Texas Hogs!

I took a trip this past weekend to Gonzales, TX (about 1 1/2 hrs East of San Antonio) with my good buddy Dr. Brian Weatherby and his in-law family and friends to hunt Wild Texas Hogs. We hunted at a 300 acre Ranch, and had quite an experience.
We had a good time, but the ranch was not as it was described, and there were a number of minor problems that we encountered, such as being told we had the ranch exclusively to ourselves for the weekend only to discover two other groups would show up also! in spite of the problems, we did manage to kill hogs and enjoyed catching up on old times with my friend Brian and meeting new friends. Also, I met the world renowned Whitetail Hunter Larry Weishuhn in the San Antonio Airport, who was a really nice guy!

Check out the video of my First Hog!

Woodies!

My neighbor and friend Kevin McGuire and I decided to try to chase the wood ducks one more time for 2010 this past Saturday. We traveled up to Rick DeLong's place in Gillisonville, SC to hunt some flooded timber. Man, was it flooded! The rain was coming down (as it had been all night) and it was a cool 44 degrees-most would call that good Duck Hunting weather, but I must admit more than a few times I couldn't help but think about that warm bed where I left my wife as I got up at 4:45am and hunt in the cold, wet rain for what...remind me again...a lousy duck? :)

Although the weather wasn't the best for my taste, the ducks didn't seem to mind and began flying a little later than ususal, about 5 minutes after legal shooting time. We had a good hunt and killed a few nice Drakes. Afterwards Rick's wife prepared a really nice breakfast awaiting us after the hunt and we ate while drying off by the fire. A nice way to end the season!

Nice Pair of Lowcountry SC Wood Duck Drakes!

First Duck Hunt of 2010

I know that it's been forever since I blogged about anything, but I have been so distracted at work with a new boss and the holidays, not to mention Anderson is growing like a weed and I am enjoying more and more time with him...which means less time for blogging!

Anyway, I had a great time this morning hunting right off the Savannah River with my Neighbor, Kevin McGuire. He is quite a duck hunter. I will be the first to say that I am not! Now don't get me wrong, I consider myself an outdoorsman first and foremost, but duck hunting has never been a passion of mine-I guess one can pick their own, and mine happens to be deer and turkey hunting. However, I enjoy the outdoors in general and with the end of deer season complete, it was a chance to get out of the house and try something different for a change. The short of it is I had a great time, and can't wait to go again(maybe next Sat)! Here's a quick story about the hunt:

My alarm clock awoke me bright and early at 4:15am this morning. I was actually excited and ready to go, so it didn't take me long to get out of bed, into my warm undergarments, and make my way downstairs to my hunting room to finish getting ready. The outside temp was about 34 degrees, so I had to bundle up. While I was slipping on my waders and getting my gun and shot together I put the coffee on. You know, nothing beats a good cup of coffee early in the morning before heading out for a hunt of any kind, whether it be duck, deer, turkey, or something else. Sometimes things just taste better in different situations, but I guarantee you the coffee this morning tasted better out of my hunting thermos than it does out of those styrofoam cups back in the office at work any day of the week!

Anyway, I headed over to Kevin's with my waders on and gear in tow. I was greeted by Kevin and his black lab duck dog "Remi." You could tell that Remi was ready to go, he was as excited as we were to be heading out to the duck hole.

We loaded up and headed out to the Savannah River Marsh, off Hwy 17. It toook us about 30 minutes or so to park the truck, and almost 45 minutes to an hour to walk to our hole in the middle of the marsh! It's funny, but on our way down Hwy 17 there are a number of gentlemen's clubs that we passed, and would you believe at 5:20am their parking lots were still packed!

Once we parked the truck we made our way into the marsh. This is no easy jaunt...there was a nice natural pond right by the road that we could have hunted, but Kevin wanted to go where no one else goes, and this was an adventure, especially in the dark,with full gear and heavy waders on! The marsh is a beautiful environment, but at times I believe one that is just not made for man's entrance, at least not the two times I stepped into sinkholes almost up to my waist, getting myself, gun, and gear wet and muddy in the process!

As I said, it took us almost 45 minutes to get to our hole, after trudging through the saltmarsh pluff mud and jumping not one but two creeks. I guarantee you we are the only humans to ever hunt this spot of land, at least since the clovis people anyway! Once we arrived, we positioned ourselves in a patch of reeds for great concealment on the edge of an open water hole, and waited patiently for 6:57am to arrive, which is legal shooting time. in the mean time, I got a few pictures of Kevin and his dog Remi.

A few minutes before the ducks began flying, the horizon began to turn beautiful shades of Blues, Oranges, Yellows, and Reds.

Once shooting time begain, this was the beautiful scenery we were presented with:

After shooting time we began to hear shots off in the distance, probably from a few wood duck holes way off to the other side of Hwy 17,but it was quiet at first for us. A few minutes passed, and we saw several twosomes and threesomes fly by, way to far off for a shot, and we could not turn them either. About that time, a ringneck flew from behind me to my left and flew over the water hole in front, I attempted a shot, but the bird kept flying, although he teterred to the left after my shot, almost if I had hit him. A few minutes later, another ringneck flew towards us and Kevin put a few #4 steel shot in him, dropping him out of the sky like a firecraker! As Remi went to retrieve the duck, 4 birds flew towards us and we both fired, my shot exploding on the side of a duck and dropping her like a sack of potatoes. Remi retrieved my first(and only) duck of the 2009-2010 hunting season, a nice Hooded Merganser hen!

We had a number of other sets of ducks fly over, albeit well out of gun range, so our action this morning was rather limited. But the thrill of the hunt and the experience within the outdoors is much more important and as enjoyable than the success of taking a limit. It's amazing, however, that a good cup of coffee and a common Hooded Merganser hen made my morning, but that they did!

Great Football Weekend!

Go Tigers!

What a great win over Miami, a top 10 team! Clemson is now in the driver's seat for the ACC Championship game!

Wofford finally won a game, a nice win against WCU!

Oh, and to top it off USC is losing to Vandy 10-7 in the 3rd Quarter!

Andrews, SC Hunting Weekend 2009 Wrap-Up!

Well I haven't posted in so long I would be shocked if anyone is still following the blog! I have been so busy with work and parenting that I haven't had much of an opportunity to blog. I have been able to hunt a few times each week, but I haven't taken a deer until this past weekend.

Jennifer gave me a green light a few weeks ago that I could join friends that I used to hunt with when we lived in Charleston for a little hunting weekend during the rut-well I have been waiting and watching the days tick down-just so happened the first real cold snap of the season came through just in time for this past weekend! Afer a three hour drive I got up to Andrews, SC (Williamsburg Co.) just in time to hunt Friday evening. I sat on a road and cut over and saw a few does and a small 4 pt buck that evening.

Saturday morning was cold, 44 degrees and calm, but I didn't see a deer-I think they moved later in the morning.

Saturday evening I got in the stand about 4:30p overlooking a clear cut. After seeing nothing for a few hours, about 6:45p a couple of does showed up acting very nervous. A few minutes later I heard a crash in the woods at the back of the cut over and the does took off! Out walked a really nice buck and the chase was on!

I watched him chase the does for a minute and got my rifle up. When he walked into a shooting lane after a doe I dropped him with one shot from the ole' .30-06!

The buck was ~170 lbs and had a 15.5" spread. It was a great weekend!

8 Point Buck Williamsburg Co. SC 10/17/09

Trail Cam Bucks

As I sit here watching the USC/Ole Miss game, I thought I would catch up on my hunting adventures, especially since I am a Clemson fan!

Anyway, I have been hunting a handful of times so far this year, but I have not taken a deer yet. I went with my buddy Evan Jeffords last saturday, and had a couple of small bucks walk right under my stand (even had a small 6 pt grunting!), but no big guys. The bucks are starting to move, and show signs of pre-rut activity. I found several scrapes this week! I have seen many deer this year, and that is encouraging. Here are some nice ones on camera that I hope to get a chance at this year!

Hunting Update

Well I know that I haven't posted in about a month but it's due to lots of time spent at work and home. Recently I have been busy working on the budget and business plan for the health system for 2010, and really haven't had time for much else. We celebrated Anderson's birthday on the 15th and had a great time with family. To see more on that, click here.

I have had the chance to hunt a few times since the season started, and fortunately have seen a good many deer, but nothing close to a shooter. I've seen a total of 32 deer so far, but only 4 bucks. I have hunted a few times at Trowbridge Plantation with James Wedgeworth and while I haven't dropped the hammer his son-in-law took a dandy opening morning. Take a look below.

I'm heading to the farm this weekend for a hunt, so with all this rain maybe my luck will change. I'll be reporting back soon...after I clean the house and watch Anderson so Jennifer can take a break, that is!

PS: I hope everyone is ready for college football, which starts next weekend! Go Tigers and Go Terriers!!!