The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

This past Saturday night we finally had a nice drop in temperatures as well as a ton of rain, and that incoming front helped to get our bucks up and moving for the hunters we had at the lodge.

First we had Kevin down from Tennessee who whacked a monster 9 point with a great mass right behind the lodge. Then we had our good friend Ken C. that comes up several times a year from Florida drop a nice 6 point across the paved road on the Bowers property. And since he had seen so many deer even after shooting his buck Friday night, he pleaded to go right back to the same stand - and sure enough he made the right call because at 6pm, an even better 8 point stepped out for Ken to shoot. However Bubba and Danny then spent several hours following the very faint blood trail into some thick young pines until it gave out, leaving them unable to find him much to Ken’s disappointment. Fortunately, we ALWAYS make every effort to locate any animal that we believe is mortally wounded, so went back out at first light to make sure that the deer was not down… Well, three of us working slowly through the thick stuff just yards apart, finally found the beautiful 2.5 year old several hundred yards beyond the last blood drop! And while coyotes had eaten much of his hind end, since the night had been cool, the deer’s cape was fine for mounting, much to Ken’s surprise

The weather change this past weekend also had the hogs moving better, and Nelson and his two sons, Cory and Travis, down from PA on a hog-only hunt went home with pork after Cory was able to drop a nice boar over on Boggy Creek. So congratulations to everyone on a great weekend of hunting the lowcountry!

As for our cameras, they caught some great activity over on the Bowers tract this past week, including quite a few nice bucks like these two 8 pointers. And interestingly enough, the 8 in the color pic looks like the identical twin of the buck Ken shot with just slightly shorter G-3s. Also check out the funky looking doe with the huge tumor on its jaw and white-speckled hide.

It is now Wednesday, and our temperatures have dropped even more. Couple that with that fact that the acorns are falling like crazy, and we expect the deer and hog movement to just get better and better as they prepare for winter by fattening themselves up on these oak-dropped snacks. Then throw in the fact that the pre-rut is cranking up (we are starting to see lots of scrapes) as well as our fall plots coming up, and you have the makings of some great hunting.

Hope you can make it here to enjoy it with us!

Jeff

As many of our regular readers and guests know, Danny loves to bear hunt. And this past week he had another opportunity to head North to Canada to hunt with our good friend Jamie Ford. And joining Danny were his buddies Mike Casstevens and our master guide Bubba Johnson.

Well, Bubba and Mike both killed great bears - over 300 pounds with great coats - while Danny filmed it all! Bubba shot his with a bow while Mike stuck his with a crossbow. They said that they had an amazing time while there and can’t wait to go back. And just check out Bubba and his bear… can you imagine having to be on the look out for that thing while looking for your wounded hog??? Yikes!

And before everyone left for Canada, two of Danny’s three sons had the opportunity to come down from NC to visit and hit the woods for the afternoon - and Chris was fortunate enough to have a nice boar trot by him just before dark. That is him sitting next to his 200 pounder along with a nice 8 point that Bubba was lucky enough to harvest before he left for Canada too.  Then, the next day, Danny, Chris and Ryan along with guides Bubba, Justin and Henry, hit our dove field for some afternoon shooting and did pretty well. Check them out doing the dirty work after the shoot…

As for the hunting here in the lowcountry at Cypress Creek, we have still been in a holding mode waiting for the pre-rut to crank up and the majority of our guests to arrive. However, we are almost there, and we have a lodge full this weekend hoping to put some meat in the freezer, so I look forward to bringing everyone some more hunting stores from the lowcountry next week.

PS: Don’t forget to check out Deer City USA on the Outdoor Channel. Kerry Earnhardt’s hunt with us from December is on this week!

Jeff

Most hunters know that the RUT is the best time to harvest a great buck. So when hunters call about booking a great fall hunt with us, we are usually asked about it and when it is.

Well, that is a question that has several answers depending on what you call the rut. The standard answer is that the rut in the lowcountry of South Carolina starts around October 15th and runs through Thanksgiving. So without a doubt, hunting anytime during this period should ensure that you have a successful hunt. However you really have to break the rut down to several smaller periods to truly understand it and hunt it properly. And the three main sub-periods of the rut and how they effect the deer movement are as follows:

The Pre-Rut: (usually runs from early October until about the 20th)  This is the time period when the does are normally not at all interested in breading, however the bucks are starting to feel the primal urge to reproduce. Therefore the bucks start to move a lot more through out their core areas leaving their calling cards, rubs and scrapes, to let the does know they are there and ready. And all of this traveling and increased movement means that they are out and about more during daylight than before, making them more accessible to harvest.

However please note that this increased activity does not just start on day one, but is a gradual build up, meaning that the end of the pre-rut usually sees more activity than the beginning.

Breeding: (This usually starts around October 20th and runs through November 15th)  This is the time when the majority of the does go into heat and cause bucks, who would normally be very skittish during shooting hours, to run willy nilly through the woods either looking for a hot doe or chasing her in an effort to breed her. This can be one of the most exciting times to be in the woods for a lowcountry hunter as well as one of the best times to harvest a real wall hanger since bucks are now on the move at all hours of the day and night; they are also much more prone to leaving their core areas and ranging out into new areas looking for hot does, making them even more accessible to hunters since they are not as familiar with these new areas. However this can also be a tough time too since the bucks are often running instead of walking, making it much tougher to get your crosshairs on them before they are out of your shooting lane or range. So hunters must pay close attention and be ready to shoot at a moments notice once they see a doe coming since you just never know what could be behind her.

The Post Rut: (usually runs from mid- November until the end of the season) While many bucks will have been taken during the pre-rut and the breeding period, the post-rut still offers plenty of great opportunities to harvest a good buck. That is because during this time, a few does will still be coming into heat - some because they were not breed the first time around and others because they are early-maturing fawns who are coming into their first heat - causing the remaining bucks to really have to move around looking for these late breeding opportunities. This keeps a lot of bucks on their feet during shooting hours, meaning that they are still really susceptible to harvest.

Note that the post rut will not usually have the rampant movement that the breeding period did, however it is still a great time to be in the woods. We also find that a lot of the post rut activity is dependent on the weather - the colder it is, the better.

So as you can see, answering the question, “When is the South Carolina lowcountry rut” does not lend itself to a short, easy answer. However by knowing the different periods, hunters can make better predictions about when and how to hunt during the rut. And that should help them take home the buck of their dreams!

So give Becky a call now to see what rut-hunting openings we have during the time you have off. We look forward to hunting with YOU!

The South Carolina alligator hunting season is now open for the second year, and we are fortunate to have a limited number of tags available for our guests. You can read all about the alligator hunts that we are now offering on our South Carolina alligator hunting page, but the most important detail that you need to know is that the season only runs until October 15th! So if you are interested in pursuing an ancestor of the dinosaurs, you had better give Becky a call ASAP to book your dates.

And along with the South Carolina alligator season opening, we are now just a few days away from our doe hunting season that starts on Sept. 15th and runs through the end of the year. This gives our deer hunters even more opportunities to harvest some fresh venison while waiting for a big buck. Or like I talked about before, to put some additional meat in the freezer or possibly introduce a youngster to our amazing sport for a VERY reasonable amount on one of our doe-only hunts.

As for us here at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge, we are taking September easy. This month is traditionally a transitional month for us as we get back to work on our fall food plots and prepare for one of our busiest times of the year - The Rut. So while we have the time off, Danny and our master guide Bubba “I think like a deer” Johnson have escaped the lowcountry to visit Ontario, Canada to see if they can’t kill a couple of bears. We sure wish they had room for Henry and I, but someone had to stay and keep working and checking the trailcams. We also wish them lots of luck since they were unsuccessful on their last hunt together for Elk out in Colorado last year… But that’s real hunting, and it just proves that “hunting is just that - hunting. And sometimes you get one, and sometimes you don’t”.

Well, one of our guests that did get “one” was Thomas. He and his buddies visited us just a few weeks ago, and they sent a couple of shots of their group with Thomas and his boar. Congratulations to Thomas, and thanks to Waymon for sending the pictures and the nice email… Glad you guys had such a fantastic time with us, and we look forward to having you all back.

Jeff

Having hunted in South Carolina for most of my 38 years, I can tell you that 60 degree mornings are not the norm in August. Neither are having bucks out of velvet on opening day or leaves falling off the trees before late September. So that can only mean one thing, and that is that we are going to have an early Fall.

And that should really help out our rut that typically starts around October 15th but doesn’t really get cranked up until almost Halloween when it cools off. So with cool weather already here, and hopefully cold weather just around the corner, the deer should really be moving great soon. Therefore anyone looking for some great hunting this fall better go ahead and call Becky to get their dates on our calendar.

However, just because our Fall is coming a little early this year doesn’t mean that the deer and hogs aren’t killable RIGHT NOW. The movement of both animals has definitely been better after a slow start to the season, and lots of bucks are being seen on all of our properties by our guests. As a matter of fact, Orlando from Goose Creek, SC and his brother visiting from the Phillipines, left the lodge last week with two nice bucks off of our any-legal-buck tract. So congratulations to both of them on their FIRST deer, and we look forward to you guys sending us some pics to put up here on the Cypress Creek Skinning Shed!

In addition to our guests and guides Bubba and Henry seeing lots of bucks while out prepping our properties for the rut, we have also had lots of activity on our trailcams. Both have been hanging over on the bow camp for the last few days, and both caught some unbelievable trophies just wandering around without a care in the world during the night and in daylight hours. First we have some beautiful bucks frequenting a feeder, then we have a giant boar hanging out in a wallow near another stand on the same tract.

And don’t forget that our doe season starts on September 15th if you are just looking for some tasty, healthy meat along with a fantastic hunt. Rates are just $225 a day with all meals and lodging included for our doe-only hunts that run from the start of doe season until October 15th. So again, just give Becky a call to book. We look forward to hunting with you!

Jeff