Hog Pictures from Ranger Creek Ranch
Archive for April, 2008
Ranger Creek – The Strut N’ Squeal
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Well the boys are back from the 1st Annual Strut and Squeal at Ranger Creek Ranch and quite an adventure it was!. I’ll be posting pictures as they come in from the guys. Right now, I’ve got two posted of the 1st 2 Rio Grande turkeys taken by yours truly and Llew Boyd. Despite extremely high winds(30-40 mph), the team’s final tally was 8 Rio Grande Toms and 14 hogs. One trophy boar hog weighed about 265 lbs and had a full mouth of teeth.
I really don’t know how to describe Ranger Creek Ranger other than the lodging is truly unique, the food truly Texan, and the topography truly diverse. We hunted everything from wheat field lined river bottoms to arid canyon environments. The wildlife was also diverse. Spotted were numerous deer, Aoudad Sheep, coyotes, skunks, bobwhite quail(tons), road runners, cottontail rabbits, Jack rabbits, hogs, dove, ducks, and rattlesnakes. Its a wonderful ranch where it is very easy to put together hunts for multiple species like ducks & quail, whitetail deer & hogs, turkeys & hogs……
To bide you over til the pics arrive, I’ll tell you about my 1st Rio. Llew and Lou arrived at Ranger Creek about 1:30 in the afternoon in time to quickly throw on our hunting gear and head out to a food plot deep in the canyon. When I said throw on , I mean throw on. When we got down to the plot, I noticed that I had forgot to put on my snake boots and was hunting in my Crocs! Atleast they were my camo Crocs! I quickly found out they were not much protection for the many cactus plants that abounded. As we were walking to the plot, I was commiserating about how windy it was. The forecast was for 30 to 40 mph and it was living up to the predictions. It was howling. This is typically no way to turkey hunt so of course we eased into the food plot to find 2 mature Toms strutting their way across the plot. My idea to attempt to circle them was quickly deemed stupid after my camo Crocs came in contact with a cactus. Fortunately, the 2 toms just eased off into a ravine and we were able to set up. You know, when I hunt Eastern Wild Turkeys in the afternoon, its a leisurely process that involves setting up on travel lanes and trying to roost birds for the morning. Much to our surprise, we were inundated with turkeys all afternoon as they seem to follow a circuit from one food plot to the next. The problem was they were all hens and huge numbers of jakes. I am definitely going back to Ranger Creek next year after all of the jakes that we saw! With the wind blowing at hurricane levels, it was tough to hear anything. I resorted to occasionally calling and typically a couple of jakes would show up. About 5:30, I laid into my Albert Paul box call and was answered by a gobble that seemed like it was right next door to me. We were hidden behind a bush and really couldn’t see to our right. I whispered to Llew to get his gun up and the Tom rounded the bush about 15 feet away as Llew aimed. 3 shots later, the Tom was still running and he took flight. at 39 yards, I folded him in the air with a load of Hevi Shot. He weighed 21 lbs., had a 9.5″ beard, and 1 and 1/8th inch spurs. A great start to the hunt.
Keys to the hunt:
1. Rios move all day and this pattern occured the entire week. I called in 2 bird after 5:00 p.m.
2. In windy conditions, you have to be patient and use a call that can pierce the wind. Box calls are great for this.
3. Due to my bad footgear, we were really limited in what we could do with the 2 toms present when we arrived. Eventually they eased off and we were were able to set up. By being patient, we didn’t blow the set up.
4. For more information about Ranger Creek, contact me at 615-604-0581 or louhoop@yahoo.com
Until Next Time,
Gobble & Strut!
A Turkey Season Detour thru Lousiana and Texas is upon us!
I had to take a break from turkey season to check out a little Louisiana hospitality. I joined Dave Cook, President of Cook’s Mechanical Services, and a group of his loyal co-workers for 2 days at Calcasieu Charters in Lake Charles LA chasing Redfish and Speckled Trout. The 1st day, they caught 120 trout and 45 redfish. The guys took over 200 lbs. of fish back to East Tennessee. Calcasieu is one of our great Outdoor Connection properties. For trips like these, give me a ring at 615-604-0581 or e-mail me at lou@outdoor-connection.com.
The members of the 1st Annual “Strut and Squeal” are headed to Ranger Creek ranch this week to chase Rio’s and Hawgs. We’ll post pictures on the blog while we there.
Until next time,
Gobble & Strut!
A South Carolina Bird hits the ground!
Here is a new blog from my good friend and hunting buddy from Charlotte NC, Don Tardif, about his 1st bird of the year. Don is a member of the 1st annual Strut & Squeal posse headed to Ranger Creek Ranch for 5 days of Rio’s and hogs!. Here is Don’s hunt in his own words:
It was April 4th, 2008, just 4 days into the new turkey season. I was hunting alone on our Chester County, South Carolina property. My business partner and I had yet to take a bird of these 200 acres we purchased just a few years ago. We were both excited about this new year as we had just last year done our first timber thinning and had planted several new food plots for the prior deer season. To make matters more interesting we were seeing several birds prior to the beginning of the season and the first 3 days as well. For some reason however, the birds were not gobbling and when we did see them in the fields they were not responding to calls or paying much attention to the decoys. (I am sure this had nothing to do with my ineptness as a caller).
After the first 3 days of several buddies trying to bag the property’s first bird to no avail, I decided to take my vast experience of having killed 3 birds in my 44 years on this earth and head out alone. Today my strategy was to “run and gun”. The wait and see approach had not worked and I was determined to get a bird to at least gobble. The first 3 days of the season had brought rain and wind and much frustration for me and the other hunters. The morning of April 4th started out the same with overcast skies and drizzle. I couldn’t get out to the property until 8:00 AM that day but began my journey in the woods just the same. Our property is surrounded by creeks, has very diverse topography, and many rolling hills. I began heading to the back and figured I would work my way around the 3 areas we have seen them roosting the most. The morning was slow and very frustrating. I spent 3.5 hours trying to locate a gobble to no avail. By noon my attention deficit disorder had hit its’ limit and I decided to head back to the cabin and call it a day. Just as I was beginning to take a short cut to the cabin at the last second I decided to walk all the way down to the “Three River Stand” and check for fresh tracks as we had seen birds in their earlier in the week and thought it may be a good spot to scout for the next time I came down with my 9 year old son. With the motivating factor of delaying going back to the office I was off.
Sure enough no new tracks and no gobbles. It looked liked the birds had won again. As I moved towards the final turn heading back to the cabin a group of crows came through raising all kinds of noise. Just as they passed over I heard a gobbling sound from where they just came from. It appeared to be a good distance away but after going on 4+ hours at this point a gobble is a gobble and sure got me fired up. I decided to see if he would respond to my box call. Sure enough I barely had finished my attempts at talking to this bird and he gobbled back. I knew he was far enough that I had some time to scout the area and try and figure out where he may come in so I quickly did that and set up. Only there was one problem, I had left my decoys disassembled on the ground where I thought I would hunt next time so I was going to have to see if I could get him to come in without the decoy in place. Luckily for me, recent dozer work had created a pile that I could sneak in behind and my only hope was that the tom who had to cross the creek to get to me would walk parallel with the creek and as soon as he passed the edge of the dozer pile it would be my only chance for a shot. Sure enough after 4 days of literally no gobbling, I found the one Tom that was determined to make up for the lack of gobbling in the woods. From the first time I called him and he responded we were now talking back and forth for over 15 minutes. I knew he was getting close but until he crossed the creek I had no shot. At last, after seventeen minutes of me doing my best imitation of a hen that needs something, the woods became real quiet and I decided since I was a novice to this turkey hunting world I would drop the call and just hope my plan would work. Sure enough the Big Man had it in his plans that morning as literally the bird peeked his head at the exact spot I needed him to come out at and after one step further he had taken his last.
Not the biggest bird in the world but with a 10” beard, 1” spurs and weighing in at 24.8 pounds it was truly an experience I will never forget. Taking a Tom with a guide is one thing but working one with my skill level or lack there of, and having it pay off is just a heart pounding experience.
Don
Tips from Don’s Hunt:
1. Never give up! I have killed just as many turkeys between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. as I have from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Morning’s henned up gobbler can become noontime’s lonely gobbler real quick.(For another blog about a late morning hunt, go to April 12, 2007 in the archives)
2. Gobbler’s have an adversity to crossing barriers like creeks, fences, ditches, etc…… Don did a great job of dealing with his barrier by setting up so he was in range. If the turkey came up to the edge, Don was shooting and thats what happened.
Great Job Don!
Until Next Time,
Gobble & Strut!
Bradley Dicken’s 1st Turkey of the year
My good friend Brad Dicken’s took his 1st bird of the year last week. For those of you who don’t remember Brad from last year, here is his better side. Here’s his hunt in his own words:
Most people don’t like to hunt in the rain. And for obvious reasons I don’t either. However, Rain comes and rains goes, and I will bet anyone or anybody, that when it stops you see more turkeys than you would on a calm warm morning. That’s what happened on Monday of March 31st. I went out back in a drizzling rain and went to a place that I knew from previous years was the best hardwoods area for a roost and food. Low a behold I saw what looked to be a leaf blowers activity at every step. These scratches were fresh! Like I either just bumped him or he was just around the bend. I called with some yelps, I called with some cackles, I called and called but no answer. So I just knew he had been bumped. Before I left that spot, I remember what a old buddy of mine from Pennsylvania told me, “If you think she looks good, there’s somebody else that wants to talk to her, but he’s looks and sounds differently than you do!” Basically, try a call that you think sounds good to you, then bring out something that sounds different. So I did! I pulled out the Stinger. A slate call that Woodhaven makes. If you don’t have one, buy one! I’ve tried them all. It usually wins every year at the turkey shows and I own one. I also believe is carrying several strikers. This particular time I used a metal stiker to get the loud and crisp sound that would cut through any wind. Sorta like a boat paddle, aka Box Call. I hit it one time, and he hammered 80 yards to my left. I hit the ground, he came running up and my featherless and purrs did the rest. He gobbled two more times to get my decoy to come off its stick and somehow float over to him. Curiosity always kills the cat. That cat’s in the bag and on my wall now. I will throw in a safety tip as well. Don’t shoot a gun next to a downed tree. I am just now getting my hearing back. It was stupid but the turkey and my hearing paid a toll.
Thanks Brad!
Until next time,
Gobble & Strut!
2nd Tennessee Hunt – TrophyBassLake.com
Well, it was back to Chuck Bean’s trophybasslake.com farm for the second hunt of the year and it was definitely a hunt. Not a killin but a hunt! Attached are 2 pictures that tell it all:
1. The picture of the ground is one of a turkey scratching. To me turkey scratching is maybe the thing I look for the most when I am scouting property to hunt. Its a sign post for where birds travel, where they feed, where they roost, and where they hang out. On days like today where the temperature are cold, gobbling can be a minimum and scratching tells me where I want to set up if I don’t hear birds. Parts of Chuck’s farm look like they have been raked there is so much scratching.
2. The other picture is of a power line that disect’s Chuck’s property. While they are small dots in the distance, those dots are Tom turkeys. They are also strutting about 20 yards away from Chuck and I were set up at first light. Unfortunately, we had left and did not get back for the party. Chuck and I probably saw 8 to 10 mature gobblers and about 50 hens all in one group and as a group they stayed. When birds get like that, your best strategy is to try to get in front of them for the ambush and we were never able to get there. However, it was a beautiful day and we had a great time watching these beautiful birds.
Tips for the hunt:
1. Look for Scratchings as the signposts for where you should hunt! Mark them with your GPS so they are easier to find in the dark when setting up!
2. Some days, you just can’t pull birds from the flock. You’re best bet is to try to get in front of them for the ambush. Again, scouting can help you know where to set up for that opportunity!
Until next time,
Gobble & Strut!