2000-2001 News Archives
[October] [November] [December] [January] [February] [March] [April]
May 2, 2001
Turkey season ended on April 30th. My father took two nice birds in the last five days of the season. Unfortunately, no photos are available. The two kills helped salvage a less than spectacular gobbling season for the turkeys. We caught 7 more hogs last week and hope to have another good run this week with trapping. If we keep this up we might make a tiny dent in the population on one side of the property.
And so another hunting season has ended here in the woods of south Alabama. It started in a severe drought and eventually saw some of the coldest air in years. In the midst we did not have a stellar deer season and the turkeys did not perform quite to expectations this spring. Nevertheless, we had a good time during the course of the season and a good time is the main objective. Improvements have been made to the property, good conservation has been practiced, and we look forward to fall of 2001.
Personally, I'm hard at work in preparation for our annual catfish tournament. You may want to click over and see what we have going on. We certainly have a good time fishing for the elusive, bottom feeding catfish.
Thanks for following along during the past season and as always I have enjoyed your emails. I hope the next few months are good to you and that this fall finds you back here at the Horn Swamp Online for our weekly posts. I leave you with a few pictures to recap the season here....
Drought takes its toll on the Swamp
Campfires at the cabin
A bow killed hog
A "Red Field" buck
Another Swamp buck
The Annual Rabbit Hunt
The Swamp Sleuth records a good one
Another successful turkey hunt with new friends
---------William Malone, Jr.
April 26, 2001
I got my third turkey of the season this past Friday. He was a light bird but had good spurs and beard. Otherwise it has been pretty slow for us. Our turkeys seem to gobble one out of every two or three mornings and even then they may not gobble but from the roost. The cooler weather has been a nice change the past week and has really helped calm the bugs. But it is getting late in the spring and the turkeys won't gobble forever. The season concludes on April 30 and we'll turn out attention elsewhere at that time.
We have had some luck trapping a few hogs. We've gotten 7 in the last week including the boar in this photograph. We hope to continue our success with the trapping.
We'll conclude the weekly reports from the Swamp with the final report next week. Hope you'll stop by for a look back over the season and for news from the final few days of turkey season.
--------William Malone, Jr.
---------------------------------------------------
April 17, 2001
The turkeys continue to get the best of us here in the Horn Swamp. I have a feeling that the birds we have been working day after day are not young birds at all. They seem to have more than enough talent to avoid getting within gun range of us no matter what we do. It continues to be a lot of fun nevertheless. Wish I had some photos to share but again this week we've come up short.
Two weeks remain of the season. It appears a weather change is finally in the works and the cooler days and nights should help the gobbling as well.
As turkey season begins to wind down we look forward to the 2nd Annual Pine Barren Invitational Catfish Tournament. Last's year event was a barrel of fun and we look forward to an even better tourney this year. The event will occur on May 19 on Lake Dannelly. Click over to this link to read all about it.
See you next week.
-------William Malone, Jr.
--------------------------------------------
April 11, 2001
The third week of the season was a slow one for us. We've had trouble finding a turkey that wanted to gobble more than a handful of times. We do have one old bird (I guess he's old....he sure is wary) that occasionally will get fired up but though he'll gladly answer your hen call he won't budge.
The river has risen and fallen for the fourth time this fall and has now receded back to within its banks and out of the Swamp. The many wet areas left behind have helped to create a bug situation that is one of the worst in recent memory. The mosquitoes and gnats form clouds around you once you enter the Swamp and just hearing a turkey over the buzzing of the bugs is often quite a challenge.
Most hunters in the area seem to be echoing our results, having trouble finding birds that are eager to gobble and complaining about the bugs. At least at the end of the hunt we can go home but the turkeys have to deal with the bugs continuously. I feel for them. We're now into the second half of the season and are still after them on a daily basis.
See you next week.
--------------William Malone, Jr.
--------------------------------------------
(L to R) G. Alford & Brad PoweAfter taking his first gobbler of the season G. Alford promptly called in one more for his friend Brad Powe. Brad's gobbler was his first ever. Both were taken in Wilcox County, Alabama by the Camden residents.
The photo below is of my Dale County, Alabama turkey hunting trip from a week ago. The five of us hunters took four birds over the weekend and had a fine time in the process.
(L to R) Brian Deloney, William Malone, Judd Lisenby, Rex McDaniel, Gordon Markle
Gobbling seems to be picking up a bit in this area of the state, particularly on the better weather days.Wilcox Academy's Annual Turkey Hunt was held this past weekend. It was another successful hunt as the 22 guests took 5 mature gobblers around the county.
I had a fun two days of hunting with my guests, Mr. Shaun Viguerie and his son Paul Viguerie. These two hunters did not need much of a guide as they had a rich background in turkey hunting. Mr. Viguerie served as President of the National Wild Turkey Federation (1988-1992) and also on the national board of the NWTF for 10 years. He had also been a member of the a Wilcox County hunting club for much of the 1980's and was familiar with the area.
Don Lauderdale also joined us. Our regular readers will know Don as the 2001 World Owl Hooting Champion, the 2001 Grand National Owl Hooting Champion, and the 2000 Alabama State Turkey Calling Champ.
Do you get the feeling that the turkeys didn't have a chance?
Our Saturday morning hunt started rather bleakly as we spooked some turkeys from the roost. We moved to another location and after hearing a hen we sat and called to her. What we did, though, was more like calling up a storm. Don pulled out his Lynch box and started cutting and yelping and the three of us joined in the fuss. The hen made quite a bit of racket herself and eventually walked to within 20 steps of us. In the meantime we heard a gobble from deep in the forest and across a slough of water. Each time the gobbler answered us he was closer. Knowing he would likely not cross the water we got up to make a long walk/wade to get on the other side of the water with him. We made it just a hundred yards or so when we decided to stop and yelp once more to get a certain fix on his location.
He answered and was now on our side of the water! We quickly sat down and a few minutes later he came through the woods and Paul took him at 30 steps. How many times I've seen a turkey refuse to cross a simple ditch of water yet this time he gladly few 75 yards of water in standing timber.
After a lot of rehashing the hunt and a few pictures as well we set off to another location. We set up in a hardwood bottom to do some calling as we had not heard another gobble. But soon we did hear one. His first gobble was so far it was but a faint noise in the woods. But he quickly moved our way and charged right in, pitching over a ditch of water and eventually he stepped out at 30 steps where Mr. Viguerie collected this fine gobbler.
These were truly two exciting hunts with two fine conservationists and I will remember the morning for many years to come. The Viguerie's called it one of the top ten hunts of their lifetime!
(L to R) Don Lauderdale, Paul Viguerie, Shaun Viguerie, William Malone
We're still after them on a daily basis. Hope you are having some luck as well. Let us hear from you at hornswamp@yahoo.com.See you next Tuesday!
---------William Malone, Jr.
------------------------------------------------------------
March 27, 2001
The first week of the season has been a slow one for us. Cold and wet weather seems to have the gobbling cut to a minimum. We've hunted quite a few mornings where the turkeys gobbled 15 times in the tree, 5 times on the ground, and then silently disappeared. It looks as though the inclement weather will continue through the weekend.
The river has also been high and water backed into the Swamp's low areas have made hunting quite a bit more interesting and challenging than normal.
My best two days of hunting came last weekend. I took one bird in the Swamp on Saturday after having waded "waist-deep" water to reach him. I got another on Sunday with a friend in Ozark, Alabama in the southeastern corner of the state. The picture below is Saturday's kill, most likely a 4 year old judging by his spurs. I got him at 8AM. On Sunday morning I watched my friend Judd Lisenby take a gobbler in the rain very early in the morning. The bird had just come down from the roost when a bit of calling lured him right to us. We found another turkey gobbling just after 11AM and he came to us gobbling and strutting and died at 11:40AM.
Lots of folks in the area are having the same trouble as we are in getting the turkeys to gobble. Yet there have been some kills as well. A special congratulations goes out to Brad Powe who took his first longbeard this past weekend, guided by G. Alford.
Next week we'll have some pictures of all these birds including some photos from my Ozark turkey hunt. Hope your first week was a good one.
March 20, 2001An hour and a half before dawn on opening day I pulled up to the computer and downloaded the latest radar image. A light mist was falling outside in the 40 degree air. The radar showed a lot of rain spread across the state but Wilcox County was in just the edge of the rain which stretched from here to Atlanta. There was a chance that nothing more than this mist would fall. I headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. The hunt was on!
As I drove towards the Swamp the mist turned into a drizzle. At daybreak a wind was blowing through the pines. I stood and listened, hooted and listened, and as the wind and rain intensified I pulled my cap down tight and returned to the truck.
Snow flurries were flying just north of here and quite a bit stuck to the ground in the northern end of the state this morning. Now that's a new one for opening day! I did talk with two south Alabama hunters that took birds today, one in Wilcox County and one in Dale County. And much better days lie ahead and I look forward to each of them.
This strange buck shown below was taken by Camden resident Joe Harvell in Wilcox County. His flat horns are quite unusual. He was killed in an area where fallow deer exist, which have multiplied after being released from a pen many years ago. The population of fallow deer has declined drastically in the last decade and actually seeing one now is rare. This buck is a whitetail but he seems to have the characteristic flat horns of a fallow deer. Biologists say they don't interbreed. I don't know, myself. But I imagine it gets pretty lonely out there in those woods at times!
Joe Harvell and buck taken during the 00-01 season
We'll hopefully have some turkey pictures by next week. Good luck to you.
------William Malone, Jr.
March 13, 2001
Congratulations to Camden resident Don Lauderdale who won the World Championship Owl Hooting Contest this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, at the 58th Annual World Championship Turkey Calling Contest. Don won a Grand National Title in Ohio several weeks ago with his hooting.
The river hasn't washed us away yet but it keeps threatening. Water had backed into some areas of the Horn Swamp but has since receded. Yet the river was still high when the rains returned yesterday and it is sure to rise again.
I have been out once to listen. I heard nothing on a cold, foggy morning. I know there are some turkeys in those woods and I will return real soon for another outing of scouting before the season begins.
The Wilcox County Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation had a very successful banquet in Camden this past Saturday night. One of our featured speakers was Bill Hatley, a member of the Conservation Advisory Board. The Board met last Saturday and Mr. Hatley was able to bring us the latest news. He says to expect no changes in seasons, regulations, etc. There will be no buck limit and no size limit and doe season will continue as it was last season. One development to make a note of is that they are considering making it mandatory to wear a safety belt when hunting from an elevated stand such as a climber or lock-on. They will finalize the details at their June meeting.
The Swamp Sleuth got photos a few hogs this week and only one small buck. The prime time for deer photos at scrapes is almost gone. We'll leave it out for a few more weeks just in case.
Turkey season opens Tuesday morning. As a result, the weekly report will be delayed until Tuesday evening. If you will be chasing a longbeard next week, good luck!
See you next week.
-------William Malone, Jr.
We recorded 6 inches of rain here last Friday and Saturday and by looking at the muddy and swollen waters of the Alabama River there's no doubt that a lot of rain has fallen. A big river can do lots of damage to our turkey population as a majority of the Swamp is prone to go underwater.
The Corps of Engineers website indicates that the river will crest on Tuesday morning (today) at 72 feet. That's big but not near as bad as it could be. Most of the Swamp will be spared and a disaster averted.
In 1990 such was not the case. On opening day of turkey season the Swamp could not be reached by vehicle as the road leading in was underwater. Only about 10% of our property remained dry. We lost a real nice shooting house in those floodwaters and the mud and muck left behind didn't seem very enticing to the turkeys either. Hopefully we'll get some of this water southward before the next front arrives. But thank God for the rain!
The Swamp Sleuth had a slow week and only took a half dozen pictures. I expect it to be completed by the week's end and we'll have those here next week.
Next week I'll have a report from the turkey woods. The season is almost upon us. Local readers remember that the Wilcox County Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be holding our annual banquet in Camden on March 10th starting at 6PM. Tickets are going fast. If you need one, call William Malone immediately at 334-682-9876. We expect over 350 in attendance for the event for a meal of fried seafood and an evening of fun in celebration of America's Greatest Gamebird.
---------------------------------------------------------
February 27, 2001
We're just over three weeks out from Spring Turkey Season and reports of gobbling birds are beginning to trickle in. I also have a report of a balled up bird spotted south of Camden this week. For anyone who has never seen one "balled up" maybe you have seen one in "full strut." It's all the same.
For those in the immediate area, the Wilcox County Longbeards Chapter of the Wild Turkey Federation will be having its annual banquet in Camden, Alabama on Saturday, March 10, 2001. Tickets are $40 single and $55 couple. Spouses and jakes (junior members) are encouraged to attend as it is a family event. For more information or to purchase a ticket send me an email or give me a call at 334-682-9876.
Operator error doomed the Swamp Sleuth this past week and as a result no photos were taken. However, I found numerous scrapes being tended quite regularly and I feel certain, after correcting the Sleuth's problem, that we'll have some deer pics next week.
This nice buck shown below was taken at Riverbend Lodge this past season (Marengo County). I have also been told by the owner of Riverbend that a buck was taken on some of their properties near Faunsdale that grossed 182 B&C points. The 11 point, which scored as a typical 10, netted just over 170. That's that's a good buck!
February 20, 2001
Two weeks ago the Swamp Sleuth was moved to a new location overlooking a fresh scrape on the property after a good two week run in the Pen Woods. Yesterday the film from the past two weeks was developed, revealing the best buck yet captured by our Eye in the Swamp. Would you shoot this one? I would!
The Sleuth also captured a large bobcat and a hen turkey to add to its list of animals that it has photographed.
I spent a bit of time sneaking around a few briar thickets this weekend in search of a hog. I jumped one big boar but only got a few glimpses of him and he tore through the green briars and sage brush. Sometimes in hog hunting, like many types of hunting, you just need to be lucky. Around mid day Saturday, while working a new tractor shed in the Swamp, I happened upon several hogs in a greenfield. I've told the hogs on several occasions to stay out of the greenfields but often times they fail to heed my warnings. This one's friends will likely take me seriously next time.
The squirrel hunt was a bust. Though we had in our company two fine treeing feists, the windy weather Saturday morning didn't provide much in the way of favorable weather conditions for squirrel hunting. Better luck next time.
Turkey season is getting real close! We're now less than a month away. I'll be out listening for the birds in the coming weeks and can't wait to be there on opening day.
February 13, 2001
This past Saturday we enjoyed our best rabbit hunting day ever in the Swamp. Our friends John and Jimmy Chapman have hunted rabbits with us behind their short-legged beagles for a number of years now and this time around was just as action packed as ever. We took a total of 22 hares during the hunt Saturday and missed quite a few more darting through the briar thickets.
The afternoon was capped off with a fine meal of smoked ribs and BBQ chicken prepared by my friends, the Southern Cooking Company, led by Brad Bolden, Mark Coffman, and Scott Sanders, all of Dothan, Alabama.
22 Rabbits and proud of each one
Chuck Anderson scored an early kill
Rabbits galore in the edges of the thickets
Ezell Webb and one of his two scores
Southern Cooking Company smoking chickens
Cooking underway
After the hunt, a big bonfire and a
relaxing late evening in the Swamp
Horseshoes are always played until darkNext week we will have more pictures from the Swamp Sleuth and also a report from my weekend squirrel hunt in the Swamp!
Have you gotten out your turkey calls yet? I have! I'll be ready come March 20th and even before with the camera. That time is fast approaching.
-----------------------------------------------------------
February 6, 2001
What would you do given these circumstances? It is the last weekend of January and also the last weekend of deer season. You live in Wilcox County, Alabama and also own land in the area. The bucks are rutting.
When that dilemma faced Camden residents Billy Johnson and Johnny Webb, they went fishing! Not just any kind of fishing but catfishing. Trotlining. While most folks were sitting in a deer stand, these two avid fishermen were loading the boat with big blue cats. When the weekend was over they had nearly 200 pounds of fish. You may remember them as the "Taylor's Pride" team that won last year's Pine Barren Invitational Catfish Tournament. Keep your eye out for an upcoming issue of Alabama Game & Fish Magazine that will also feature these avid fishermen.
Johnny Webb (l) & Billy Johnson (r)
hold a few of the 30 pounders they boated in late Jan. 2001
Will Reaves of Camden took this nice buck shown above during the 2000-2001 deer season. The buck was taken in Wilcox County. Take special note of the strange beam on the deer's left side.
For those of you who did not get to the woods this weekend, you can rest assured that the deer were really moving. I checked a few greenfields and saw quite a few deer and several decent bucks as well. I scouted a few areas and there is no doubt in my mind that the best of the rut is just now occurring. I saw lots of rubs made in the last week or two weeks (they weren't there the last time I looked). The Swamp Sleuth also backs me up on my belief that the peak of the rut did not occur during the season.
The Sleuth photographed 8 different bucks this week coming to the same series of three scrapes. Unfortunately, the time stamp is not working on the camera but one thing we do know is that all eight bucks came to the scrapes at night. The Sleuth completed a two week stay in the Pen Woods and while there he photographed 10 different bucks coming to the same scrapes. The Sleuth has now moved to another area of the Swamp and is back at work. Click over and see the bucks photographed last week.
I downed my first hog in some time last Sunday afternoon. Scouting about for new places for the Swamp Sleuth, I happened upon a big sow and some young in a dense briar thicket. After stalking them for about 20 minutes I finally was able to get a shot at the sow, taking her with my .270 at approximately 15 steps. I guessed her weight to be near 175 lbs.
The Annual Horn Swamp Rabbit Roundup will be held this Saturday. An early rabbit hunt will be followed by a big lunchtime meal at the cabin and then an afternoon of socializing and horseshoe throwing, complete with bonfire and tale telling. We'll have the results here next Tuesday.
And just like that it's over! Another deer season come and gone.
The last week was an active one in the Swamp. My cousins and fellow landowners made their annual January trip amid a bit warmer weather conditions. The deer really seemed to have moved this past week not only in the Swamp but in other areas of the county as well, according to local hunters. The local deer processors were reportedly overrun with business on the final week and a half of the season.
In the Horn Swamp, three bucks were taken this past week---an 8 point, a 7 point, and a six point---bringing our total buck harvest to six for the season. (see photos below) Lots of nice bucks were seen chasing does and the action seemed to have really picked up in the final days of the season. A few hogs were taken as well.
Billy Barber and 170 lb. 7-pt.
Chad & Wes with 6 pt. and 7 pt. bucksTommy Malone and Randy Fullerton put on a fine feast of fried grouper and boiled shrimp for us at the Lodge on Saturday night in what seems to have evolved into a "Closing Night Ceremony" for their trip, complete with bonfire and all. It doesn't get much better than that!
On a different note, I enjoyed a fine hunt last week in Sumter County as a guest at Mossy Oak's® hunting camp. Frank Walburn, VP of Mossy Oak Properties, invited me to accompany him and a couple of other bowhunters on a beautiful, crisp January afternoon. We ate lunch with Mossy Oak founder/president Toxey Haas and several of the Mossy Oak VPs. Their 7,000 acre lease is headquartered in an old, reportedly haunted, plantation home built in the early 1800's called Lee Haven.
Lee HavenThe rut was in full swing there as well and the reports were that the hunting had been excellent for the past several weeks. Two film crews were on hand to capture footage of bowhunting the Alabama rut.
(L to R) William Malone, Toxey Haas, Forrest JohnsonOur Wilcox County group saw a good many deer but didn't fire an arrow. The afternoon did not prove fruitful for any of the others either. After a scrumptious meal of fried deer steak and vegetables we headed for home, almost too full to drive.
It is hard to fathom how far Toxey Haas has brought Haas Outdoors, Inc., owner of the Mossy Oak® brand, since he founded it 15 years ago. In head to head competition, the Mossy Oak® brand and Bill Jordan's Realtree® brand garner better than 90% of the camoflauge clothing market. Mossy Oak® now has its own brand of wildlife food called Biologic, two hunting shows, and has also entered the real-estate area focusing on hunting property with its Mossy Oak Properties division.
(L to R) Frank Walburn of Mossy Oak Properties
and Toxey Haas, Mossy Oak founderThey are indeed smart and very successful folks. But what impressed me more than anything was that they are just plain nice people. Sitting around the dinner table with them was not unlike sitting around the table at the Horn Swamp Lodge with a group of my buddies. We shared a common thread---our love for the outdoors and passion for hunting.
The Swamp Sleuth had a good week, though a few stinking buzzards tried to take up my roll of film, wasting seven of my 24 photos. But they are considered "wildlife" too and the Swamp Sleuth has been commissioned to photograph all wildlife that happens by regardless of its position in the food chain. Most importantly, several nice bucks were photographed in what we call the Pen Woods, many during daylight hours. The bad news is that I failed to set the time stamp correctly and the photographs did not stamp the time on each. These three scrapes that the camera is watching seem to have gotten a lot of action this past week and I expect another round of photos next week as well. The latest photos are shown at the Swamp Sleuth page so be sure to click over there.
February is traditionally "small game month" in the Swamp. I look forward to a few squirrel and rabbit hunts between now and spring turkey season which happens to open on March 20th.
For the next three months, the weekly updates will continue, ending with the conclusion of turkey season at the end of April. With our late south Alabama rut, The Swamp Sleuth should continue to produce some good buck photos for the next several months, focusing on hot scrapes and rub lines. And the hogs will begin to stir with the first hint of spring and I expect to have some luck in hunting them in the near future.
If you have a good Alabama buck that you want to feature here, the invitation is always open to share it with us. Email it to hornswamp@yahoo.com or mail to Horn Swamp Photos, 14 Woodland Drive, Camden, AL 36726. Include your return address and I will scan the photo and return it to you. Please be sure to include a tale of the hunt!
January 23, 2001
Only one weekend of deer hunting remains in what has been a very slow 2000-2001 deer season for us here in the Horn Swamp.
Last week's warmer weather put a jump start to our food plots, greening them up a bit and providing a little growth as well. Up until now they have looked so bad that few deer were feeding in them. Now a few deer are paying them some attention.
We stuck to the woods last weekend, hunting over scrape and rub lines. No shooter bucks were seen. One 75 lb. hog was taken by my father.
The Swamp Sleuth captured these two bucks on film in the past week. He's still at work 24-hours a day over a scrape line.
Checking a scrape at 8:32PM
At a scrapeMy friends at Pursley Creek Guide Service have also had a camera in the woods during the past month. They sent these photos over for us to feature here as well.
Courtesy of Pursley Creek Guide Service
Courtesy of Pursley Creek Guide Service
Courtesy of Pursley Creek Guide ServiceThere's one extended weekend of hard deer hunting remaining in the season and we'll have the report here next week.
What kind of luck are you having this season? Send us a photo and we'll be glad to feature it here.
Best of luck on the last weekend and see you back here next Tuesday.
January 16, 2001
The first nice buck from the Horn Swamp was taken at 4:05 PM on Saturday by Jim Smith of College Station, Texas, in the Red Field Stand. The buck sported a 7-point rack with a 17½" spread and 4¼" bases. He was aged to be 5½ years old.
Otherwise, the hunting was rather slow all weekend in the Swamp for our three guests that also included Ron Kirby, also from College Station, and Roger Liner from Morgan City, LA. One deformed rack unicorn buck and a doe were taken along with Jim's fine 7-point.
The hunters were in the Swamp as part of Wilcox Academy's Annual Benefit Deer Hunt. Over 120 hunters were hosted by the local organization.
I had the opportunity to talk with many hunters and landowners/guides over the course of the weekend. Most reported very little deer movement. About 120 deer were taken on the hunt but unlike last year this year's harvest consisted of many more does than bucks. Most say that the deer don't quite seem to be rutting real hard.
There are those areas in the Swamp where scrapes are found each and every January. I have been keeping an eye on several of these locations. One road in particular, where the "Swamp Sleuth" (our motion-sensored camera) is positioned, always has a good buck working it. Last weekend only one scrape could be found on the 100 yard stretch of this road that runs through an old graveyard. By Sunday of this past weekend no less than 12 new scrapes were located on it. In another location we found a large scrape last weekend and a week later another 4 scrapes were within 20 yards of the original.
So I'm getting the feeling that the best of the rut is still yet to come in our area. I think these last two weekends of the season could be the best ones. I have four scrape lines that I found this weekend and I hope to sit over one of these a number of times before the season concludes.
The first roll of film has been developed from the Swamp Sleuth, the motion-sensored camera that is keeping watch over certain scrapes while I am away. The roll was taken over the past two weeks from two different locations, both overlooking scrapes. There was quite a variety of game featured in the pictures---bucks, does, hogs, coons, and rabbits.
One photo was taken of what appears to be a fine buck. The pictures were cropped to best fit the screen and the time stamp was cut off of the picture you will see. The first buck photo was taken at 7:42 AM. One can't tell exactly what type rack the buck has but from what I can tell from the visible portion of his left beam it appears he is a good one. He is apparently the same buck that is working the "graveyard road" and hopefully by next week we'll have more pictures of him.
In error, I had the camera set to only take one photo every 10 minutes. When a deer appeared at the scrape only one photo was taken. The camera has been adjusted to take every 15 seconds as long as movement continues. I'll be checking it twice a week now and paying special attention to the time that the buck is frequenting the area. Once this buck is captured on film the Swamp Sleuth will be moved to one of two more locations that include a vast number of scrapes. The rutting activity will continue for another two months and we'll be bringing the new pictures to you as they are developed.
We're into the final stretch and this is the time that is most exciting to be in the south Alabama deer woods.
Just how good is he?
Photo by the Swamp Sleuth
Future trophy?
Photo by the Swamp Sleuth
Looks like a healthy doe, eh?
Photo by the Swamp Sleuth
Too bad this thing isn't equipped with a gun!
Photo by the Swamp Sleuth
January 9, 2000
It appears that the hunting will be very tough here in the Horn Swamp for the remainder of this season. Our food plots were a bust and that is really hurting us right now. Without a green patch full of does to hunt over, finding the bucks is not nearly as easy.
We planted our plots on October 15 in the dust but with a rain forecast for the coming Wednesday. For the first time we tried covering with a cultipacker, which puts the seed just under the surface of the ground. However, a good portion of the seed remained on the top of the ground. If a rain had come quickly all would have been fine. But it didn't.
Rain did not fall on the plots for another three weeks and by the time it did much of the seed had fallen victim to turkeys and other birds. Then the weather immediately turned cold and what seed did sprout has not grown in weeks. Therefore, our plots have been declared disasters. Better luck next year!
So we've had to change our hunting tactics drastically. We managed to see a few deer this weekend including a few small bucks but nothing to get excited about. New scrapes are just beginning to appear. The motion-sensored camera is set up a series of scrapes right now and we should have the first round of pictures to bring you next Tuesday.
This weekend the Wilcox County area will be hosting the annual Wilcox Academy Benefit Deer Hunt. Over 100 hunters will be in the deer woods as part of the hunt. At this site next week we'll have some highlights and photos of bucks taken on the hunt.
Here are photos of two more area killed bucks of late. This buck shown below was taken this past Saturday in the Coy area of Wilcox County by Pursley Creek Guide Service. Guides "G" Alford (r) and Brad Powe (l) along with their client from Gainesville, GA, show off a nice 8-point buck taken while hunting over some scrapes Saturday afternoon.
In the photo shown below, Bill McEvoy holds a fine buck taken by one of his clients of Wilcox Black Belt Hunting. This buck was taken in Gastonburg on the western end of the county.
If you would like to contribute a photo for use, please let us know or send an email to hornswamp@yahoo.com
Hope your season is continuing to be a safe and enjoyable one. We'll have lots to bring you next week.
By now many of you are no doubt wondering what is going on with the weekly updates at the Horn Swamp Online! I've gotten a few concerned emails as well. After all, I have missed two Tuesday deadlines for a report! But I can explain.
I have been out of town for the past week and I had an update (you can see it below) for December 26. Unfortunately, some problems with the server prevented me from getting it on the site before I left town.
But January and the rut has arrived and you can bet a bucket of bullets that we'll have some action packed reports for the next month or more.
Speaking of the rut, I've heard from several hunters that tell me that they are seeing bucks chasing does and that is good news indeed. This cold weather should do us hunters just right if it will hold on through the end of the month.
Here in the Horn Swamp we've tightened down on our buck restrictions and will hold fire unless it is most certainly a buck to mount, hopefully preventing the harvest of any marginal racks after taking several such deer last season.
I have a new toy in the woods now----a motion-sensored camera. I'll be interested to see what shows up on the film all through the next several months. Right now it is set up on a scrape in an area that is known to hold a trophy buck. Of course I'll have any good pictures taken right here in the coming weeks.
So I'm happy to report that the site is back up and going with weekly updates. I have several nice photos of deer killed in the area. Look for those this coming Tuesday. I'll be in the woods all weekend and will have latest report from the deer woods as well.
Thanks for visiting. See you next week.
------------William Malone, Jr.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
December 26, 2000
We've seen no signs of the rut here in the Horn Swamp. A check of some regular scraping areas on Tuesday revealed no fresh scrapes. Last season some of best rutting activity was witnessed the second weekend of January, therefore, we are likely still a few weeks away. Then again, it is a bit strange to not see more scrapes by now.
But some folks are having some luck! This fine 10-point was taken by a hunter at Pine Apple Lodge Guide Service, located in the eastern end of Wilcox County.
Please note: Next week's report will be delayed until Jan. 5, 2000. Please check back on that date for the latest news and more pictures of bucks killed around the area recently.
December 19, 2000
Is this deer hunting weather or what? I think it is and I think those that are in the woods this week are going to have some luck if the wind will just lay long enough for the deer to stir.
I was amazed at the heat that greeted me Saturday morning and it just got hotter and hotter as the day wore on. I hunted one of the few trees in the Swamp that still has acorns but as the mercury neared 80 I called it a day near lunchtime. With such crazy weather moving through and severe weather potential, I waved the afternoon hunt.
And yes, I was one of the crazy ones that hunted Sunday morning. Though the wind chill was near zero, I felt good for the first hour after climbing the tree. But a chill soon set in and just after 8:30 AM I looked down to see where my feet were (I could barely feel them) and seeing that they were still at the ends of my legs I decided to put them to good use and get the heck out of that tree! The wind was too strong anyway to have much luck. The deer just did not stir.
But on Sunday afternoon they did and I'm sure they continue to as this cold weather remains in the state. In a bit of scouting over the weekend I did not see many scrapes in their usual spots just yet. They will appear, though I'm sure, in the next few weeks. If the weather remains cold, we should see a lot of buck activity in January.
This week I have several pictures and stories to bring you. This first one has been sent to me by Allen Tartt. Allen killed this deer near Livingston, Alabama. The buck grosses about 155 B&C points and was killed with a .243 rifle.
Allen TarttAllen relates this story...."This deer was killed Thanksgiving Day of this year. We have been managing similar to your program for twelve years now. Over the last three summers we have done some extensive thinning of eastern red cedar. The result is acres and acres where you can see two or three hundred yards through the woods. The pine and hardwood sawtimber was left standing, so there is plenty of cover, and with an abundant mast crop (despite the drought), there's plenty of food and browse. I had been waiting to stalk the roads through the cedar cut all year. Just went quietly and SLOWLY with lots of glassing. This, and more luck than you could imagine, got me to within 25 yards. Didn't make the shot until he had wandered out to 100 yards. To be honest, I couldn't tell much about his rack until then. He was in thick canes that obscured his head at first, but when he stepped out fifteen minutes later, I could see that he was exceptional. The little kickers were a bonus that I didn't notice until I reached him. Deer like this are coming back to Alabama with the help of management. Another whopper was killed in Gallion last week (23.5 inch wide 9 pt.)."
The next photo was taken by Rob Moorer of a buck killed by Fleet Monroe. We featured another fine buck taken by Fleet last year (you can see it in the 99-00 Achives). It seems to me that big bucks have a bad habit of getting within range of Fleet. This buck, taken in Marengo County, Alabama, weighed 200 pounds and scored approximately 145 B&C.
Fleet MonroeLast but certainly not least is my buddy Matt Whiting and a doe he recently harvested. Matt and I lived next door to each other for several years and Matt killed his first deer while hunting with me in the Swamp two seasons ago. Matt's family has now moved to Arkansas, where he got this deer.
Matt WhitingHow about that Presidential race? I take great comfort in knowing that the anti-gun/anti-2nd Amendment crowd will no longer have one of their own sitting in the Oval Office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Eight years of Presidential assault on our freedom was a gracious plenty!
I look forward to more hunting during the holidays and also in January as the rut picks up and the bucks begin to really stir. If you happen to get a good one in the sights, make sure to send me a picture and a story so it can be posted for all to see. Special thanks to Allen, Rob, Fleet, and Matt for sharing with all of us.
December 12, 2000
I enjoyed a duck hunting trip to Monroe, Louisiana, this past weekend, joining Alabama friends and hunting with Mallard Crossing Guide Service. This is the third year that my friends have hunted with Gordon Markle and the folks at Mallard Crossing, enjoying great success on each trip. This was my first visit. Our weekend's hunt was a lot of fun. The ducks didn't quite cover us up like they normally do according to those that have frequented the area many times. Some of our group stayed to hunt Monday and Tuesday and hopefully they caught some birds flying south in front of the approaching cold front. Before I left after lunch on Sunday we watched hundreds and hundreds of ducks high overhead, making their way southward.
Daybreak Saturday morning found us on the Mollicy Farm near Bastrop, LA. We were hunting from the "Tree Blind" located in a 640 acre block of flooded timber surrounded by a National Wildlife Refuge. I don't think a finer place to duck hunt can be found for hundreds of miles around. My friends have never failed to take a limit of mallards from the blind in each of their prior trips here. I, along with three others, did indeed keep that streak alive.
Sunday morning we hunted blinds in levees around the rice fields on a farm a few miles south of Monroe. Judd Lisenby, Brian Deloney, Gordon Markle, and I got another limit of ducks, a mixed bag of teal, gadwalls, and mallards. It was another fun hunt. The other four in our group had split between two other blinds and though they killed some ducks they did not limit out.
Several of us headed back for Alabama after lunch on Sunday as two more truckloads of reinforcements arrived from the Wiregrass. Hopefully the bitter cold weather that is moving across the country has pushed some new ducks down in time for our group's last hunt this morning.
For anyone interested in a duck hunt, I highly recommend the guys at Mallard Crossing. I think you would have as good of a chance at a limit of ducks on most every hunt as you would find anywhere.
I look forward to getting in the woods in the next week in search of a whitetail. It seems my time has been a bit limited here lately. I've gotten several pictures of some fine bucks taken around south Alabama recently and will feature them next week. If you have one to add, just send it on! Here's a sampling of some duck hunting photos from the weekend.
The "Tree Blind." This blind is capable of holding four to five hunters plus two guides and sits in the middle of 640 acres of flooded timber and is surrounded by a National Wildlife Refuge.
This photo was taken from the "Tree Blind."
Van, one of our guides, is holding our limit of mallards.
Inside the blind, we wait.
Gorden Markle, operator of Mallard Crossing, and his Lab, Semi.
"Semi" brings back a "Greenhead."
Judd Lisenby and Brian Deloney in our
Sunday morning location, a blind along a rice field levee.
"Semi" retrieves another duck.
(L to R) Judd Lisenby, Brian Deloney, William Malone
Now this is what I call "deer hunting weather." You can't ask for much more than this, only let's hope it sticks around awhile. I hope it lasts at least through January and the rut!
The biggest deer (by weight) that I have heard taken in these parts in years was harvested by the Pine Hill Police Chief's wife near Vineland in extreme eastern Marengo County. The deer had a nice rack and tipped the scales at 276 pounds! A photo of the buck ran in this past Wednesday's Wilcox Progressive Era, the Camden weekly newspaper. That's quite a big deer in an area with no farming activity.
Outfitter Russ Smith will be in the Wilcox County area this week and anyone interested in talking with this highly recommended guide will have an excellent opportunity to do so. He will likely be dining with friends at the Hunter's Run on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and I am told would welcome any inquires. Russ has put several local hunters on some fine hunts for game in North America and beyond.
My hunting this past week consisted of a Saturday morning spent in my climber watching over a few oaks that are dropping their last few acorns. I almost got a shot at a big fat doe but almost doesn't seem to provide much meat for the freezer. Maybe next time.
I am expecting pictures of a recent 145 B&C (green) killed in Marengo County to arrive any day now and will post them very soon.
We're now into December and typically a tough time for deer hunting in this area. The deer are well aware by now that they are "the hunted" and are becoming wiser by the day. With the rut still several weeks away, the best time to hunt is still in front of us.
I'm off on a Louisiana duck hunt this weekend and will have photos next Tuesday to show. I am told the ducks await us by the thousands and a fun time will be had I am sure.
November 28, 2000
Thanksgiving weekend brought a variety of weather conditions to south Alabama----rain and wind along with clear and cool weather. We saw a few small bucks and added one more doe to our harvest total. Overall, it was not real successful time in seeing any good racks.
My friends over at Pursley Creek Guide Service reported that their clients had a good bit of success during a 4-day hunt with them last week. They took several bucks, a few does, and saw lots of hogs.
The few acorns that there are in the Swamp are now falling quickly from the limbs and should not last much longer. I hope to get out and have some success in taking another doe or two with my sticks and string before they are gone. Once that happens, bowhunting gets a good bit tougher in the Swamp.
How's the hunting for you? Let us know. We'd love to hear. See you next week and War Eagle.
November 21, 2000
Brrrr! Now this is deer hunting weather! And you can bet the deer are on the move as well.
However, this past weekend was a miserable one for being outdoors. The cold rain lasted the entire day of Saturday and until near lunch on Sunday. I have not found deer to move much in the cold rain unless the rut is in full swing, which it is not. The reports I have gotten indicate that very few deer were taken in that time period and many out of town hunters had called it a weekend by noon Sunday.
But when the weather broke at mid-day on Sunday the deer began to feed. I saw lots of deer while hunting Sunday afternoon and it had to be the best afternoon of hunting for me so far. I'm still hunting with arrows and plan to do so for most of the season. I didn't fire a shot but saw a lot of deer.
I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and the opportunity to get in the woods a bit more than usual. I hope you can do the same.
For those in the Wilcox County area this weekend, don't forget about Hunter Appreciation Day being held held on Friday evening and Saturday in Pine Apple, in the eastern end of the county. They'll have lots of cooking, entertainment, and a big buck contest. Click here to find out all about it.
We'll have more news and hopefully some photos next week from the Swamp.
November 14, 2000
Much cooler weather has returned to the South and the deer are on the move. Conditions look to be near perfect for this weekend's opening of gun season.
I had the chance to get up in a tree a few times this weekend but did not draw blood. I saw a lot more deer on these two hunts in cooler weather than I had been seeing earlier in the season.
Over 3 inches of rain has fallen in the Swamp in the last week and the food plots are beginning to show some life. A lot of seed was lost in the three weeks between planting and the arrival of moisture so we are anxious to see just how good of a stand we will get. We'll know the outcome in a few more days.
We are seeing and hearing a good bit of hog activity this fall. Some seasons they have been nearly invisible and at other times they seem to be behind every tree. This season seems to be shaping up into more of the latter than the former. Though few have been taken so far, that will change.
Credible reports tell me that this past weekend yielded a fine bow kill in the nearby Bone Swamp woods, just north and across the river from the Horn Swamp. The buck had a heavy 10 point rack and weighed 225 pounds.
We're expected near freezing temperatures tonight. Isn't that nice?!
We gave them our best shot(s) this weekend! Several good friends and I gathered at the cabin for two days of serious bowhunting and, though the weather was less than perfect, we had a grand time and even drew a little blood here and there.
I enjoyed a full 48 hour stay in the Swamp and had time to really access the hunting conditions. I had expected that we had more acorns than we actually do. Some of the "big woods," large hardwood bottoms were void of any nuts. We found a tree here and there that was dropping a few and managed to have a bit of success under them. Thanks to the drought our food plots remain dormant and dusty.
Our little group ended up taking four deer and one small hog. We did not see a lot of deer, thanks to the near record high temperatures, but we made good on the few that we did see in range.
I really enjoyed the weekend myself. I have but a few opportunities during the season to hunt the entire weekend, arriving at the cabin on Friday night and not departing until well after dark on Sunday evening. This was one of those times. It is hard to really see what the deer are doing when you hunt only a half day or so in a week. An entire weekend or more gives you a good feel for the movement of the animals. It was also good to spend time with some friends that I don't see much anymore thanks to everyone's busy lives. Hunting is good for that----enjoying the outdoors with friends.
Todd Murphy - wild hog
Will Reaves - doe
Supper is served!
Hot, but camp isn't the camp without a fire.
Watching SEC football during a lunchbreak.And on Monday I heard the sweet sounds of the dust settling! We got ¾ of an inch of rain just after lunch on Monday and that will be a big boost to the area food plots and should get ours out of the ground. It was our first sprinkles in a month!
It's Election Day and please don't forget to cast your important vote for FREEDOM! I'm looking for an end to the assault on our Second Amendment rights and I feel like we'll have to go the Bushes to maintain our freedoms. It has been a tough eight years for gun owners and sportsmen.
October 31, 2000
Josh Smith and friends braved a hot, muggy weekend in the Swamp but were successful in taking the second and third does of the season. The mercury rose to a near record 86 degrees on Saturday as summertime refuses to give way.
The coming weekend will find several of my friends and I in the Swamp for a full weekend of hunting. With any luck we should get a deer or two and we'll have all the news and photos here next Tuesday.
Our food plots remain a dusty and barren ground. Another week has passed without a drop of rain and it looks like another will pass as well before we see the wet stuff again.
It is so dry at this point that I heard tell of a local hunter that put out several 100 gallon water troughs and he has been hunting over them, as the area he hunts has no creeks or ponds and all the standing water has long since disappeared. He has, reportedly, had some success with this method and it only underscores the seriousness of this drought.
Congrats to my friend Forrest Johnson who took a fine 8 point by arrow in south Dallas County last week. The buck weighed 200 pounds and sported a tall, heavy 8 point rack.
Lots more coming next week as we have a busy hunting weekend in store. Thanks for stopping by.
October 24, 2000
Deer season has gotten off to a slow start for me and will continue to do so for another weekend. I got out on Saturday morning for a while but did not see a deer. The day eventually warmed past 80 degrees and I have a hard time getting excited about deer hunting at that temperature. Other engagements kept me away from the woods on Sunday as well. We're several weekends away from slinging a bunch of arrows in the Swamp.
I could not believe that my seed, planted last week in the dust, was beginning to sprout. With no rain in sight that could be bad for the end results as they could wither and die before another shower arrives.
My father, for decades, has tallied the rain that has fallen at his house in Camden, Alabama. In the midst of a drought that many say is the worst since 1954 (some say worse) I recently asked him for his rainfall total for the year. Here are the results...
January 5.50" February 1.94" March 4.10" April 2.10" May 3.50" June 3.7" July .60" August .38" September 2.49" October (as of the 24th) .52" TOTAL 24.83 Considering the average rainfall here is about 58 inches, these figures show how severe this drought really is. At the current rate we will be fortunate to get one half of our annual rainfall this calendar year. We are only just beginning to see the effects of the drought on the plants, trees, and wildlife and one can't help but wonder how long it will last and how much worse it will get.
October 17, 2000
Dry. That's about all you say about it. These cypress knees featured above come from the same swamp as the photograph on the home page of this site. The knees rise 6 to 7 feet from the mud of the swamp. The photo shown here just reveals the old swamp void of all but a few inches of muddy water. At least one 12-foot alligator haunts this area of the Swamp but I imagine the drought has run him to the river in search of more fertile feeding grounds.
I was surprised to find in the old swamp the hull of an old boat (lower, right hand corner of photo) nearly covered in mud. No one remembers losing a boat in the swamp and I speculate that the boat could have been under the water for thirty years or more. I also wonder what other sunken treasures may lie exposed in the Swamp today?
Brad Powe turns under the seed with a cultipacker.
Dusty....dusty....dusty!Saturday was Food Plot Day in the Swamp. We started early and finished late, spreading the seed in the dust. We planted 8 plots this year totaling about 20 acres. We desperately need an inch of rain to get them growing and though a slight chance is expected this week, it doesn't appear to be much headed our way.
Elsewhere around the region, I am told that those that planted their plots in mid-September have already lost them to dry weather. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that won't happen to us.
Deer season for me began in fine fashion on the second day of the season. In the cabin on Saturday night I slept well, tired from a long day of work and anticipating the next morning's first hunt.
This season brings a bit more anticipation than those of the past several. This season I'm taking to the woods with a new bow, my first new bow ever. I've hunted for about 12 years now with "hand me down" bows---good ones---but all used. They served me well. But this year some good fortune and great connections landed me a bargain on a brand spanking new Hoyt Havoc, a split limbed, arrow chunking machine. I've even made the switch to carbon arrows and mechanical broadheads. I feel as though I'm on the cutting edge now after being behind the times for years and years. I have been looking forward to putting the new equipment to work. And it did not take long to do so.
As daylight crept through the woods, I climbed my favorite tree in a finger of hardwoods, surrounded by a 23-year old pine plantation. Water oaks are scattered through the area and usually have a few acorns. A newcomer to the woods would not see any particular spot to set up that would look better than the next. Yet, I have hunted this area so many times that I know there is a particular invisible corridor through the woods that the deer travel. You won't see a trail. You just have to have watched the deer enough to know.
Near eight o'clock I saw a deer feeding sixty yards away. Then I saw another. A bit later they were working my way just as I had anticipated. I stood ready as the lead doe headed my way, nibbling on acorns as she moved along. The last 30 steps toward me she came head-on, not providing a good shot. She got three yards from my tree and looked up! I didn't flinch, didn't look her in the eyes. A few tense moments later, sensing something was quite right she turned and began to tip back the way she came. But I had drawn my bow and she provided a slightly moving, quartering away shot. I took it.
The arrow zipped behind her shoulder, exited, and stuck in the ground. She jumped and ran. About 75 yards away I heard her hit the ground.
I hunted two other locations throughout the rest of the day and saw only two more deer at dusk. I hope your weekend was as enjoyable as mine.
October 10, 2000
Brrrr! Now that is deer hunting weather outside! For the second night in a row the temperature has dipped into the 30's. Monday's night's low of 36 was a record. The last few years we have been lucky to get such cool weather in January and can not even comprehend the fact that it would arrive in October.
The long anticipated day arrives on Saturday. Bowseason opens and the excitement continues to build with each passing day. Conditions look to be great for the first weekend.
I was in the Swamp late yesterday evening in the area of several water and live oaks. I heard many acorns falling to the ground. The frequency in which they were falling was consistent with what I normally see in mid to late November. I have a hunch that due to the dry conditions the trees are going to shed their acorns early this season.
The arrival of this cool front late last week brough 1/2 inch of rain and for some a little more. That will help the food plots that are already in the ground. But conditions remain extremely dry and we'll keep looking for more showers. Cold winters are usually wet as well. Warm winters are usually dry. After two warm and dry winters in a row I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the opposite effect this time around.
Our plans include planting our food plots this Saturday. Normally the first weekend of the season is hot and I don't mind doing some last minute chores so that things will be in order for the remainder of the season. Yet I think on Saturday as I while the hours away on the tractor I will long to be in a tree with my stick and string! I hope that's where Saturday will find you and that your luck will be good.
All is quiet here in the Horn Swamp. We've set our food plot planting day for October 14th. Yes, I know that's the first day of bowseason, but hey, it's a long season! There will be plenty of time to hunt. With the warm falls and late winters we have these days I am very hesitant about planting the plots too early. Conditions also remain extremely dry.
Hope your preparations are coming along. The season is almost upon us.
September 26, 2000
It's early Tuesday morning and still dark outside my house. My window is up and I can hear a nice breeze in the pines. The air that is stirring out there this morning is the source of my excitement. I just stepped out to check the thermometer and it read 56 degrees! Wow! That's what I call "bowhunting weather." Better yet, the highs for the next few days here in south Alabama are expected to be in the 70's----the low 70's! It seems as though deer season might be just around the corner.
And it most certainly is. The countdown ticker at the home page of this website seems to drive home that point each time I visit and likely the same for you. It can almost bring a sense of panic, though, as I have so much I want to do before that time arrives. Two "free" Saturdays remain and when the 3rd rolls around it will be time for the fun to begin.
Here in the Horn Swamp we're seeing lots of deer movement in conjunction with the cooler temperatures. Water and live oaks acorns are already dropping, which seems a bit early. They have not gone unnoticed by the deer. We have not planted food plots just yet, but continue to prepare the fields for the eventual planting near the middle of October. We've gotten a bit of rain, enough to grow plots, but the ground overall remains very dry.
A serious electrical storm blew through the area this past Thursday, striking many houses and other structures. Interestingly, it once again struck an old pine tree on our family's property in Camden. A earlier strike a number of years ago left a streak down one side and eventually caused the scar to rot all the way to the interior of the tree. When the lightning struck again on Thursday afternoon, the tree caught fire. Below you will see several pictures. A 45 foot chimney of fire burned inside the tree, finally going out about 16 hours later. Thankfully, an inch of rain had fallen with the storm and the fire did not spread. Several of the larger limbs broke off but for now, the hollow pine tree remains standing.
You don't want to be struck by such a powerful force of nature. This hunting season, if the approaching storm is of the electrical nature, take cover in vehicle or building or lay low in an open area, but certainly not under a tree!
September 19, 2000
The mood of the State Game Fish Department seems to center at wanting to do something about the poor buck/doe ratio in much of the state. Many of today's hunters were raised in an era that sought the rebuilding of the herd and therefore were taught to only take bucks. The does were needed to raise more young. In many areas that phase has passed.
Along came the Deer Management Assistance Program to aid landowners/hunters in reducing the deer herd on selected properties. The program was an excellent tool that could be used just where it was needed. And it still is.
But the last few years we've seen the liberalization
of the doe harvest, going from just 7 days to the
entire length of the season in south Alabama. Is the DMAP still needed? Yes, and no.
We've learned over the years with help of the DMAP and other sources of information, that the way to have a healthy deer herd is to keep it within the carrying capacity of the land, reducing the numbers by taking does. Furthermore, we know we have to eliminate the harvest of young bucks and take only a selected few of the middle-aged bucks and older bucks. The DMAP was an excellent program that allowed us doe tags and the ability to take the does anytime during the season. When we first started the DMAP, the regular doe season was only a week long.
Deer populations and herd conditions vary across mere counties and varies tremendously across the lower one half of the state where the liberal doe limit now exists. There are areas that absolutely can not afford to kill a lot of does even though the law allows for it. I hope that hunters in those less deer dense areas won't abuse the new regulations. The G&F has long held the belief that the hunter/landowner should be allowed the tools to manage his herd effectively and readily admits that if a club wants to run the herd in the ground they they can and will and the G&F can do little stop it.
But if you want to manage a piece a property effectively and have enough property to do it, this more liberal doe harvest limits just give you another "tool in your shed" to accomplish your goals, without the assistance of the DMAP.
So let's get back to the question I promised to answer this week. What are we planning to do in regards to our participation in the DMAP?
We started during the second or maybe the third year of the DMAP's existence, when a local game warden told us about the program and recommended it to us. It has served us most effectively. Yet now that we can legally take 2 does per day we have decided to end our official participation in the program. We will, however, keep true to our course of management and selection of deer to harvest. We'll take the same amount of does and keep the buck harvest to a minimum. We'll pull jawbones on the bucks and occasionally some does as well to age and analyze their condition. And we'll keep our own records for certain. After much coaching from the DMAP we feel we can go it alone. And many other clubs are telling me the same thing.
Here's the one real danger. What if the doe harvest is scaled back in the next few years? Where does that leave you? Well, I don't think that is going to happen in Wilcox County, or Dallas or Lowndes or many other of the counties in the Black Belt. However, some of the other counties in the extreme southern end of the state don't have the great population of deer that we have here and absolutely can not stand such a liberal doe harvest. The G&F could change its mind and scale back the counties that have this liberal harvest quota. Therefore, the area of your property/club should be a great consideration in determining whether or not to drop your participation.
Likely, you've already made your decision for this season and this rambling is just that--rambling.
The next issue sure to surface is where buck restrictions will come. If so, will there be a buck limit of say, six bucks, to replace the "buck a day" limit of the present. Or will there be antler point restrictions.
The G&F has indicated that if hunters don't improve the buck/doe ratio overall then a buck limit of some sort could be next.
That is not an issue that will have much of an effect on us. We already have tough restrictions on the harvest of bucks. It has allowed us to have a healthy herd and a more "hunter enjoyable" herd. We see lots of bucks on each hunt and that really makes it fun. Those that really care are already managing in this fashion. Those that don't care aren't likely to change much.
Personally, I don't think a buck limit would mean much. It doesn't on turkeys. I know plenty of folks who regularly take over the limit of turkeys. Unless a tag system is used then it is unenforceable and yet another unenforceable law is not what we need. Tags are used more in states where each animal has to be checked in at a station. That won't work in this state. Or maybe just do it on the honor system? See my earlier comment on turkeys.
So an antler point restriction would, by default, be the only way to go. It either has three points (or two) on at least one antler or it doesn't. It's pretty clear cut there.
I'm not saying that I support buck restrictions for everyone statewide. I know what a difference it has made for us and I recommend it highly, but it is not up to me what is done elsewhere. I'm just so thankful we don't kill every spike and four point that shows its face.
How 'bout that cool weather over the weekend? Did you like that? I sure did. It can only mean one thing! Dove season must be open and deer season must be a few short weeks away!
September 12, 2000
Welcome back!
What a long, hot, dry summer it has been here in Wilcox County, Alabama! The drought has been brutal at best. Local elders claim that they have never seen such an absence of rainfall since 1954. Some areas of the county have seen less than 3 inches of rain during the four month stretch that includes May, June, July, and August. Oak trees are dying or have died by the hundreds and the pine beetle has been on an absolute terror. A local bank thermometer topped out at 110 degrees on a mid-August afternoon, a limit that no one can recall witnessing in years past. Yet, life has gone on. And we've finally gotten a few little sprinkles in early September.
And we have been quite busy since we left you in early May. Soon after we recouped from turkey season, some friends and I got into some serious trotlining. We caught plenty of catfish and after quite a bit of boasting to some other fishing friends we soon had a catfishing tournament in the works. Six teams competed in the event and my team came in a close third, just four pounds out of first place. We did take the prize for the biggest catfish, a 33 lb. blue cat. You can read more about the fun we had at this link.
We eventually tired of the fishing and turned to merely playing on the river and eventually conjured up a big trip. After trailering the ski boats to Montgomery early one Saturday morning, we launched and made a 150 mile trip back home to Camden. Three boatloads of adventurers made the all-day adventure. A good time was had by all.
We managed to get after the hogs a few times as well with help of Osman Maness and his pack of hounds.
And after numerous weekends of this and that---attending weddings and making trips to Orange Beach---hunting season is again upon us and preparations are underway for yet another memorable season.
So what's new? Well, for one thing we have a Presidential race upon us. In less than two months we'll go to the polls (you're going aren't you?) to elect the next President of the greatest country on the face of the earth. Will we elect another President that cares nothing about the 2nd Amendment rights? Will the gun owners and hunters turn out in force? Unfortunately, if we haven't gotten a wake-call the last 8 years, there's nothing I could say that could have much of an impression on us. Just go vote. Please.
On another front, the State has liberalized the doe harvest for the lower one half of the state to 2 does per day. That's the big buzz circulating through deer camps these days. The limit stands at one buck and one doe per day, or two does per day for the entire season. That's a lot of deer. Numerous clubs are considering or have already made their decision to continue or discontinue their participation in the Deer Management Assistance Program. We'll talk about this in depth next week and I'll tell you what our plan is going to be. If you would like to make any comments about your club's future participation in the DMAP please send me an email to hornswamp@yahoo.com before next Tuesday.
As much of the southeast has been in a drought all summer many hunters are now likely wondering if their property will hold any acorns this fall. Contrary to many people's understanding of the matter, dry conditions don't have that much of an impact on acorn production. A frost occurring when the trees are budding in the spring can have a much more detrimental affect on the acorns than a drought, even a severe one. And that's not my opinion of the matter, it's scientific fact. I doubt anyone has had less rain than we have, yet I've seen a good crop of nuts on many of our oaks, at least the ones of them they are still alive. So even though your property may have experienced a lack of rain don't be surprised to see the deer feeding on acorns when you get to your stand this fall.
And what about food plots? I am scrambling to get my ground prepared but won't be planting anytime soon. I expect to put some seed in the ground in mid to late October. Army worms have been particularly bad this summer and most people suggest a late planting would be best in an effort to avoid the worms. In addition, our ground is awfully dry and rains have been very sparse.
My dove hunting days are few and far between here in the piney woods of Wilcox County. With most of the fields now planted in pine plantations, very little farmland remains and most shoots are held over tiny fields. If I get lucky I may get to go on a shoot or two at best. I've tried my hand at congregating doves myself but have not been successful at preparing a legal field. I hope your luck with the doves is better than mine. Yet this time of year brings back some mighty fond memories of my earlier days in the dove fields.
In the late 70's and early 80's there was quite a bit of land in the county in row cropping. Dove shoots were plentiful and so were the invites. The fields were huge and we often saw doves in the thousands. My dove hunting career began as a bird dog. Too young to carry a gun I retrieved the birds shot by my father. I eventually inherited a single shot 410 and so began my wingshooting days. I graduated to a 20 gauge and eventually to a 12 gauge in order to take advantage of our 12 gauge reloader. We shot a lot of shells in those days and reloading saved lots of money.
I have so many fond memories of those days. Our hunts were not unlike any other taking place in rural America. We gathered after lunch and the landowner/farmer would give the OK to enter the field. All would take their places, scrambling to get the best spots. We shot the same fields year after year and the best locations were certainly not a secret. Yet it would still be too hot for the doves to fly and the hunters would mingle for a few hours under the shade until the birds began to fly.
The Saturday afternoon the hunts were the best. In one camp a radio would be tuned to the Auburn game and another camp would be tuned to the Alabama game. Scores would be hollered out to those without radios and occasional hoops and hollers were a must when a big play was made. The birds would soon start stirring and the games played second fiddle for awhile. When the hunt was over the crowd again gathered around the trucks to talk doves, hunting, football, and you name what else. You've been there. You know. Those were good times and fond memories indeed.
And yes, are you doing it too? I thought you might be. It's OK. There's nothing wrong with it. I do it about this time each year as well. I look to the north for that first real cool front that signals the end of summer and a return to cool nights and pleasant days. A return of the weather I enjoy most as we all return to the woods we hold dear.
I look forward to our weekly posts here on this website and to another enjoyable season in God's Great Outdoors.
Home | Latest News | News Archives | Swamp Sleuth | The Swamp | Hog Hunting
Hog Trapping | Whitetail Deer | Eastern Wild Turkey | Swamp Scenes
Annual Rabbit Hunt | Photo Album | Horn Swamp Lodge | Catfish Page
Weather Page | Brittany Page | Annual Campout | Hunt Alabama
Friends of the Swamp | Camp Recipes | Great Outdoor Websites
Guestbook | Political Swamp | Wilcox County Links | About this site
