Duck season opener at S.C. Waterfowl

Mac Bagnal and the Clarendon Chapter leaders hunt from the duck blind

SCWA biologist Stuart Cochran with his redhead and pintail
and Hugh McLaurin of Big Lake Ducks Calls

The 25th anniversary of the South Carolina Waterfowl Association continued with the annual Opening Day of Duck Season duck hunt at their education facilities near Rimini. SCWA volunteers from across the wetlands of the Palmetto state came to celebrate the start of another waterfowling season, and to share in the fun of following up a meal and auction on Friday night by climbing into a duck blind in the 'pole barn' the next morning in order to try and bag a limit of ducks. Cold weather came in overnight and the 29-degree temperature made it feel more like duck season weather. Mac Bagnal is the SCWA Director of Chapter Development and he addressed the crowd by thanking his volunteers for all they do during banquet season - and for a list of upcoming dates click here. SCWA staff members serve as guides on this hunt and even the SCWA auctioneer got to go hunting! A unique environmental education camp dubbed Camp Leupold is being started at the existing Camp Woodie facilities and the buzz around SCWA is how they hope to bring many youths into a fuller understanding of the outdoor world via this education program. To read all the latest SCWA news in their e-magazine Waterfowl and Wetlands click here. The SCWA hunt harvest included several species of waterfowl like wood ducks, bluebills, ringnecks, redheads, pintails, buffleheads, spoonbills, green-winged teal and mallards. A fantastic breakfast was served back at the lodge and all the hunters felt like the 2011 waterfowl season campaign was off to a fast start.

Robert and Jeremy from Atlantic Game and Tackle

My opening day bag of ducks: ringneck and mallards

To view past blog entries on SCWA click here.

His and Hers Archery in Western Colleton County

Randy Murdaugh gets bow repair service from Billy Aiken 

Six years ago in 2004 Billy Aiken and his wife Anita began to sell bowhunting equipment from their home in Western Colleton County.  Since then, they have been drawing hunters from local communities who want the best archery equipment available and friendly service to back it up after the sale.

Attorney Randy Murdaugh of Hampton has known Aiken as a friend for years. “Billy is very knowledgeable about archery and is like a hidden secret over here in the country,” said Murdaugh. “I am here for an adjustment to my peep sight and I’ll be hunting again with confidence by this evening since I don’t have to drive to Charleston or Pooler, Ga. to find archery service.”

His and Hers has everything the bowhunter needs

The three employees at His and Hers archery offer a combined 33 years of experience and they have attended workshops with nine different bow manufacturers in order to become a dealer. As an authorized dealer the local archery shop became qualified to do warranty work for the brands they carry which include Mathews, PSE, Mission, Athens, Elite, Martin, Bear and Alpine.

The full service pro shop on Miracle Road offers everything from arrows to broadheads for traditional archers. They also sell fishing bows, recurve bows made by Ben Heape of Ridgeland, camo apparel, bow cases and even 3-D targets. The proliferation of 3-D target shooting archery competitions is just one sign that this form of primitive hunting is gaining popularity. Look for His and Hers archery to sponsor a 3-D competition for Colleton County in 2012.

“When you buy a bow from me it comes with free set up, tuning and shooting lessons,” said Aiken. “My wife is always ready to help women and youths get introduced to archery equipment, which makes for good family fun in the backyard.” If a bow needs some work in the pro shop, then Aiken will use his bowpress and chronograph in order to help customers shoot straight.

Foam Skeet disc for archery enthusiasts

Archery hunting is all about the excitement of the hunt since the wild game has to be much closer that when using a firearm. “I can’t tell you how many times my customers have told me that they thought the deer was so close that it would hear their heart beating out of their chest,” said Aiken. “After some success these same folks say that they would rather harvest just one deer with a bow than to harvest ten deer using a gun.”

To view past blog entries about archery click here.

To view past blog entries about His and Hers Archery click here.

           

2011 Savannah River Site - Buck Report

Julian Clark and a classic Lowcountry 8-point basket rack buck

Jen H. with SRS displays this 11-point that ran to a lucky dog driver

Scott Greer of Charlotte with a beautiful 10-point buck that weighed 162

Shawnah Banks, 17, of Barnwell with a wide-racked 8-point in rut

Temperatures in the 70's are odd for the week before Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean that the annual deer control activities at the Savannah River Site will skip a beat. The hunt on Nov. 16 went off with out a hitch, and that includes 50 dog packs and nearly 100 standers - all organized by the dedicated SRS hunt staff. COMMUNICATION and SAFETY are the mantras that are practiced and repeated before a single gun is ever loaded at this Dept. of Energy property. Despite really dry conditions that surely hampers the dogs in terms of less scent on the ground (and in their noses), a harvest of 39 deer and four coyotes was accomplished. John Fuss of Holy City Charters had a pack of nine pigs sneak by his position and he offered one barrel at the closest porker, but could not connect - and no hogs were harvested on 11/16. However, the BIG bucks did show up and plenty of hunters made their shots count! Hunting buddy Julian Clark stopped a classic Lowcountry 8-point basket rack buck with a wrap-around main beams. The shot came about 10:45, and well after the dogs were turned loose at 8 a.m. - Clark was not on high alert when the 3.5-year old buck tried to slip by his stand. One barrel from 50-yards away put the 149-pound buck on the ground - GOOD SHOT! This buck possesses tall tines that are the sign of a mature buck, and the main beams stopped short of touching by less than one inch. They are are perfectly symmetrical to boot! His buck was  likely about the fifth best buck harvested this day, but it is the buck of a lifetime for its classic antlers!

To view past blog entries from the SRS click here.

11-point buck for bowhunter Gunner Bowen

Gunner Bowen with a fine Lowcountry 11-pointer

On Friday October 21 Bowen made his first deer harvested with a bow a memorable one when he took an 11-pointer from Yemassee. Naturally, he carried the buck to work with him after dark at B & B processing.

Bowen begins skinning and cleaning deer just after dark that come from the Western Colleton County area. Girlfriend Kennedy Gibson had been hunting with Bowen that night and she also works at B & B Processing.

“We had been watching that buck for a month using a trailcam,” said Bowen. “On this Friday we checked the trailcam at 4 p.m. and saw that the big 11-point had been at our corn pile at noon that same day, and I felt like he might be back in the evening.” Kennedy has her own bow and was hunting from a different stand on the same hunting property. 

 “I went to my tree stand at 5:30 and I sat tight while a doe and a small buck came out to the corn pile,” said Bowen. “The 11-point came out about 6:45 and I had good shooting light until just after 7 p.m.,” said Bowen. “I drew my bow and held it for what seemed like twenty minutes waiting for the right shot. When he was broadside to me at 30-yards I went for a double-lung shot, and after impact the buck ran off.”

After going to get Gibson out of her deer stand after dark, the two bow hunters found where the arrow passed through the deer. Well most of it anyway! “The broadhead was in the dirt near where I shot, but the shaft of the arrow and the veins were still in the deer,” said Bowen. They followed the blood trail in the dark using Bowen’s flashlight.

“When we caught up to the buck and Gunner shined the light on his rack he began to jump up and down with excitement,” said Gibson. “Gunner has been dedicated to bow hunting this year, and now he says he’ll never shoot one with the rifle again!” Bowen also likes to hog hunt using horse and catch dogs, so he won’t give up firearms altogether.

B & B Processing is in its second year and part owner Steve Breland says they are running at least 100 deer ahead of last year’s workload. “Bowen’s buck was the first real big buck we got in this season, but we have seen some bigger ones since then,” said Breland. “All the boys here at B & B chip in to do their part and we work well as a team.” Family runs strong at B & B with Breland’s brother-in-law a part owner and his son and nephew helping to round out the staff.
The buck is being mounted at Whitetail Taxidermy in Cottageville.

To view past blog entry about a bowhunting success story click here.

           

2011 CCA Sea Island Chapter Conservation Banquet

Saltwater anglers in the Charleston area look forward to this annual gathering at Founder's Hall in West Ashley. Charles Towne Landing has become the favorite location of the Sea Island Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association's annual banquet, and CCA members know to expect great food and auction items - and a really fun night. Tuna, pork, flounder, and more from Charleston Bay Gourmet  fed the crowd with a maritime mindset. A silent auction was followed up with a spirited live auction led by an auctioneer in a cowboy hat - and some items of interest were the Red Fish Brand cotton duck jacket and the Dragonfly Boatworks paddleboard. Hunting trips for quail were popular, and a whole skin from a bovine donor was all the rage. "This is item number one of one, since this cow gave his all for CCA," said Scott Whitaker.

Mark Castlow from Dragonfly and Scot Whitaker from CCA

Heather Driggers and Morgan Helms love a good auction

A funny saying and some offshore lures on the silent auction

Red Fish Brand's cotton duck canvas jacket

Jonathan Harpe from The Charleston Angler and Laura Stephens

To view past blog entries from the Sea Island CCA chapter click here.

Wine on the Water at the Aquarium features SSI

Roasted swordfish with speckled butter beans from the Boathouse

Heather Fifer and Chef Sarah O'Kelley from Glass Onion work with Ashley Bradt from the Aquarium

Kelly Sloan, Even Sherer, Lindsey Graham and Keith Hanson enjoy their wine in front of the BIG fish tank

The semi-annual Wine on the Water event at the S.C. Aquarium serves to bring in chefs that partner with the Sustainable Seafood Initiative so that they can visit with the patrons of the Aquarium. The fact that wine goes so well with seafood makes this particular event a double delight, and for a complete report in The Local Palate magazine click here. Fleet Landing restaurant earns special kudos as the 2011 SSI partner for the year, and the fact that they are now a Platinum level SSI partner. The scallops served by Fleet Landing this night were large, but still tender - signaling great care in both the selection and the cooking process had been undertaken. To learn more about the SSI program click here. Thanks go to all the restaurants that participated including The Boathouse at Breach Inlet, Saffire, Pane e Vino and the Glass Onion.

To view a past blog from Wine on the Water at the Aquarium click here.

Middleton Hunt Club - buck report

A group of standers after the afternoon drive

Will Martin and his 7-point buck 

Standers deploy into the woodlands at Middleton 

James Driver shot this fine 8-point

The last three years at Middleton Hunt Club, the club members have been witness to a nice run of quality bucks, and the cold weather on Nov. 12 kept the good results coming. Wool clothing and waxed cotton jackets were needed to turn back the cold that came with the first frost of the year, and with leaves dropping from trees at record pace, the arrival of fall could not be denied. The horseman driving the deer hounds brought a hail of Wooop, Heeaw and Holler to the woods and the BIG bucks jumped up and scattered, offering a sporting shot to a lucky few standers that were on alert status. The teamwork on the morning drive yielded three bucks and one doe, but also a big miss was recorded when a huge buck ran by one stander. Both the deer driver and a past huntmaster who witnessed the buck were in awe of its massive rack and offered high praise for the trophy buck that bounded out of the drive and back into the lore of the MHC woods. A Lowcountry lunch was followed by an afternoon drive that brought another doe to the cleaning station and another report of a big miss on a big buck. Another great day in the field came to a close at MHC and the sporting stories will continue for its members into the holiday hunting season.

To view past blog entries from Middleton Hunt Club click here.