The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

Justin's mom Jamie with her Boggy Creek hog

With all of the hot weather lately, the hogs have been keeping the majority of their movement confined to right around dark when it finally cools off. However early in the week several hogs at the River didn’t wait quite late enough and found themselves in the crosshairs of Tim who hammered two nice ones while WV’s Smiley (Nathanial) killed one. Then a nice downpour Saturday afternoon dropped the temperature considerably, and the hogs rolled out even earlier and right in front of all of our hunters. Joe and Gene, two of our NC crew that come down once a month, dropped good pigs while Jamie, our guide Justin’s mom, shot two and his dad Dave missed one.

Justin's dad Dave with his River gobbler

But hogs weren’t the only thing moving in the woods this past week; our turkeys were working pretty good as well. So Danny took the Hunting the World Southern Style TV camera crew

Hunting The World Southern Style with their big gobbler

and their shooter down to the River where they got some incredible footage while harvesting one big gobbler and missing another. Our other turkey hunters this week were Justin’s parents who were doing the hog/turkey combo, and Dave missed one before connecting on a giant bird while Jamie missed one of the three that her son called in for her right behind the lodge. She then tried to make up for it by hunting super hard in the driving rain and wind with me down on the River on Sunday, but to no avail.  But just let me say that many hunters could learn a thing or two from her about hunting hard and not letting bad conditions keep you out of the woods!

Now we have less than a week to finish off the 2010 South Carolina turkey hunting season.  So in addition to our two hunters this weekend, the guides get to hunt a few mornings too. And we can’t wait to see how the Cypress Creek crew finish the season out and then let you know how everyone did.

NC's Joe and Gene with River hogs

Also please note that if you haven’t contacted Becky about attending our long-range shooting class in May, you had better call ASAP to reserve your spot. Because once we reach a reasonable number of students, we will be cutting off registration to ensure that everyone gets lots of personal attention. Hope to see you there!

Smiley with his big hog

Tim with one of his two River hogs

Wayne Jr. with a nice Boggy boar

Like I said last week, we are entering into our slower summer hunting period now that the warm weather has arrived. However that can be great news for those that are still seeking some hog hunting fun despite the high temperatures. Because while we have a lot less hunters during the mosquito days, that also means the hogs have a lot less pressure on them. Then throw in a $50 a day discount for hog hunts from April 1st through September 31st, and you have the makings of a great summer hunting trip. Just give Becky a call so that she can help you set things up.

Mark with his meat hog

As for our last week’s hunting, we just had a few hog hunting groups including two men that were also turkey hunting in the AM. Out of those, Wayne Jr. from PA shot a nice 130 pound boar over on Boggy Creek along with Shane who harvested a nice, small meat hog. Also killing one after missing one was Mark from IN who also killed a nice meat hog. And even though they didn’t all get a pig, some of the other members of their hunting parties saw over 20+ hogs that were either too small, too fast or too late to shoot. But as we always say, that is real hunting.

Robert and his son Chris with a young gobbler

Robert, down from VA with his son Chris, also killed a young gobbler during his time with us. Now we just have a few more hunters to join us before turkey season ends, and I already have word that two of them have harvested big birds including the Hunting the World Southern Style TV crew who came back for just one day. We look forward to sharing those successful hunts with everyone next week.

Kendyl with her 160 pound Boggy Creek hog

The hot weather and the bugs have finally arrived here in the lowcountry, and as usual that has caused a slow down in the number of guests hunting here in SC. I don’t understand it, but many people seem to enjoy hunting in the cooler temperatures of late winter and early Spring then they do once it warms up and the mosquitoes come out Also, turkey hunting season is now open in most states, so not as many hunters have to travel to SC to get a hunt in.

So with this late Spring slow down, we only had a few hunters this past week after having some time off for Easter. One of those hunters was Jim from Charlotte, NC, who was down for just one day on a hog/turkey hunt combo. And while we couldn’t get a gobbler close enough for him to put down, he did harvest a good boar right out behind the lodge on the power line.

Also turkey and hog hunting with us this past weekend was Dr. Gary Jones of NC, down with his 15 year old daughter Kendyl. The two of them had some great hunts and had several opportunities to shoot a big longbeard inside of 30 yards, but just couldn’t get a clear shot any of the times due to brush in the way or having the turkey on the wrong side of them to shoot. But that is turkey hunting! However Kendell and Dr. Jones didn’t go home empty handed after she put a great 160 pound hog down over on Boggy Creek.

Jim with a boar from right behind the lodge

So congratulations to both of our successful hunters this past week! Now we have a few more quiet days off before a couple of hunters come in this weekend, so stay tuned for more hunting updates. And if you are still hoping to get in the woods for a turkey, call us ASAP. We still have two weeks left in the season, and while it will be a little warm, the late season can offer some of the best turkey hunting since those big gobblers will be out looking hard for those last few hens open to breeding. This means that our lonely hen calls sound better than ever to them.

Also, please note that if you are interested in attending our long range shooting class, you had better call and reserve your spot now. We have had so much interest that we are already almost booked up!

Cypress Creek Long Range Shooting Class:

Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge will partner with Tactical Rifles, Inc. to host a free long range shooting and firearm class with a True American Hero;  Special Forces Sgt. Greg Stube.  This event will take place on May 21 & 22 at our Luray lodge.

Tactical Rifles, Inc. will be at Cypress Creek with their guns, ammunition and expertise for all interested participants.  Guns will be provided for instruction / use, and the ammunition can be purchased at a very reasonable price for the event.

Guests who wish to stay overnight for this event can lodge at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge for $100.00 per night which will also include meals.  A pig roast is planned for  Friday night May 21 at the lodge. This will be offered on a first come basis and all others can lodge at one of the local motels if needed.

This event will start at 1:00pm on Friday May 21 and end at 5:00pm on Saturday May 22.  Don’t miss such great opportunity for the development of your long range shooting capabilities; or the fellowship to be enjoyed in such a patriotic environment with hosts, Danny and Becky Harrell.

Please make reservation by calling 877-520-2245 if you plan to attend.

Hope to see you there.

Art from DE with a giant lowcountry limbhanger

Now to catch up on the hunting here… We had a few guests in camp this past week including Art Goldstein, a long time NWTF member from DE and now a Wheeling Sportsmen participant due to a bad fall 5 years ago. He was able to take his best longbeard ever with me on Thursday morning at the Blount Place when two birds worked right into our decoy set up around 10am. The 19.6 pound limbhanger with 1 and 3/8 inch spurs and an 11. 5 inch beard will now grace Art’s wall, and the hunt to get him will forever be one of my greatest turkey hunting memories. Art’s friend, Gary, also had a great hunt and saw tons of good birds with Tater, but he just couldn’t get a bead on one.

Ken Cobb and the Huntin’ the World Southern Style TV show also joined us for some great lowcountry hunting action this past weekend, and while they couldn’t ever get a turkey to cooperate enough to become an Outdoor Channel movie star, their shooter, Dr. Fuller of Rock Hill, SC, did get a nice River boar hog in fading light to keep the trip productive.

Dr. Fuller from Rock Hill with his River boar

Now we have a few days off for Easter, but a couple of guests will start arriving tomorrow night for a weekend of hog and turkey hunting. We look forward to sharing those hunts with everyone next week.