Got my hunting license!

[ponycarman]

I finally finished up the hunters safety course yesterday and went to take the test today. I am now licensed to hunt in south carolina! Yay!!! I'm so excited

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[etprescottazusa91]

That's awesome to hear. After years of missing our draw i'm having a chance at a deer this November also, good luck to you!!!

[ponycarman]

Thanks! Ive still got to line up done hunting partners but I suppose the license is the first step . Good luck on your hunt as well

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[Mike]

I finally finished up the hunters safety course yesterday and went to take the test today. I am now licensed to hunt in south carolina! Yay!!! I'm so excited

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Congratulations, you will have more fun than you can imagine hunting!

One advantage to being older is that I didn't have to take the training course when I got my first license in the US earlier this year, it's about the only advantage I've found to being old.

[Junk Yard Dog]

[ponycarman]

Congratulations, you will have more fun than you can imagine hunting!

One advantage to being older is that I didn't have to take the training course when I got my first license in the US earlier this year, it's about the only advantage I've found to being old.

Thanks! I can wait to get in the woods . There is a rule like that here as well. But I'm not quite old enough to qualify haha

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[WeldonHunter]

That's very cool. You'll have fun. It can get boring but there's nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere with little to no signs of the outside world. Last couple of years I've had a squirrel that would come up to the stand in the tree next to it and give me hell for being in his area.

[ponycarman]

That's very cool. You'll have fun. It can get boring but there's nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere with little to no signs of the outside world. Last couple of years I've had a squirrel that would come up to the stand in the tree next to it and give me hell for being in his area.

Thanks weldon! Be careful with them squirrels, they can be feisty . I think I'm going to like it though. I've always loved being outside and the woods.

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[Mike]

That's very cool. You'll have fun. It can get boring but there's nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere with little to no signs of the outside world. Last couple of years I've had a squirrel that would come up to the stand in the tree next to it and give me hell for being in his area.

Squirrel season and deer season overlap here - problem solved.

[etprescottazusa91]

That's very cool. You'll have fun. It can get boring but there's nothing like being out in the middle of nowhere with little to no signs of the outside world. Last couple of years I've had a squirrel that would come up to the stand in the tree next to it and give me hell for being in his area.

I had a chipmunk once when I was a kid in the middle of old growth in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon sit down next to me while I ate my sack lunch and eat Ruffle potato chips out of my hand.

[desdem12]

Congrats Pony Have a great year and good luck. There is nothin like bein in the woods mano y deer
Chipmunks are my sworn enemy. I hate them camp robbin critters with a firey hatred. I have a ruger blackhawk pellet rifle just for such hated game so they can have a lead final dinner.

[ponycarman]

Thanks des! I will be happy to just make it into the woods this year and maybe see some wildlife haha. One of the friends I hope I can go with said he has been hunting for 4+ years and still hasnt killed a deer . I dont think he is as devoted to hunting as the other friend that hunts with him. I hope I can get out there this season but I would love to be sucessful as well.

[desdem12]

I don't kill one every year either. I have hunted my brains out before but now i hunt smart and hard. It comes with the territory though. I know alot about where i hunt and what happens with what conditions. For inatance i know that if it rains there is a better spot or 2 to hunt then if it is dry. If it is wet the whole time then there is a completely different area i need to be in and if it is hot and dry then i head for the high ground. If i can help you out any i would pay attention to the locals where you are hunting and the old timers as well. Of course i hunt mule deer which is not as easy as those whiteys.

[ponycarman]

I'm going to try my best this year. I'm not extremely well connected to have friends to teach me and stuff here. And to be honest, starting out its kinda daunting. I'm keeping my eyes open for anyone that can give me tips in my area. Or anyone that wouldn't mind a tag along or apprentice haha.

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[WeldonHunter]

I'm going to try my best this year. I'm not extremely well connected to have friends to teach me and stuff here. And to be honest, starting out its kinda daunting. I'm keeping my eyes open for anyone that can give me tips in my area. Or anyone that wouldn't mind a tag along or apprentice haha.

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Yeah I just went down and renewed mine the other day. Then I went back to the mineral licks and put new blocks out and swept out the stand. I took pitures and will make a post later. The deer have eaten/dug out the one site about a foot and a half again. I really need to refill it but that'll have to wait. The bucks are making horns now and I was already late recharging the sites as it was.
Are you going to butcher what you get yourself or take it to a processor?

[ponycarman]

If I actually get a deer it will go to a processor. One step at a time haha. I'm not ready for that step yet. If I go on some small game hunts I will attemp to do the cleaning and everything myself.

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[WeldonHunter]

If I actually get a deer it will go to a processor. One step at a time haha. I'm not ready for that step yet. If I go on some small game hunts I will attemp to do the cleaning and everything myself.

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Lot of guys around here take them to a processor. I think you're wise taking it a step at a time. If you're going to continue hunting it's all stuff that comes with time and experience. Butchering an animal that size is fair amount of work. I do as much as I can the first day but usually have a cooler in the mudroom I keep what I haven't finished in and do the rest the next day. I do it all myself. Only help I get is from the dog and cat who both stand by begging for scraps, lol. They both eat so much they can hardly move. I also grind a fair amount. Hand grinder too. I really need to get an electric one.

[ponycarman]

Yeah I figured it was a bunch of work. Right now even if I wanted to do it myself I have nowhere to. I'm really hoping to be able to get in the woods this season. But I guess if I don't get to much at least I will get some more fishing and possible small game hunting in.

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[desdem12]

Butchering is not as hard as it seems....in mind anyway. If it looks like a steak or roast make it so. If not make it hamburger. I have even turned one whole deer into jerky before. But a processor is a good idea too. I was raised as a meat cutters son on a cattle ranch so i always cut up my own. THe last one i did on a folding table in the living room of an apartment. It was hard work for a semi cripple. My son did help bone a little though. It did take me a few days though. Get out as much as you can and you will learn. Remember luck is made too. I had an old guy tell me that you couldn't shoot a deer if you were in camp all the time. Well i found out that is not true as they can and will run through camp, just don't shoot the car. I do a very little road hunting when my son was younger. I would always catch him watching the road, I would say the deer are not in the road, you need to watch the tree line and meadows! So we go on down the road and the boy yells out theres a deer theres a deer!! I say where, To which he replies(dryly) There, runnin down the road. I learned that they run down the pavement also as i shot one after i followed it down the pavement for about a third of a mile before it stepped off the road and let me get out and walk off the road and shoot it. SO they are not all hard but i like the woods now days. IT is much more satisfying and fun for me. Luck never hurts though. You will be fine i am sure. Experience never ever hurts whether it is good or bad you can learn. Have fun and good luck.
AS for refilling the licks and sweeping out the stand, sounds like it is fish in a barrel. Not so here but i wouldn't mind one try at that if i could stay awake.

[ponycarman]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'm still uneasy about it. Not about the actual hunting and shooting part, but I feel like a fish out of water with this. And truely know nother about it. I don't know anything about the hunting grounds. Where they are or anything about them. It's way out of my comfort zone. And I guess thats where Im a little frustrated because I was counting on going along with someone to test the waters and learn as much as I could. But those that I was going with either moved away or aren't very reliable. I'm sure I'm probably over thinking it and it will all work out but I can't help it ahhh