits aren?t great?but I?m a web guy?not a video guru so this will have to suffice.
Be sure to bump the resolution up a little in the bottom right-hand corner of the video where it says "360p"
Something else neat occurred to me later that morning?when I was hunting the camera was flashing right? I sat there and thought to myself? that pic will have the deer in it and also have me in it (if it could see that far out). So I journeyed back out to the stand again to get the chip (that had only been out there for one day) again and see what the pic looked like. I was surprised to have over 80 pics just from the past 24 hours. Those deer were out there all night long again! That 8 point was there in the middle of the day on Friday and there were even deer at the corn pile at 5:45 am?the same time when I started walking to the stand. I probably scared them off on my way in. Anyway, I found the pic of the deer at the corn-pile right before I shot and you can see me in the background, but it?s kind of blurry. You can make out my head, the gun barrel, and the dark area where the camera is. Check out the pic
So I sweated a lot dragging the deer and even got some blood on my camo and what did I do?that?s right? I put them in the washing machine and washed them with Atsko?s odor eliminating detergent. I dried them and then stuck them right back in the McKenzie bag. I think the stars aligned just right for me on this day or something. I?ve only been in the woods hunting 2 weekends and have harvested 2 deer. This season has been a success whether or not I get any more deer this year?and I?m just fine with that, but I?ll still be out trying to videotape! If you made it this far, thanks for reading all this.
Do you remember Blake Hodge? If you?re in the waterfowl world, then you probably already know him?if not, then you may remember him from his YouTube video we shot of him demonstrating some duck and goose calling for us. Well, we?re excited to announce that Blake is joining the WeHuntSC.com team as one of our bloggers. Blake is from the Lancaster, SC area and will contribute to the site blogging about his hunting adventures, trips, calling competitions, and any events that he is involved with.
At only 14, Blake already has an impressive resume among his peers as well as in comparison to older waterfowlers. Blake has already won several competitions (some won in the adult division). Here?s a list of some of the competitions he?s already won:
As you can see, Blake is getting it done in SC and beyond. We?re proud to have Blake on board and look forward to reading his future blog entries.
In the midst of football and all the food plot work, I was able to go hunting some this past weekend. The first two times I went, I sat over the remote food plot hoping to catch something coming through, but nothing stopped by. Though, on my second trip in I did have one blow at me just as I was getting situated in the stand. I was not happy to spook a deer and give away my location, but at least it was a good sign that deer are in the area. I?ll have to be quieter the next time I go in there.
As you know, it has still been really hot and humid out there which equals sweat which equals mosquitos. All I can say is ?Thank God for Thermacell?. I sat out in the heat 3 times this past weekend and didn?t get one single mosquito bite! Thermacell is definitely a must-have product. If you?re reading this and have never used a Thermacell, then you?re missing out.
What can I say?Derek has inspired me, so this year I?m carrying a video camera with me which gives me something else I?m trying to learn how to do! Hopefully I can get some good shots of deer without spooking them by knocking the camera over or clicking any buttons. Already I?ve learned that you have to have your ducks in a row to carry everything you need for your hunt + the camera & tripod out to the stand in one trip. It?s just one more thing to carry, but when you do get deer on camera it?s really worth it to be able to share the videos with everyone because people always ask ?Did you see anything? and instead of trying to explain the setting to them, I just show them the video now!
The first two hunts I went on this past weekend were in the morning and I went out to the remote food plot. On my last hunt of the weekend I chose a different scenery and went out to a freshly cut corn field. My hunt over the corn field was an afternoon hunt. The corn field is so big that sometimes you can see deer and not be able to shoot them due to their distance. I hoped to get a deer, but more so, I just hoped to get some footage. You know how it is when you try something new?you?re all gung-ho about it, so I was fired up about getting any kind of footage.
I got to the stand and found a small wasp nest and a ton of ants waiting on me. After fending all that off the best I could, I got situated and ready. I sat for a long time and was texting my friends seeing what was going on with them. The sun slowly started to set and as it did the light was just slapping me in the face. I had to squint and sit awkwardly for a while just to keep the sunlight from blinding me. After the sun went behind a cloud and got a little bit lower, I was able to sit normally and see clearly again. It was ?that time??you know the time when you expect deer to walk right as the sun starts to set.
I was scanning the field and way off, I mean way off, I saw a flicker. Instant pulse-rate increase. It was a deer and it was about 350 yards out. I zoomed in with the camera and could barely see it due to the remaining corn stalks, crests of the hills, and distance. I was excited to see some activity, but disappointed that it was so far off that I couldn?t get any decent film or shoot. The deer browsed the field a little then returned to the woods. Shortly after that, I noticed something brown moving through the field to my left. When I looked up I saw a whole group of deer walking out about 200 yards from me. I tried to zoom in and out in the video to demonstrate how far out they were. The group had about 5 ? 6 deer in it and I went to grab my camera and position it to video the deer then CLANK?some kind of metal piece on the tripod dropped off and hit the bottom of the stand. I just knew that I had blown it, but luckily the deer didn?t hear anything. I had to re-gather and get the camera in position. In a few seconds, I got the camera up and zoomed in to see the deer. At this point my gun was still across my lap. The deer were so far out that any touch of the camera made the camera bounce and become difficult to see. It looked to be a group of does and so I filmed them for a little while. I was debating on trying to pull a shot off at that distance, but decided to film them for a little while first.
After filming them for a little bit, I finally decided to shoot. I thought about it and I had my doe tags and everything so why not give it a whirl. I put my gun up and was looking through the scope. The whole time I was trying to pick out which one had the biggest body. The last thing I wanted to do was shoot a young buck or a small doe. At that distance, it was challenging to figure out which one had the largest body. Also, I knew I would have to aim a little high if I was going to have a chance because the deer were way out and the bullet would drop at that distance. Side note: I?m shooting a 243.
These deer were walking and browsing and, to my surprise, some of them started lying down in the middle of the field. I had never seen this before and was kind of amused by it. I thought maybe the first deer was lying down to scratch her back or something, but then another laid down too. I didn?t know if they all planned on lying down, but I figured I better not waste any more time. I went back into the scope and picked out the lead deer because it had the biggest body. I aimed high and pulled the trigger. I saw the fire come out the end of the gun and then the remaining deer scattered. You can see them jump up in the video. I chambered another shell and watched the others run from the field. I sat there for a little bit, calmed down, and then went walking to see if I could find any blood. I really didn?t expect that I could hit a deer from that far out.
I walked over to where I shot and didn?t see anything and then I walked a little further and saw a doe lying on the ground. I couldn?t believe I hit the deer at that distance. It turned out that my shot was high indeed as I hit the doe in the neck. We weighed the doe at the processor and it weighed exactly 100 lbs, but dragging it all the way across that field I could have sworn that it was heavier.
The video turned out to be darker than it was in reality of the setting. I guess the lens of the camera couldn?t pull in all ambient light, but nonetheless, you can see in the video that the light source began to lessen as I filmed the deer. If you watch towards the end, you can see the deer lying down and then you can hear the shot (at the 10:40 mark of the video) and see them jump up and scatter. The deer I shot was actually out of the frame of the video.
In the end it was good to get a doe and get on the board. Last year I missed a doe broad-sided at about 30 yards out and this year I got one a little over 200 yards out with the same gun? it?s better to be lucky than good any day!
Years ago when you heard the word ?Pro-Staff? what did you think? Is it the same thing you think in 2010? A recent conversation I had brought this subject up and had me thinking about it which initiated this blog entry.
When I think about the word ?Pro-Staff? I think of a person, or a group of people, who are well recognized and respected in the hunting community who, may either get paid or who receive free products from organizations, to go out and test their new products. Coupled with that is the notion which may only exist in my mind, that the organization giving the products uses some type of feedback loop where the recognized hunter lets the organization know how their product(s) performed and can be improved. From this feedback, I envision the organizations making adjustments to their products in order to make them as good as possible. Thus, the hunter gets publicity, new products, and the organizations create solid products in which they feel confident because they?ve been field tested by the best. This is the definition of the term ?Pro-Staff? as I see it in my mind?.or as I use to see it.
Recently I?ve come to meet a lot of people who say they are ?on the ___(fill in the company)___ Pro-Staff?. More and more often I bump into people I?ve never heard of before who say they?re on a ?Pro-Staff?. Some even claim to be on multiple ?Pro-Staffs?. Is the hunting industry growing so fast that you can find a ?Pro-Staff? member right around the corner or is it just a coincidence? As I?ve come to hear the phrase used more frequently, I?ve recognized a growing grey area around the meaning of those two words?at least in my mind. Though, I could be unaware of some company?s aggressive campaign strategy surrounding making local hunters members of their ?Pro-Staffs? and if I am please let me know, but somehow I think the term is getting a little diluted and misused. Maybe orgs don?t mind letting people be on their ?Pro-Staff? because if they tell someone that they are on their ?Pro Staff? and send them some stickers and/or a shirt then instantly the person becomes a ____(fill in the company)____ promoter in their area? Maybe that?s the point of being on a ?Pro-Staff? though.
Now if you?re on a ?Pro-Staff? don?t be offended by my taking a critical lens and analyzing the meaning of the word ?Pro-Staff?. Words do have to have meaning right? I?m just asking the question. I may just be uninformed and out of the loop. So don?t go and get your feathers ruffled, rather enlighten me in the comment section below if you wish.
How many ?Pro-Staffers? do you know or have you met? Do organizations benefit from having hunters as members of ?Pro-Staffs??and if so, how? What is the criteria for being on a ?Pro-Staff?? Is it merely marketing strategy or is it to enhance the quality of their products? Is there a difference between being a field-tester and a ?Pro-Staffer?? Again, I?m just exploring the meaning of the phrase.
For all I know, I may be on a few ?Pro-Staffs? right now and not even know it. Maybe WeHuntSC.com should start a ?Pro-Staff? just for laughs, but not really. I think we?ll start selling SC-shed-antler-turkey-call-strikers and if we send you some + some stickers then you can be on our ?Pro-Staff?.
So what is your definition of a ?pro-staffer??