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Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew


SC Swamp Turkey
   WeHuntSC.com - Mr. Puette sitting at the base of the tree
  Mr. Puette sitting at the base of the tree

Turkey season starts on April 1st in my county because I?m located in the upper part of SC. I?ve been looking forward to it and have been counting down the weekends until turkey season got here.  This past weekend was the opening weekend and on Saturday morning I went turkey hunting again with Mr. Bruce Puette in Marlboro County. I had been looking forward to our trip and it turned out to be one of the most memorable turkey hunts I?ve been on. 

We met really early at the entrance gate to the hunting land.  Mr. Puette?s brother, sister, and nephew would also be hunting in other areas of the land as well.  We all set out going our different ways and Mr. Puette and I were heading to the back of the property where a swampy area backed in to the Pee Dee River.  And we went deep in the swamp.  Mr. Puette said that the turkeys hadn?t been working in the fields like they normally do by this time of the year so we were going to try something different. I was interested to see how the new CrossOver Camo would do in the swampy environment of the Pee Dee River area and it blended in very nicely.

WeHuntSC.com - The new Thermacell  
The new Thermacell that kept us mosquito free  

We walked in by the moonlight and as we began walking we stopped and looked at the stars and Mr. Puette pointed out the Big Dipper.  He said you can always find whichever direction North is by looking at the stars from the Big Dipper.  Even though we probably walked a mile until we finally got to our location it didn?t bother me much because it was a chance to get some blood flowing and warm up.  It was cold early that morning?34 degrees to be exact.  It was chilly and I didn?t have enough layers on and walking helped me warm up some.

We ended up walking through fields, 4-wheeler paths, old logging roads, even jumping trees, and yes?water higher than my ankles! The wet socks countered the new warmth that I had just gained from walking. I also found a pretty deep stump hole on the way in too.  My right foot ended up wetter than the left because I only found that stump hole with my right foot. Once we got back pretty deep in the woods we heard an owl hoot.  We stopped and every time another owl hooted we stopped to see if any turkeys responded. At one point Mr. Puette said that he was going to do an owl call to see if we could locate any birds.  I anticipated that he would dig in his pocket and get out a call, but Mr. Puette just held his hand to his mouth and yelled ?Hoo, Hoo, Ho, Hoooo? and amazingly an owl responded about 50 yards away.  To be honest, I was pretty impressed with how accurate Mr. Puette?s owl call sounded. Mr. Puette fired back with a ?WOOOOOoooo? that ended with a lot of bass in the sound.  The owl fired right back.  It was neat that he was able to get several owls calling to each other with just his natural voice.  The downside was that no turkeys gobbled back at us.  We kept on walking.

  

WeHuntSC.com - Mr. Puette with the gobbler on the way out

  Mr. Puette on the way out

We finally reached the furthest point that we could walk and we stopped again.  This time Mr. Puette pulled out a crow call and it made a loud shriek as he blew it.  We waited, and a couple of seconds later, a turkey, that sounded about 70 ? 100 yards away, hammered back at us.  Mr. Puette pumped his fist like a golfer does after sinking a putt and we headed toward the sound looking to make a setup.  We walked about 40 yards down an old logging road and Mr. Puette said we ought to set up on a tree that was about 5 yards off the path. 

Mr. Puette had been carrying his gun as well as a home-made blind that he created and a small stool.  He had given me a stool that I carried in too. The home-made blind was some camo, burlap-like material that wrapped around 4 wooden sticks.  He told me that 4 sticks and some burlap was a lot cheaper than most blinds you find in stores! He set this up just in front of us as I started getting the video stuff set up.

I had all of the stuff I needed to video setup and had got two Thermacells out and fired them both up because deep in the swamp mosquitoes are thick and even though it was cold? I wasn?t taking any chances.  I put the new Thermacell in front of us and put last year?s model Thermacell to my left.  Needless to say we didn?t get bothered by any bugs or mosquitoes during this hunt. 

We were finally situated and the sun was slowly starting to shine through the woods. Mr. Puette did some calling early to see if anything would respond and we had turkeys gobbling to our right, middle, and to our left.  We were definitely in a good location, but we were worried that the turkeys would come off the roost and go a different direction. Randomly Mr. Puette would call and the turkeys arbitrarily responded. We had to wait and to keep our eyes peeled.

WeHuntSC.com - Primos Slates used during the hunt   
Primos Slates used during the hunt  
I was sitting on the left side of the tree and Mr. Puette was on the right side.  As I scanned the woods (and I say wood because last time I used the word ?forest? I got criticized?thanks Hoot!) I saw something to my left that looked like a dark stump, but I didn?t remember seeing this stump before so it kind of caught me off guard.  Since I was in a new area, it was kind of ?hazy?, and since I couldn?t focus well I wasn?t sure.  I watched the dark looking stump and then all of a sudden it started moving and the shape turned into a fan-tail.  I was pumped! I tapped Mr. Puette immediately and told him that we had a gobbler about 25 yards to our left.  This turkey had slipped up on us and hadn?t made one sound. Yes, turkeys were gobbling, but they were further away?this one came in silent. 

There were so many trees and brush in front of us that it was not only difficult to see the turkey, but it was even more difficult to film the turkey.  In retrospect I should have turned the auto-focus mechanism off, but I wasn?t chancing any extra movements while he was that close to us. Because Mr. Puette was behind me (in the line of sight for the bird) he couldn?t see it.  The bird was standing behind a big tree and was stepping to the right, puffing up, spinning, and stepping back to the left, puffing and spinning and did this on repeat.  It was very odd, but he was staying in one spot.  The whole time Mr. Puette couldn?t see the bird and he kept asking me ?Are you sure??, ?How far out??, and ?Where is he??  Finally the turkey stepped out far enough to where Mr. Puette could see it.  At this point at least he knew I wasn?t lying about a bird being that close. 

     WeHuntSC.com - Turkey in the woods
  I could barely focus on this turkey
As we were watching this turkey strut his stuff in circles we had other gobblers hammering out from other directions.  We didn?t know where to look we had so many birds talking around us, but I kept my eye on the gobbler to the left. I was frustrated at this turkey because he kept spinning and puffing and spinning and puffing and he wouldn?t come out to where I could get a good shot at him with the camera and Mr. Puette was just itching to shoot him, but it would have been a forced shot so he held off.  Another frustrating thing was that the camera kept focusing on the underbrush of the woods rather than the turkey?so the majority of the footage I got is really blurry because we were so low on the ground and because the turkey was staying just behind the brush.  I bet we watched this turkey for about 15-20 minutes at just about 20 ? 25 yards away from us.  Mr. Puette even kicked the brush with his feet simulating the sound of a hen scratching, but nothing we did would entice this turkey to come any closer. Eventually the turkey faded back into the woods where he came from and we lost him. 

WeHuntSC.com - Turkey out front   
The turkey out in front of us  
We sat there a little dejected, but still hopeful talking about it the whole time and couldn?t figure it out.  We sat for another 15 ? 20 minutes and we even talked about moving to a different location.  Mr. Puette called randomly and nothing much responded and the thoughts of our hunt from last year came back to me.  I remembered Mr. Puette saying ?Patience kills turkeys?. We sat there a little while longer and then out of the blue we heard a loud gobble right out in front of us and Mr. Puette instantly grabbed his gun and got in shooting position. I couldn?t see any turkey so I asked him ?Where is he?? and Mr. Puette responded ?I don?t know, but he?s close!?  We sat there on alert scanning the woods.  Then I saw the dark spot moving through some woods out in front of us this time and I zoomed in on him. The turkey was finally moving across the front of our location heading to the right?which means he was getting at a better angle for Mr. Puette to shoot. Mr. Puette had the gun up and I was just trying to follow the bird.  With such dense wood and brush in the swampy area it was tough.  The turkey finally got out to where Mr. Puette could shoot and he didn?t waste any time. I couldn?t see the bird so I just filmed Mr. Puette.  A loud boom rang through the woods and I saw the bird fly up.  Mr. Puette said ?I missed him? and I said ?No you didn?t, he just crashed?.  I had heard the bird go down, but Mr. Puette didn?t.  He got up and walked over to that direction and the turkey jumped up and started running.  He got his gun up and the turkey turned and started running toward him! Mr. Puette rang out 3 shots and on the 3rd shot he stopped the turkey in his tracks and the turkey was only about 10 yards away from him. The footage wasn?t good on that so it isn?t worth posting, but I think he was about to get spurred had he not had that last shot in his gun!  After the hunt ended we took a bunch of pictures and videos.

As I was taking pictures Mr. Puette said ?Did you see that tree?? and I said ?What tree?? I had seen a thousand trees that were in the way of me filming the turkey, but obviously he was referring to one in particular.  He pointed and said ?Look at the ?Twisted Oak??.  We walked over and saw something that was pretty rare in my opinion.  Two white oak trees were side by side and one had fallen into the other and over time they had grown together.  It was a unique site.  I took some pics and videos of it as well. I know that I?ve never seen anything like that before?and those trees were huge.

WeHuntSC.com - The deer cracked acorn shell    WeHuntSC.com - The Twisted Oak
The deer cracked acorn shell   The Twisted Oaks

  WeHuntSC.com - Wildlife Energy & the turkey
  Wildlife Energy Shots & the Gobbler
Five yards from the base of that tree Mr. Puette picked up the top half of an acorn shell and said ?look at that? and I looked at it and said ?Yeah I bet some deer love that huh?.  He responded ?Look closer at it? and I did and when I focused in on it he said ?Look at the shape of the break in the shell? those are deer teeth marks that cracked it? and sure enough you could see the outline of the deer?s teeth. Mr. Puette sure pays attention to detail?especially when he?s walking.  He finds arrowheads and picks up on anything out of the ordinary.  He?s just got that knack.

After a couple of more pictures we headed back to base camp.  It was a long walk back to the entrance and I was definitely glad I had some Wildlife Energy drink with me on this occasion.  As we walked back over the path we came in on Mr. Puette was looking around every corner to see if any turkeys were strutting in the roads.  He?d already told me that if we saw another one that we would be stopping and setting up again!

 

Below is the raw footage of the hunt if you want to see it without effects

I always enjoy going hunting with Mr. Puette because there?s usually some action involved and I also always learn something. Mr. Puette says I bring him good luck, but I don?t know about that.  Most of the time whenever you take a camera in the woods it means that you?re definitely not going to see anything, but so far he and I are 2 for 2 with turkeys and videos.

WeHuntSC.com - Mr. Puette & the turkey

I hope to get in on more hunts with Mr. Puette and next time I?ll try to get better focus on the turkey!

Regards,

Clint
 


Caution - Poison Ivy
 
Poison Ivy in Early Spring  

Most of you probably think about turkey season, green grass, and fishing as the winter turns to spring.   I think about Poison Ivy!  I was reminded of it this past weekend as my son and I walked through the woods behind my house. 

As Riley and I cruised through the mature oak hollow I soon realized that we had managed to walk into a maze of tiny red leaflets.  This new growth seemed to pop from the earth and surround us just for spite.  I picked up Riley and he got a free ride out of the woods.  The bad part was that there was nothing free about my journey through this maze of poisonous plants.  You?ve probably heard others say, ?If I look at poison ivy I get it?.  Well, that saying seems to apply to me.  You would think that after years of dousing calamine on my skin I would learn, but it seems that this pesky plant always gets the best of me. 

After maneuvering through the woods I thought it would be a good time to teach Riley about poison ivy.  The one thing my Dad always told me that seemed to stick was, ?Leaves of three, Let it be?.  Others that I?ve heard are, ?One, Two, Three, Don?t touch me?, and ?Red leaflets in the spring, it?s a dangerous thing?.  These mnemonics are a neat way to teach kids about the outdoors. 

As we enter springtime and make plans to chase turkeys through the countryside these plants are often hidden and harder to spot.  Check out the video below and see how it's hard to see in early spring.  These are the times that it usually gets me.  I?m pretty conscious of it in the late spring and summer when the leaves are broad and green and cover the edges of the timber, but I often forget about the early spring when it's hard to see.  Believe me when I tell you it's not any less potent in early spring.  I?ve found that washing the areas of the skin that have contacted the plant as soon as possible helps.  One tip would be to make sure you take off your watch when washing your arms.  I have made the mistake of not doing this in the past and paid the price.  I haven?t really found a cost effective remedy as I?d almost rather go to the doctor to get rid of it. 

Does anyone have a good remedy to share? 

How does this pesky plant affect your hunts?  I have buddies that get on me about how aware I am of it.  They seem to be able to sit in the middle of it with no consequence.  I have learned to respect it on the other hand. 

SCDNR has some good info on poison ivy.  A couple tidbits I picked up from reading their website is that only 70% of the U.S. population is allergic to poison ivy.  That means that 30% of the population is very very lucky.  Also, I didn't realize that poison ivy produces a fruit that is popular with wildllife.  Maybe it is not so bad after all.  Scratch that last statement.  Caution - Poison Ivy is bad!

 


2011 Turkey Competitions Announced!
    WeHuntSC.com - The Montana Decoy
  Montana Decoy's "Mr. T" turkey decoy
 
The key to winning these competitions is to take a good bird and then to take a good picture!  Be sure to read the ?photo tips? on the competition pages.  To enter the competition you must be a registered member of the site and you must HAVE THE DATE IN THE PHOTO.  Ya?ll know how we do it by now so the same rules will apply.  The competition starts tomorrow (March 15th) and will run through May 1st.  We will narrow the pics down to the top 5 and then the site audience will vote on the winner starting on May 3rd.
 
Whoever wins these competitions will be really pleased with these prize packages because they are nice so go the extra mile to take a good pic! 
 
If you have any more questions, just shoot me an email?
 
Regards,
 
Clint
 

The Jake Intimidator
    WeHuntSC.com - The Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations
  The Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations

I?m relatively young in my turkey hunting career, but I?ve got enough experience to know that turkey hunting is fun and exciting!  I?ve been looking forward to this coming turkey season for some time now and I?m ready to get out and take a shot at calling one in, getting the hunt on video, and getting one on the ground!  This year I?m also excited to try out a really neat new decoy called the Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations.

The Jake Intimidator is a unique decoy that uses motion to simulate a Tom puffing up and strutting.  The action and motion it creates is pretty cool looking.  When I opened up the box and took the Jake Intimidator out I immediately started trying to figure it out and began putting it together.  It?s really easy to assemble and is pretty fun to play with.  The turkey body on this decoy is really life like and has Velcro on the back to which you attach the fan-tail.  The material of the fan-tail is really thick feeling and durable, but yet flexible.  As you would imagine, the fan-tail came wrapped up in the box too?so I had to spread it out and give it time to flatten out to give an accurate representation of a turkey?s tail.

The Jake Intimidator has kind of a spring-loaded base that you drive into the ground with stakes that are attached to the base.  The tail connection piece of the decoy attaches to the two rods on the base and you clip the string to the connection on the base and pulling it makes the decoy stand up and lay down.  It?s kind of difficult to describe in words, but you?ll understand it better from the videos below. 

The Setup

Imagine that you?re turkey hunting and you?ve got 2 ? 3 hen decoys out and you?ve got the Jake Intimidator lying flat on the ground just out front of the hens.  You?ve got a big gobbler talking back and forth to you in the distance and he?s on his way in. You give him just enough sweet talk to coax him closer and the decoys have him strutting his stuff out there showing off.  You let him get a little bit closer.  Just when he thinks he?s got all these ladies to himself you pull the string on him and just like that he thinks there?s another male already there talking to his ladies!  Who knows what will happen at this point, but whatever comes next is bound to be fun.

I shot a quick video working with the Jake Intimidator and I went about attaching mine differently, but either way will work I guess :-)

WeHuntSC.com - 10% Discount on the Jake IntimidatorWhat?s even better is that the guys at Countrymen Innovations have offered a discount price for anyone from our site audience who wants to purchase a Jake Intimidator.  If you use the code: WEHUNT11 you?ll get a 10% discount when you order your Jake Intimidator?and if you do, be sure to video your hunts and post them to the site!

Counting down until turkey season!

Regards,

Clint
 


SC Turkey Competitions
   WeHuntSC.com - Turkey Hunting in South Carolina
   

Last season was my first season turkey hunting and I have to tell you? I really liked it.  Mr. Bruce Puette was nice enough to take me on my first turkey hunt and it was a blast.  He made it look easy and then we gave it a shot!  We fell short a few times and learned a little bit, but by the end we were able to call some turkeys in and get them on camera.  We even got one to talk back to us while using a shed antler! Now that I know a little bit more about turkey hunting and have a video camera that will actually zoom, I?m really looking forward to this year?s turkey season.

And speaking of turkey season, I just want to let everyone know it?s already decided that we will be having 2 turkey competitions in the upcoming season?a Turkey of the Year and a Youth Turkey of the Year.  Yes, you will have to have the date in the picture again so get ready for it!  Go ahead and think about how you are going to take your picture and be sure to carry your camera with you! 

We are in communications with some sponsors and I can tell you that it?s looking like the prize packages will be good this turkey season as well!  We'll post more information about the competitions in the weeks to come...

Regards,

Clint
 


York County Hunter Wins 2010 GearFrenzy Turkey of the Year Competition
   WeHuntSC.com - Steve Black with his prizes
  Steve Black with his prizes

This year we hosted our first Turkey of the Year Competition.  In order to ensure that users wouldn?t submit a picture from years ago, we forced user?s entries to have the date of their kill written somewhere in the picture with them.  As you may imagine, we heard from several individuals who said ?If I had only known, then I would have done it?.  Well? now you know and next year you can do it!  You have to start sometime and this year was our starting point.

For this reason we had a low number of user submissions, but nevertheless we did have some hunter?s that were able to get their information submitted successfully.  Of the submitted entries to the site, Steve ?Brother? Black from York County, SC has emerged as the winner.  Steve is an avid, year-round hunter and is a member of the Mossy Oak Pro Staff.  He hunts deer in the fall, ducks around December and, obviously, turkeys in the spring.  He took a trip to Arkansas this past duck hunting season and had a very successful hunt.  Steve is known as one of the best turkey hunters around York County and the Rock Hill area.  Steve has guided some TV show personalities on hunts and enjoys taking his young son hunting.   

Steve was nice enough to take a minute away from work tell us the story about how he bagged his competition winning turkey along with some information about the calls he uses.


 

For more information about the calls that Steve uses check out his sponsor?s web sites at:

We?re excited for Steve and glad he entered the contest.  We really enjoy giving back to the hunters of South Carolina!  The days when we deliver the prizes are one of my most favorite things that I get to do being involved with this site.  From winning the competition, Steve received:

Not too bad for a day in the woods!

A big congratulations to Steve and a message to all the turkey hunters for next year? HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER, PEN, AND CAMERA CLOSE BY IF YOU PLAN ON GETTING A TURKEY IN THE CONTEST!

Until next turkey season?
 

Regards,
 

Clint
 


Hunting for a Cure
   WeHuntSC.com - Hunting for a Cure Home page
  Hunting for a Cure's web site

Hunting for a Cure is an organization that raises money to fight against childhood disease.  The mission of Hunt for the Cure is to introduce children to the joys of wildlife, hunting, and the outdoors and to also raise funds through volunteers and sponsors to contribute to the fight against childhood disease.  Hunters from everywhere donate hunts and individuals purchase these hunts at a silent auction at the Hunt for the Cure banquet.  The highest bid wins the hunt and 100% of all the proceeds go to St. Jude?s Children?s Hospital in Memphis Tennessee.  

Recently, Jimmy Bradley of Pageland, South Carolina was involved with Hunting for a Cure.  Jimmy donated a few turkey hunts and the hunts were purchased by John and Tyler Largen of west Tennessee.  Tyler is 11 years old and he and his father just started turkey hunting last year.  From hearing Jimmy tell of their experiences turkey hunting in SC, I?d say that they definitely have a few hunts to remember. 

Jimmy, Tyler, and John?s first hunt together was on Thursday morning.  I asked Jimmy to give me some insight as to what all happened on some of their hunts.  It really gets tough towards the end! Jimmy has described some of the memories of the few days of hunting below: 

   WeHuntSC.com - Hunting for a Cure - John and Tyler Largen turkey hunting in SC
   John and Tyler Largen in the SC woods

Our first hunt was on Thursday morning and we got in really tight on a nice tom. I took my wing out and did four ?Fly downs? with it and the long-beard immediately hammered! He flew down, but no matter what, he was not coming our way. He headed in the opposite direction so we pulled up and moved a half mile down the road.  After we moved we heard two birds gobbling really well. So, we set up on the two birds that were gobbling. We called to them and they would gobble back at the calls really well, but they must have been with hens because they would not come near the area we were hunting. In time, they got quiet and we had not heard them for about an hour.  We decided to move about a 100 yards and make a new set up. As you would imagine, when we stood up and walked to the decoys the birds flew off!!! They were within 75 yards and where coming in on us silently. I thought to myself that I really blew that one !! At this point, we decided to break for lunch and give John and Tyler time to take a nap because they had arrived late.

 WeHuntSC.com - Hunting for a Cure - John and Tyler Largen in the boat   
 John and Tyler Largen on the float trip  

We headed back out for the afternoon and set up where we had seen the birds that morning. About 7:00pm I could hear something walking to my right. I looked and saw a Gobbler coming. I was trying to get Tyler turned in that direction so he?d be ready to get his first turkey.  About that same time his father, John, turned towards the action and the turkey saw his movement and within moments the bird was gone. Dad had gotten caught! We hunted until dark and came out.  We decided we?d try again Friday morning and hoped for better luck.

Friday morning we listened for birds but did not hear any that were within our hunting area.  We decided to be creative and do something different since this was a special hunt.  We decided to try to float the river! This float trip turned out to be a hunt we would never forget.

In order to do this ?float trip? we needed a boat.  After getting my dad?s boat out of the weeds where it has sat for the last 20 years, we made a quick run to Wal-Mart to buy a plug and some paddles. We were excited about our big float trip because the birds seem to gobble really well on the river, but they don?t appear to move too far away from the water.  We figured we would just float down the river and call a little and when some turkeys responded, we?d pull the boat up and set up on them. 

    WeHuntSC.com - Hunting for a Cure - Jimmy Bradley and the boat
   Jimmy Bradley and the boat
After getting everything at Wal-Mart we finally got the boat to the water. Everything started out smooth, then we came to some rocks and I had to get out and pull the boat through. We got back into the boat and got into a good rhythm and were just taking in the whole float trip idea! We weren?t hearing any turkeys calling back, but to be floating down the river turkey hunting seemed neat at this point in time.

I continued calling ever so often, but nothing responded to my calls. Soon enough we came to some more rocks.  Here again we had to get out of the boat to pull it through the rocks.  We started back on our journey and drifted around a curve and I called some more.  Still nothing was responding to my calls.  We floated a little ways down the river again and, yes, had to get back out of the boat to pull it through more rocks.  We got back on our way and called again and still nothing responded! Then we had to get back out of the boat to pull it past some more rocks! You should be getting the picture by now! By now our ?quick? cruise had lasted 4 hours and we hadn?t even heard a gobble, but we sure had seen a lot of rocks!

While floating down the river we made plans to eat dinner at Beth?s Country Kitchen because pork chops (YUM YUM!) were on the menu and I figured John and Tyler might like that because everyone else in Pageland does. We decided it couldn?t be much further to the bridge where we parked the truck. It didn?t take us long to figure out that we were wrong.  We continued to pull the boat down the river which by now seemed to be more rocks than river.  We started to get tired so we stopped for a break.  When we stopped for a break John dropped his BlackBerry in the river.  Our novel idea for a ?float trip turkey hunt? was turning out to be accident prone and more like work than hunting! 

  WeHuntSC.com - Hunting for a Cure - The River and the Rocks  
 The River and The Rocks  

Things really went downhill after that.  We continued to walk and pull the boat over the rocks and our ?quick? trip ended up being 6 hours long.  At the height of all of the bloopers, I slipped on a rock and fell into the only deep spot in the river! I was completely soaked and my wallet, camera, and range finder were soaked too! We realized our ?quick? trip had cut us out of eating pork chops at Beth?s.  This was indeed a low-point for the whole squad.

Then we did the unthinkable?We abandoned ship! Due to complete exhaustion, we pulled the boat up into the woods and walked out. Our ?quick? trip ended up lasting 8 hours and I was beaten, battered, and thirsty! The only thing to do in this situation was to laugh about it.  We laughed and had fun despite all the river threw at us on our float trip. Shortly thereafter, we went and ate a nice dinner at the Mexican restaurant in Pageland and talked about our fun-filled-day.  This was definitely one hunt we will never forget. During the whole river trip we never heard a single gobble!  I guess we all have bad days and this was one of mine!

Someone is going to be walking down the river and come up on an old john boat and wonder how it got there.  All I can say is take it?It?s yours! You haul it out and you got a boat?.that is, if you get back to it before I do!

Even though no turkey was harvested on their trip, Jimmy the guys definitely had a trip to remember.  I?m glad that I didn?t have to haul the boat over all those rocks, but I?ve done similar things before in my life!  Jimmy says John and Tyler were troopers even through the blunders of the last day of hunting.  So congratulations to them for being soldiers in the backwoods of SC!

Though the last day of hunting turned out pretty rough, we applaud Jimmy for donating a trip to Hunting for a Cure and also encourage you to do so if you can.  If you would like to get involved with Hunting for a Cure, contact [email protected] and tell them we sent you.

In the mean time, I think I may go and find me a free john boat!

Regards,

Clint

 


The Turkeys That Couldn?t Hear
    WeHuntSC.com - Turkey Decoy Setup
  Our turkey decoy setup

I woke up early Saturday morning in order to get setup in the field in plenty of time.  Mr. J.E. Aldridge met me at the house and we headed out.  We got to the field about 30 minutes before daylight.  With the Thermacell, 2 decoys, some diaphragms, and a slate call, we set out to get a long-beard.  Since most of the turkeys have come from the same general area, we positioned ourselves in a location that is different from where we normally sit.  We hoped to be closer to turkeys as they entered the field.  We set the decoys out about 15 yards in front of us and to the left.

I?m not turkey hunting expert by far, but so far, every time I?ve been we?ve at least heard some turkeys gobbling from the trees as we got there before daylight.  Well, on this day we didn?t hear anything.  I was hoping to get some up close and personal footage of a turkey since we were sitting a little closer, but not hearing any turkeys calling out early in the morning gave me a bad feeling about what the day would bring. 

There was a front coming in and cloud cover was moving in and out throughout our hunt.  The wind was blowing and we could feel the temperature dropping throughout the hunt.  Since I?m clueless about turkeys, I don?t know if changes in weather messes with them or not, but I know it can affect the movement of deer some.  I hoped that it would get better or that at the least we would hear a gobble somewhere.

In time the sun had completely risen and still we hadn?t heard or seen anything.  I randomly called, but nothing seemed to work.  Then around 7:30 a hen walked out into the field about 120 yards away to our right.  She was walking to our left and this meant she was going to cross our face.  I thought she would get a little clearance from the tree line and get out in the field more, but she hugged close to it the whole time.  Though, she was by herself and she didn?t stay long.  She walked about 20 yards and then flew back up in the trees.  I had barely even called at her and she was gone.  The thought of a big tom following her was just entering my mind right before she flew away.  I don?t know if she was spooked or what.  She didn?t respond to my call and left within about 5 minutes of entering the field.

We sat a while longer when another hen came back out in that general area.  It could have been the same one, but I?m not sure.  This hen did the exact same thing.  She walked down the tree line about 15 yards out from it.  This time she walked from our far right all the way to our far left and it took her about 20 minutes to make the journey.  During these 20 minutes I called and made every sound I could without trying to ?over-call? as Mr. Puette had mentioned to me.  No matter what sound I made, the turkey just kept on strutting.  I don?t think she really acknowledged any of the sounds as she walked and pecked at the ground and passed by nor did she care about the decoys.  We weren?t going to shoot a hen, but it would have been nice to at least get some more footage for the site.  After she passed by, Mr. J.E. and I were talking and I told him that I think that turkey might be deaf, thus the title of this blog entry.

That pretty much sums up our hunt.  We stayed a little bit longer and then eventually left.  We did see a hawk that was chasing after something in the field and that was neat to watch.  We also noticed on the way out that the farmer had seeded the field.  Looks like there will be some corn around next year.  I bet the deer will love that.  So there is no really good footage or turkeys to brag about, but we did come across some turkeys that didn?t hear well.  Though, maybe the lack of attention to us is a sign about my calling abilities!  I guess I?ll keep practicing.

Regards,

Clint

 


Can You Say Turkey at 15 yards

WeHuntSC.com - Turkey at 15 yardsIf you read the blogs, then you know I went to Washington DC last weekend.  On Saturday Will took the guys from Southern Outdoor Experience hunting and they get a good turkey on film.  Will and Adam had planned on going turkey hunting the next day with some friends from up the road.  They met Chip and Terry and got in the woods early.  Bear with me as I try to re-tell the story of their hunt, which is a little difficult given that I wasn?t there in person.

From the story I heard, the guys got in the woods early at one of our hunting locations.  Adam and Will went and set up in one direction and Chip and Terry went in the other.  Adam said that when they sat down they started calling a little just to see if they could locate any birds.  It didn?t take long before they heard some turkeys that were still in the trees.  They sat and waited as the sun began to rise.  The area they were hunting on this specific trip is more of a wooded area than the other location where we?ve been turkey hunting this year (which you may have seen on some of the films).  The woods gives the birds a little more cover and it makes it more difficult to see them coming!  Will and Adam were glad to hear a lot of turkeys gobbling in the distance.  Since they had located the birds, they didn?t want to call too much more and they just waited in anticipation.  At about 7:30 and they heard a loud boom come from the other side of the tract of land.  This meant that Chip and Terry had a made a shot.  Shortly thereafter, they went to check on the boys and they had already bagged a good turkey.  Chip and Terry were excited about getting a good gobbler!  So in the beginning of the video, you?ll see Chip holding the turkey that he shot.  We don?t have any footage of this hunt because the camera was in the other location and my camera was with me in DC.

WeHuntSC.com - Chip and his turkeySo then what do they do?... They move shop and go to a different location and set up.  I think he said they arrived around 8:15 or so.  They went out to the field and put a hen decoy up and this time they all sat together.  Terry started calling and it wasn?t long before turkeys at this location started yapping back at him.  The guys were really impressed with Terry?s turkey calling abilities.  Chip always says that Terry?s really good at calling and the boys got to witness it firsthand.  They were able to capture some of the footage of this hunt.  If you listen in the video, you can hear where Terry?s calling and also hear some turkeys call back in the distance.  It?s pretty neat, but you?ll need your volume up.

Will said they had been sitting there for a while and then a hen came out down to the right of the field.  The hen came all the way to where they were and got within 15 yards of them.  (This is the hen you?ll see in the video)  Terry was talking to the hen and it had no clue that they were even in the world.  She was just gobbling right away.  It?s neat to see the hen that close on video and I know the boys had ice in their veins with it right there on them.  Will just held still on the gun as the hen wasn?t going to be shot.  

Not too long after that they said a tom came into the far opposite edge of the field.  He was a few hundred yards away and terry worked his magic and started calling him in.  The turkey didn?t ever see the decoy and didn?t really get within shooting range though, but they said the turkey made a long journey to get near to where they were.  They told me that the turkey call was echoing and confusing the turkey.  This may have been the reason the turkey?s walking path was irregular.  End result of the hunt was no shot, but some good footage of a hen and a sighting of a nice tom.

And here?s the footage

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I must be the bad luck charm or something because when I leave these guys have birds all around them.  2 turkeys in 2 days + 1 within 15 yards?I?d say that was a good weekend of turkey hunting.  Maybe I?ll keep going on road trips so good things will keep happening, but I think the wife-to-be may have something to say about that.

Regards,

Clint 

 

SOE and WeHuntSC.com Have Successful Turkey Hunt

Recently we?ve posted some trail cam pics of turkeys and mentioned that we were getting after them and would elaborate further when the time was right.  Well, the time is now right and we?ve got some good news to share.

On random weekends and throughout the week over the past month we?ve been hunting with Jamie and Jacob Satterfield from the TV show ?Southern Outdoor Experience?.  You all see where we attempt to get turkeys & deer on camera, but these guys have a real TV show and they hunt in style if you know what I mean.  

We were in contact with Jamie and Jacob and had lined up some hunts with them as we prepared for turkey season.  Every time they came down the birds were out and about, but getting a shot on them proved to be difficult.  I like to say its ?Murphy?s Law? that whenever you take a camera hunting that nothing will move.  Though, these guy?s camera is a just a little bit different than mine if you catch my drift.

Jamie and Jacob returned this past weekend to hunt again.  While Garth and I were checking things out in Washington, Will and Adam stayed home to do some turkey hunting.  We were all crossing our fingers hoping that they would finally get a good shot on a bird.  From my perspective, I was sleeping in DC and I start getting flooded with text messages from Will saying ?Big Bird Down, Big Bird Down? and I knew what that meant.  I was sleepy and yet excited.  It wasn?t long before I got the post game from Will and he told me the story of the hunt.

Will said they arrived early and Jamie placed 2 hen decoys about 15 yards out in front of them.  They started calling a little after sunrise.  He said initially they heard some gobbles in the distance, but after a while it calmed down and there was a long period with no sign of a turkey anywhere nearby.  Then, along about 8:15 or so, Will spotted a bird down in the right corner of the field.  The turkey was walking out from the woods into the edge of the field.  The bird turned out to be a really nice gobbler and Jacob started calling.  When the turkey heard the call, he perked his head up as if to see where the sound came from.  Will said that when tom perked his head up, he saw the decoys and immediately sprinted about 50 yards directly to the hen decoys.  Of course this was the perfect set up for the S.O.E. crew to get a good South Carolina turkey on film.  Will said that the turkey came right in and got really close to the decoys and was strutting his stuff big time.  Then Jacob took the bird while the camera was rolling!  It turned out to be the perfect hunt.  After the hunt, Will said that Jamie and Jacob did some cut-away shots and some a wrap-up segment and that was it.

I could tell Will was excited and Jamie even emailed me a picture of the bird while I was away.  When I got the email I saw what all the hype was about.  They got a nice turkey and hopefully some nice footage.  In time, we hope to see the hunt on TV somewhere and if we do, we?ll make a fuss about it over here of course.

WeHuntSC.com - Southern Outdoor Experience Hunt

Now Will was rolling some film during the hunt, but we didn?t want to potentially mess up their hunt fidgeting around trying to capture the bird on film.  We also don?t want to post any footage that they may put on their show.  So, in the blow video you will see the set-up and then the post game segment after the turkey is down.  There is a blatant gap where the bird approached and kill-shot happened.  Obviously we don?t want to spoil anything for S.O.E.  So, given the constraints, here?s the video that we are airing.

You may wonder what Jamie and Jacob are like being that they hunt on TV and all that.  These guys are just as down to earth as the next and are easy going, good people.  They were very appreciative and thankful to us for taking them hunting.  You wouldn?t know they were on TV if you just met them on the street.  Overall, it took a few times and some patience, but in the end Jacob was able to get a good South Carolina turkey.  

The next day brought another hunt and another turkey?more to come.

Regards,

Clint

 

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