The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

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.

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

Anthony with a huge SC hog

Guy and his cinnamon hog

After months of nothing but cold weather and rain, Spring has finally come to the lowcountry. The temperatures are now getting up into the 70s during the day, the saturated ground is drying up and the plants are ready to bud. But most importantly, the turkeys are gobbling and the hogs are moving.

And that was welcome news to everyone down this past week to hunt our lowcountry hogs, especially our group from NJ. Rocky started things off with when he knocked a nice 100 pounder down, then Anthony got in the game when he dropped a huge sow, and Guy rounded their hunt out with his beautiful cinnamon hog. Only their buddy Razo went home empty handed out of their group, but that is fair chase hunting Two other hunters in camp during the same time was Mike and Kurt, and Mike harvested a good 100 pound eater pig.

Mike and NJ's Rocky with SC hogs

Our next group, down from Niagra Falls, NY, also saw quite a few hogs. And while darkness kept several of them from getting shots off, two of their members, both first-time hog hunters, put the smack down on hogs to ensure that everyone had some pork to take back up north. First Ken shot a 120 pound sow, then Todd hammered a good 160 pound sow.

However the first time hog hunters weren’t done. Patrice, down from Gaffney, SC with her husband Robbie also easily met the challenge and killed a beautiful 130 pound sow over on Boggy Creek. So a huge congratulations to all of our hog-hunting converts.

Patrice with her first hog!

NY's Ken with a 120lb sow

Todd with a 160lb sow

That left Ben, visiting from TN with our good friend and veteran Greg Stube, to close out the weekend by killing a big 190 pound hog over on Boggy Creek. So as you can see, a pretty good week of hog hunting in the lowcountry. Now we just have one more week until turkey season starts, and then we will be chasing those longbeards in the mornings and still hunting the big boars in the evening. Come join us if you can. We would love to show you a little slice of our lowcountry life.

Ben and his 190lb Boggy Creek hog

Gary with Aaron and his 120lb boar

Our lowcountry weather is finally starting to warm up during the day, so you know that Spring is just around the corner. However the mornings and evenings are still pretty cold, and that is keeping the hogs hungry and  hitting the corn fairly well.

And good hog movement is what any pig hunter wants. But young, new sportsmen on their first hog hunt really need lots of action to stoke the hunting fire in their belly. Fortunately, that is what Aaron, down from WV with his dad Gary, got during last week’s hunt when he shot a nice 120 pound boar. So congratulations to him on his first pig! But as real, fair chase hunting can go, fellow West Virginia huntress Jessica, who was hunting with her dad Robert, didn’t get one. However, kill or no kill, those new hunters all had a fantastic time in South Carolina, and we look forward to having them back again soon.

PA's Paul with one of his big sows

Our other weekend group, down from PA, also had a great time. And head hunter of the group, Paul, knocked 3 good sows down including two over 115 pounds. Readers may remember Paul since he has hunted with us for several years and was last on the Skinning Shed during deer season when he shot a nice buck over on our trophy land.

Pete with his 118lb boar

Pete, another PA group member, also shot a nice 118 lb boar. And he almost harvested multiple hogs too, but ended up going home with just his one after the pigs hung up under his stand at dark where he couldn’t get a shot on them. However Pete has vowed to get them when he and his dad return in April for a combo hunt. He said that since  he saw so many big gobblers and hogs during his hunt, he had to come right back for another shot at the pigs that escaped his gun as well as add some turkey breast to his freezer.

And speaking of our turkey/hog combo hunts, the spring season is now just 11 days away. And with all of the big gobblers sighted around the woods along with their booming gobbles at daybreak, we are chomping at the bit to get at them. We would love for you to join us, but we only have a few dates in April left, so if you want to add a giant lowcountry redhead to your collection, please give Becky a call ASAP.

And make sure and check back on Monday for more Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge news. Our hunters have been hard at it during the last few days and have already killed several hogs, so we are looking forward to sharing those kills and their stories with you all.

Ken with his 2009 Spring gobbler

We are now just 3 weeks away from the start of our South Carolina lowcountry turkey hunting season, and the big red-headed birds are starting to get fired up. The nice, warm weather has finally arrived after almost 3 months of nonstop rain and cold, and that has got the gobblers gobbling. And while we are still seeing the big winter flocks still holding together, we are already seeing many of the hen groups being joined by strutters, so you know that the breeding is about to begin. That means that it is almost time to pull out the vests, the snake boots and the thermacells and hit the woods in search of giant longbeards.

Hank with his 150lb Boggy Creek boarsearch of giant longbeards.

And whether you are an old hand or just a newcomer to the sport of turkey hunting, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to hit the South Carolina woods with us since turkey season provides our guests one of the most unique hunts South Carolina has to offer - the Spring gobbler/Hog combo. Because while you have the option of hunting turkeys all day, many of our hunters choose to chase the redheads in the morning and then switch gears and guns to pursue hogs from a stand in the afternoons. This really works out great since the mornings usually provide the most vocal time of day for gobblers, making for an exciting hunt that usually includes quite a bit of walking, while the PM hunt offers the best time of day for big hogs and is done from stationary tree stands where you can relax and recover from the AM hunt. So give Becky a call to see what dates we still have open, and come join us for some great South Carolina turkey hunting.

Hogs working to replenish what we kill :)

Lowcountry hogs enjoying our rare snowfall

As for this past weekend’s hog hunt, it set a new record: Most Fun During Most Disappointing Hunt :O  Our West Virginia group came in after our properties had sat mostly undisturbed all week only to find that the hogs were mostly holding tight to the cover during daylight hours. The hogs just weren’t moving well due to the bright  moon, and the VA boys only got three chances at hogs - which they all missed - and one shot at a coyote - which was grazed. Fortunately the VA posse has been to the South Carolina lowcountry many, many times and know exactly how the hog movement can be. They are also not a group that lets ANYTHING stand in the way of them having a fantastic time, and this trip was no exception. They truly had a great time, and we can’t wait to have them back again so that we can give them another shot at our porkers.

Fortunately right before our VA group rolled in, we had two hunters in camp from LA, and Hank managed to knock down a nice 150 pound pig over on Boggy Creek for our only hog kill of the week. We now have another couple of days without hunters, so we are giving the woods some more quiet time and us some more rest while we get things ready for our Spring gobbler season. Hope to see you here for it.

Just in case we haven’t had enough crazy weather affecting the hog hunting this Winter, we now have one more condition to add to the constant rain and windy conditions the lowcountry has experienced - SNOW!

That’s right. The South Carolina lowcountry was pummeled by about 4 inches of the white stuff on Friday night, leading to quite the sight on Saturday morning for our hog hunters. However while it was beautiful to look at, it did absolutely nothing to help get the hogs moving, and not an animal (deer, turkey, hog, squirrel, etc) was seen from the stands.

The VA Crew: Bruce, Stanley, Donnie and Bobby

Fortunately, after the snow melted off Saturday afternoon, the animals were hungry and started moving again. This allowed Chris, across the road from the lodge on the Bowers tract, to kill a nice 90 pound boar while his dad Robert, in the next stand down, to first miss a hog, then graze another. The warming afternoon conditions also enabled our hunters at Boggy Creek and the Lower End tract to see some hogs, but unfortunately no one was able to get a shot due to either sows with piglets or the lack of a clean shot.

Tyler with his sow from the River

However before the snow came, the weather was a little better for the couple of hunters we had during the week, and several of them were able to put some pork down. In our group from northern VA,  Bruce shot a nice 165 lb boar during a morning hunt at Sandy Run while his dad, Donnie, hammered a big 220 lb slow over off Boggy Creek during an afternoon sit. We also had Tyler, whose wife bought him his hunt, down from Ohio with his buddy Doyle, and Tyler shot a nice sow down on the River while Doyle missed a song dog at Boggy.

Robert and his son Chris with his Bowers tract boar

The lowcountry is supposed to get even more rain with windy conditions tonight, but in honor of President’s Day, the Cypress Creek crew is taking a few days off to get some rest, allow the woods to quiet down and give the weather another chance to straighten up. So we will be back and ready to go when our next big group rolls in to the lowcountry on Friday. See you then!

VA's Steven with his bow kill boar

Boar hunting in the South Carolina lowcountry during February is truly hard to beat. We generally have nice, cold temps to keep the big boars moving and not a lot of natural food left for them to eat, so that just creates great conditions for killing one around our feeders and food plots.

David with a big feral hog

And several of our guests this past week did just that. Steven, down from our nation’s capital, stuck a great 180 lb boar with an arrow. He was part of the group at the bow camp who all had to leave a little early to get home before the HUGE snowstorm that took over their DC area. However they all had a fantastic hunt, saw lots of hogs and several others had shot opportunities but were busted on the draw… Sounds like a great bowhunting trip to me!

While they were at the bow camp, we also had several hunters at the lodge. And they too had good success on the big hogs. David, down from Il, shot a nice 160 pound hog right behind the lodge during  a super windy afternoon. And that was AFTER missing two others first!!! We also had Eric over from Bray’s Island (about 30 minutes away from us) with friends Jim and Cyril, and they all saw hogs too. Eric ended up taking a 150 pound boar over on our Lower End tract while his buddy Jim missed a huge boar down on the river and Cyril held off on shooting due to the fading light during his hunt over on Boggy Creek.

Eric from Bray's Island with a Lower End pig

Steve from VA and his 120 boar

Then we had Allen from Columbus, GA who killed a nice hog down on the River despite the heavy rain and wind. And that left Steve, from Northern VA, to clean up after everyone else had left, and he took home two. First he killed a 120 lb boar behind the lodge, then missed another one before getting the crosshairs back on a 130 lb boar that was running with over 30 other hogs down on the River. His friend Robert also had an opportunity, but just didn’t close the deal.

So, another great week of boar hunting here in South Carolina despite more tough hunting conditions. And with the lowcountry about to get some more rain and high winds, it will probably be another tough week . But we expect to keep putting the hogs down, and as soon as some better weather shows up, we look forward to doing even better! Come join us if you can.

GA's Allen and his River boar

Robert with Steve and his 130lb boar

Thomas and his River boar

Here in the lowcountry, we are still dealing with freezing temperatures along with tons of rain. And the combination continues to keep the hogs from moving very well.

We had a group from NC at the lodge this past weekend, and while a few hogs were seen despite the horrible weather, no hogs were taken. So in addition to the always uncontrollable weather, the following reasons kept the cooler bare for our hunters: sows with very young piglets, a big running boar that wouldn’t stop for a clean shot and a HUGE hog that just didn’t get inside the magic 30 yard radius that our bowhunter needed for an ethical shot… These are all just things that happen when you are hunting fair chase, free range animals on their turf ….

However, while we only had a few hunters earlier in the week, the conditions were definitely better and so was the hog movement for them. That allowed Thomas, home locally during leave from the military, to harvest a nice boar over on the River during his one day hunt. The decent winter weather also helped Tony, down from Laurens, SC, to also take a nice 130 pound sow down on the River as well. So congratulations to both of them.

And since the guides had some extra time this week, they not only were able to get up a few new bow stands, they also had a chance to get the trailcams moved around a bit as well as check what was on there from last week. Sure enough, some more great pics of life in the lowcountry woods including quite a few shots of nice pigs hitting the corn during the mid afternoon and big gobblers teasing us with images of their dangling beards.

As for the week ahead, we have 4 hunters at the bow camp for 5 days. And since the hogs have really been hammering the place, we are just hoping that the hunters will get a few breaks in the bad weather that is forecast to plague the South Carolina lowcountry for the next week and allow the big boars to move for them.

As always, we look forward to sharing their adventures with you next week. And please note, we are only weeks away from our South Carolina turkey hunting season that starts on March 15 and runs through the end of April, so make sure and call Becky to check what dates are still available… Spring is not only beautiful in the lowcountry, but it is truly one of the best times to be in the woods pursuing our big longbeards and giant hogs.

PS: Included in this post is a great shot of Matthew, down from GA during the last week of deer season.  Check out the two nice bucks that he was able to take during his visit. So not only a huge congrats on his fine deer, but a big thank you for emailing us the shots for us to share here on the Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

Mathew and his two late December bucks