Cypress Creek’s South Carolina Hunting Blog

Woody from Backwoods Life TV with his great lowcountry gobbler

Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge finally finished up our lowcountry turkey season and Spring hogs hunts, and we are now gearing up for our summer hog hunts. It will be 100 degrees in the shade, the bugs will be thick and so will the sweat running off of you while you hunt. However if you pull on a pair of shorts to hunt out of comfortably, grab a Thermocell to keep the bugs at bay while you are in the stand and then factor in the very low pressure during the summer months, you have all of the makings of a great hunt. So give Becky a call to set up your dates, and come join us for some summer hunting fun!

Gene and Jimmy with their night's harvest

As for us here, after a LONG 6 weeks of pursuing big gobblers, we wrapped up the season at sunset on May 1st. And while we always love when it starts, we also love when it ends. Turkeys are a tough animal/bird to hunt, and when you call one in here in SC anytime during the season, you have killed one of the toughest trophies we have. However as the season winds down, and the big gobblers have heard and seen it all from us hunters, it can get even tougher to take one. But fortunately Woody Sullivan of the Backwoods LifeTV show and Justin were up for the challenge, and they had the good fortune of harvesting the last bird of

Bob from NY with his pig

the season when Woody shot a 20.4lb gobbler that sported a 10 1/4 inch beard and 1 1/4 inch hooks. That brought our turkey harvest to 16 for the six-week season including the 2 birds that our good friend Larry Proffitt shot while guiding himself over the first 3 days (the 3rd year in a row that he has done it!). So a huge congratulations to all of our successful turkey hunters this season as well as a “better luck next year” to those had great hunts but just didn’t get to take one this season.

Bill from MD with his great hog!

However, while turkey season was winding down, our hunters were still trying to kill a few more Spring hogs despite the hot, very dry weather that had been keeping the hog movement down. And Bob from NY was one of the fortunate hunters when he rolled up a nice 60lb. meat hog down off of the Savannah River. The same spot also produced for our friend Gene from NC who took a nice meat hog this time around and Jimmy shot a good boar as well. Russ, a police officer from PA, took some two 60 pounders while hunting with us while Bill, down again from MD, shot a nice boar hog too.

So now that we have wrapped up our Spring hog hunts and closed out turkey season, we are now taking most of the month of May off to let our lands and ourselves rest!!! You can only work from dark30 in the AM to 10pm for so long before everyone runs out of gas and needs some time off. We will also be using the month of May off to finish making some VERY BIG CHANGES here at Cypress Creek, including adding/setting up another new tract of land and moving into a beautiful new lodge with some amazing lowcountry history associated with it!!! Our entire next blog post will have tons of new pictures of all of the bedrooms and amenities along with shots of the huge kitchen where Neta will continue to turn out some delicious meals and our wraparound porch where our hunters will be relaxing after their hunts. So please check back in to see it all!

Becky and her dad Dennis

Unfortunately not all of the changes here at Cypress Creek have been welcome. Becky’s dad, Dennis Smith, lost his battle with cancer on March 30th at the age of 84. Dennis was a WWII Navy veteran and 34-year employee of Stockham Valves & Fittings, and he will be greatly missed by all of those that knew and loved him. Becky and Danny truly want to express their sincere appreciation for all the phone calls, cards, thoughts and prayers from everyone over the past few years as his health declined, as well as for the outpouring of support after he passed.

Cole and Scott with their first birds!

Gary Jr. with his lowcountry Spring slam

It’s hard to believe, but turkey season is almost over for 2012! We have been hunting hard for a month, and our hunters have killed 13 birds so far and missed almost as many. Now we have just a few days left to get our hunters a few more birds before it ends on May 1st. However we have been doing pretty well over the last two weeks when had some incredible moments in the woods with many of our turkey hunters who shot some nice gobblers. And what is amazing is most of them were our hunters first birds ever, and that always makes it very special for us as well as them!   A couple of those first time hunters were Scott and Cole, down from the SC upstate, and luck was with the first-time hunters big time during their two days with us. Scott started things off when he shot a young gobbler with Justin; however after some good-natured ribbing from Scott about being the better hunter, Cole was ready for some payback and put two jakes down with one blast from his 12 gauge the next morning after they were seduced by my calling. All of their birds had 4 to 5 inch beards and weighed right around 14 pounds apiece.

Chase with his first bird

Jamie and her great hog

Another first time turkey killer was Chase, who was down with his dad Larry. And with Justin calling, he rolled up a  nice longbeard that weighed 17.4lbs, had a 9 3/4 inch beard with 1 inch spurs. During that same time we also had our good friends Art and Gary, down from DE, and while they didn’t take any birds this year, they had a great time and we sure loved having them down again. And this weekend we had Gary Sr. and son Gary Jr., down with their group from NY, and both had opportunities on birds. However it was Gary Jr. that pounded a big gobbler after Justin pulled him into range. His big gobbler had a 10 inch beard, weighed 16lbs and had 1 1/8 inch spurs.

Ron with a big boar

We also had some success on our hogs this week as well as last week too. Jamie was down from PA and shot two great hogs over her 4 day hunt including  a big boar and a 150lb sow. Jamie was also down again, this time with his 7 year old son who shot a nice meat hog with his .22 to claim his first hog ever! We also enjoyed the company of our good friend David and his son Ryan from HHI for one day, and Ryan ended up shooting a nice boar. We also had two hunters from NY, and they both shot hogs. Ron shot a great boar hog while Mike killed a tasty meat hog. And this past weekend, we had a big group from NY, and they killed 5 hogs. Steve got 3 while missing a coyote while Gary Jr. shot 2 meat hogs.

Jamie with his 7-year-old son and his first hog

We are now booking for our summer hog hunts and early Fall deer hunts. It will be very hot with lots of bugs, but with a thermocell and light hunting pressure, some giant hogs are sure to go down in May, June and July. We also have openings for the first few days of deer season which starts on Aug. 15th, when we will be chasing big velvet bucks for the first two weeks of the season before they start shedding it. So give us a call to get your dates locked in!

Steve and Gary Jr. with their hogs

Ryan and his 150lb boar

NY's Mike with his pig

Justin with Mike H. and his big gobbler

Spring is in full bloom here in the lowcountry, and the pollen covering everything is a testament to it! However runny noses and itchy eyes, nor the occasional downpour feeding the growing plants, can keep us out of the woods when it comes to chasing big Spring gobblers and wild hogs.

Treestand Assassin's Mike K. and I with his lowcountry longbeard

And despite the birds being very tight-lipped and not gobbling much so far this season, we have killed 8 turkeys and missed or blown just as many. After Henry and his hunter David started things off on opening day with 2 big birds, the rest of us went to work on them too. I helped our good buddy  Mike K. of Treestand Assassin ,down from IN for a couple of full days of chasing turkey, crush a great 18.6lb bird with an 11.5 inch beard and 1 1/8 spurs after missing several. I also guided Chuck from PA to a great 18lb bird with an 11 inch beard and 1 inch spurs.

Joey and his dad with their first gobbler

Justin also put several hunters on big gobblers including David on the second morning out, as well as Mike Hots who killed a great bird too. However Henry didn’t rest after his huge opening morning double, and he led our good friend Joe G. from NY to his first turkey ever. And that was perfect since how else do you repay a guest that comes down and cooks everyone an amazing chicken dish with homemade cheesecake for desert?

Joe G. with his first Thunder Chicken

And Danny, while not guiding as much as the rest of us, also made the most of his time in the woods with his young hunter, Joey, down with his dad  Joe, who took his first thunder chicken ever! So congrats to everyone that has shared the Spring woods with us as we chased the elusive longbeards of the South Carolina lowcountry!

David with his SC bird

Also, while we have definitely been hunting turkeys hard, we are  still working on the hogs despite quite a few afternoons that were washed out with rain and lightening. Hog killers lately have include Tony from NC, and NH residents, Fritz, who shot a meat hog and Chuck, who killed also shot a meat hog as well as a huge boar. We also had a small crew from MD down for 2 days, and out of them, Dan shot a meat hog while Wade killed a 100lb pig. We also had a couple of guys from West Virginia , and all of them, Larry, Daniel, and Kelly, shot nice 100 pound hogs while Johnny from MD stuck one over at the Bow Camp! So congratulations to all of our hog hunters as well!

Chuck and his first gobbler in 15 years!

Larry, Daniel and Kelly with their 3 hogs

Now we are into April, and turkey season runs for another month. So if you are excited about getting into the woods and pursuing some big gobblers, give Becky a call immediately so that she can find some days that will work for you and your schedule. We truly love showing off our beautiful woods and hopefully giving you a hunt to remember forever. We look forward to seeing you soon!

PS: I would also like to point everyone’s attention to the new banner we just put up to the side of the blog. It is for our good friend Capt. Rick of Charleston who provides incredible saltwater fishing adventures for everything from giant Red Drum to huge sharks. He is just a short ride over to the coast from us, and we encourage anyone coming down to the lowcountry for a  hunt with us to consider adding a fishing trip with him while here. Click on his website www.reelfishhead.com for more info.

NC's Tony with his tasty hog

Fritz and his meat hog

David and Henry with their opening-morning birds

David and his hog from early March

That’s right. It’s time again to take to the woods of the South Carolina lowcountry in pursuit of big red-headed gobblers… And Henry didn’t waste a minute of opening day when he got a couple of big birds fired up this morning and had them strut right into his decoys  shortly after daylight. Our friend David, over from Hilton Head Island and who just shot a nice hog 2 weeks ago, then put the smack down on the pair! So congratulations to them both on some fine turkey hunting.

David and his huge boar hog

We will now be hunting the thunder chickens for the next six weeks straight. So please give Becky a call if you are interested in experiencing some fine Southern hospitality and great turkey hunting. And please note that you can hunt gobblers all day here in South Carolina, or you can choose to hit a stand in pursuit of our lowcountry hogs in the afternoon instead. The choice is yours!

Capt. Rick and his young boar

However, while we are excited about turkey season starting up, we are still hunting hogs and killing some nice ones – despite the warm weather hasn’t ended or the tons of rain that we have finally gotten. Some of the lucky hunters this week have included 70-year-old Don from TN, down for some family time with his son Jason and grandson, who shot a nice meat hog as well as a great boar. We also had David, who came close to getting a big bird this morning, kill a huge boar last night as well.

Todd with his great boar

Wade with with two great hogs in 1 afternoon

We also had our good friend Todd and his group down from WV last weekend (making it at least 10 years in a row now!), and while they had to deal with quite a bit of the bad weather, they were still able to have some good hunts and take several nice hogs. Todd shot a great boar on the first night while Wade was in the hot stand their second afternoon and killed 2 great hogs.

Bill with his porker

Gene and Frank with their hog

Last week we also had our friend Captain Rick from Charleston join us again, and he not only took a nice boar hog, but was blessed with getting to see some great wildlife pictures while in the stand including a family of otters that were playing in the canals around him. We have had quite a few other happy hunters leave with coolers full of fresh pork too including Gene, down with his friend Frank, who shot a really nice boar, and  Bill from SC who was down with his friend John from MT, who not only shot a good hog but finished his trip up with a big coyote as well. And of course we have had quite a few smaller hogs taken over the last two weeks as well including 4 by TJ and his crew from Virginia.

So again, congratulations to all of our successful hunters, and we look forward to having everyone back again!

Bill with his nice coyote

Check out the otter Capt. Rick saw! You just never know what you will see at Cypress Creek...

Don and his great boar hog

Eight hogs with 7 shots for the WV crew!!!

Bryce with his first hog!

I know that it isn’t quite Spring here in the South Carolina lowcountry, but you wouldn’t know it with all of the warm weather we have had lately. Except for a few cold nights, we just haven’t had much winter weather infiltrating our state, and all of the pollen and buds on the trees are a testament to that. However all of the warm weather hasn’t stopped our guests from experiencing some of the best hog hunting we have had in some time! Most of our hunters have been seeing tons of sows and piglets, and many of them have been getting shots at lots of good boars and meat hogs…  Hitting them all however has been another story though, and we easily have had more misses than hits over the past two weeks. Fortunately not everyone let hog fever get to them, and we have had quite a few really nice hogs taken.

Mark, down two weeks ago with his buddies from PA, had a great afternoon when he rolled up two tasty pigs on a Saturday night. His friend Luke also knocked down a nice porker; unfortunately it had a nasty leg wound that made it inedible. That same week we also had Pier, originally from Russia and now living in Chicago, join us for a few days with his .223. And he had quite a few opportunities at hogs and finally took out a big 150lb. sow with one shot along with a smaller meat hog. Another hunter that went home happy that during that same period was Chuck, down from the upstate of SC with some members of their local hunting club, who shot a nice sow during a morning hunt. And I definitely don’t want to leave out a  first time hog killer from that week: Jack who shot a huge boar over on the new property while he and his family were hunting with us.

Then this past week we had Danny and Ricky down who both shot nice meat hogs.  We also had our friend Mike down from NC along with some of his buddies for 2 days, and Mike killed a huge boar while friends Jamie and Bill shot a young meat  hog and nice sow. But they weren’t done hunting, and to show what hardcore hog hunters they were, drove back down from NC for just one afternoon to hunt, and Mike took another nice meat hog to round out their hunting with us.

However the group of the month were our young hunters from West Virginia who came for 2 days and rolled up 8 hogs with just 7 shots. And not only did they kill all of those hogs, they didn’t miss any nor did they even make us track any since they piled them all up under the feeders. So congratulations to Greg who got things started when he shot two nice hogs the first afternoon, Garrett who knocked down 2 tasty meat hogs, Logan who rolled up 3 meat hogs and Josie who showed all of the boys how it was done when she took the monster of the trip: a huge 200lb+ boar!

Danny and Ricky with their hogs

Keith with his big boar

I must also apologize for not getting all of our January hog kills on to our last blog post when I was trying to get caught up on all of our hunting that happened right after the new year. One of them was by Bryce, down with his family, who hunted very hard and was rewarded with a huge SC boar hog that most hunters can only dream about. So we definitely want to congratulate him on taking such a great pig for his first hog! A couple of other hunters that killed good pigs in January that didn’t make the post were Keith, who shot a nice black boar, and Carson who took home a great sow. And we don’t want to forget Robert who harvested a young meat hog while hunting with us in January and even sent us a couple of pics of him fixing it up on his grill.

NC's Jamie and his meat hog

Carson and his hog

Again, we want to congratulate everyone that took home some pork after hunting with us, and we can’t thank everyone enough for making Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge their choice of hunting destinations. I also want to take this opportunity to let everyone know how much we love putting our successful hunters up on our blog. We try very hard to make sure everyone’s kills make it to our website, but we are also human and get very busy during certain times of the year and occasionally miss getting pictures of every animal harvested no matter how hard we try. But we want everyone to know that if YOU have hunted with us and not seen your picture and story here on this blog and you have pictures, please email them to Becky along with any details of your hunt and names of everyone shown, and I will make sure and include them on here. And it doesn’t matter when they were killed; if they haven’t ever been put up, please send them down… We just love showing off our successful hunters!

Mark with his 2 hogs from 1 afternoon

Logan with his 3 hogs

I must apologize for not updating our blog lately, but I was out of town for a week and then got busy with our new year’s hog hunts after returning to the lowcountry. However, despite the unseasonably warm weather that has plagued South Carolina lately, I am excited to report that all of our hunters have been having great days in our woods with most at least seeing hogs and many harvesting one.

And that is exactly what we expect during this time of year since there is usually so little food left in the woods for the hogs that they typically have to move more to eat. They also tend to move better once all of the deer hunters and the pressure they bring leave the woods after January 1st. However, while we are off to a pretty good start with the groups that we have had, the hunting would be much better if it wasn’t almost 80 degrees when it should be near freezing! But that is real fair-chase hunting…

And a couple of guys that didn’t let the warm weather stand in their way of having a great hunt while in the lowcountry were the three veterans we invited down as part of a Wounded Warrior hunt three weeks ago where 2 of the 3 killed hogs. Matt shot a nice, tasty 70lb boar while Mike shot a big 170lb sow. Also, please note Matt head shot his pig with an open-sighted M1 just to prove that you can take a soldier out of the military, but you can’t take the military training out of the soldier! It was a great event, and we want to truly thank them for joining us for the hunt and thank ALL of those that serve our great country. And you can rest assured that we will be holding some of these hunts as often as we can from now on!

Some of the other hunters that we have been fortunate enough to have in camp over the last few weeks were John and Alex, Kevin and his dad Art, and Keith and Robert from NC. Alex shot a nice 100lb boar on his one day hunt while Robert killed a good pig and Keith shot a 250lb boar in the rain that unfortunately we didn’t find until a few days later. Art also shot a nice meat hog while over from Hilton Head with Kevin down from VA.

Then, last week, we had our good friend Frank D. down from NY again, and as always he saw lots of pigs, missed a few and killed once huge boar; just check out the teeth on that sucker! We also had a few of our friends from the Charlotte Bass Pro Shops down again this year, and while they all saw lots of young pigs and sows, it was Daniel that took home the bacon when he shot a nice 100lb boar hog. They also got in quite a bit of fishing and caught a pile of small bass and a couple of bigger ones up to 7lbs.

NY's Frank D. with his big-tusked boar

Then, after a few days off, we got right back into the swing of things with a big group from VA this past weekend whose members all saw tons of pigs, missed several and killed 7! Bill started things off with his pistol on a small meat hog on Friday, then Saturday Rudy shot a big sow while Jerry rolled up a big boar, and finally Sunday Chris and Wayne both shot 2 apiece.

So, as you can see, while we have been battling the heat this winter, it hasn’t stopped us from providing our guests some great hunts and putting them on some big pigs. And we would love to have you join us on one of our great hog hunts, so

please give us a call to get your Spring dates on the books. And don’t forget that turkey season is just around the corner. The birds are already starting to gobble on the roast, and many hunters are reporting big, strutting toms wandering by their stands. Turkey season starts on March 15th, so get those dates on the books ASAP as well if you want to experience some of the best turkey hunting anywhere! We look forward to having you…

Daniel from Bass Pro Shops with his hog

Alex with his Boggy hog

Bill with his pistol kill

Robert with his pig

Brian with his second deer ever!

Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge hunted right up to the last minute of 2011 and straight into 2012.

We had our friend Monica and her son Brian join us for the second time this season to hunt out the old year, and they both took big does before the clock ran out and ended South Carolina’s deer season. Monica, who took a

Monica, Brian and her big doe

good 8pt in October, struck first on a nice doe. Brian, who shot a button buck for his first deer on the same trip, then followed her lead when he took a big doe as his second deer ever!

That last week of 2011, we also had several new friends join us. Chuck, Vince and his son Zach came down from PA hoping for a hog, and they all had a fantastic time while with us. However it was Zach that showed his dad and Uncle that you have to be flexible and shoot what is moving when he rolled up his biggest buck to date: a nice 9 point. We also had Tom and his nephew Garrett down from PA for his first hunt ever, and Garrett really came through when he nailed a nice doe to claim his first deer ever! So congratulations to all of our successful hunters, and we thank everyone for helping us ring out the old year.

Zach with his great buck along with Vince and Uncle Chuck

However, even though the deer season ended on January 1st for us old folks, South Carolina held a special youth hunting day on Jan. 7th for those 17 years old and younger. And we had three sets of parent/young hunters hoping to finish out the season with some venison. However, no matter how much we parents want our youngsters to get a deer, it is still hunting and that means no guaranteed kill for them! And that is just what happened: one youth missed a nice buck, one passed on a small doe trying to get a bigger one and ended up with nothing, and one didn’t see anything. But that is REAL hunting! Fortunately they all had a fantastic time in the outdoors and that is the most important thing.

Stephen with his big boar

The same weekend as the youth hunt, we also had 3 new guests down from VA join us to kick off our winter/spring hog hunting: Stephen, Tony and Aaron. They all heard and saw hogs, but it was Stephen that took down a trophy 162lb. boar with huge cutters as well as a coyote.

And speaking of making the  the switch over to our winter/spring hog hunts, we have prepared for them by picking up a huge tract of new land that is just down the road from our lodge and absolutely loaded with big boars! Henry and I have already gotten most of the stands fixed up and fresh shooting lanes cut while Danny bushhogged the roads and started cutting up some of the overgrown food plots so we can get them in this summer. With the new tract along with our other hog lands that we already have, it should be one of our best

Garrett with his first deer and Uncle Tom

springs ever. So please consider joining us for a exciting hunt and some great fellowship. We also start turkey hunting on March 15th, and our turkey/hog combo hunts are probably some of the best deals going. We pursue big longbeards in the morning when they are most talkative, then switch over after a tasty lunch to chasing pigs in the afternoons when they tend to move the best. So give Becky a call and get on the books ASAP. We always book up fast for these hunts, so don’t wait to get the date that best works for you!

Tom and son TJ with some of their harvest

Another year has passed for us here at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge, and as we wrap up our deer hunting season, we want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and pray that you have a blessed New Year. We also want to thank everyone that chose us as their destination for their hunting experience, because without our guests, we would simply not exist.

Tom and his 8pt!

As for our hunting, we continue to have quite a bit of very warm temperatures here in the South, and that has not helped our hunters one bit. However all of our guests over the last few days still managed to not only have a great time, but at least opportunities even if they didn’t capitalize on  them.

We had TJ and his dad Tom join us again this year, and Tom finally got his first buck when he killed a young 4pt that was still walking around despite being hit earlier by a car. He then followed his first deer up with another when he took a nice 8pt to go with the  2 nice meat hogs they both killed, so they will be eating well this year. So congrats to them both on a great hunt, and we want to wish TJ continued good luck while he is in flight school with the Navy down in FL.

We also had Tripp, son Trevor and dad James join us again this year, along with brother David this time, for another late-season hunt. And while they didn’t take any deer home, they all had several opportunities and went home with lots of new memories and tons of quality family time together. This went for our other hunters, Bill and his dad Bob as well as Bill and his dad Bill too! We truly enjoyed hunting with them and look forward to having them all back again next year.

Ann and her big 8pt

And along with the deer that were just taken, we also have two deer to report on that were shot a few weeks ago but haven’t made it here to our blog yet. First we had Steve, down with his dad Dalton again, who took a nice young buck while here in the lowcountry. Then we had our friend and team member Ann shoot her biggest buck ever when she took down a great 8pt with a broken brow tine. So congrats to both of them!

Steve with his buck

We still have a few days left in our season, and right after Christmas we will have some hunters at the lodge looking to take a last-minute hunt before we wrap up for the year. However, as everybody knows, we never stop hunting here in the South Carolina lowcountry, and in January we crank up our Spring hog hunts. And they are going to be good, because from mid January through April is our best time to take a big hog due to several factors: it is cold, there is very little natural foods left for them in the woods and there is NO hunting pressure from anyone else on neighboring properties! So those big ol’ hogs just seem to move around quite a bit more then usual, and that puts them right in from of our hunters. So please consider joining us for some great hog hunting after the first of the year.

Again, we want to thank everyone who hunted with us this past year as well as congratulate all of those who were successful while here in the lowcountry. Merry Christmas, and we pray that YOU will have a blessed New Year!

Father and sons after a successful hunt: Mickey, Brian and Brent!

With almost 4 months of hunting behind us, Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge is finally winding down our lowcountry deer season which will end at sunset on January 1st. However we will be hosting hunters right up until the close, and we are still seeing and killing some nice deer with those that are getting in a late-season hunting fix.

Danny with his wide 8pt

Some of our friends from Bass Pro Shops down in Orlando journeyed back to see us for two day last week, and despite the tough weather that followed them, killed a couple of good deer. And the three family members that were part of that group gave the rest a shooting lesson while here, because when the smoke cleared, they had 4 deer down. Brent shot a young doe to claim his first ever, dad Mickey shot a big doe and brother Brian took a doe and a great 8pt buck! The other 3 hunters had opportunities, but passed in hopes of something bigger.

Jeff with his dad Charlie and his great buck and meat hog

We also had our good friend Jeff, back in the US while on leave from Afganistan, join us with his dad Charlie for two days as well. And while they hit some tough weather too, it was his dad showing why his call sign in the military was The Hammer – when he rolled up a tasty meat hog followed by a great buck. So we congratulate them on a great hunt, thank all of our friends like Jeff that are serving our country and continue to pray for everyone’s safety while they are stationed overseas.

Danny, the mates and his big marlin!

And I must put up a pic of Danny with one of his vacation catches since everyone has been emailing and calling to see how he did on his fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico a few weeks back. Well, the picture of him holding a giant Marlin should pretty much sum up what a great time he, our good friend David from IL, and his brother had while there. Danny also got an super early Christmas present before he left for his fishing trip when a rutting buck chased a doe right through the Estill lodge’s yard. Just check out that nice, wide 8pointer!

Bo and Will Hunt with our buck

And I got two early Christmas presents too. First I found out that I had passed my kidney stone without even knowing it, so thanks to those that have emailed and asked how I was. Then I got to shoot a nice buck with both of my boys in the stand when it went down. It isn’t the biggest buck I have ever shot, but by their reaction you would have thought it was the new SC state record! That is why we here at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge put such a emphasis on taking kids and new hunters out, because they truly know what hunting is supposed to be about: having FUN and spending quality time together -  NOT the size of the animal!

Brad with his buck

Now with just 3 weeks left in our deer hunting season, we encourage anyone looking to get in a quick hunting fix to call us ASAP and schedule a hunt. The cold weather is pushing the deer out to our oat, what and clover-filled food plots. And of course they always love some corn! So please check your schedules to see if you can’t squeeze in a last-minute hunt with us. We would love to have you join us in our lowcountry woods!

PS: I also wanted to post a pic of Brad, up from FL in early October, who shot a nice buck while with us. Sorry I didn’t get it up before now.

It’s late November and that means that it is Thanksgiving: a time to be thankful for all that we have and grateful for all of all of the wonderful guests that we have had the pleasure of hunting with this past year. Because without the many old and new friends who have joined us, Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge would not exist! So from all of us here, we thank you and wish all of you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving time also marks the slowdown of our lowcountry deer hunting season when we finally start to wind down from the very busy rut when our guests harvested many nice bucks and lots of tasty does. However we still have plenty of good hunting left between now and the end of the season on January 1st, and that held true over the last week as well when our hunters took home some nice deer and great hogs despite the warm weather that we just can’t seem to shake. Shane, down from the upstate with 2 friends for just one day, shot a nice 6pt while Nathan from just up the road also shot a 6pt during a one day hunt.

We also had several guests that were able to take their first deer while with us this past week including JT, up from Florida and hunting with his dad Jimbo, who shot a nice 3pt. on the last morning of his hunt to claim his first buck and the right to get painted up. We also had Tracey, visiting us with her husband David, shoot a young buck for her first deer, and Austin, hunting with his dad Andy, knock down a young doe for his first deer as well. I also want to make sure and recognize another friend that killed her first deer while with us a few weeks ago: our friend Lori who shot a nice 6pt. while hunting with with her husband Mark who killed a nice doe on the same trip.

And while we have been concentrating pretty hard on the deer lately, we had several giant hogs seen and taken this past week too. Bob, hunting with his brother Steve, killed a huge 225lb. sow to go with the two does they shot. We also had our friends from NC that come once a month, and Joe was the lucky one this time when he took two monster hogs in one afternoon: a big sow and a great 240lb. boar.

Once again, we here at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge want to thank everyone who hunting with us this past year and express our sincere Thankfulness that you all decided to join us to get your hunting fix. We truly wish all of you guys a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that you all will join us again next year.