Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
Just wanted to post a quick update to the blog page regarding the predator competition. Remember YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION! If you show up to the check-in and have not registered then you won?t be able to win?and with all of these prizes, I?d hate for that to happen to you. So if you plan to participate?register.
Now that the disclaimer?s out of the way?time for the good news. The good news is that since the first blog about the predator competition we?ve received some more good sponsor donations for the competition! The following organizations have donated the prizes listed below:
I?m pumped that the predator competition is getting such a warm reception from both hunters and outdoor organizations. I hope to see you and your team at the check-in!
Regards,
Clint
Over the course of the Food Plot Journey we?ve been demoing the GroundHog MAX as well as planting a lot of Tecomate Seed. We?ve demonstrated that average Joes (and rookie food plot web people like myself) can even use these products and get a decent food plot to come up. All of the products that we?ve used can be purchased online, but recently a new outdoor store right across the NC line opened up that carries these products and more!
The Springs Wild Game Center is located in Mineral Springs, NC and is run by Bryan McCarver. The Wild Game Center is a sister company to the local Feed and Seed company in Mineral Springs. It takes about 25 minutes to get there from Pageland and is also not a bad ride from Buford or Lancaster. It sits right off of highway 75 just across the train tracks. The store is relatively new and is really nice. From cities like Pageland?s perspective, it beats driving an hour to Rock Hill or to a store in the Greater Charlotte area and it?s a nice ?country? drive along the way (Google Map to Springs Wild Game Center).
The Wild Game Center carries both fishing and hunting products and is also going to carry guns in the near future. As I mentioned, the store hasn?t been open too long and has some plans for some really neat things such as an archery course and even a 3d archery course?so it?s good now and will only get better in time. The Wild Game Center is also one of the few places where you can find another emerging product in ?BuckYum?.
We had some WeHuntSC.com decals up there earlier, but they?re out now. We?re working to get some vinyl decals offered permanently in the store as well. Best of all you can go there and pick up a GroundHog MAX or a McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag and even some TrueTimber camo! You can give it a look and touch/feel it before you buy if you want. Bryan and the guys at the store can also get any flavor of Tecomate Seed that you want.
If you?re on the NC/SC border then you ought to give the Springs Wild Game Center a look at some point. We like to use our site to promote good places and good people and this place definitely meets both of those criteria! If you go, be sure to tell them that you heard about them from WeHuntSC.com! Once the 3d range gets set up I?m going to go back and shoot some video of the place to give you a feel for what it?s like too!
Over Christmas break I traveled a lot spending time with family?probably similar to what you may experience during the holiday season. Since I got married a couple months back this year was the first year of incorporating another family into the schedule. Since my schedule was a little more filled, I was unable to hunt during the snow that fell the day after Christmas, but I was able to hunt the day after the snow fell when some snow was still on the ground. I?ve always wanted to deer hunt in the snow, but I also didn?t want to mess up the schedule on the first year with the in-laws either!
Though, the first chance I got I rushed back to the house to get my stuff together and slipped down to one of our stands in a nearby field. Since I was late and rushed this stand was a good fit because it?s relatively easy to get to, I can be quiet on the way in and it?s a box stand so it wouldn?t be too cold. I finally got situated in the stand and I sat in the box overlooking a field covered in snow. It was a unique site and one that we don?t get to see too much during deer hunting season in SC.
One of the gifts I received during Christmas was a book titled ?The Christmas Sweater? by Glenn Beck. Early in my life I hated to read, but as the years go by I?m finding myself reading a little bit more and not hating it so much. During the free time I had in between visiting family, opening presents, eating, and traveling I started reading the book that I had received. Reading a book about a Christmas sweater didn?t really seem to appealing to me, but I had some free time so why not check it out. I would have been scolded if I had pulled the computer out in front of the wife!
I read about 2/3 the way through the book during the Christmas break and I brought the book with me in my bag in case I decided to read some more. I sat in the box looking at the field and snow and in between looking out the windows I read the rest of the book. The book actually turned out to be very good! As I mentioned, I wasn?t too pumped about reading it at the site of the title, but once you get into the book then you understand why the title is what it is.
In case you like to read I won?t ruin it for you, but the book tells a vivid story that?s symbolic of Beck?s life and childhood. He changed some names and locations around and combined some concepts for symbolism to embolden the meaning of figures in his life. The Christmas sweater was a gift from his mom that symbolized a lot for Beck and throughout the story he uses a lot of allegory to talk about life, relationships, faith, and hope. I really like the conversations that Beck had with his Grandfather in the story because I feel like I?ve had some of those same conversations with people in various times of my life.
Through this short story of a kid?s Christmas experience one can gain knowledge, insight, and wisdom about life in general. If you?re into reading I would give it a look. Very rarely do I finish a book in 2 days, but I did with this one. The story was good and kept me engaged the whole time.
Do any of you read while hunting or am I the only nerd out there?
If you read SCDNR?s page then you are aware of their recent article about hunters requesting changes to the management of deer in our state. In case you haven?t seen the article, I have pasted the text from it below.
This article can be seen on SCDNR?s web site here: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/yr2010/dec23/dec23_deer.html
December 20, 2010 Deer hunters request changes to state?s deer management approach
South Carolina deer hunters are asking for changes to the state?s deer management approach based on public opinion data gathered by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Much of the discussion among hunters is related to concern over the unregulated harvest of antlered bucks, and an estimated 25 percent decline in the State?s deer population over the last 10 years according to DNR biologists. Currently there is no enforceable limit on the number of bucks a hunter can take during the season.
Public meetings, mail surveys, and more recently telephone and internet based surveys of the state?s deer hunters indicate that a minimum of 70 percent of hunters support the concept of a reasonable limit on antlered bucks and the implementation of a tagging program that would provide for enforcement of such a limit.
Additionally, a minimum of 70 percent of hunters indicate that they would support paying a modest fee to implement such a tagging program as long as the fee was used to administer the program and for deer research and management. A complete summary of DNR?s efforts to document public opinion on future deer management can be found online.
DNR?s governing board has discussed this issue on numerous occasions this year, and at the Dec. 17, 2010 DNR Board meeting voted to support a statewide limit of 4 bucks per hunter per year, and a mandatory deer tagging program whereby all harvested deer (bucks and does) must be tagged at the point of kill with tags provided by the department. A nominal fee of $5 per tag for residents and $25 per tag for nonresidents is proposed.
Although DNR can make recommendations, any changes to the current deer hunting laws require action by the South Carolina General Assembly. The DNR Board proposal will be incorporated into the DNR?s Legislative Proposal for the 2011-12 session.
Do you want a regulation on bucks in SC and do you think this will help or hurt hunting in our great state?
Just wanted to drop a quick blog and let everyone know that soon you will be reading the outdoor stories of a new blogger! Chester area hunter, Tommy Darby, is going to join the WeHuntSC.com blog crew and we?re glad to have him on the team. Tommy hunts a little bit of everything and also is into fishing and may post some fishing blogs in the off-season. We?re excited to add a new blogger and see what goes on in the Chester area of SC!
If you've been around long enough (or checked out the Food Plot Journey blog series) then you know that we've been busy for the last year installing, messing up, making, working on, and learning about food plots. I have been the quintessential guinea pig blogging about what we've been doing along the way and we are nearing the end of the journey for this year.
As you have seen, we've been highly documenting the power line food where we put Tecomate's Max Attract and Ultra Forage. We used the GroundHog MAX and a tractor to get the ground ready and the plot has done well. You may have also seen the epic "Hunt of 1,000 What-Ifs" that took place in the power line food plot. When we walk through the plot now the plants are over our ankles and are up to our calves in many locations. Needless to say, this plot has done well.
I will say that early in the season we didn't see a lot of action in the power line food plot. Though as it has gotten colder and the deer's food sources have been lessening, we've been seeing a lot more deer passing through and browsing as they walk. For this reason I think fall food plots can prove crucial to bring deer in front of you as deer hunting season nears its end.
Below are some updated pics from the power line plot to give you visuals for what it looks like at this point in the season.
You can see where we mixed the Max Attract & Ultra Forage in the power line plot
The Ultra Forage is the broad leaves and the Max Attract are the tall skinny blades
Which side of the power line would you go to if you were a deer?
Looks like a deer or two may have laid down in this one!
As you know, we have also been working on other food plots in various locations that we planted a little later on, but have not been reporting as much via the blog because we were just repeating the same processes at each location. The MAX Attract and Ultra Forage are both doing well at all of the different plots that we planted. From what I can tell, the MAX Attract seems to grow a little faster and taller than the Ultra Forage, but the Ultra Forage, when it grows, has very nice, green, broad leaves. Below are some pics from other plots that we planted.
The green in the midst of the brown and grey looks really good!
From the deer we've been seeing in these plots I can tell you that we'll definitely be trying to plant fall food plots again next year! These fall plots give the deer something to eat (and a healthy product at that) when their food sources lessen in nature. Hopefully this will help hold deer in our area and give them the nutrients they need to stay healthy year round.
The following is a guest blog by Laura Byrd McKenzie
It was the best adventure ever! We waited anxiously- shaking from nervousness, yet stiff with excitement! We had put so much of ourselves into thishunt? planning, preparing, saving and sacrificing. Finally we could see him coming out. His head was down. He didn?t even notice we were there. At just the right time we made our move! And, in an instant, Eddie-Ramzie was part of our family! A child from the other side of the ?big pond? (Atlantic Ocean) was ours forever and there was no looking back.
The feeling we had that day at the airport when we first held the 2-year-old little one who became our ?Eddie-Ramzie McKenzie (ER)? was a first that can never be matched. Much like the day he had his first kill, it was a day we will always hold ?deer!?
Eddie-Ramzie started hunting with his dad, Eddie, in the Fall of 2010. Considering that most of ER?s summer was spent swimming and playing video games, he was quite bored on the first few hunts. I imagine the act of sitting in the tree stand might have seemed like a trophy in itself considering the effort put forth just to get there. Eddie-Ramzie triumphs daily through a forest of adversities in his quest to walk and otherwise actively enjoy life like any other young boy near rural McBee, South Carolina. Though he has to be careful as his bones break easily, he?s known for also breaking medical milestones and defeating the odds.
After several hunts and countless arguments, his dad hammered into Eddie-Ramzie?s hard head that eventually he would learn to love hunting. His dad didn?t understand why hunting should be so difficult to tolerate for Eddie-Ramzie. After all, he had endured over two years in the lonely wilderness of an orphanage near Russia?s Black Sea. He had bravely survived a hunt in the US and Canada for skilled doctors who continue to perform his repeated bone surgeries. He firmly and patiently grasps the cold metal of a walker and wheelchair almost every day. He masters each school day by overcoming a mischievous ?big mouth? to make straight ?A?s?.
If he could tolerate all of the above, he was darn well going to calm down, keep his mouth shut, and overcome a little boredom to embrace the metal of a rifle and eventually break the stride of a deer? hopefully without breaking his own shoulder.
Eddie-Ramzie was already aggravated from the last hunt when his daddy set up his AR-15, which was borrowed from longtime friend Patrick Griggs. ?The Big-One? had strutted from the thicket and posed for a shot, only to leap away in laughter as a loud CLICK yielded nothing. ER protested as he caught a familiar piggy-back ride on his dad in order to hike back to their hunting golf car, ?It was YOUR fault, Daddy! You didn?t set up the gun right. It was your fault I didn?t kill that buck!?
Over the next several hunts the quiet sign language between the two guys became heated as ER insisted that his dad was not using the new deer caller correctly. ER insisted that according to the directions he read on the package, ?You don?t know what you?re doing, Daddy!?
One Saturday morning, October 30, Dad decided to let his son sleep late after one of ER?s many rough nights of bone pain. Eddie-Ramzie insists that it had more to do with Dad?s whining for more sleep than with anyone?s pain. Regardless of who won that edition of ?The Biggest Whiner,? the two men pulled their camo clothing from the proven McKenzie ScentFanDuffle bag. They had argued the night before and ER won as they settled on using dog fennel for the cover scent in the bag?s cartridge/fan system.
They set out on the mid-morning hunt. As ER had killed enough time in that deer stand while reading a tree?s-worth of books, he decided to bring along a thicker book. After reading quite a while, another grey argument began to stir in those colorful woods. ERs hands and fingers gestured sharply that his dad was once again using the deer caller incorrectly. Fed up with his son?s 10 year-old ?know-it-all? attitude, Dad gave the call to the Smarty Pants beside him, and motioned as if to say ?just do it yourself.? Eddie-Ramzie snatched up the device and proceeded to use it according to the words so clearly printed on the package. He settled back into the comfort of reading. Within about two minutes, a handsome doe crept from the briars.
ER lifted his trembling arms to aim. He was sure the gun had been secretly snacking on his cousin Jeanie?s famous homemade pastries because it suddenly weighed a ton. Time slithered like the snails on the front porch as he remembered how his older sister, Bobbi, boasted that she had killed her first doves at age 7 which was a much younger age than he had. His sister Jessi?s voice screeched in his mind as he recalled her laughing that she looks much better in camouflage that he ever dreamed of looking. He hunted for strength in his hands as his stomach felt as jiggly as the strawberry jello dessert his mom, Laura, sneaks before diner.
If he could make this shot, then finally he could brag about his first deer and how much smarter he is than his Daddy. After all, he had chosen to read and follow directions, unlike Big Eddie! And most important of all, he was reading his Bible when God brought out the deer just for him! His strong little fingers squeezed the cold trigger as his trophy submitted herself by expiring at his feet on the ground under the tall pines that his Papa Byrd had raised from saplings.
Finally, it had happened! And, all was right with the world! Faster than a pine cone can bounce from a squirrel?s tail, a text was sent to announce his kill. Vehicles could be heard skidding over the sandy cordoury bumps of Jesse Byrd Road. Truck doors slammed, digital cameras flashed and friendly waves abounded as a large crowd of at least 3 people gathered to greet him: nevermind the coincidence that the crowd was in fact the three females in his family who compete to boss his every move.
His mind echoed like the hills and hollow near the creek that trickles beyond the barn we call the old ?tenant house!? Yep, my Mema Byrd will surely hurry to get dressed so as not to be late for tonight?s green-carpet gathering at the local Hardee?s Restaurant. The top story on her agenda will be to proudly announce to her friends that her grandson, Eddie-Ramzie, has once again accomplished his goal and brought home adventure, strength and love.
Adventure, strength, and love can be found through a multitude of experiences and within countless lands and seas throughout the world. However, no adventure is quite like the outdoor life this skinny young boy experiences in the Sand Hills of Middendorf Community, USA. No strength is quite like that which comes as a result of brokenness. And no love is quite like the love Eddie-Ramzie McKenzie feels for his daddy, his God, and newest of all, deer hunting!
Laura Byrd McKenzie
I always enjoy the holiday season for many reasons. One of those reasons is that there is just so much to hunt! Whether you?re into hunting deer, waterfowl, rabbits, or predators?this time of the year has something for everyone.
By this time of the year the leaves have fallen off the trees giving very good visibility in the woods. The greater visibility offers many advantages for deer hunters. With the leaves on the ground you can obviously see further which helps you locate deer before they locate you! Early in the season sometimes deer can easily, what some deer hunters say, ?get in on you? or ?slip up on you? because of the cover offered by the heavy foliage of the forest. Though, late in the season this cover is gone and areas which are previously invisible now are easily seen. With all the leaves on the ground shots can also be squeezed in areas that before seemed too ?tight? to shoot in during earlier in the season. Usually the weather is cooler by now and many hunters feel that the cold weather, combined with the less number of food sources for deer, keeps the deer moving about more.
On the other side of the discussion for late season hunting is the fact that by now deer are on high-alert because they ?feel? the pressure from being hunted and therefore move more at night than during the day (or during visible shooting light). Last year I put out 50lbs of corn on a stand and hunted it in the morning and afternoon and one day later every kernel of corn was gone, but I hadn?t seen any deer. The deer were eating the corn throughout the night and staying out of sight during the daytime. I kept the cycle of putting corn out over and over for a couple of days and realized that I was going to go broke before I saw any of these deer during hunting hours. We had a group of 9 does that I was coming in during the night and I was simply paying money to feed them!
Late in the season deer hunting gets a little tougher for a couple reasons, but it also gets a little easier for a couple of reasons as well. I will say, as a rookie food plot guy, that we?re seeing a lot more deer in the fall plots late in the season than we did early in the season. I think the cold weather factors into that mix. That is to say that the frost hitting the Tecomate Seed food plot plants has turned their starches to sugar and they taste better to the deer. When the deer?s food sources begin to lessen and you have a lush, green food plot sitting in the middle of dead, grey plants and trees, it does look intriguing even to the human eye. I imagine that we?ll start working a couple more plots in anticipation for late season hunting next season.
Another thing to consider is that it?s also duck hunting season! In late December Waterfowlers have gone through the first part of the season and now the second season has come in. If the deer are only moving at night in your area then you can always opt to go duck hunting (if you hunt both). By this time of the year duck hunters have scouted their swamps/ponds/rivers and have a pretty good idea of where the birds are coming in. The cold weather is also what duck hunters love because it normally means that more ducks are in the area.
On another note, rabbit hunters can now carry their guns with their dogs and get after some ?bunns?. Many rabbits are on the run by this time of the year and will be on the move even more so after deer season ends. Coyotes and other predators are also on the move as winter approaches. I may be wrong with this statement, but I think coyotes breed around late January / early February in our area and the period before they mate is a period of a lot of movement and great hunting for predator hunters.
Late in the year is a great time for SC hunters for many reasons. What is it that you like to hunt late in the season and why?
Josh & Troy after the game Photo courtesy Casey Outen Disclaimer: This blog has nothing to do with hunting or the outdoors.
Every now and then you get to be a part of something special?
In 1991 I stopped playing football in the dirt track around the field during games and started being a water boy for the Eagles. I enjoyed being a part of the team, being around the field, the players & coaches, and learning the game. Back then we had a small water tank on wheels that I had to pull out to the guys during time outs and all over the field throughout practice. I can remember having the water tank turn over on me and not being strong enough to pull it and the guys laughing at me! It didn?t matter to me though because as long as I got out of school early in the playoffs to ride with the team and wear a jersey, I would keep on pumping the pump to give water pressure for the hoses and bringing the guys water. I can remember the guys seeming like giants when I was that young. Fridays were special because we got to make Gatorade. We always had contests in between the managers to see who could make the best tasting Gatorade. Some of the players were always on me to put extra packets of the mix in the water to make it sweeter. I remember small things like that plus riding the bus, being at practice, and being on the sidelines like it was yesterday.
By 1997 I had worked my way through the system until I was finally a senior. I was the Qb for our team and we had a ?Cinderella? season. I was blessed to play on the team that won the 2nd state championship in the school?s history. I can remember many moments from that season like it was yesterday as well. We beat Barnwell 21-19 and we were the underdogs all season long. It felt good to finally see and feel what it was like to win a state championship. The medal and jersey are still on the wall.
The Eagles won another championship in 2003, the year of my first season in Europe. The Qb for this team was Trent Usher who was the head coach?s son and also ball boy when I played back in 1997. After playing in college and Europe for a couple of seasons, I tore my shoulder up and had to get into ?real life?. When I got back I started helping out with the team at practice and on Friday nights. I even had a short stint as a long-term sub at Central. In time I got a job in Charlotte and wasn?t able to be in Pageland throughout the week, but I continued to come on Friday nights and help out on top of the box. Even though years had passed the same coaches were still at Central and the program was still rolling. Transitioning from playing to helping coach was a little challenging because I had to (and still am) trying to train my eyes to watch different aspects of the game.
Coach Mangum & Son (JR) Photo courtesy Jason Fararooei Yellow Cape Communications
The past two seasons (2008 & 2009) we had really good squads and we met Dillon each year in the state championship. We lost two years in a row by 1 point to Dillon and each loss was tough to swallow. We just couldn?t seem to pull it out for one reason or the other, but we keep on coming back for more.
This year things kind of got shaken up earlier in the year when the district cut our head coach?s salary to around 10k as part of the budget cuts. Coach Mangum was a ?working retiree? and wasn?t offered a job at his previous level of compensation. The district?s decision lead many working retirees in the district to leave their post and retire. Everyone wasn?t sure what would happen, but Coach Mangum stayed on to coach for a small fraction of what he deserves. His unselfish decision to stay and coach is one of the best examples of servant leadership that I can think of and pretty much set the tone for the whole season. Coach Mangum stayed on to lead the program that he and so many others have spent 30 + years making for several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was because his son plays on the team.
We met Dillon again this year in the state title and it was a tough game. It was a ?nail-biter? and it didn?t look good for us with 3 minutes remaining as we were down 17-7. Dillon was about to have a ?3-pete? with all 3 victories coming against us and I was numb in the press box looking down to the field. Then, things got interesting. Dillon?s players seemed to relax a little and we drove the field and scored. 17-14. Dillon got the ball back with around 1:45 left and threw a pass on 2nd down and we picked it off and the rest was history. We scored with about 37 seconds left in the game to go ahead 20-17 and we held on for the victory. Our guys were down, but not out.
I?ve been a part of and seen a lot of things happen on the football field over the years, but what I saw happen last Saturday in Columbia is what I believe to be destiny. It was our year to win and God had a plan for our team. For our guys, the game played out in the perfect way and in the perfect time. The victory felt really good since we?d been beaten by Dillon the past 2 years in a row. It was also sweet because Coach Mangum?s son was able to be on the winning team?the first undefeated state championship team in our school?s history combined with the fact that Coach Mangum took a severe salary cut and stayed on anyways. Coach Mangum has always wanted his son to be on a state championship team and it finally happened. We were happy for them, the whole team, and the community overall. Everyone on the team played a part in the win and now I know 3 former ball boys who all have rings because ironically Coach Mangum?s son was the ball boy when Trent?s team won the state in 2003!
It?s been a long time since I was mixing Gatorade and running footballs out to the refs, but the thrill of victory is still the same. Whether I was taking a towel to the guys, throwing Td?s, or sitting on top of the box it still feels good to win. We had many opportunities to give up in the past 3 weeks, but we never did. Our guys bent, but never broke and always believed we could win. Now another trophy is in the trophy case because of the dedication and commitment of everyone associated with this year?s team and the program overall.
Below is a video made by Casey Outen from the state championship weekend
Every now and then in life you get to be a part of something special. This past season was another one of those special times in my life.
As you read from my previous blog entries, I?ve been duck hunting in a couple different swamps the past few weekends. I took my camera to record the hunts and I also took my tripod to steady the camera for various shots. After looking at my videos and pics, I realized that I need to camouflage my tripod a little because it was sticking out like a sore thumb. When I?m deer hunting, I usually have my camera behind some burlap, camo cloth, or clamped to a piece of wood. In those settings it usually works out well, but in more open settings like duck hunting it would be better if I could camouflage the tripod some.
The legs of the tripod go inside each other so I don?t want to bother the lower sections for fear that they would not extend smoothly or become tough to deal with. Many times I?m sitting on the ground or in a low spot and don?t need to extend the tripod out the whole way anyway. My first thought was to spray paint the top section of the tripod with black, green, brown, and grey paint which I guess could work, but I?m not sure if it would hold up over time with as many scratches and wear & tear that I?ll undoubtedly put it through. Would it be sticky, smell, rub off on clothing or my hands??? These questions were running through my mind when I thought about painting the tripod. It could work, but I didn?t want to risk messing the tripod legs up so I held off.
Later in the week I went to Dick?s Sporting Goods and found something that was the perfect fit. I picked up two rolls of camouflage tape. I used both kinds, but it was obvious that Hunter?s Specialties camo tape product called No-Mar Camo Gun & Bow Tape was the one to go with. I?d never tried any camo tape on anything before, but this stuff got the job done. I used both kinds of tape, but the No-Mar tape holds a lot better than the other (which I can?t remember the name of now), is more durable, and tears better. One roll cost $7 and I came home and covered the non-moving parts of the tripod and it looks really good. I went in circles on the first leg then realized that going vertical gave a better, smoother presentation. So on two legs it looks really good and not as good one the other! Though, I was really pleased with the overall outcome. I shot a short video and sent it to a couple people and some of them thought that I had bought a tripod that was painted camouflage! Obviously that is a good sign as it had them fooled! Hopefully it will also confuse any deer/ducks in the woods or swamps in the hunts to come.
Below is a video of the tripod after applying the Hunter?s Specialties No-Mar tape
Get you some Hunter?s Specialties camo NO-Mar tape and cover whatever you?ve got that?s making you stick out!
