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Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew


Outdoors Without Limits- how it became!

For Mississippi native Kirk Thomas, one date is etched in his mind forever -<st1:date w:st="on" month="11" day="27" year="1992">November 27, 1992. After a morning deer hunt, as he was heading back to his truck, a falling tree struck him and sent the 6-foot 5 inch, 321 pound former college football player hurling through the air.  When Thomas landed he was laying face up on the ground with a crushed back and a multitude of internal injuries.  After an operation, hospital stay and rehabilitation, at the age of 33, Thomas was facing life as a T-12 paraplegic requiring the use of a wheelchair the rest of his life.

Thomas didn’t stay down long. He worked his tail off rehabbing and working extra every day to get his strength back. He had to learn how to do everything without the use of his massive legs. “I had a family to take care of and to do this it meant I had to get my butt back to work selling heavy equipment. I never felt sorry for myself, I didn’t have time too. Besides there was no way I was going to let my disability rob me of life. Quite frankly, I never quit working. After I was moved to re-hab after my surgeries and hospital stay, I would call customers at night from my hospital bed in an effort to keep income coming in. After 58 days I left the hospital totally focused on being all I could be. I learned how to climb in my truck so I could start driving and get back to work. The way I saw it was simple, I was still alive, I still had the same responsibilities, I had a life to live and it was up to me to accept the responsibility to make the most of it. Since my accident I’ve had a total of 26 surgeries, was kept alive on a ventilator for 9 days, fought off and beat a blood bacteria infection that was suppose to be fatal and I have was close to death 2 more times. I chose to see and meet everyone of these challenges as an opportunity and most importantly as a blessing”, said Thomas 

In 1996, a renewed approach to life, combined with his love of the outdoors, led Thomas to create Wheelin’ Sportsmen of America, an organization that hosted disabled people at fishing and hunting events by pairing able-bodied volunteers to assist them. The efforts of Wheelin’ Sportsmen and Thomas began to be recognized nationwide. It wasn’t long before he began speaking all across the country in an effort to promote Wheelin’ Sportsmen and recreational opportunities for disabled people. His actions caught the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF’) attention and in late 2000, Wheelin’ Sportsmen became an official outreach program of the Federation. “The merger between Wheelin’ Sportsmen and the Federation was an awesome opportunity for both organizations” Thomas said.

“I have always thought that God had a plan for us all but for me… he presented me with the opportunity, desire and passion to help people and give back to others. This became my desire and mission that I live it every day. There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing people who never thought they could get outside and participate in an activity receive the opportunity to do so. When my accident happened, I was one of the blessed one’s; I had friends and family that made sure I got the opportunity to continue my love of the outdoors. After my accident I was asked to become a member of the AL Independent Living Council which I did. When I was around other disabled individuals it didn’t take long to find out the many barriers that disabled people faced when it came to doing anything mush less than participating in outdoor activities. I’ve always looked at what I do as a way to give back for all the support I received. I’ve dedicated my life to helping disabled people as a way to say thanks for the support I received. This is a part of me and it’s in my soul. As a matter of fact, I believe it’s why I sit in this chair everyday. It’s hard for some people to understand but, I have always seen my disability as a blessing and a gift from God. I wouldn’t change my disability or what I’ve gone through over the years for anything” said Thomas.

While at the NWTF, Thomas led the programs efforts serving as its National Coordinator /Founder of the Wheelin’ Sportsmen program. Thomas grew Wheelin’ Sportsmen from a grassroots program to a national network of activity, bringing outdoor events to thousands of disabled people across the country. He quickly became known as a well-respected leader in the outdoor world, winning numerous awards and honors for his work on behalf of people with disabilities. Thomas has testified before Congress concerning outdoor assessable recreation for disabled individuals. He has chaired numerous hearings to open up new opportunities for disabled sportsmen.  A powerful motivational speaker, Thomas is asked to speak all over the country sharing his story of determination, triumph and success.

Thomas’s life changed again July 2nd. 2008 when Thomas made the decision to tender his resignation as the Wheelin’ Sportsmen NWTF leader. Thomas said, “Making the decision to leave the Wheelin’ program was very hard. But the decision came clear and easy to me when my heart told me it was time. Wheelin’ sportsmen had been my life for a very long time. It was a vision and a dream, I witness its growth, and saw it help a lot of folks over the years. The Wheelin program will always be special to me but another new and powerful dream was leading me in a new and different direction.”

Thomas began focusing his efforts toward his new dream “Outdoors Without Limits” (OWL)” in 2008. Thomas serve’s as its Executive Director/Founder. “I am extremely excited about the future of OWL. We’re making a tremendous difference in the lives of a lot of folks, disabled, non-disabled, volunteers and our partners. Developing OWL has put breath back in me. It take’s a tremendous amount of hard work, but somehow it gets done” said Thomas.

The organizations design is unique but simple. It’s all about building community based chapters. “Chapters have the opportunity to focus their attention and efforts on providing disabled individuals opportunities within their own communities. We’re totally inclusive and we encourage everyone to get involved disabled or non-disabled. We take pride in allowing membership to be an elective. We don’t want the dollar to interfere with participation. While raising revenue is extremely important and needed you can’t allow it to negate participation especially when it comes to disabled participants who have never had the opportunity to try it. OWL has one simple and direct mission which is to provide opportunity. If we put the dollar in front of this opportunity we not only fail our mission but we fail the people we’re trying to serve. It doesn’t matter what kind of disability a person has or doesn’t have and age doesn’t play a factor. We have an assortment of programs and events our chapters can host according to their needs, abilities or logistics. We also host National Ultimate Adventure events. Most of these are co-hosted by a community chapter. Our Ultimate Adventure program is experiencing some outstanding growth. Simply put, we’re not all about hunting and fishing; we’re about getting folks outside so we can get the sun on their backs. There is an abundance of way’s to accomplish this. The only way I know how to run OWL is like a big ole happy and giving family. If someone comes to an OWL event and leaves without feeling like a family member or a part of the team, then we failed them and the OWL organization. Simply put, I see OWL as a life changing and saving organization for everyone who becomes involved. We take pride in proving this, said Thomas.

Thomas surrounds himself with a lot of great volunteers, a lot of which have worked with him since his early days with Wheelin’ Sportsmen. Some of these individuals have years of experience coordinating events and acting as advocates for people with disabilities. “OWL is a volunteer dependant organization and there’s no questioning the fact that our volunteer’s have always and will continue to play a key role in our successes. There would not be an OWL organization without them. I couldn’t be any prouder to have the help we receive. I know a lot of these people, and I know where their hearts are. They get the job done. As a matter of fact, when it comes right down to it, I receive a lot of the credit but these are the individuals that should receive it, not me. Volunteers are my hero’s and there the rubber that hit’s the road. OWL is successful because of their efforts. OWL volunteers are life changers and savers”, said Thomas.

OWL is guided by an eleven person National Board of Directors, and a five member Executive Advisory Board for specific needs. “These are respected individuals from either the conservation or business world; they take an active leadership role in the organization. I am more than pleased with our National Board and Advisory Board members. There willingness to step up to lead and lend a hand to help is priceless,” said Thomas.

OWL also has an Advisory Council that consists of disabled and non-disabled members. “These individuals play a key role in our direction and success. They are either volunteer leaders or participates that are heavily involved with OWL. We need and appreciate receiving their feedback and help. I have always said, to improve you have know what you need to improve on. The Council members do a super job in helping to improve and develop OWL. All in all, as an organization, we have come a long way but we still have a long way to go. We’re going to stay the course, continue our mission and do everything we can do to change as many lives as we can”, said Thomas.    

Kirk Thomas can be reached at 706.788.9878 or by cell at803.480.0167. His email address is [email protected]. For additional information on the Outdoors Without Limits program visit their website at www.OutdoorsWithoutLimits.net.

_____________________________________________________________________________

About Outdoors Without Limits (OWL):   OWL is a 501c (3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting education and opportunity for people with disabilities. Its goal is to educate those with disabilities about the possibilities of outdoor recreational activities while providing them the necessary education, opportunity and assistance to participate.

OWL was designed to increase awareness, resources and opportunities that directly impact people and the communities where they live. The program strives to challenge stereotypes about disabilities and promote awareness of “ability” in a positive outdoor environment. 

To get involved, participate or change the stereotype of what defines “ability” in your community go to www.outdoorswithoutlimits.net  for more information. 


Lancaster County Ducks Unlimited 1st Annual Frog Gigging Tournament

This past weekend Lancaster County Ducks Unlimited had its 1st annual frog gig. It's the first one ever in the state and it turned out really well. Some have asked and perhaps you are reading this and wondering… why a frog gigging tournament? So before we get into the details of the competition I’d like to give some backstory to this event.

A few months ago the guys and I were at a Ducks Unlimited planning meeting sitting around thinking of ways we could raise some money for DU and we were specifically brainstorming ways we can raise support other than having a dinner banquet or a hunter’s party. We wondered what we could do to attract some new people. We had to think outside the box. After thinking a little while I said “Guys what about a frog gigging tournament?” They all kind of questioned it, but the more we read into in and studied frog gigging the more we found people doing it. And that was all we needed to get the wheels in motion.

So we all set the date and event venue. We decided to do it in July because it's hot out and the ole bull frogs would be out on the hot summer nights. We set the venue to one of the committee members’ farm and that proved to be a perfect location. The weigh-in site was a big open pole barn with a large man cave attached to it. We advertised about the frog gig a lot of folks showed interest. We were fortunate enough to have Heybo Southern donate some of their famous frog gigging tees and hats. They are a faithful supporter of our DU Chapter in all our events. So with all of the promotions and logistics set the only thing left to do was to have the event and gig some frogs!

We had 32 teams enter the contest which exceeded our expectations. We had first through third place for the 20 biggest frog and a cash pot for the biggest frog.

The Winners were as follows:

  • 1st Place: Team Bass – Matt & Trevor Banks – Weight 11.54 lbs
  • 2nd Place: Rich Hill Frog Stoppers – Jacob Shrader & Colby Adams – Weight 11.43 lbs
  • 3rd Place: Team Rich Hill – Matthew Mungo & Andrew Baker – Weight 10.93 lbs
  • Biggest Frog – Team Tradesville – (Colt Ellis & Ryan Griffin) – Weight .89 lbs

The prize packages were as follows:

  • 1st place: A pair of DU edition savage 17 caliber rifles.
  • 2nd place: A pair of k2 20 quart coolers
  • 3rd place: A pair of gigs, head lamps.
    • Also each place had a Heybo prize pack included

Everyone I spoke with said they had a wonderful time at the event and they also mentioned that they look forward to doing it again. We made DU some good money and we all had fun doing it. And one of the best parts was that there were a lot of parent-child teams. We always love to see youth involved in the outdoors.

Thanks again to everyone who participated


My First Quail Hunt

Recently I was involved in my first quail hunt. Being a rookie quail hunter I really didn’t know what to expect. I went on this hunting trip with some of my good friends and some, now, new friends that I met on the hunt.

We all gathered at the cabin Friday afternoon and got settled in. We had a good time sitting by the fire pit telling hunting stories and shooting the breeze. It wasn’t too long before dinner time arrived and man was it a delight. We had grilled salmon, 1inch thick rib eyes, salad, and potato dinner that that Kevin prepared. It was really good! After dinner the hunting stories continued until it was time to turn in for the evening.

Everyone woke Saturday morning to a quick and light breakfast. We didn’t load up too much because we had work to do. Everyone got there hunting gear on and got their equipment ready to go. The guys with the dogs arrived and our hunt began.

We started off in a cutover and it didn’t take long for the dogs to get on’em. The dogs pointed right away and it was really neat to see the dogs in action. We hunted all morning long and then we stopped for some grub. From the morning hunting we killed 33 birds. We paused for a nice lunch and hunted again after lunch and got 27 more quail. It was a fun day in the field.

It was a great experience being out there watching the dogs work and learning about quail hunting. I hope to be able to do it again soon. If you have never gone quail hunting you should give it a try at least once because it’s really addictive. After my first experience hunting quail I must say I'm now hooked.


10 Point Buck

My friends and I had camped all weekend at our club and had taken a few does and some smaller bucks over the course of the weekend. My son was with me Saturday night when I took a nice doe and that was only the second time he’s been with me while I’ve taken a deer.

I left my camper out there with the idea of putting it up Monday and I’m glad I did because I’m not sure I would have gone without it as it was 20 degrees! Though, I knew it would be a great morning. We have still been seeing bucks chase does, so I knew it could happen at anytime.

I had been hunting hardwoods and cut-overs a lot, but on this hunt I decided to hunt an open low cut field.  I’m glad I had my Thermos with me too because man it was chilly. I had just finished a cup of coffee and decided to use my heat bleat call. I hit the call and about 5 minutes later I look straight ahead and see nothing but horns!!  It happened so fast, he was looking backwards giving me a quartered back view. All I had was a neck shot so I took it. I hit him and he dropped right in his tracks. It was only then that I saw the doe about 20 yards away. I believe the bleat call brought her out and he followed.

It was a wonderful day in the deer woods of SC. I’ve been blessed with so much and the time in the woods paid off. I love this time of year! I might feel that my season is complete, and in many ways it is…but there is a lot more time to be spent in the woods until January 1st! The rut maybe on its way down, buts it’s still on none the less.

Below are pics of the buck:

Mark Anderson's 10 Point Buck

Mark Anderson's 10 Point Buck

Mark Anderson's 10 Point Buck

Mark Anderson's 10 Point Buck


2014 Sportsman's Classic Recap

This blog post is a little late, but that's better than never!  I would like to thank everyone again who came out to see Team Wrecking Crew and who stopped by the Carolina Style Tee-shirt booth at this year’s Palmetto Sportsman's Classic.

Team Wrecking Crew had a booth set up outside with Team WC gear, and an awesome display of RNT duck and goose calls. To make it even better, Elite Team Wrecking Crew member-Butch Richenback, founder of RNT Calls, was there signing autographs, duck calls, new and old, tuning calls and giving lessons to both young and old.

We had a blast and I can honestly say, this was our best show to date! We made a lot of new friends and enjoyed seeing our old friends, clients and WC fans. I would like to give a big shout out to our team members who supported the event: Blake Hodge, Summer Vick, Justin Thomas, Dianna Thomas, Matt Cline, Megan Cline, Ty Parker, Scott Wagner, Kris Faulkenberry, Lisa Hodge, and of course Butch Richenback. You are what makes us what we are today!

Again, I would like to thank everyone who supported us at this year's Palmetto Sportsman's Classic. I realize you had numerous vendors to choose from and you chose us!

Good Hunting ~ Daryl

#wreckingcrew
#it's who we are!


An Evening with Uncle Ted

It's been awhile since I've had the opportunity to write a blog entry for the site.  The workload at my computer programming job has increased dramatically in the last year, and it has severely limited the amount of free time that I could use for writing.  I am still hard at work on the next entry in the Hunting for the Heart of God series, another devotional entitiled Daily Bread for Deer Hunters.  I am also still working on The Cabin, a novel about spiritual warfare.  Also, my wife and I are expecting our second child in September, and getting ready for his arrival has kept me quite busy.   I do have several things that I want to blog about, including the ups and downs of running a hunting club, so I hope to add more content to this blog as time allows.  For today though, I wanted to talk about my recent chance to spend some time behind the scenes with Ted Nugent.

Few celebrities polarize people like Ted Nugent does.  It's amazing to me that he causes such dissent in the hunting community, especially considering that no one else in the world speaks out on the benefits of hunting the way that Ted does.  People often complain that he is "over the top", but by being over the top he gets the message out to the world about the benefits of hunting every single day, in a large number of venues.  No other person in the hunting community comes even close to doing this.  But my intention is not to defend Uncle Ted.  He can do that himself.  What I am here to do is tell you about my experience with him back in mid-May.

I've been a member of Ted's internet forum for over ten years now.  It's one in which myself and a few dozen regulars interact with Ted on a daily basis, share hunting stories, talk politics, and have an all around good time.  Over the years, I've met Ted a number of times.  Sometimes the meetings have been brief, and others have been a little longer.  The most time I ever spent around him was at the 2010 NRA convention in Charlotte, when I was able to spend most of the day hanging out in his booth with several other members of his forum.  When I got the opportunity to go backstage at his 2012 concert in Charlotte, there was no way that I was going to miss it.

I left work early on a Thursday in May and drove up to Kings Mountain, NC to have lunch with a friend from a local men's ministry.  We ate BBQ and discussed the possibility of getting some men together for a Wild at Heart style hunting adventure later in the fall.  When that was done, I drove on up to the Verizon Ampitheatre in Concord where I would meet with Ted.  The parking lot gates were closed when I got there, and I was told that it would be about an hour and a half before I'd be able to get in.  I drove down the road and parked under a shade tree in a shopping center parking lot and made a few phone calls, napped a little, and spent a few minutes reading.  

I was third in line when the parking lots opened, and I quickly parked my Jeep and headed over to the Will Call booth, where my entry credentials were waiting for me.  I had a brief moment of uncertainty when the attendent could not find my pass, but after a few minutes of searching he found it.  He verified my ID and handed over the badge that would get me backstage.  The instructions that I had received in my mailbox stated that Ted's manager would meet me at the main gate at 5:45pm and take me back to where Ted would be waiting.

By 6:00, the manager had not shown up.  By that time, three or four other people had gathered in the area who were also supposed to go backstage.  With the help of one of the gate attendents, we were redirected to a nondescript white gate near the back of the Ampitheatre.  We were told to go over to it and wait, and someone would meet us shortly.

After a few minutes spent waiting at the gate, it opened and Ted's son Toby walked out.  He remembered meeting me at the NRA convention a couple of years ago, and together we walked to a little outdoor patio area where Toby said for us to wait for a few minutes.  As the little group of us sat there, a rock-and-roll looking fellow came up to us and said hello and that he hoped we enjoyed the show.  Not being a Styx fan, I was unaware that it was Tommy Shaw, but one of the people in my group recognized him and told us who he was.

Moments later, Toby returned and walked us into the backstage area.  As we entered, I recognized Marilyn Brown, the female half of Ted's photography team.  She was at the NRA convention as well and has been on Ted's forum, and we waved at each other as we passed.  Seeing him through the open door of his dressing room, I was dismayed to see Ted leaning on a cane.  I had known that his knees were bad, but did not realize how much they were affecting him.  Once we were all in the room, Ted's eyes lit up as he saw me.  "South Carolina Sportsman!" he said, calling me by my internet handle.  "Good to see you again, how are you?" 

We shook hands, and then he introduced himself to the other backstage visitors.  None of the others had met Ted before, and it was great to watch their reactions as he addressed each of them in turn. After the introductions were over, Toby suggested that we go ahead and get the picture taking out of the way, so we all got our turn getting individual pictures with Ted, and then one of the group as a whole.  The photographer was James Brown, husband of Marilyn and long-time member of the Nuge Board forum.

When the pictures were done, we sat down and spent some time talking hunting, politics, and rock and roll.  Ted had a lot to say, and hearing him hold forth in a personal setting was quite an experience.  He had a lot to say about the current Presidential administraton, his henchman Eric Holder, and other high profile people.  He had nothing but good things to say about the Secret Service agents who paid him a visit after the media misportrayed recent comments that he had made, and talked about the outrageousness of the recent ban on hunting privately owned Oryx in Texas.  The conversation was only interrupted once when guitarist and vocalist Derek St. Holmes came in and introduced himself to each of us.

When it was time to go, I stood up and got ready to leave the room. As I did, Ted stuck out his cane to me, silently asking me to help him up.  I did so, touched by his gesture.  We shook hands again, and said that we each looked forward to our next opportunity to meet.

Toby escorted us out of the room, and James and Marilyn Brown left as well.  I walked with them toward the stage, discussing the joys of brass rainbows with James along the way.  Mr. Brown is a huge Class-3 enthusiast, and is known for his many full-auto weapons.  I told him about the Slide-Fire stock that I had on one of my AR-15s, and although he had not used one, he said that he had heard many good things about them.

After saying goodbye to the Browns, I found my way to my seat, a good one, where I settled in for the show.  Ted and his band, the Nigerian Rebels, put on quite a show.  The only downside was that it was an abbreviated version of his concerts, since both REO Speedwagon and Styx would be playing later that evening.  Not being a fan of either group, I left when Ted's time on the stage was over.

Like all of my experiences with Uncle Ted, I walked away feeling refereshed.  He was enthusiastic, friendly, engaging, and present.  When Ted talks to you he takes the time to look you in the eye, and to listen to what you have to say to him.  I expected nothing less, and when I got home that evening I posted a note of thanks on his internet forum.  He quickly responded to my post with on of his own, giving me a resounding "Yowza". 

To that, I add my own, and look forward to my next chance at spending time with Mr. Nugent.


Guest Blog: I Found Love through a Rifle Scope

The below is a guest blog submitted by Dan Berkholder

I have a kind of funny story to tell. My wife and I have been married for a long time. We have met a lot of new people, and it seems like every time we meet someone, they ask us how we met. Each time this happens, we kind of look at each other, and wait for the other person to pipe up first. We didn?t meet in the most normal of ways.

I was out hunting with a few of my friends. We were all dressed in our  camo and blaze  looking for deer in the early part of the season. We had hiked in to this area four or five miles with our packs on, and thought that there was no chance we?d run into anybody else.

We came up on some deer tracks and followed them deeper into a thick wooded area. As we followed the tracks, they became fresher. We knew we were getting close. Not long after, we had found him. This deer was going to be the next trophy of someone in the group. Only 75 yards out she stood. I looked down my rifle scope, and began to line up my shot. Before I could get my crosshairs on the deer, I heard a gun shot.

The shot didn?t sound close enough to be anyone I was with, but it wasn?t far away, either. I looked around at my friends. Nobody even had their guns in their hands. I asked if any of them took a shot, and they all said they were waiting for me. I looked back down my scope at where the deer had stood. He had dropped. Someone else had taken my deer out. I was furious.

As I continued to stare in disbelief through the scope on my rifle, I watched two other hunters walk into the clearing and examine the shot. As I realized I was looking at another human being down my scope, I decided to put my gun away and pull out my binoculars. I wasn?t able to see much, so I decided I?d go and give those hunters a piece of my mind.

When I got to the hunters, I realized I wasn?t going to be able to say anything rude. The one who had taken the shot was a girl about my age. She was hunting with her father and couldn?t be more proud of her kill. I congratulated her on the kill, even though I was quite spiteful, and told her that I could have taken that deer out with my eyes closed. She said ?You?ll have to show me that next time we go hunt together.?

The rest, as they say, is history. We are now happily married with two children. Our relationship was built on hunting, and it?s a tradition we?ve kept alive. We take our kids hunting with us as often as possible.

Author Bio: Dan Berkholder is the Online Hunting Product Manager at  Sportsman's Warehouse. He enjoys edible landscaping, and is a devoted big game hunter.
 


Gas line Gobbler
    WeHuntSC.com - Mr. Bruce Puett
  Mr. Puett

Two years ago Mr. Bruce Puett took me on my first turkey hunt. On that hunt he told me that the key to turkey hunting was patience. He said ?Patience kills turkeys, not calling, not decoys, but patience? and just like clockwork he harvested a nice long-beard on that same hunt.

I?ve been hunting several times with Mr. Puett since then and every time we go I learn something new and usually see some kind of wildlife. I guess by now Mr. Puett knows that when turkey season comes rolling around so will a phone call from me! I reached out to Mr. Puett and lined up a hunt with him for this past Saturday. I was to meet him at the gate at 5:45am.

The next morning I woke up at 6:15 to realize that my alarm clock didn?t go off.  I woke up in a panic with my heart beating 100 miles an hour. I was freaking out and was very upset with myself. I can?t stand when someone says they?re going to do something or be somewhere and then doesn?t fulfill their word. I had broken my own rule. I peeked out the window and saw light breaking through the trees and knew I was going to be mad at myself for some time to come. I called Mr. Puett?s cell phone and got no answer. In my mind I imagined him seeing my late call and not answering because he had turkeys gobbling at him and I should have been by his side. I came back to the room and sat down hanging my head in shame for breaking my word. Then my phone rang. It was Mr. Puett. I answered (trying to talk quietly) apologizing with every other word. Mr. Puett said ?Come on out here, this place is better later on in the day anyways.? A small glimmer of hope shined into my self-shame.

I got dressed, grabbed the camera, and ran out of the house as fast and quietly as I could. It was way colder that morning than in previous mornings. It was 38 degrees outside and I wore my thick layered camo clothing. It didn?t take me long to get out to the hunting club either. I parked and speed-walked to where Mr. Puett said he had the ground blind. I arrived to a gas-line. I turned left and saw 2 turkeys and instantly froze at the sight of 2 turkeys. By now it was light outside and easy to see. Then I heard a shrieking crow call and I realized that those 2 turkeys were Mr. Puett?s decoys and he was calling a crow call to indicate his location. I continued speed-walking until I finally reached the blind. When I saw Mr. Puett I was overly apologizing for being late and Mr. Puett was laughing at me and said it was ok. He was just glad I wasn?t in a wreck.

WeHuntSC.com - The Gas Line

As I got situated in the ground-blind Mr. Puett was calling out and gobblers were hammering from out in front of the blind. The long-beards were very vocal and every few minutes we heard a gobble from the left, right, and middle. Every gobble seemed distant, but eventually they sounded as though they were getting a little bit closer.

Mr. Puett said he had to leave by 11:30 and it was getting close to 9 o?clock. We had time and were hopeful that we?d have a good chance at a gobbler. Mr. Puett had a thermos of coffee so he was all set. We continued calling and along about 9:45 we had a big turkey come out way down the gas line to our right. About 450 yards out a big-bodied bird was feeding momentarily in the clear lane of the gas line. I zoomed the camera in as far as I could and could barely hold the camera still enough to video this bird. It didn?t stay out in the clear long either. After a few seconds in the gas line, the turkey vanished back into the woods. Mr. Puett made some clucks and purrs in the direction of the bird, but it didn?t seem interested.

WeHuntSC.com - The turkey head    
The shot broke his beak

 

 The clock got close to 10 and we had another turkey come out way down the gas line on the opposite end. It was a hen, but initially we couldn?t tell. Though, one thing was for sure?it was heading our way. I videoed this turkey the best I could. Due to our positioning in the ground-blind I took the camera out of the tripod and only used it on a monopod. This meant that the video didn?t come out as smooth as I would have liked and is a bit shaky. This hen continued to draw near to us, but it faded into the woods about 65 yards away from us.

It was a little frustrating that we had all these turkeys gobbling around us, but we couldn?t get any of them to come out near us. It was 10:30 and Mr. Puett said he needed to give his wife a call to check in with her. He had a quick conversation from the ground blind and no more than 30 seconds after he got off the phone we saw the biggest hen I?ve ever seen before just about 30 yards to our right. The hen had returned and was staring dead at us and was frozen. As soon as I saw it I started tapping Mr. Puett?s knee really fast and I signaled to him that we should be quiet. He knew there was a turkey really close, but he couldn?t see it just yet. We both sat frozen while I tried to steady the camera.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Puett saw the hen (at first we thought it was a jake) in my video camera. He began purring on his slate call because we still had turkeys gobbling around us near and far. I continued videoing the extremely large hen and about 20 seconds later Mr. Puett began tapping my knee extremely fast. I kept videoing, but turned and looked at him. He was grabbing his gun and I knew what that meant. As he stuck the barrel of the gun out of the front window of the blind I whipped the camera around and tried to get a kill shot on video. I was unable to get the turkey in focus but got it just after the shot.

WeHuntSC.com - Mr. Puett with the gobbler

What I didn?t see was what Mr. Puett told me after the shot. A big ?ol tom came out directly in front of our blind and he spurred the ?Thunder Chicken? decoy Mr. Puett had set out just in front of the blind. The turkey spurred the decoy then backed off and puffed up as if it was going back for more when Mr. Puett dropped the hammer on him. After the shot, the hen stuck around momentarily and I filmed her for a few minutes then she got out of there.
I couldn?t believe that both of those turkeys came in so close right after Mr. Puett had made a phone call. The showdown happened around 10:45 and this proved Mr. Puett?s earlier phone call me with accurate. He knew the turkeys wouldn?t get fired up until a little later in the day and his intuition was right on?again.

WeHuntSC.com - The photo album of the gas-line gobbler

Another unique thing about this turkey was that his beard was short. When we got close up to it we noticed where it had been eaten and then was regrowing. Mr. Puett said that "beard mites" had gotten into the turkey's beard and that's what caused it to be so short. I'd never seen or heard of anything like that before, but is was definitely the case.

What started out as a panicked morning where I was mad at myself for waking up late turned into another very memorable turkey hunt with Mr. Puett. I was glad that my lateness didn?t spoil our hunt and couldn?t believe how close we were to that turkey. It was another memorable outing just a few miles across the Pee Dee.

Some hunters just have a way of being in tune with nature and Mr. Puett is this kind of hunter. His knack for being in the right place at the right time, listening to, and reading nature?s signs always impresses me. I hope to be able to join him and learn more on future hunts.

Regards,

 

Clint

 


Unseen Dangers of Hog Hunting

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I have posted and just this past week something hit very close to home.  The article below happened right across the river from our hunting land in Laurens County.  We have killed a few hogs on our own land so this was very scary.  My Dad called the Laurens County Department Health Department to confirm this and called our Game Warden we are friends with who said this type of disease 'brucellosis' is all over the state of South Carolina with hogs. I highly recommend you all read it and take the necessary precautions when hog hunting.  What are your thoughts?

Man Hospitalized With Illness After Hog Hunting Trip

 

 


2012 Waterfowl Competition Winner Announced
Even though the weather made it tough on duck hunters this year, we still had some good entries in our WinnTuck Waterfowl Competition.  Over the past 3 days the site audience has voted for the winner of the competition and ?Renee?s 1st Limit? entered by ?BFlow? won the competition by a landslide receiving 83% of all votes. 
 
WeHuntSC.com - 2012 Waterfowl Competition Vote Count
 
Congratulations to Renee on her 1st limit & on winning the competition. 
 
WeHuntSC.com - 2012 Waterfowl Competition Winner
 
BFlow or Renee feel free to contact me via email to work out a date/time to claim the prizes.
 
Regards,
 
Clint
 

South Carolina Hog Problems - Contact Us

WeHuntSC.com Disabled Veteran Hunt