I apologize for the long delay in posting an update, because we've had a fantastic Fall despite the hot and dry weather that has been the story of our South Carolina lowcountry deer season for much of 2025 so far.
We cranked up on August 15 while the bucks were still in velvet and killed couple of nice ones with fuzzy antlers while missing a few more. Two of the best bucks were Chris' great 4 yr old 160lb 8pt and DJ's beautiful 8pt a few days later.
Doe season came in September 15, and our we started putting them in the freezer while waiting on bucks that had started eating heavy by then to prepare for the rut. And by early October the rut slowly cranked up, and the bucks started cruising around much more to rub and leave scrapes to define their territory. During this time, we took quite a few more good bucks with the biggest being a 175lb 9pt, and we easily saw and missed just as many more. But that real hunting!!
We also killed a few hogs as well this fall, but with the hot, dry weather we haven't seen many at all. Most have moved back towards the river where there is more standing water. However our group in early October had the best luck as well as made the most of their shooting opportunities taking several young boars over the weekend including Kevin who killed two : a 60lb and an 80lb.
It is now the middle of November, and the weather has finally broken over the last few weeks with cool mornings in the 40s and only warming up to the 70s is making for decent conditions. However the lowcountry has another huge acorn crop this Fall, and that is keeping the deer from having to hit the feeders near as much since there is food everywhere. But we did have 2 nights this week that were below freezing, so that killed the reset of the natural forage in the woods which should help some.
So for best results we continue to watch the corn while hunting the crossings and looking for those bucks that are moving from doe bedding area to bedding area. So I am expecting us to still see and kill some more good bucks before the end of the season. I promise not to wait so long for a new blog post to share those stories with you!
Also, I want to give a shout out to Crusty, our lodge dog. She has finally started tracking and has been 100 percent this Fall on putting deer on the bumper when they are dead. I also want to give a shout out to our friend Ronny at Thin Red Line Tracking who helped us find 3 good bucks early in the season before Crusty got going. We've been relying on a handheld thermal to help us find lost deer and hogs the last few years with good success, but there is no comparison to using a good dog that can take you right to them instead of having to look around in this super thick lowcountry brush!
