Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
This September weather has been brutaly hot and really tested our endurance and love for the sport. Though, with plenty of crackers, gatorade, and bug spray, we've managed to do pretty good this season. We were able to get some more youth interested in the sport of waterfowl hunting while having their parents spending more time in sporting good stores, purchasing their needs, and some of their wants! We worked with them in the field, discussing firearm safety, decoy placement, conservation, and of course "calling". As we always say, youth are our future!
The below entry is a guest blog from a friend of mine from Nova Scotia, Mr. Gifford Watkins
When I was a seminary student at Southwestern Baptist Theological School (Fort Worth) I took at job as an intern at Park Cities Baptist Church. After working there a few weeks I got to know the mailman, who said due to his recent divorce he had extra room in his house. I thought since most of my life was in North Dallas it would be a good idea so I moved in. My fiance at the time thought it would be ideal for us to spend Thanksgiving at their ranch in South Texas. As I packed a weekend bag, I heard the door slam and the footfalls of my new housemate. I really didn't know that much about him at the time, but after I mentioned heading to a ranch for the weekend, he asked if I was going hunting. I said I was not planning to, I didn't have a gun, or bullets, or a license to hunt in Texas, to which he said, "Puh, you don't need a license, do you want to borrow a gun?" I asked what sort of gun and that was when the fun began. His name was Troy. Troy led me to a wall in the living room where he pushed and out came a door; the door to his cache. A huge steel cabinet with decals I cannot describe (Death from Above might ring a bell with some) was unlocked and inside, was well, the inside. I chose a Smith and Wesson .41 caliber hand cannon with a scope and 6 bullets; three hollow points and three full metal jackets. I loaded these into a stainless steel carrying case and headed out the door.
When I was twelve years old my Dad gave me my first knife. If I close my eyes I can still picture that day and remember thinking how cool it was to have my own knife. It wasn't much to brag about but you couldn't tell me that at the time. I spent many hours whittling on sticks in the woods with that knife. It was a small black folding knife that to this day I have tucked away in a special place.
With this being JD's first deer season I thought it would be special if I could get him a knife that he could not only use but cherish for the rest of his life. I knew JD was no stranger to knives because he often had one on his side or in his pocket when we would go on fishing trips over the summer. With that being said I wanted to make sure the knife he got for his first hunting season was special in every way.
About ten years ago I bought a "Pikes Peak" pocket knife from CRKT - Columbia River Knife and Tool. I was always looking for a good pocket knife and when I bought that knife I hit the jackpot. The knife has held strong since I bought it ten years ago. The only hiccup was about two years after I bought the knife when the clip that attaches with three Torx screws came off in my pocket and I lost one of the screws. The next day I called CRKT and within the week I had a new clip and three new screws. The representative I talked to was very helpful and gave me a tip of putting Loctite on the screws before I reassembled. From that point forward that knife has been rock solid.
Based on prior history, I knew that CRKT was the company I wanted to use to find JD a knife for his first season. With their help, we found the perfect knife in the Russ Kommer Brow Tine. When the box came in the mail I could hardly stand it. When I opened the box and pulled the knife from its tooled leather sheath I was pumped. The stag antler handle fit perfectly in my hand and I could see my reflection in the stainless steel mirror finished blade. As a hunter this was a dream knife and I couldn't wait to give it to JD.
Unfortunately when the knife arrived we were in the middle of about a week's worth of rain. I wanted to surprise JD with the knife, so I waited until the weather cleared up. The weather finally gave us a break last Monday so I called JD and asked if he wanted to go check on the food plots. I told JD I was going to do an update video for the blog but as we started the video I told him to look in my camo bag. As he pulled out the box I think I was about as excited as I could be. JD was totally surprised and I don't think he has stopped smiling since. Now he has an awesome hunting knife to carry on his side this year. Inscribed on the side of the knife it says field tested. Hopefully we can put those words to use this year in JD's first season.
I think JD will cherish that knife for a very long time. It is these memories that we can really hold on to and I was blessed to be able to share that moment with JD. Do you remember your first hunting knife? What memories do you have of it and your first deer season?
The below blog entry is a guest blog entry by Andy Hahn:
Some folks say they hunt squirrels because it hones their stalking and shooting skills, making them better big-game hunters. Other guys tell me they only hunt squirrels because their kids enjoy it. Well, I need no such excuses. I go squirrel hunting because I love to hunt squirrels.
As a teenager in Pennsylvania I used to rush home from school, grab my single-shot 20 gauge and orange vest, and head for nearby woodlots in search of bushytails. When I was in my mid-20s, I lived in Philadelphia. Every Saturday in October and November I?d wake up at 3:30, drive to State Game Lands in south central Pennsylvania and greet the dawn on a hardwood ridge overlooking the Susquehanna River, squirrel gun in hand. My pulse always got to racing at the glimpse of a tail flicking among the branches or the sound of a small critter shuffling through fallen leaves?and it still does!
In 2006 I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig?s disease), a neurological condition that has put me in a wheelchair and rendered my arms nearly useless. Now I hunt with the help of friends and adaptive shooting equipment. While a ?point man? handles the rifle, we watch the sight picture via a special video camera and monitor that show with a scope?s-eye view, crosshairs and all. When things look right, I squeeze the trigger with a cable release.
Three years ago my buddy Ron Wagner and I were hunting the last week of deer season at Bang?s Paradise Valley Hunting Club in Ehrhardt, SC. We commented that many of the stand sites seemed overrun by swarms of grey squirrels. ?No wonder my corn bill is so darn high!? joked the lodge owner, Bang Collins. ?Maybe you guys can help me by thinning out the rodent population.?
We needed no further encouragement. Bang lent us a Ruger 10/22 and the following day we started collecting the main ingredients for a big pot of Brunswick stew. That evening as we talked about our ?rodent-control project? I noticed a youngster listening with wide-eyed attention. Nine-year-old Klay Elixson had come to Ehrhardt with his grandfather Rick Hires, another regular visitor at the lodge with whom we?d become good friends. I asked Rick, and when he gave his permission I invited Klay to join Ron and me for a tree-rat safari.
The next dawn found the three of us in a pop-up blind, anxiously waiting for some squirrels to appear. We didn?t have to wait long. We used the Ruger and my shooting equipment, which kept everyone involved in the hunt. Ron aimed while Klay and I took turns using the cable control to squeeze the trigger. Klay displayed fine hunting skills by keeping still, spotting bushy-tails and patiently waiting for high-percentage shots. The scope camera proved an excellent teaching tool as we followed squirrels on the monitor and discussed why different situations and angles made for good or bad shot selections. Our apprentice soon earned the title of No-Playin? Outa-the-Wayin? Lead-Sprayin? Squirrel-Slayin? Machine.
Sharing our knowledge and watching a young hunter enjoy himself, Ron and I probably had more fun than Klay that morning. Time in the woods with an enthusiastic kid also showed me that despite having special needs, disabled hunters can and must take responsibility for helping pass on our outdoor heritage to the next generation.
The following season I bought a Marlin Model 917 VSCF .17 HMR, added an Alpen Kodiak 6-24x50 scope and dubbed it ?The Squirrel Eraser.? Ron, Klay and I now get together at Bang?s once a year for a tree-rat roundup.
Last year a deer hunter scoffed at our small-game pursuits: ?I don?t waste time hunting squirrels.?
?Me neither,? I replied. ?I enjoy every minute of it.?