Wounded Warrior Project - duck hunt photos

Twenty Warriors from Fort Bragg, N.C. and their Santee Delta hunting guides on Dec. 11

 Rico, guide Jim Clark, Sam 

NASCAR's Rusty Wallace donated a racing fire suit to the auction with help from his son Steven

Linda Ray, Nan Johnston, Dianne Peace, Emily and Schall Ragsdale

Phillip Lammonds shares the stage with Nashville stars Lee Brice and Tyler Farr

Hampton Plantation State Park

The Rutledge family home is only open for tours

The grounds at Hampton are well-maintained

Old plat of the rice fields of Hampton Plantation

The Avenue that Archibald Rutledge planted circa 1937

Situated along Wambaw Creek in the Santee Delta, Hampton Plantation is preserved now as a state park. Best known as the former home of Archibald Rutledge, the mansion is open to the public for tours on certain days of the week. The grounds of Hampton offer a look into mature pines and live oaks, the kind that have marked a homesite for a long, long time. The history of Hampton involved the rise and fall of rice culture, and later the sporting tales of Archibald Rutledge, which would forever label the Santee Delta as a mecca for wildlife adventures. The road leading to Hampton offers a stark reminder of the dangers of wildfire - since a large swath of privately-owned acreage was blackened over 6 months ago. The pine trees have now been clearcut to salvage their timber value, which also ensures that insects will not invade the already stressed ecosystem. The open acreage has been re-planted in native longleaf pine trees which will restore a natural beauty that visitors will enjoy on their way to Hampton Plantation. Archibald Rutledge was also an avid gardener and he gathered native plants and trees from his property and transplanted them into the yard. Dogwoods and Holly trees line the driveway, offering a look at the softer side of the Bard who wrote this poem entitled "The Garden I Made."

Whenver I think of life's light that must fade, the gleams and the glow that must pass in the shade, when hopes that I had now but leave me afraid, with joy I remember the gardens I made.
The redbuds and dogwoods I planted will grow, the flaming azaleas will blossom I know, the chaliced syringa's wild beauty will snow, when I shall be one with the long, long ago.
The glimmering gardens, the wildflowers wan, the red rose, the lilly as white as a swan, the garden I made will keep blossoming on when life with its fevers is faded and gone.

For a past blog entry about coastal state parks click here.

10-point buck harvested in O'burg man drive

B.J. Compton is is 29 years old, started hunting at the age of six with his Dad, and he was just nine when he harvested his first deer. What started out as a friendly traditional hunt on Saturday Dec. 10 ended as a great day. Every year his friends get together at the end of deer season for a traditional man drive on some private property in Orangeburg County. Man drives are a popular practice across the Lowcountry late in the deer season. They met up at 7:30 am to go over their safety plans on how they would conduct the drive. When the first man drive began, deer were jumping up and slipping out of the woods but none came into any openings to present a shot for any standers. For the second man drive they moved down towards the North Edisto River. This tract is a one-year old 90-acre cutover, and the drivers slowly and carefully slipped around to the back of the cutover and got into position to start pushing. Once the last driver got into place, he let out the first holler and the drive began. Immediately shots rang out on the other side of the cutover from the standers. The cutover was just tall enough that you couldn't see across it, but there were stumps about three-feet tall which allowed the drivers to hop up on for a better view. Standing on a stump, B.J. heard something crashing through the weeds and all of a sudden a huge 10-point buck ran right into a skidder lane and stopped at 20-yards from him presenting a perfect broad side shot. He shouldered the Mossberg 835 12-gauge, took aim, and fired. The 3-inch double 00 buckshot took down the buck with the first shot. He went up to him noticed the buck trying to get back onto his feet and so Compton quickly fired a second shot behind the shoulder so that this buck of a lifetime would not get away. After finishing the drive, they looked for another nice buck that was shot at but never found. Also, 135-lb doe was harvested by a young stander. Everyone is very excited about Compton's 10-point buck and B.J. said he knew this deer was definitely going on his wall. His personal best buck carries an 18-inch inside spread, and it weighed 155-lbs. Compton is grateful to have connected on his very nice buck and to have shared this hunt with his friends.

To see past blog entries about fishermen who also tag nice bucks click here.

The 10-point buck was also captured on trail cam

SCWA Walterboro hunts second season opener

A nice mixed bag of ducks from the SCWA second season opening hunt

Walterboro Committee in the pole barn blind, wearing a Drake Old School parka

Decoys and still conditions on Dec. 10

Stuart Cochran is the Duck Breast Commander

The S.C. Waterfowl Association has a tradition of giving back to their local chapter committees by hosting them for a hunt at the Camp Woodie education center in Rimini. Opening day after the split in waterfowl season saw the Walterboro committee chairmen, plus several other leadership teams from other chapters, come into camp for a dinner and banquet the night before the duck hunt. Dinner featured grilled duck breasts and a barbecue pig, followed by a live auction for gear and duck hunts, plus a special donation from the Marlowe family to SCWA in memory of their loved one. The next day the blinds were buzzing with the wingbeats of waterfowl under cloudy but still conditions. Most blinds hunted until 10 a.m. and came away with a mixed bag of green-winged teal, northern shovelers, ringnecks, bluebills and mallard ducks. A Lowcountry breakfast was served up after the hunt to committee members before they left to head back to their respective counties. The Walterboro Chapter is in the planning stages right now for their January 14, 2012 banquet and auction at the armory - so please save the date!

To view past entries on the Walterboro Chapter of SCWA click here.

Hortman Taxidermy - waterfowl specialist

A Drake Green-Winged Teal

Jimmy Hortman holds a coot next to a coot, David Wielicki

A drake spoonbill, or Hollywood mallard

The Real Deal - Opening day ducks!

Jimmy Hortman of Pawley's Island is delighted that hunting season is in full swing, meaning that lots of deer and ducks are heading his way to be mounted. Case in point, Capt. John Ward's recent 10-point buck harvest is now in Hortman's capable hands. Hortman grew up in Moncks Corner, and LowcountryOutdoors.com has great respect for the artistic talents of his father Robert who is an accomplished sculpter, painter and also and avid saltwater angler. Jimmy has all the tools to excel in the field of taxidermy and beyond, and he also has saltwater in his veins with a deep love for king mackerel fishing. Hortman knows the Lowcountry well and supports organizations like the S.C. Maritime Foundation, the S.C. Memorial Reef, and the S.C. Waterfowl Association. Hortman traveled to Rimini to  support Camp Woodie for the annual opening of duck season banquet and displayed a few of his waterfowl mounts, including a drake green-winged teal, a drake spoonbill (or Hollywood mallard) and even a coot!

Winter food plot planting

Use a grain drill to get the seed into the dirt

A powerline can make an excellent food plot

Quality Seed is always a must

A good example of food plot dividends

Land managers know the value of having 'green patches' during winter to help wildlife populations remain in good shape when other food sources are scarce. The lack of rain is a concern when planting, but in general these type food plots can flourish with even a little ground moisture in the soil. Disc the ground, then apply fertilizer, and then disc the seedbed again. A mixture of oats and wheat is a good combo to capture the interest of the deer, turkeys and other non-game species that will use these food plots until spring corn crop planting begins. Remember, a working farm requires that the land be worked to some degree, and food plots are an affordable way to make that happen.

For past blog entries about land management click here.

Chas. Co driven deer hunt - 2011

Harrington Bissell, Buist River and Michael Lolich in the swamp

Standers enjoy the hunt recap in between drives

Harrington Bissell accepts payment from 
Dan Mengedoht for an errant shot

The annual end of the season driven hunt for white-tailed deer was held at a Charleston County property that practices still hunting and quality deer management. After very cold weather hunting on this annual hunt the past two years, the pendulum swing was notable with sunny skies and 70-degree temperatures in the woods. A snake was seen crossing the road and deer hunters were mindful that Mr. No Neck was still in business. The first drive of the day began with three horse drivers and a small pack of dogs. Anticipation ran high for all and when the first two does were pushed, they ran right through the three-shot barrage offered by Dan Mengedoht, making him the first to pony up for a big miss. On the second drive of the morning a different doe slipped into 'the front pocket' of Buist Rivers causing him to make a shot that did not connect with its target - chalk up another chance encounter with fate. The final drive of the day saw the driver's push up a big 8-point buck with a perfectly symmetrical rack, and although I was sitting on my lucky stand from 2009 I never saw the buck. In fact, no deer were harvested on this hunt which demonstrates that no one ever knows if they will get to shoot on a driven hunt - but they all come to enjoy the outdoors and to play their role in order to continue the heritage of hunting. A great meal in the form of mustard fried venison followed the hunt.

Henry Lowndes and Jeff Dennis after the hunt

For past blog entries about the Chas. Co. driven deer hunt click here.