Did you see the SCNDR News update about this year’s SC dove season? We officially get an extra 20 days of hunting! This is exciting news to me – particularly since this fall is filled to the brim with engagement/wedding festivities. [Side note – we have 5 weddings in October alone, including our own… Exactly.]
Hello, friends! I sat down to finish this post last night and realized how long it has been since I have posted. This summer is doing 2 things – passing so quickly that I don’t realize how much time is flying, and dragging on until the next hunting season. This has really been such a busy summer that even leisurely fishing opportunities seem far and few between. Ahh, such is life. I guess it could be worse!
Alas, turkey season has come to a close! Yet another season flew by without any success. Well, I shouldn’t say without success entirely. This was certainly my most active season of turkey hunting so far. How many times will I have 3 different pairs of gobblers strut just out of range in the course of 24 hours? Geeze!
What. A. Weekend. As you might have seen, my Dad and I spent the weekend at Red Bluff Lodge in Allendale – hunting hunting hunting, and hoping for success with turkeys and hogs. And when I say hunting, I mean non-stop hunting. And, although it rained the whole weekend and we ultimately came away empty handed (which was a shock to us all, believe me), I have to say we had the most active turkey hunts I’ve ever experienced. Dad is in agreement – it was crazy.
It’s almost the weekend! Who’s excited? Last weekend was my first turkey hunt of the season, and although we didn’t bag a tom, we had a great time and quite an eventful morning. We headed to Walterboro on Friday afternoon to our destination – Deux Cheneaux Plantation. It is such a beautiful place, and we made sure to get there a few hours before dark so that we could wander around and explore. There are dozens ofguineafowl roaming the grounds – and I’m telling you – those are the silliest birds I have ever seen (or heard). They provided entertainment all on their own. We also spotted a pretty little blue bird, and another, more ominous creature.
On to the second part of our day of gator hunting! It was back down to the duck ponds to hunt for my gator and, once again, we saw dozens of gators. After about 30 minutes of {carefully} exploring the banks and edges of the ponds, I saw an odd looking mass about 70 yards ahead of us through the reeds. I put the scope up to be sure of what could perhaps have been a log (yes, I’ve had that scare before – just about jumped out of my waders when I saw… a stump).
Happy Opening Day (No. 2), friends! I came across this Field & Stream article for 2014’s turkey hunting season, and thought it was a good one to pass along. Now, these guys are way more hard core than I could ever hope to be {think cross-country conditioning and using 2 mouth calls simultaneously.. How? No idea}, but they offer some great tips for your turkey hunting adventures. Below are the 3 that apply to me the most, and are definitely tips I need to remember once I get out into the woods. Incidentally, two involve being patient once you’re out there. When it comes to still-hunting deer or hogs, I am typically pretty good at hanging tight and being patient. Not turkey hunting. Perhaps its because I have turkey hunted 20-30 times and haven’t taken a shot, but that’s neither here nor there! I really get antsy with anticipation and sometimes it gets the best of me. Definitely check out these tips – There are bound to be a few that work for you, as well!
It’s almost here. Well, for some, it’s already here! Whether your county opened on the 15th, or you’ve got to wait until April 1st, let’s make sure we’re all prepared for turkey season. Last season was fairly slow on the turkey hunting front, but we have some great hunts lined up for this spring. Now, we all know I am a list maker to the extreme, and I always want to be prepared ahead of time for whatever is coming my way (at least when it comes to this sort of thing!). So, let’s get prepared for our adventures!
Holy moly this week has been crazy. As of right now, we are westward bound to visit dear friends in California {insert excited dance here}, so the start of this week meant playing catch up & get ahead before our vacation started. {PS – it’s 12* in Chicago right now.} Hence, the delayed post about the weekend! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed a few posts of a few different activities, one of which I was verryyyy excited about. Remember all of my shed hunting talk? Well, it’s safe to say that my miles of walking finally paid off. I found my best shed yet, and what’s even more exciting, I found the pair. The miles and miles of walking sure were fun, even when we weren’t finding sheds.