First Deer Stories

[EveryDay]

Many of you have probably ridden right by the site of my first deer kill. My Granddaddy owned the big hay field on Highway 378 on the right just as you come up out of the Great Pee Dee River swamp coming from Kingsburg going towards Conway. It was October of 1995 and there was a stand sitting in the pines just in the back of the hayfield that my older cousins maintained. The corn pile was right near where the high water mark of the river swamp was marked. They dropped me off and I slipped in through the pines to the base of the tree stand and lo and behold, there was a 4-point on the corn pile. I lifted my 1100 ever so carefully and rolled him up with a load of 2 3/4" OOB. I drug him out to the back of the hay field and just sat there soaking in the glory. My cousins had gone to sit other farms nearby, so I sat and waited and watched cars go by in the distance, mostly beach traffic I figured. Right at dark I watched a few waves of woodrows come in from somewhere North, heading down into the river swamp. It felt like midnight when my cousins finally got there to pick me up, but it was awesome when they got there. My Dad had me shooting birds and ducks at age 7, but I'm very thankful for my cousins getting me into deer hunting. Anyway, it was a great day.

[Quack07]

Many of you have probably ridden right by the site of my first deer kill. My Granddaddy owned the big hay field on Highway 378 on the right just as you come up out of the Great Pee Dee River swamp coming from Kingsburg going towards Conway. It was October of 1995 and there was a stand sitting in the pines just in the back of the hayfield that my older cousins maintained. The corn pile was right near where the high water mark of the river swamp was marked. They dropped me off and I slipped in through the pines to the base of the tree stand and lo and behold, there was a 4-point on the corn pile. I lifted my 1100 ever so carefully and rolled him up with a load of 2 3/4" OOB. I drug him out to the back of the hay field and just sat there soaking in the glory. My cousins had gone to sit other farms nearby, so I sat and waited and watched cars go by in the distance, mostly beach traffic I figured. Right at dark I watched a few waves of woodrows come in from somewhere North, heading down into the river swamp. It felt like midnight when my cousins finally got there to pick me up, but it was awesome when they got there. My Dad had me shooting birds and ducks at age 7, but I'm very thankful for my cousins getting me into deer hunting. Anyway, it was a great day.

Good stuff. I grew up right across the river. Does your family still own that property?

[Rubberhead*]

Here's one for you BB. It's my son's first deer. Not much of a write up but you get the point.

https://scducks.com/forum/showthread...oint-buck-quot

[Otter 1200]

My 1st deer was November, 1975 or so was 12 years old. Hunted with my uncle and cousin. We would chase the GMA either sex days, Forks key bridge and Chappells had different days than greenwood and McCormick . This day was in Chappells, cousin took me to tree and said climb that one and don’t come down till he comes back. My Brother was hunting with us and he was a few hundred yards away. About 9:45 he and I heard some yelling, he came down and walked up to my stand and was asking was that our cousin calling us. We didn’t realize were in the area of a man dive, 6 deer came running by, he was on the ground and me still in the tree. We shot 10 times total 5 each. I was shooting my uncles 12 gauge pump with 3” magnum 00 buck shot. Way to much for my 12 year old body, but I kept shooting. After what sounded like war was over we had 3 laying on the ground. Me a 70 lb doe, he had 90 lb spike and we double teamed a 100 lb doe. She had buckshot from one end to the other. Still remember it like it was yesterday. Field dressed them and got the bloody face right there. Wore it proudly to the check station. Good times.

[JJ1965]

Horatio Hunt Club in 1985, 3pt running dogs. In a gut beside the Wateree River when a pack of dogs from the Eastover Club ran him across the river straight to me. Shooting my grandads Light 12

My first was at Horatio as well, a few years earlier. Sitting on a 2 x 6 over a rusty old rebar stand on Baby Cribb Rd. A tall cow horn stepped out and I gut shot him with a Ruger M-77 .243. My dad and Bruce McCown trailed him for over 500 yards through a cutover too thick to whip a cat through. Pulled out about midnight, and went back at daylight, spending another 5-6 hours to find him. I learned a couple few good lessons that day about never giving up on finding a wounded animal, and about shot placement.

[Drylok]

IMG_6733.jpg

I shot this deer on a drive in 1984 when I was twelve years old. I think this hunt took place in the Congaree swamp but I am uncertain. My dad was the next stander down from me and he said he had heard the deer squealing after I had shot. “No dad, it was not the deer squealing, it was me.”

I still have the 1100 that I used that day. It seems that old gun has brought to bag enough critters to fill a railroad box car.

I wonder if any of you may recognize where I was at or even know the two guys cleaning the deer…

[SCSwitchback]

I NEVER cut a deer's throat. I will shoot them again if needed. My Uncle once tried to cut a buck's throat. That deer kicked on the back of his left hand. That kick laied the meat open and exposed the tendons in his hand. The deer got up and ran off to be caught by the dogs. .........I'll NEVER stick a knife in one except to butcher it.

Your uncle would’ve shit a chicken if he’d seen this. This is the proper way to shank a growed one.27B647A8-A52F-4B68-B8D8-ECDD489C1640.jpgCF1F78A1-BC85-4114-96D9-058A0BE96124.jpg