Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew
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!
As the 2013/14 last season goose season came to an end, our "crew" headed out one last time. With all of the recent snow and ice, we knew it was going to be tough to get to one of our fields.
The forecast was for 90% chance of rain throughout the night and would be ending shortly after daybreak. So we hooked up to our Team WC enclosed trailer and headed out.
The weathermen were spot on this time with the weather. Once we got our decoys out, the wind picked up and the rain stopped. The wind actually got up to 25 mph. We heard a couple of flocks in the distance but never saw them. As the wind continued to blow the clouds out, the sun just popped out and had the snow shining like diamonds.
Around 8:00 we saw a single goose crossing the field at the other end. He was downwind of us and was able to hear our RNT Goose Calls. He made one wide circle and then starting cupping his wings once he saw our spread. We let him glide in to the 15 yd “in-yo-face” range and then we took him.
It was the only bird we harvested that morning and we were truly blessed to experience it here in SC and in the snow. It would have been easy to stay in bed with all the inclement weather we had, but we can say, "We never gave up". From opening day to the last day, we gave it our all. It's who we are!
Good Hunting ~ Daryl #wreckingcrew #itswhoweare
We've been hunting with some good 'ol boys from Arkansas the last few years and have made lots of great memories. These guys are like family and have treated us as such. Taylor, Eric, Ethan, Bret, Cody, Grant, Mason, Lucas, Evan and "Delta" make up most of the "Cuttin Outdoors Crew".
Their love for the outdoors is just like ours and we really gel together. From sunrises, taking youth with limitss or not, it's all about having fun and sharing Gods Great Outdoors.
Here is some footage from this year's hunts with Cuttin Outdoors and we hope you enjoy. Stay tuned for more "Wrecking" with "Cuttin Outdoors".
Good Huning ~ Daryl
#wreckingcrew #it'swhoweare #cuttinoutdoors
As we prepared for a late goose season hunt, my oldest son Josh texted me (his calling feature doesn't work apparently lol!) and asked about bringing his girlfriend Michael Gainey along for the hunt? So I said yes, she will definitely add some looks to the crew.
We met up with our friend Scott Wagner, unloaded his HuntVe SUV, and packed all our full body decoys and layout blinds. Once we got to the field, everyone started helping with the decoy placement and even Michael helped out too. We thought having her participate in the decoy placement would only help add to her hunt!
Once daylight came and legal shooting hours were upon us, we had seven wild turkeys fly off their roost area into the field where we were hunting. Man was that a treat or what? Not just for Michael, but for us as well. You know it won't be long 'til we start chasing those "thunder chickens" so this was a beautiful sight to see.
After watching the turkeys for quite some time, we heard a distant familiar sound, "honk -honk". Within minutes we had them working our spread, while running our RNT Warbird Goose calls. We worked with Michael about being still and patient while working the birds. Once they dropped their landing gear, into the decoys, I hollered "Wreck 'em!" We harvested three out of the first flock, with Michael shooting her 1st goose. We were so excited. Everyone was giving high fives to each other and laughing.
Fifteen minutes, later we had two more to come into the field, and we started working them. They made one circle and they pitched just a few feet off the ground right in front of my dad and Josh. Again I gave the battle cry “Wreck 'em!” and they did just that.
What a great hunt we had with friends and family. It was also very special to be a part of Josh's girlfriend Michael’s first hunt and first goose. Definitely one to remember and a big shout out to Scott for making it happen!
We have truly been blessed to have the season we have had and to also be involved with some great people.
The 2013 deer season was another great year for the "crew". We managed to harvest several nice bucks through hard work, land & deer management, and yes a little luck.
For us hunting and being in the outdoors is a way of life. It’s a year round thing rather than being seasonal as most people think about hunting. We’re chasing bucks during deer season, but we are also scouting duck hunting holes towards the end of deer season. When deer season is over we’re hunting ducks and geese and doing a little predator hunting on the side. When duck season ends we start working on food plots (for deer hunting) and we also work on our deer stands in this time of the year too. Then comes turkey season and we chase longbeards. Right after turkey season we put more time in looking for shed antler racks. Looking for sheds is another great way to scout and spend more time in God's Great Outdoors and it also gives insight as to what you can expect for the upcoming deer season. No matter what time of the year it is there is probably something you can do to prepare for the upcoming season.
So before the turkeys start gobbling and the fish start biting, head back out in the deer woods and start preparing for the 2014 deer season. September will be here before you know it!
Here are some of the rack mounts from the 2013 hunting season from the Wrecking Crew
Good Hunting ~ Daryl #teamwreckingcrew #itswhoweare
With a big Artic push coming in, our team hit the lakes and rivers to scout for migrating geese. Blake was the only boat out of three to find any, and find them he did. Everyone has heard about the X spot, but not everyone has found it. Well I must say, this was the X spot!
The only downside to this was that it was on public water so I knew we had to get there early. So, the night before we rigged up more floaters with longer cords for deeper water and headed out @ 3:oo am.
Once arriving at the landing, we launched our Team WC Xpress 18' Bayou Duck Boat. It was 17 degrees with 20 mph winds and the water was "white capping". We trimmed our Gator-Tail 35, zipped up all of our Drake Waterfowl Gear, and rocked on to our destination.
Five minutes before legal shooting hours we had 10 mallards light in our decoys and I thought this was going to be good. Right before legal time… they flew off. Lol!
After legal shooting hours came we heard distant shots on the wate. Our "crew" got our game face on. Within minutes we had a flock of three come in and zero left out. Man, what a way to start off that bitter cold morning! Three more vollies came in and we harvested three limits by 7:15!
We've taken more birds than that in a hunt, but with all of the scouting we put in and having them "do it right" with "in 'yo face action", in crazy weather, and on public water, made this a truly epic hunt.
After a few pictures, we loaded up our Xpress and headed back to the landing before anyone could see where we had hunted. I typically don't mind sharing some information, but I think we will keep this to ourselves!
Good Hunting ~ Daryl #teamwreckingcrew #itswhoweare!
After a good cold front some new birds pushed in and our crew took advantage of it. Blake and I had been scouting several different fields and we had one that was really drawing them in.
The night before the hunt we hooked up to our Team WC enclosed trailer, filled with full bodies, shells and layout blinds heaters so all we had to do was get in and "crank her up".
Once we got to the field and unloaded all of our gear we still had 20 minutes before legal shooting hours. So we started singing and dancing around, just having good 'ol fun (it's all about fun with us) until crunch time.
Shortly after daylight, we started hearing honks off at a distance. We could tell that they were in the air and not coming our way. Blake and I started with our RNT Warbird Goose Calls really loud to try and get their attention. They slowly quartered our way but passed our field. Just before giving up we noticed the lead bird swung back and rest of the flock followed. The flock circled 3 times before committing and when they did, it was game on.
High five's and loud hollering followed after we were jacked up from calling them in from such a far distance. We had three other volleys, which made for an awesome hunt for everyone.
With friends and family experiencing another great morning in God's Great Outdoors, it doesn't get any better than this, especially in our home state. WeHuntSC!
#wreckingcrew #it'swhatwelivefor
The weather channel definitely got this one right. With freezing rain and gusting winds, our “crew” headed back out for another morning of Waterfowling. Once the freezing rain stopped, the temperature dropped to a delightful 10 degrees. Even in the midst of some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen in a while, we gathered all of our reliable Drake Waterfowl Gear to ensure a comfortable hunt.
With the ground frozen, we utilized round decoy stands and shell body decoys instead of stakes for full body decoys. Once the ground blinds were in place, we hunkered down just before the morning light arrived.
Once the sky started to lighten up we had a small flock of divers fly by with 100% thrust on (the fly by was similar to a fly by from the movie Top Gun). Around 7:30am, we heard a distant honk and Blake and I started running our RNT Warbird Goose Calls and suddenly a flock of 5 “Canada’s” broke over the trees. They turned and started to fly across the field so Blake started calling aggressively and the geese responded immediately.
They circled one time and then cupped their wings and dropped their feet down and glided right into the decoys. I hollered “WRECK EM” with us harvesting three out of the five.
The beautiful sight of God’s creatures in those conditions is why we do what we do. It would have been real easy to stay in the bed, but “it’s what we live for!
Good Hunting ~ Team Wrecking Crew
#WreckingCrew #WeHuntSC
It was time again for our annual Arkansas Timber Hunt with our good friends Taylor Sweetin, Eric McKinney, and the rest of the “Cuttin Outdoors” gang. Blake and I loaded up our Xpress 1860 bayou powered by a Gator-Tail 35 hp motor and headed to Clothing World in Columbia to meet my dad.
Once loaded up, we settled in for our twelve hour drive. We always look forward to seeing our good friends and some cupped wings in the “green timber”. It was a long ride, but we had a good time along the way.
After arriving in Stuttgart the first place we stopped was to see Butch Richenback at the RNT shop. The shop was full and Butch was swamped. We talked with Butch just a few minutes and then went next door to Mack’s Prairie Wings to buy some shells.
Early the next morning, we met up with our friends from “Cuttin Outdoors”, and then followed them to the boat landing. We had an awesome boat ride jumping logs and weaving through the trees. Our Xpress Boat and Gator-Tail Motor performed really well.
It wasn’t long until shooting hours after we had set out all of our decoys and our video cameras. We were very excited. Feeling “jacked-up” would be an understatement.
Shortly after day-break the mallards started flying and working our spread. Once they committed we hollered the signal “Wreck’em!” and the shots rang out.
It turned out to be a hunt of a lifetime, with three generations hunting together with our good friends, Taylor, Eric, Grant, Cody, Brett and Mason of “Cuttin Outdoors”.
We can’t wait to show the footage, so stay tuned for more wrecking from “crew”.
Good Hunting ~ Daryl #teamwreckingcrew
From balmy temperatures of 70 + to the mid 30’s in one day with wind and rain we thought we might have a shot. The cold temperatures helped push some Giant Canadian geese to the upstate of SC. Our crew loaded up the enclosed trailer once again and headed to one of our hot-spots, a freshly planted wheat field. We carried all of our decoys and layout blinds into the field and Blake strategically placed the decoys to work a North/Northeast wind.
With the cloudy and rainy skies we figured the geese would stay on the roost longer than their normal flight time and that was indeed the case. Around 8:00am we heard a flock of geese at a distance so we hunkered down and Blake started working his Banded Crazy Train. Our camera man Blake Langley was in good position and started filming the geese as they started to give our spread a “look see”.
They started to swing wide and when Blake saw that, he started double clucking and triple clucking and the geese responded immediately. Wings cupped and feed outward was an awesome sight to see and we harvested five birds out of the 1st flock. After some high fiving we got back into position and had a single come in silently, and we just let him do his thing.
We started hearing more geese at the opposite end of the field, so Blake and I both started calling. A flock of around 15 came across but they were heading in a different direction. When we saw them heading somewhere else we started pouring it on ‘em with our calling and they made a wide swing out of the field. We thought we had lost them and then suddenly they broke over the tree line. They already had their wings cupped and it was game on. We managed to harvest six more out of that flock and we got it all on camera.
While laying out in the rain, trying to film and not get the camera’s wet, the crew had an awesome hunt and we can honestly say, “It was raining geese”.
Good Hunting ~Daryl Team Wrecking Crew