Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
The question that often arises around this time of year is, "When should I start looking for shed antlers?". It has been my experience that it's never too early. I have found sheds in the past as early as January 5th. That is only four days after the last day of deer season in South Carolina. One memory that stands out is a set found in early January several years ago by my Dad and I.
Dad and I set out on an afternoon stroll one Saturday or as we like to call it, "a walk in the woods". We decided to walk the fence line that bordered the pasture behind my Dad's house. As we started out we fought through a thicket of small sweet gum trees and a briar patch that was too thick for the slickest of cottontails. We some how managed to squeeze our way through and found ourselves in a young stand of pines. We found a well traveled deer trail and began to follow it. It wasn't long when we spotted one side of a nice eight point rack. I had just read an article not too long before our walk that stated that the more mature dominant bucks often loose their antlers first due to their increased energy output during the year to maintain their dominance. I'm not a biologist but this makes sense to me. I also read that often a deer sheds both sides of its antlers in the same general area. So we continued our walk and followed this deer trail. As luck or fate would have it, we stumbled on the match to the shed we found earlier. It was only approximately 200 yards away from the first one we found. Not a bad day for just a "walk in the woods".
My most recent find occurred this past Sunday. My son Riley, Cousin JD, and myself headed out for an afternoon stroll. My intentions were to check the field edges and then to check the pine thickets around my Dad's house. It has been my luck in the past to find sheds in those general areas. Well after about an hour of walking we hit the jackpot. We found one side of what appeared to be a six point. This find was a little unusual though. The brow tine on this shed was huge. I measured it at about 9 inches. The rest of the rack was not impressive. We will definitely have to hunt him hard next year to get him out of the gene pool. Check out the video.
To me these sheds are a treasure. Although they hold some value if you search an auction site like eBay, it is more than just a price tag. It is like finding a lost piece to a puzzle. It offers a glimpse of the unknown, because these animals are so elusive. The sheds that I've found in the past are from deer that I have never seen and haven't seen since, but it's this clue to the unknown that keeps me hunting. So don't hesitate to take that "walk in the woods", because it's never too early to find that treasure. Clint's blog "Shed Hunting" has a little more detail about the sport. Check it out!
Has anyone else had any luck?
I wanted to update the blog since my neighbor Griff Wilson emailed me a picture of the deer that the shed belongs to. I thought you may want to see the other side if the shed is never found. Pretty cool looking buck.
*If you are one of the competition winners we will contact you via email soon!
You voted and now here are your winners:
In a couple of days we?ll have some happy hunters in South Carolina when we deliver the competition winners their prizes! I?ll take some pics/videos and will post a blog about the prize delivery too! If you?re interested in seeing the results of the voting, go back to the vote page to see the results.
Thanks again to all who participated and to our many sponsors who have donated the prizes for our competition winners.
Be sure to tune in early next season to get the updated rules for next year?s competitions!
Regards,
Clint
As the sun sets on another year, it's time to reflect on the 2010 season. One thing that I always like to think about is what happened during the season that has never happened before. These "firsts" are the things that keep me motivated, inspired, and excited about future hunts. For me it always seems like my deer seasons are full of "first" time events. I've been hunting for about 19 years and every year something happens during a hunt that makes me say, "I haven't seen that before.", or "That's the first time I've ever...".
Early on it was easy to accumulate "firsts", like the first deer stand that Dad and I built. At the time we didn't know that this "first" built stand would become a stand that led to the "first" buck for three hunters, including myself. My "first" buck was a four point that I shot when I was 13. It was an October day and I had just settled into my deer stand. Earlier that day I bought my "first" grunt call and pulled it out to see how it worked. After blowing on the thing for about an hour (I had no clue), I saw a buck coming straight at me. It stopped at about 30 yards and I shot. The buck bolted and then hit a pine tree at full throttle and broke off both sides of its antlers. That was probably a "first" for the pine tree.
This year hasn't been short on "firsts". I had an opportunity to take my "first" "Wall Hanger", which was an eight point buck for another "first". I also took my cousin on his "first" deer hunt and he saw his "first" deer while hunting. We will have to work on his "first" kill next year. We also saw a little snow which for me was a "first" as far as hunting in it. My year was also filled with the not so usual "firsts". I got buzzed (within inches) by a red tail hawk at sunset that nearly scared me to death. I also saw a possum while hunting. That was one that I had to think about for awhile.
What "firsts" did your year of hunts have? Hopefully, your year and past years are filled with as many "firsts" as mine.
Let me first say that I'm excited to be able to share my outdoor adventures with WeHuntSC.com. I was born and raised in Lowrys, SC (Chester County) and I have had a passion for the outdoors since I was a little kid. Hopefully, I can paint a picture of some of my hunting memories that illustrates my passion for South Carolina and Hunting. I will start out by telling you about a deer hunt from earlier this year.
Every hunter dreams of harvesting a Trophy animal or as I like to say, a Wall Hanger. I've always had the mindset that the glass is half full. With that thought, I've never judged the success of a hunt on whether I killed a "Mature" animal. A "Trophy". A "Wall Hanger".
Now for the whole truth. Over the past few years, I've started to wonder if taking a "Wall Hanger" would ever happen. Let me remind you that a trophy is in the eye of the beholder. To me a trophy is a mature animal. Period. I'm not worried about Boone and Crockett status. To me a "Trophy" whitetail is defined by more than just how many inches of antler are on its head. Anyways. My chances to harvest a trophy animal have mounted over the past several years. The most recent "chance" happened during the opening day of the 2009 season. A perfect quartering shot put the deer down, only to have him disappear without a trace. That haunted me for an entire year.
Fast forward to October 16, 2010. The morning was cool and crisp and the air was still. I started to my stand about an hour and a half before first light. I wanted to get in early because I had to cross a soybean field which usually held deer during the night. By going in early, I thought if I were to spook deer going into my stand the woods would have time to quiet down before light. Well, on the way in to my stand it was quiet. No spooked deer was a good start. As I got settled into the stand, I put on my face mask and gloves and prepared for an hour of sitting in the dark. You would think that this would be a boring hour, but it was actually quite exciting. A pack of coyotes made themselves known with a sequence of howls that sent chills up my spine. Then a few hoots from several owls made me feel like I was not the wisest one in the woods that morning. After all that fuss, the crunch of the leaves signaled that a deer was approaching. The deer cruised through without pause and the crunch of leaves faded into the dark. It was too dark to see but my suspicions led me to believe that this was a buck heading to the soybean field to check his scrapes.
As the horizon started to brighten, the silhouette of several deer moved through the soybean field. I was on full alert. Several deer moved through the hardwoods to my left and eased into a cut over that I was facing. It seemed that the deer were all around. The next deer I saw was a doe on the far edge of the soybean field. She was by herself which to me signaled that a buck could be following . She stopped for a split second and then moved on. Then I saw him. WOW! I immediately got into position because I knew that my window of opportunity was small. He stopped and worked a scrap for a second. It was as if time stood still. Here was my "chance" to redeem myself and silence those haunting memories. He then turned and started to walk off. I put the crosshairs on his shoulder and squeezed. BOOM! The buck jolted and ran out of sight. My heart and mind were racing at this point. Do I get down or do I wait. That wasn't a hard decision. I jumped down, literally. I made a quick pace to the edge of the field and there he was. I put a quick stalk on him to make sure he was down and then I woke up the woods. BBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAWWWWW! (Can you tell I was pumped?)
My glass was now full! That mindset that the glass was always half full started to be an excuse. Of course I love to be in the woods and yes it's not all about the kill, but every hunter dreams of harvesting a "Mature" animal. A "Trophy". A "Wall Hanger". Well, now I have mine!
This is a guest blog entry by Ben Sullivan
Ben Sullivan has been one of my life-long friends and in the past few hunting seasons he?s started getting into hunting. Ben hunts in the Coastal area of South Carolina down around Georgetown. Last weekend Ben got his first deer and it was a very nice buck! Since this was his first deer, a huge buck, and a good story, I asked Ben to give us some info about his hunt and I would post it here on the blog. Ben gave me a brief summary of his first hunt and how it went down.
Last week we had a large tropical storm move up the eastern seaboard and it got really wet here on the coastal region. Wednesday night my buddy Luke and I were planning on bow hunting the next morning since the tropical storm was moving up north. We thought the bucks would be up and moving after three days of heavy rain.
We hunt on roughly 2000 acres in Georgetown, SC and after the tropical storm about 1200 acres of the land was under water. We woke up on Thursday and saw that the rain had stopped and there was a nice breeze (for Georgetown) in the air. Luke texted me around 6 am and said that the weather was perfect and we needed to get in the woods. My favorite bow stand was under water so we decided to sit in the tower stand instead (one of the highest spots on the facility). This was the first time I sat in the tower stand. I had pics on 9 other stands and we didn?t expect this spot to be much of a producer; therefore we didn?t put much effort into it other than putting out corn.
We were sitting in the tower stand just looking and at exactly 9:15 a huge buck walked out. It took him about 4 seconds to get broad sided and give me a clear shot. I didn?t waste any time taking the shot and the deer fell on the spot. Luke?s inclination to go out that morning was dead on the money! We got down out of the tower stand and took the pics that you see below.
We saw 4 other decent size bucks moving that day while we put out corn at the other stands on our property. I?m excited that we have let them walk for 2 years in a row and our management practices are proving beneficial. Another interesting note is that we get a lot of game-cam pics, but the deer I shot had never been captured on camera. It appears that we will have quite a few shooters this year.
Congratulations to Ben on his first deer...a very nice buck! I don?t know if I?ve ever seen on that big in the woods before, but I hope to!
The air is getting a little cooler, football season is in full swing, and deer hunting season is upon us. If you?re like me you can smell the seasons changing to fall in the air? and it just does something to you. Sensing the temperature starting to drop and smelling the grass of the football field just makes me feel good inside!
Others are sensing it and ?getting the itch? (at least the hunting part) too! This can be noted as the activity on the message board is picking up. I imagine we?ll get some good conversations on the board this fall as well as some good pics/videos posted to the site. I look forward to seeing what everyone brings to the site this season!
Maybe we should give a prize for the first user to 300 posts or something? if we do, you boys would have to catch up to Hoot because I think he?s currently in the lead!
Remember: If you?re posting a pic in the competitions PUT THE DATE IN THE PIC!
We?re excited to announce that Wac?em Archery Products is getting on board to sponsor the 2010 WeHuntSC.com Deer Competitions. Wac?Em Archery products is based out of Utah and has donated 4 packs of 100 grain broad heads + 2 vertical seatpacks to the competition winners. I?m sitting here looking at these broad heads and seat packs and I know that all you bow hunters are going to love some Wac?em Archery products.
A little bit about Wac?em broadheads from the Wac?em Archery Products web site (www.WacemArchery.com) ?The flight of the Triton is like no other fixed blade broadhead; it truly is unbelievable. With its cut on impact head, just the right cutting diameter, and no mechanical blades to deflect, the Triton is at the head of its class in every penetration test available. The Triton, with its resharpenable head and replaceable blades, is in a class by itself. And it definitely has the ?look.?
Also, the vertical seatpacks are really neat. If you ever have an issue with stowing your bow in your vehicle, then look no further because these seatpacks can solve your problem. You simply strap these around the seats of your vehicle and store your bow right up next to the backside of the seat.
A big thanks to Wac?em Archery Products for working with us to offer the hunters of South Carolina some really great prize packages. If you?d like more info on Wac?em Archery Products just venture on over to www.WacemArchery.com.
We?re excited that Founders Federal Credit Union is donating a camo Founders hat for each competition winner for our 2010 deer hunting competitions. If you?re like me, you can never have too many hats and I can tell you that these Founders hats are quality hats and some winner will be glad to win one.
As you probably know, Founders is a reputable, South Carolina based, Credit Union that has roots in the Fort Mill area. We?re glad to have any sponsors, but we especially like to help promote SC based organizations. So we?d like to give a big thanks to Founders for donating hats to this year?s competition winners.
If you?re looking for a solid Credit Union that?s got great customer service, then go to Founders and open an account?and if you?re wondering?yes, I have a Founders account!
* I will continue to update this blog entry and the competition pages as more sponsors become involved. So keep checking the list because the prize packages will continue to get better.
We?re pumped up to see what everyone around the state will be seeing and harvesting this coming hunting season. As usual, we are hosting a couple competitions on the site and hunters from all over the state will compete to win prize packages and we?ve got some really good prizes to give away! This year we have removed a competition and added 2 new ones to the mix. You should also notice the rules for the competitions before posting any images because we are changing how the competitions work a little.
The Rules and New Changes
Again, see the rules for each competition before posting
The Competitions & Prizes
We look forward to seeing what happens around the state again this year!
* If you?re an organization interested in being a sponsor and would like to get involved, see the Sponsor FAQ page.
We left out early this morning and headed down to the Florence Civic Center for the 2010 Pee Dee Deer Classic. It didn?t take long for the place to get packed and it was buzzing with people both young and old. The rain held off just long enough and hunters and vendors from all across the state (and from many other states) were on hand to mix and mingle. The place was lively all day long and you could feel the energy in the air.
The floor and the walkway of the second level of the Civic Center was literally covered with vendors selling any and every product related to hunting. From knives, to guide services, to shirts, to scents, to 4-wheelers, to bows, to tractors, to food plot products, jewelry, and even fudge, you could find it all. There were even vendors there selling fishing and turkey products too! As full and busy as that place was it was almost overwhelming. That is, trying to take in the people, the information, the products, the messages, and the concepts is a lot to absorb at once. I think it wore me out after a while, but then again maybe I?m just lame.
The event was bigger than I initially anticipated and in comparison to the Sportsmen?s Classic I would say it?s a bit smaller. Though, this is just due to the fact that the event is solely targeted on deer hunting whereas the Sportsmen?s Classic features many more fishing and turkey hunting vendors and booths.
Vendors were on both the ground floor as well as the second level. The second floor is also where speakers presented on various subjects throughout the day. It was apparent that the ?Snake Master? was the biggest draw of the day as every time he spoke about snakes you couldn?t even fit around the corner due to the large audience that gathered to listen to him speak. Yes ? he did have live snakes in the building and no, I didn?t go by there messing with them?but a lot of people did.
I did miss out on one aspect of the classic though. (Fail again) I intended to see the archery competitions, but in between me not knowing the times when they started plus being busy shooting pics/videos, and talking to people I always seemed to find a way to miss them. However, it was obvious that there was a competition as you could see hunters walking around with their bow cases. I heard they were pretty good though and that the winners will be announced tomorrow.
There was another aspect of the show that I found neat. I?ve been to wrestling matches where the audience members bring their own belts to show off, but I?ve never been to a show where people walked around with their deer heads. At first I thought people were just showing off, turns out that I was wrong and they were just bringing their deer to be scored. The event featured on-site scoring of deer racks so if you wanted to know exactly what your buck scored, you simply brought it in and gave it to the guys with the tape. Cool beans! I took a pic of the guysthat were scoring the racks that you?ll see in the video below.
Going to these shows I usually see many products that I expect to see, but there are always a few products that stick out to me a little. I?m sure you may be the same way. In that regard, this expo was the same. I picked a few products to talk a little bit about that left an impression on me. If you?re a ?techy? or have similar interests as me, then you may like them too!
The McKenzie Duffle Fan Bag McKenzie Duffle Fan Bag The McKenzie Duffle Fan Bag is a really neat concept. After I saw it, I had the ?Why didn?t I think of that? moment. Essentially it?s a camo duffle bag with a fan in one end and a place to put a cover scent in on the other end. You turn the fan on and it pulls the scent through the bag scenting your gear with whatever cover scent you put on the other end. The bag can hook up to your truck?s cigarette lighter or an outlet in your house. Not only does it scent your clothes, but it also helps remove any moisture in your gear. There?s no doubt that this product works as whenever one of the bags is opened you can instantly smell dirt, dog fennels, or whatever scent was on the other end. Great idea created by a fellow hunter and fellow South Carolinian. I?m not sure, but I think the McKenzie Duffle sells for around $95. - www.mckscent.com
Mossy Oak's Video Recorder Eyewear Mossy Oak ? Video Recorder Eyewear Another memorable one for anybody who loves to video hunts. Though, you could really use this product to video anything. The gist is that it?s a pair of camo glasses that has an HD video camera located right between your eyes. If you see something coming you simply click a button right by your ear to start recording. The glasses use a very small sd card to store the video and can store 4GB of footage. I was skeptical about the quality of the footage given the small camera, but I have to tell you that I was impressed with the footage that came from this thing. The vendor had videos he had taken on display on a computer in his booth and the quality was really good. It also performed well in low light. I had a hard time not buying some of these, but the price is a little steep. They run for $269 online, so get your billfold ready if you want one of these. - Video Recorder Eyewear
E-Z Kut Pruning Sheers E-Z Kut Pruning Sheers I was really surprised at, yes, the ease of use of the E-Z Kut. I know it sounds cliché to say, but this product really is easy to use. You don?t have to have a strong grip at all to make this thing cut through limbs, twigs, or branches. The gentlemen selling this product was very nice and simply let the product do the talking. So I tried it out and I just squeezed and the clippers kind of clicked and as they clicked it seemed like it got easier and in a matter of seconds I was all the way through the limb. The E-Z Kut was relatively quiet, very smooth, and made a clean cut. If the wood was too big for your hands to grip you could just spin it in circles and as you spun it, it was cutting doing work until it got into a position that you could grip it. After gripping, a few more clicks and it was done. Seems to me like it would be something neat to carry in your hunting pouch and (after you got up the stand) you could simply, quietly, and quickly cut through anything that was in your way. Maybe a good stocking stuffer and sells for $29.95 online. - www.EZKutPrunners.com
Tag-Out Hunting Products ? Chameleon Blind Tag-Out?s Chameleon Blind is also a neat concept, especially for bow-hunters. It?s kind of a like a combination of a ground blind and a tree stand. The Chameleon Blind would definitely keep you dry in on a rainy day, but most importantly it conceals your movement. The Blind has vertical slits in the fabric to allow you to shoot out of any directions. The Tag-Out representative also told me that the blind has some weight at the bottom of the blind fabric in order to keep it from moving a lot with the wind. If you?re a bow-hunter looking to conceal your movement, this one might be worth it. Price point is $129
- Tag-Out Chameleon Blind
Havoc's Scent Sticks Havoc Scent Sticks Havoc Scent Sticks is a simple and neat concept. These scent sticks help you do two things, one of which has nothing to do with scent. The scent sticks are small, bright pipes that you place in the ground at different ranges. Since knowing your ranges can be critical you can set these up to assist you in gauging the range of your target. The pipes are tapered at one end to make for easy entry into the ground and they are hollow at the top. Once you get them into the ground you place a large cotton swab in the opening. Though, before you put it in you?re supposed to soak it in scent. The goal is simply get the deer to pause momentarily to smell the scent while you take aim. Price Point: $12. Good concept, cheap, easy to see. - Havoc Scent Sticks
The ladies behind High Maintenance Camo And for the women?High Maintenance Camo Representing a growing market share, female hunters no longer have to make due fitting into guy?s hunting gear. High Maintenance Camo has solved the diva dilemma and is making quality camo gear for ladies. They make camo to wear hunting, but they also cross over and make trendy, fashionable camo that women can wear out and about. This company is a family based company out of Florida and is run by some nice ladies. Guys, if you?re trying to sway your lady into getting into hunting, this may be the route to take?buy her some trendy camo! Ladies, if you?re tired of trying to fit your curves into men?s clothing?look no further.
- http://www.highmaintenancecamo.net
Scott Ledford of Ledford Outdoors Scott Ledford ? Ledford Outdoors Along with products, there are always some people who stick out to me?whether for the right or wrong reasons! Today we met Scott Ledford from Ledford Outdoors (who stuck out for the right reasons). Scott is very connected in the hunting industry and guides clients on all kinds of hunts up and down the east coast. Scott is into video and has been trained by, and shot videos, for the pros...as in Waddell and the crew. Scott is also a PlotMaster authorized dealer so he?s into all kind of stuff.
Though, Scott?s connections and video work wasn?t what stuck out to me. There are a lot of connected and talented people out there, but rather his outwardly evident passion and genuineness was what impressed me. Scott seemed very passionate about hunting, quality game management, and mostly about getting youth involved with all things outdoors. Scott is also very upbeat about getting kids into hunting and so I expect to see him involved with a lot of big things in the future?especially in the youth realm. - http://www.ledfordoutdoors.com
I?ve created the below video to give you an idea of what the environment at the event was like in case you were unable to attend.
Anticipating the upcoming hunting season, it was good to be in an energized environment full of people who all share the same passion for hunting. For me it was similar to being in a pep-rally before the big game. I?m fired up and ready to go ?now I just have to convince the wife to share the same vision!