The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

Kendyl and her dad Gary with their two longbeards

At sunset on Saturday, the 2010 South Carolina turkey season officially ended for us after 6 weeks of hard hunting, but not before producing two more big, mature gobblers for our last two turkey hunters Kendyl and her dad Gary.

Justin with his limbhanger

Down from NC for their second attempt in just two weeks, the father and daughter team  joined us again for the last two days of the season in hopes that they could harvest a big bird together. And after two full mornings of hunting with Justin, they had come close but still not sealed the deal. So their chances at getting a turkey were pretty much over as everyone drove out of the woods and back towards the lodge - when 7 big gobblers walked across the dirt road in front of them and towards a small watering hole full of tall grass. That small brake gave them a chance to get out of the van and circle around in front of them for a couple of calls and a shot as they came up and out of the small depression… two shots to be exact, which produced two nice longbeards! So congratulations to Kendyl and Gary on two nice birds, and to Justin for helping us and our guests to finish up the season on such a high note.

Jeff with his boys Bo and Will Hunt and his big gobbler

And since we were winding up the season this week and only had two hunters left, Justin and I also had a chance to hit the woods to see if we couldn’t get a gobbler too. And after some hard hunting and a few close calls, we each were able to harvest a nice bird a piece. So after calling and hunting without a gun in hand most of the season, it was a nice change for us to hit the woods ready to do business ourselves.

A 400 LB boar from behind the lodge

Our only other hunters this past week were two down from Greenville, SC to bow hunt some hogs. And while they didn’t take any pork home, one was able to get a good opportunity at a big hog right behind the lodge. Unfortunately he couldn’t capitalize on his chance after his arrow fell off of his rest and spooked the pig. But as we always say, that is real hunting; and if it was always easy, it really wouldn’t be as much fun

And I don’t know if it was the same hog or not that was missed, but I just got a text message from Justin that one of the hog hunters here today just shot a HUGE 400 pound boar on the power line right behind the lodge this morning! Just check that massive sucker out in the camera-phone pic! I promise to have the full story and better pictures of the monster for next week’s posting, so make sure and check back to see more.

What a MONSTER HOG!

Now after 6 weeks of almost non-stop hunting, we have a few days to do some work around the lodge to get caught up on all of the to-do list items that have been put off. Then it is time to start moving stands and trimming shooting lanes in preparation for the deer season that starts in just over 3 months. However while we will not have near as many hog hunters joining us during these hot, buggy summer months, we will also be working hard to keep the pigs fat, healthy and undisturbed so that on the days (mostly weekends) when we do have hog hunters, we can make their time in the woods as productive as possible. And when our hunters are dropping 400 pounders and the trailcams are catching big packs of meat hogs running around in the middle of the afternoon as well as other giant pigs hiding in the night, we will be eagerly awaiting  you for some great hunting!

Meat hogs at 3:30pm...

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

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.

Danny with Larry Proffitt and two big lowcountry turkeys

Like I told everyone last week, Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge was blessed with a visit from turkey hunting legend/master Larry Proffitt during the opening week of our lowcountry gobbler season. And while here, the man with 30 Grand Slams and 20 Royal Slams, was able to use his vast experience to call in and harvest three nice longbeards during his stay.

Danny and his video camera joined Larry for his last morning’s hunt down near the Savannah River, and while he didn’t get the shot on camera, he was able to get some incredible footage and audio of Larry working the bird. So join us in a 3 part series as Larry first tries to coax a big bird to him right off the branch with some incredible tree talk. Then sit close during the second video, and watch and listen as Larry works ALL of his calls until he finds just the right sound that the big gobbler likes, and brings him in close. Finally listen in as Larry puts the double-bearded bird down and then spends a few minutes sharing the techniques he used to bring the gobbler in for a shot. So whether you are a novice turkey hunter or an old master, you will truly want to watch and LISTEN to these videos to learn how to improve your calling as well as your turkey hunting success rate.

As for this past week’s hunting, all I can do is talk about the tough hunting conditions for both hogs and our turkeys. First we had a bright full moon all week that really seemed to keep the pig movement under and after dark. Then henned up gobblers that barely wanted to talk much less come in was the norm for the turkey hunts over the last few days. However that is real hunting. And fortunately, most of our guests know that real hunting is just that - Hunting and only sometimes killing - so everyone had a wonderful time. And when you are pursuing wild animals under fair chase, free range conditions - that is all you can and should guarantee!

Rosie and Foxy with her first bird

Rosie with her pig

Spring in South Carolina means one thing: Turkey Season! And it officially opened last Monday morning at sunrise here in the lowcountry at Cypress Creek, and we have been hunting hard for the giant red-headed birds ever since.

Rosie, after missing two on opening day, knocked down the first bird for us (and her first ever) when she tagged a giant gobbler that her guide Tater called in on day two. She then further redeemed herself by completing the lowcountry Spring slam by hammering a nice hog that same night. So a huge congratulations to her. Then Jim, down from NJ with his fellow NYPD buddy Rob for their 6th year of hunting with Cypress Creek, followed Rosie’s lead and leveled a great longbeard after Danny sweet talked the bird into range on Sunday morning. And even with the windy conditions, Mike, down from NY, managed to shoot a beautiful bird with one inch spurs and a 10 inch beard over on the Blount Place with me that same afternoon to round out an ugly, rainy day that just happened to produce two nice birds. We also had lots of close calls that didn’t work out for one reason or another, but that is hunting. And we still enjoyed every minute of the hunt, and we hope that our guests did too.

Mike and his Blount Place longbeard

Jim and his great gobbler swinging a 10.5 inch beard

Cypress Creek also had a very special guest to start the season with, Larry Proffitt. He is widely known as the best turkey hunter in the country and has 30 Grand Slams to his credit as well as 20 Royal Slams. He spent a couple of days working our lowcountry birds, and left our flock missing three members when the smoke cleared. Danny was fortunate enough to join him for a morning and captured some great video footage of Larry hunting along with an interview, and we look forward to sharing that with you next week. You don’t want to miss it.

Jamie with his river hog

Gary and a Boggy Creek sow

And while we have been spending a lot of time on the turkeys, we have still been after the hogs too. And George, down from NJ, was able to shoot his first hog ever during his first boar hunt ever. And George wasn’t alone in this feat, since Derick from MD also shot his first hog during his first hunt too. Unfortunately Derick’s friend Dan didn’t get one since he missed, but considering it was his first time not getting a hog in 8 years of coming down, that isn’t too bad. We also had lots of sightings of young hogs too small to shoot as well as some bigger hogs that hunters just couldn’t get a shot at. However a couple of other guests that did see good hogs and didn’t miss were Richard from PA, Gary, also visiting from PA, Jamie from Canada and Johnny from North Carolina, all of whom hunt with us annually.

So you can see, we have been busy reaping the bounty of the lowcountry with many of our great friends lately. We truly appreciate everyone that has hunted with us, and we look forward to doing it again. We would also love to have you join us and experience hunting with Cypress Creek, so give Becky a call. We still have a date or two available during late April if you want to get in on some great turkey hunting and the weather should be nice for some hog hunting too.

Richard with a good Boggy hog

Derrick with his first hog