Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
As you know we?ve been videoing many of our hunts this year. This is my first year attempting to hunt and video at the same time and it?s a lot to manage at once if you have a deer come out on you, but it?s very fun! The reward is worth it if you can pull it all off. I?ve yet to scare a deer away by bumping the camera or making noise while trying to video, but I think it?s inevitable. At some point?I?m going to spook a deer by moving around too much trying to video, but I?ll keep taking my chances with it though because it?s fun to watch and talk about with friends after the hunt.
Probably like most hunters, we have a couple different stands in the woods?some are box stands, some tower stands, some climbers, some ladder stands, etc. (I try not to get in lock-ons because I?m scared of them and heights) With a couple of different stands it seems like we should be getting some good footage from different viewpoints. Though, I got to thinking about that and noticed a trend in my hunts. I am most frequently going hunting in the stands that I can film from easily. Sure this may make for good footage, but what about the other stands that are in good locations, but are just difficult to film from? I have been opting not to hunt in them and electing to hunt in the more spacious stands because I can fit my tripod in them. Well this will no longer be a problem!
Last week I went to Lowes with my wife and her parents and while the ladies looked at paint my father-in-law and I walked around the store looking to devise a way or find a product that would allow me to mount my camera to the stand. Since my tripod will let me take out the center piece of it and turn it into a monopod (just one rod extending from the camera instead of 3) I had some room to get creative. Essentially I needed something to get this small pole attached to the railing around my stand, but it needed to be quiet, small, not get in my way when hunting, easy to carry in, and strong enough to hold the weight of the camera. After we walked a few circles around the store we finally found just the thing we needed.
We were in the hardware section and picked up some different types of clamps and looked at them. It turned out that Irwin made a product that was the perfect fit! I ended up getting a two-pack Irwin Quick Grip Bar Clamp and I?m glad that I did. Of course we had to test it out in the store first to make sure it would work, so we grabbed a flag pole and clamped it to a bracket on the metal of one of the isles in the store to simulate our task and ?voila? we were in business. Since the grips have rubber padding on them they are very quiet and you only have to squeeze the grip to make it tighten up so the whole process is very stealth. The grip is small and fits in my bag easily, is very lightweight, and can hold way more pounds of weight than my camera weighs. I was excited about it in the store, but still wanted to ?field-test? it and make sure that it would work. Oh and from the guy in the hardware section?s reaction to my explanation of what we were trying to do?I think we may have been one of the few who?ve ever bought clamps in hopes of using them to video deer hunts!
The next morning I went into a stand that I haven?t hunt out of much and took my new ?camera-arm? setup and was eager to try it out. I sat down in the stand and within 5 minutes I had my camera mounted on the railing around my stand and had done so quietly and the camera had full swivel and tilt. What I did wrong on my first trip in was that I clamped it down to where the slider was on the inside of my stand. This lessened the space I had to move my gun around a little bit, but I got it right on the second trip in and have been pleased with setup ever since!
Every time I go hunting someone usually asks ?Did you see anything? and I?m sure the same probably happens to you. Videoing your hunts allows you to them what you saw instead of trying to describe it to them in words. You may be thinking about trying it?and if so, I encourage you to give it a shot. This is my first year filming and we?ve been having a lot of fun with it. If you decide to try to film, there are a lot of decisions that you have to factor into videoing a hunt and one of them is the ?camera-arm? situation. If you can?t take a tripod to all of your stands then you?ll have to think about it at some point. Unless you only hunt out of lock-ons (that don?t have railing going around them, then I suggest you spend $15 at Lowes and give a clamp a try. It is cheap, gets the job done, and will save you from spending more than you should on a camera arm.
A quick view of the set from my I-phone
The next day I gave Adam the other clamp from my two-pack and he?s already used it once and is going to be able to film more of his hunts now!
Now I?m glad that my in-laws wanted to go look at paint after all :-)
Lowe?s ? Let?s Build Something Together
Regards,
Clint
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:
Chris Melvin [email protected] Pin Oak Taxidermy Great Falls, South Carolina 803.519.6203
Regards, Clint
As mentioned in the summary, this is a guest blog entry written by Jon Charles of of River Oaks Wildlife Management
Fall planting season is here!! I know some of us are a little late on planting certain types of plants, but we all know it?s been hot and dry in parts of the south. It?s time to get started. One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is ?I planted a food plot and the seed did not come up...Why? That seed must not be any good.? There are a few simple reasons it did not come up:
1. Soil Analysis The first step anyone needs to do before planting any type of seed is have a complete soil test done. Not just test for pH but also check levels of micro and macro nutrients. If your soil is void of the right balance of these minerals it can have a negative effect and you will not see the results you?re looking for. Please get this done first and save yourself the headaches, money, time and labor you went through and take $20 to $ 30 dollars and do this first. Missing minerals can be added into your fertilizer for as little as $6.00 per acre. There are also several types of managers you can add into your fertilizer like Nutrisphere N, Avail, and Wolf tracks. These products can save you money and produce higher amounts and higher yields in your field or plot. Use the right type of lime and remember ag lime takes 4 to 6 months to correct the PH in your soil so if you planting in the spring you need to have added lime the previous fall. Another great product we use at River Oaks Wildlife Mgt is a product called Solu-Cal. A 50 lb bag of solu-cal is equal to 300 lbs of lime and starts correcting soil in weeks not months and will last a lot longer. You should check it out.
Next avoid the ?Farmer Brown? syndrome. What is the ?Farmer Brown? syndrome you ask? It?s the guy down the road that is Mr. Know It All. They use outdated methods, the same methods their dad and granddad before them did. All they know is 400 lbs of 10-10-10 per acre and 2,000 lbs of lime and that?s all you need to plant any seed you want. WRONG!!! Farmer Brown will get you in trouble and will cause you a great waste in your time and planting. Stay away from Farmer Brown folks!!! Listen to qualified wildlife mgt consultants or agronomists, not the guy working in the back of local feed store or the farmer down the road that has not evolved or is not practicing modern productive methods of planting. Remember we are planting for wildlife.
2. Time Make sure you read the seed bag and recommended planting times for your zone.
3. Soil Amendment Please after getting your soil test back amend your soil correctly using the right type of fertilizer and add in the correct fertilizer mgrs to assure you positive results.
4. Depth When planting make sure when getting the seed in the ground by either broadcasting, using a plotmaster, or drilling, make sure you plant your seed at the right depth. Small seeds like clovers, alfalfa, and brassicas (like any seed) need good seed to soil contact.
5. Packing Your Soil If you?re broadcasting, drag your seed over lightly and compact your soil lightly. Do not get out and take the truck or tractor and drive over the plot as a lot of times this compacts the soil to tight?especially in clay soils! If you get a rain and the water runs off the top it can crust over and harden up. These small seeds need a lot of energy to push through the soil and reach the surface. With small seeds only cover over lightly or plant about ¼ inch deep. Larger seed like Lab Lab, soy beans, peas should be planted about ½ to 1 inch deep and NO deeper .
6. Herbicide Residue Make sure your soil has had time to deplete itself of chemical agents (Roundup etc.) I have seen guys plant too early after spraying and till in grasses and weeds before a complete burn down only to have the seed get contaminated with herbicide residue and not come up at all. Believe me, I have seen a few properties that were hit with ?Farmer Brown? syndrome or just too anxious to hurry up and get it planted. So, please, if you spray for invasive grass or weeds, give the area time to dry out and burn down. This is usually at least 14 days minimum.
7. Inoculants This is something that most frequently gets overlooked. Please take the time and inoculate your seed with the right type of Rhizobium bacteria. Check your seed labels and see if it was pre inoculated and always plant before the expiration date.
Blow is a list of the different types of Inoculants needed for different seed types.
This should get you going for now. Make sure when inoculating your seed that you follow the directions. It?s a living bacteria and you should keep it in the fridge or in a cool place until it?s time to apply. You can add water and make a slurry and wash your seed in it and then spread your seed out on a tarp to dry, but not in direct sunlight or you can dry mix it in a bucket and coat your seed this way, but please follow the directions.
If you go down the check list above you should eliminate most of your concerns about getting a good food plot started. Remember it all starts with your soil. Your plants act as transfer agents that transfer the nutrients in the soil to the deer that you are trying to reach. Treat your soil right and it will treat your deer right allowing them to get the best nutrition possible.
In the next blog entry, we will discuss the different soil types and talk about supplemental feeding and minerals. Also stay tuned in for The Real Deal On Seed For Wildlife coming next month.
If you have mgt questions or need professional consultation we can be reached at email [email protected] or phone at 919-341-9659.
For question on Solu-cal go to www.solu-cal.com or call 508-295-1533 and ask for Craig Canning at ext 230. Let him know how you heard about the product!
Thanks again folks and remember to use best management practices and introduce a kid to the outdoors any chance you get.
Jon Charles, River Oaks Wildlife Mgt
This blog entry has nothing to do with hunting or the outdoors.
I see all kind of videos on YouTube and I?m sure you do too. Though, every now and then I?ll see something that?s extremely funny, unbelievable, or creative. When I see those kinds of videos I will normally forward the link on to some of my friends. This past week I saw 2 related videos that encompassed funny, unbelievable, and creative at the same time. While the nature of the crime isn?t funny, the guy in the video is.
Video 1 ? The News Story A news show in Huntsville Alabama covered a story as seen in the below video
Video ? The Remix Apparently some guys saw the interview and did a remix of the story, turned it into a song, auto-tuned it, shot some more video to mesh with the clips from the news station, and posted it to YouTube as seen in the below video. The video went viral and is still circling the web.
After I saw the remix video I realized the creativity of the guys who created it. I don?t know how people come up with stuff. To see the first video alone, I would never have been able to envision what they did. To think of the idea, edit the videos, get the lyrics right, and make it all time out and look good took some brilliance. Creativity like this is what makes a video go viral. The remix video already has over 8.5 million views and has only been out for a couple of weeks. Other people are covering the song now and posting their own versions of the remix. The song is also already available on I-Tunes and you can even get it as your ring-tone! Run and tell that homeboy!
This past weekend we took to the woods and shot some HD videos that will be edited, produced, and come to the site soon. Trying to take myself serious in front of the camera proved to be a little difficult for me (and may prove difficult for you as well). Though, one of the neat parts of how we?re working our videos at this point is that we ask site visitors to suggest video ideas and contribute information to videos that we may not have included. We ended several segments saying ?If you do it differently or have something interesting to contribute, just let us know and we may come out and film you?. As the goal of this site is to be an information hub rather than a site to promote videos of the WeHuntSC.com team, we hope to get out and around the state to get video segments from different areas and see different ways of doing things. So be sure to let us know if you have any ideas or insight for future videos. If you aren?t use to having a big microphone hanging over your head, light reflectors in your face, and a camera right on you?it can be a little intimidating. We went around and shot some videos on stand placement, stand location, trail markers, and sign in the woods! Whenever they get finished, we?ll publicize them on the site. I?m really excited to see what Jason and Yellow Cape Communications can create. I know whatever it is will be quality as I?ve seen a lot of his work before + he shot video of the WeHuntSC.com girls on the site. Hopefully he?ll reduce the glare off my bald head! With that said, all I we can do for now is wait on the edit? more to come later. Regards, Clint
Do you remember the blog entry ? A long, cold winter ? that I wrote back in the middle of December? The gist of the blog entry was that nature gives signals about the upcoming winter. I had talked with a gentlemen about the large amount of acorns that were present this past deer hunting season and he told me that was a sign that we were going to have a long and cold winter. So I went and researched and it turns out there are many different signs that outdoorsman say can predict an upcoming difficult winter.
Well, so far, I would say that the gentlemen?s prediction is right on track. We?ve had more snow than I can remember in a while. It has definitely been colder, (and rekindled ardent conversation on global warming all on the news!), snow has reached parts of the coast that haven?t seen snow in a long time, and the groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter. It does seem that nature?s forecast of a long cold winter was accurate.
Here in Rock Hill we got 3 ? 3.5 inches of snow and Pageland got 4 ? 5 inches.
If you?ve got any neat pics from the snow in your location, send them to me and I?ll post them to this blog.
After I graduated college I went and played football in Finland. Yes, they do have football in Finland and yes it was very cold. To read more about my time in Finland simply go to www.ClintPatterson.net and hover of the Finland link and you can find all the info there. Anyway, I stay in touch with a lot of the Finnish guys from the team and we talk about the glory days and all that, but every now and then one of them will travel over to visit. Well Kim Gronlund traveled over to visit several of his friends in different states and he stopped in SC for a weekend to visit me.