My dad and I enter the SC DNR lottery for deer hunts each year in the coastal area. This year we were drawn to hunt Hamilton Ridge down on the Ga boarder. The property was 13000 plus acres and had two other DNR properties on one side. They said they had over nine miles of riverfront. All of their hunts are three deer max with one being allowed to be a buck and the rest does or you could shoot three does. Bucks have to have a 12" outside spread or four points on one side to be legal. This particular property has no stands and hunters are responsible for their own stands. So we scouted the area earlier in the week and picked out a couple areas that looked promising. Well day one is an evening hunt. I was hunting a small knoll with a couple of oak trees in a small opening. It had just rained when I settled in on the stand and the mosquitos came out in force. I checked my bag for my insect repellant and realized it was in Charleston . Well these little buggers were able to drill through my gloves and strike blood on my hands in less than an hour. Then two does stepped out and started eating acorns. I checked and ensured they were does with the binoculars then sat back and watched them. The bigger doe would keep looking back over her shoulder in the woods where they had exited. I was hoping a love sick buck might step out. However after a while they quit looking and just kept eating. As the evening was drawing to a close and my freezer is empty I harvested the bigger doe. One shot at the base of the neck and she went down quick and painless. The DNR rep. pulled her jawbone and said she was about 2.5 years old and weighed just under 100 pounds. The second doe stayed in the opening until dark so I didn't even lose my buck bait what luck. My dad missed a head shot on another doe. The second morning I saw the hind end of one hog as it ran across the road bed. Then about thirty minutes later a big deer crossed the road near where I saw the hog. However, at the distance he was at I didn't know whether it was a really big doe or a buck. And if it was a buck whether it met the requirements so I let it pass. After the hunt I went down and trimmed the branches back and gave myself a wider shooting lane and more time to id deer. That evening I saw at least 12 hogs and harvested one at 95 pounds for the record it is hard to do a neck shot on a hog, next time I think I will do a head shot it is a bigger target. My first hog was a sow and all black. There was a pretty red hog about the same size that kept moving when it entered the field and never returned. There was also a bigger hog that wouldn't get out in the open (I guess we know how it got to be big) well I was impatient and didn't want my to miss my chance to get my first. That evening when we came out of the woods my dad had that kid who just lost his dog look on his face. I asked him what was wrong and he pulled his rifle off his shoulder. He had a screw come out of the scope base. Well we weren't exactly in a major area and it was late so the gun was down for the morning hunt. On Saturday morning we weren't succesful at finding a screw and with the rain settling in decided to go ahead and call it a day. So we went in to pull stands after the morning hunt was over. On the way in at eleven in the morning I pulled up to my stand on my bicycle and saw a VERY NICE deer for coastal SC standing underneath the oaks with a doe. Oh well at least I saw him and know where to go next year if I get drawn for there again. All animals harvested have to be checked beofre leaving. DNR records all info and by Friday night with about 40 hunters we had harvested 12 deer, and about 12 hogs. The scales at the checkpoint only went to 200 pounds and they took a couple of hogs that couldn't be weighed without breaking the scales. The guy who shot the biggest hog (it was a STUD) saw one on Friday that he said was bigger. The pigs are an invasive species down there and DNR needed them out. There studies show the pig herd needs a 75% reduction to keep from destroying the place and apparently they reproduce like rabbits. They have several upcoming pig hunts that are open hunts and not draw hunts. If anyone is interested I can pass the info along. I will be there because the first two meals from the pig tased great. I also learned after the fact that for eating a pig around 100 pounds is ideal according to the others hunters and DNR. The biggest pigs tend to be strong tasting and I can tell you that mine was not strong at all. My dad got half of the pig and we still ended up with plenty of meat. No pics because I didn't think about it until the pig was on the spread tree and I was to dirty to touch the camera. I will see if some of the pics of the armadillos and turkeys are any good when he downloads them.
First Hog
. Well these little buggers were able to drill through my gloves and strike blood on my hands in less than an hour. Then two does stepped out and started eating acorns. I checked and ensured they were does with the binoculars then sat back and watched them. The bigger doe would keep looking back over her shoulder in the woods where they had exited. I was hoping a love sick buck might step out. However after a while they quit looking and just kept eating. As the evening was drawing to a close and my freezer is empty I harvested the bigger doe. One shot at the base of the neck and she went down quick and painless. The DNR rep. pulled her jawbone and said she was about 2.5 years old and weighed just under 100 pounds. The second doe stayed in the opening until dark so I didn't even lose my buck bait what luck. My dad missed a head shot on another doe. The second morning I saw the hind end of one hog as it ran across the road bed. Then about thirty minutes later a big deer crossed the road near where I saw the hog. However, at the distance he was at I didn't know whether it was a really big doe or a buck. And if it was a buck whether it met the requirements so I let it pass. After the hunt I went down and trimmed the branches back and gave myself a wider shooting lane and more time to id deer. That evening I saw at least 12 hogs and harvested one at 95 pounds for the record it is hard to do a neck shot on a hog, next time I think I will do a head shot it is a bigger target. My first hog 
was a sow and all black. There was a pretty red hog about the same size that kept moving when it entered the field and never returned. There was also a bigger hog that wouldn't get out in the open (I guess we know how it got to be big) well I was impatient and didn't want my to miss my chance to get my first. That evening when we came out of the woods my dad had that kid who just lost his dog look on his face. I asked him what was wrong and he pulled his rifle off his shoulder. He had a screw come out of the scope base. Well we weren't exactly in a major area and it was late so the gun was down for the morning hunt. On Saturday morning we weren't succesful at finding a screw and with the rain settling in decided to go ahead and call it a day. So we went in to pull stands after the morning hunt was over. On the way in at eleven in the morning I pulled up to my stand on my bicycle and saw a VERY NICE deer for coastal SC standing underneath the oaks with a doe. Oh well at least I saw him and know where to go next year if I get drawn for there again. All animals harvested have to be checked beofre leaving. DNR records all info and by Friday night with about 40 hunters we had harvested 12 deer, and about 12 hogs. The scales at the checkpoint only went to 200 pounds and they took a couple of hogs that couldn't be weighed without breaking the scales. The guy who shot the biggest hog (it was a STUD) saw one on Friday that he said was bigger. The pigs are an invasive species down there and DNR needed them out. There studies show the pig herd needs a 75% reduction to keep from destroying the place and apparently they reproduce like rabbits. They have several upcoming pig hunts that are open hunts and not draw hunts. If anyone is interested I can pass the info along. I will be there because the first two meals from the pig tased great. I also learned after the fact that for eating a pig around 100 pounds is ideal according to the others hunters and DNR. The biggest pigs tend to be strong tasting and I can tell you that mine was not strong at all. My dad got half of the pig and we still ended up with plenty of meat. No pics because I didn't think about it until the pig was on the spread tree and I was to dirty to touch the camera. I will see if some of the pics of the armadillos and turkeys are any good when he downloads them.
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