this was the twelfth Conecuh Springs Christian School hunt i have participated in. it is normally held the second to last weekend of january, in order to catch the rut in bullock county. as with the Gordo hunt, things happened that were beyond control and this school had to make changes from the norm. apparently, another school hunt changed their dates to coincide with Conecuh Springs. some of the landowners provide their property for both hunts. in order to avoid conflict and a last hour rush to obtain new properties to hunt, it was decided by the board members to move the date up one weekend. all hunters were contacted in december and asked if it was okay. apparently everyone, or the majority, agreed.

thursday - arrived at the school at the stroke of noon for registration/meet and greet/lunch. waivers were signed and we were given our schedule and t-shirt. met with our guides/landowners and chatted for a bit. it's always nice to see these folks and catch up with everyone - you know like family that you only see once a year - but it's family that you like .

**must add - boy has that chantilly parkway area grown. pike road area too. unreal what has been built in the year since we were there last. twelve years ago there wasn't much around but a gas station, now there are eleventy billion stores and res'rants, hotels too. best thing they have built is the veteran's clinic . i guess it's nice for the rural residents to come to town for shopping and entertainment but i sure don't like to see growth keep extending toward the happy hunting grounds.**

hunters from jaw-ja



lunch was a hot bowl of dee-licious turnip green soup (gotta stay warm for the hunt ), corn muffins, sweet/unsweet tea and assorted pies and cakes for desserts


a room, or gymnasium in this case, sure gets quiet when folks begin eating. guides/landowners to left, k-jun hunters to right


flaw-re-da kill everything that crawls, walks or runs hunters (hey, it's what two of them said)


after lunch we made haste to our lodging. it's the same place, just out of town, where we've stayed for pert near the last four hunts. it's on a 4,000 acre plantation. i don't think it's part of their regular lodging but it'll work for our needs. it's clean and quiet and you're guaranteed to see deer on the drive to or from and on the plantation itself. it's nice to have the amenities of home while your away. a refridgerator and washer and dryer are . we don't have to worry with an ice chest to keep milk and other drinks cold for baby girl. it's nice to have a stove and microvawe if you want some oatmeal or something hot for breakfast. the school offers continental breakfast for those hunters meeting their guides in the early morning hour before departing for their hunt. unless a new place is added, we know where we are hunting and therefore skip the continental breakfast and drive directly to where we are hunting or to our guide's home, where we then ride with him. works for us and allows us a little more shut-eye.










thursday evening hunt-
we were hunting off one of the main roads in bullock county. it's adjacent to a cattle farm (lots of these in the area). kinda nice to hear a moo-moo here and there ever onst in a while. i was hunting a shooting house at ground level. it is one i have hunted many times with great success. pete was 400 yards or so past me in a slightly elevated shooting house. i don't think we have ever switched stands. maybe next year.

my view had changed dramitically, as there had been a recent storm roll through bullock county. a huge tree had fallen across the opening of the green field. some limbs were cut but the viewing area wasn't completely clear. it was good enough for me though.

2:34 p.m. 74 degrees with 8 mph wind out of the southwest. it was a bit warm but not too bad as the shooting house was practically encased in the surrounding trees and bushes (thank you!). i didn't take note of the time but i heard some noise behind the shooting house to the left. i slowly peaked out the window and saw a doe entering the road about ten yards from me - she was close, wish i had the camera in hand but there was no way to reach for it with the proximity she was to me. she sauntered to the other side and stopped at a scrape; then she entered the woods to my forward left. i listened to her make her way through the undergrowth until all was quiet. about ten minutes later, i heard more noise originating from the same area the doe came earlier. this noise-maker was a spike . he followed the doe's path and after about twenty minutes, they both entered the green field. (i have to say i was happy just to see deer moving about in the temperature and moon phase)

some time later (no watch and i didn't look at phone), waaay back in the green field, i could see a dark image exit the woodline. it didn't move much so i thought it must be a buck checking out the kids in the field . binoculars showed a very dark colored doe . she was very cautious and took a long time before committing to the openess of the green field. once she got closer to the doe that entered the field with the spike, i could clearly see the size difference between the two . the first doe was a yearling - crossed her off the list. more time lapsed and another spike joined the scene. he was much bigger in body size and his antlers were twice the length of the first spike; if i wanted a spike, he would be the one. time was ticking and it was getting darker. i watched these deer for forty forevers and decided that i would take the dark colored mature doe.

before i could accomplish that, the young spike began making his way toward the fallen tree . ruh-roh raggy! the larger spike had been very wary of the shooting house. it was not in it's normal place and he knew it. when the tree fell, someone moved the shooting house because the view was completely blocked. maybe they didn't have time to cut all of the tree and move it so they just lightly limbed it and moved the house. the big spike kept his eye on it as he grazed about. he followed the small spike up the field until the smaller one turned to the right and went behind a clump of grass and small trees. i couldn't see him but the larger spike would look his way and then my way and then he would eat. this went on for about five minutes until the big spike alerted to his right. i know for a solid five minutes he offered me the prettiest broadside shot ever seen. he didn't flinch. i figured big-boy was on his way and got my rifle from the corner and placed it in my lap. after i watched the deer for a bit more, i decided i best be ready for the big-boy to make a grand appearance. i gently put the barrel out the window and w-a-i--t-e-d. it didn't take long and that big spike spun a 180 and was out of there so fast he took the dust with him . the little spike didn't stay either and he was out like a lightning bolt too. in a whirlwind reaction to the spikes speedy exit, the yearling and mature doe were fast on their feet and exited stage right in a blur. whoo-wee! must be a brute coming in and they don't want any part of him .

this is a picture from two years ago showing the original setup of the shooting house


this was the view then


setup after the storm - shooting house sits just into the road


new view...juuussst a bit diff'rent


and now, back to the deer hunting story...

when the deer left, i'm talking as soon as they were crashing and tearing through the woods to the right, a hog zoomed across the field from left to right. zoom-zoom, there went another. in my mind, which is in slow motion mode right now trying to process what my eyes had seen, i'm saying, "dang, there went a hog! dang, there went another hog! .

well, if there's one hog, there's two. if there's two...you know.
when the next one entered the field at full gallop, i popped it. it was tan with black spots. down it went. another one entered the field, and another, and another. there were big 'uns and little 'uns. they was fast. i was thinking, again in slow motion doing the ol' processing what i had just seen thing when i said, "self, you can shoot those too!" i racked the bolt and put another cartridge in the pipe and let 'er rip. black hog down, i repeat black hog down. well, it seems when one commences to shooting hogs and one goes down, the remaining hogs seem to scramble about, unsure what they should do. maybe i took out the head honcho, the leader. maybe they were trying to establish new leadership. it was chaos on a small level. some went left, some went right, some ran into each other, that was funny . **think chinese fire drill.** when the second one went down, the remaining got their composure and just kind of stood around. maybe they knew their fate and conceded. just behind the tan and black one was another tan and black one with a little one in front of it, both forward facing. i let one fly to the big one and it and the little one went back into the woods from the side they entered.

all of that shooting happened very quickly i guess because i received a text from pete that simply stated, "damn". in my mind, it was slow and methodical but from outside my noggin, i guess it was split second fast and instinctual. another hunter that had been across the road later asked if it was a semi-automatic i was shooting. guess i was spitting 'em out pretty fast .
i texted the guide to let him know to send someone, as i had two hogs on the ground and one in the woods and that pete had a nice deer on the ground. i didn't get a reply so i thought i had the wrong number for texting so i called one of three numbers that i had. after we hung up, no more than forty-five seconds later, the first hog that i shot (the single tan with black spots) got up and re-entered the woods . darn, never seen that before. it was kicking about a bit but i figured about two minutes of that and it would be napping. don't know what happened with that. we found blood where it had laid and the guys tracked it but could not recover. never found blood where the third one was (maybe my psyche wouldn't let me have the best shot on that one since the baby was in front of it, both forward facing...nah! that one will just be unanswered).

he smelled terrible. i thought it was the blood i was smelling but the guys said no, that was musk (funky, yucky smell is what it is). i have never had the pleasure of smelling a boar hog in the wild until this point. nasty. no one wanted it at the skinning shed and it went on the gut wagon.


pete's deer










8 point with 17 inch spread if that's important. i don't measure antlers, just eat the meat. i think it was the best one brought in that night - not positive as i didn't stay at the skinning shed late.

total for thursday evening hunt - 15 deer / 2 hogs

rest of hunt continued later...

Another great story Brenda. Good job on the hogs and nice deer Pete.

Hey Rick. We sure could have used you & Tatter Salad at this hunt

Definitely going to look into it next year.

Great job. Nice pics and a great buck

Nice biography.

Good story and congrats on the good deer and pigs.

Good read, thanks for sharing

Good story & nice buck.

How does one find out about this hunt for next year? Might take my grandsons......

Brenda, I'm beginning to think you are only in it for the vittles !



Glad ya'll had a great time.

Good Story and nice buck!

I'd be interested in knowing how much that buck weighed. Looks like a hoss.

I'm ready to hear more.

I wish you'd go on more hunts just so I could read the write us! You're one heck of a story teller!

Certainly enjoy your posts and great shooting.

Cool story.....

the school sends information out to the returning hunters in july. if there are any available spots left, they can be taken in august. call Conecuh Springs Christian School in Union Springs around the 1st of august and they will be able to let you know if they are taking new hunters. most everyone returns to this hunt. over the years, we've lost two of the long time hunters. one fella had been coming for the same amount of time as me. his buddy still makes the trip from louisiana but he brings his wife now. he's our oldest hunter and most times doesn't do too well (think it's his eyesight, as the guides have put him on some jam-up deer but he doesn't connect. sometimes the guide will go with him and take the shot if he hasn't got any meat by the end of the hunt. we usually give him one of our deer). it's like a big family and everyone is real social, 'cept one group from florida. they kinda stand off to themselves and don't really mingle.

back to the hunt

friday morning we were placed south of town down a dirt road. beautiful woods but i have never taken a deer there during the a.m. hunting hours. i keep going back for more in hopes that that particular hunt will be the one. some places are like that - better at a certain time of day. there is a large pecan farm two parcels over from us and it sounded as if there were two hundred crows working those trees. can't have a peaceful hunt for nothing . i'm listening to those darn things sound off and look up the green field to see a doe crossing the very tip of the east end. i could have gotten a shot off before she entered the woods but i did not. nothing for the remainder of the hunt on this field except a spike. he got a pass also. pete saw a doe and let her go. we normally will take a few does and sometimes, i will take a spike if i haven't got a chance at a better buck. i don't know what it was about this hunt but i just didn't have it in me to drop 'em like flies. i think it was the weather. i don't hunt when it is hot but we had already paid for the hunt so we had to make hay. i did have a buddy that hung around on the stand for close to an hour. he was trying to warm up. the morning hunts were cool. not cold enough for a jacket but cool enough to have on a long sleeve undershirt and a thin hoodie. the afternoon hunts were dang hot and it was short sleeve time until the sun began to go down. you could feel the coolness around 4:30 each afternoon.

my ladderstand buddy


view to my right


stopped at the skinning shed to see what was brought in. i usually hang around to get some pictures of the bucks but just didn't this go 'round


guides/landowners


these fellas make the drive from somewhere north of new orleans


guide/landowner and hunter


hunters - pete is on the left. the one on the right is the one who lost his buddy a couple of years back. his friend was an amputee and i was reminded, during this hunt, about the first hunt's steak night. i offered to cut the gentleman's steak for him. his buddy retold the story before we left saturday night. talk about a flashback. made me teary eyed listening to the way the fella remembered a little kindness showed to his old friend


saturday afternoon hunt. 79 degrees (maybe 77). very light breeze every now and then. i was hunting different area than pete. he chose to return to the happy hunting grounds where he took the nice 8 point the previous evening. i opted for an area that had had a major facelift over the course of the year. landowner did a lot of work on his place. this shooting house was some kind of hot. it wasn't tucked into the trees like the other one was. it was wide azz open and it was a sun attractor - like a lightning attractor, only different . i had to take the boots and socks off in here. woo-wee, did i mention it was hot?


had a pretty green field in a small holler below


this was the view from the same stand two years ago