This is my buck on opening day this season. Late in the day this big buck walked out of the woods and just stood there. I had to get help from my brother, Paul, to load this deer to take back to camp. And I also needed some help with hanging up and processing the deer meat.
Deer have been moving and we had a great opening weekend. Lots more time as we should very soon in the rut. So, the CPHC will be active again soon.
Hunting photos from the CPHC in 2024-2025.
Here is the CPHC team on opening weekend of the fall deer season. We had a great opening day harvest with nine deer. You can see photos in the album.
Conditions were just about perfect. Sunny, cool and dry. We saw more than one buck following does and harvested a mix. So, there is venison in the coolers and we enjoyed spending time in the woods and camp. It was relaxing but there is also quite a bit of work that goes with it. We skin/de-bone the deer and put the meat in coolers with salt and ice. As that melts we drain them and add more salt and ice. It’s a good brine and we usually keep it in there for a week or more before cutting up for packing and processing. That’s my next job this week!
So, there are lots more opportunities for the CPHC this season. Hope to see you from there again soon.
The only time I got to hunt during the 2022-23 season was opening weekend and a couple days. However, it was successful. This was a late day buck I harvested from a ground blind. He was a big body, making me think he was not young. However, he did have a nice rack and it had a lot of red color in it, although that doesn’t show well in the photo.
We not more deer on this first hunt and when other team members were on site. We’re preparing for the 2023-24 season already and hoping for an another great and safe time in the woods on the Pig.
Here are some photos from our hunt: 2022-23 CPHC Photo Album
It’s a new season, deer season that is. The founders of the Crystal Pig Hunt Club have been hunting together continuously for over 30 years. We’ve used a wide variety of vehicles to work on the property and camps to get ready each year as well as getting to our stands and bringing our harvest back to camp. That’s what we have put this loaner from Can-Am to work with on opening weekend of deer season.
It was a very successful hunt. We harvested three does and two bucks between the five of us who were able to be there last weekend. We’ll be back soon though since the annual rut for deer is at its peak during the first couple weeks of November.
The Can-Am Defender made the whole experience even more enjoyable. This unit has a cab with ac/heat, automatic windows and more great features. I’ll be writing about our experience on AgWired soon. Thank you Can-Am.
Here’s how the Defender looks in the woods: 2022 Hunting with a Can-Am Photo Album
The opening days of the 2021 deer season were beautiful and successful. Eli bagged a monster buck on opening day. This is the best rack we’ve brought to camp yet.
We harvested a few more deer including some does and a large body spike.
Most of the team was on hand for all or part of our first hunt of the season. We spent more time cleaning up our camp area, fixing and filling feeders and the continuous job of mowing trails and roads. The Pig is in good shape and we’ll be back out at the next opportunity.
It’s that time. Time to mow trails and around stands, filling up feeders and making sure they’re working, doing more camp organization and repairing various things. Most of the CPHC Team is on location to get things done.
The summer has had perfect weather for growing grass and weeds. In fact, it is probably the thickest we’ve ever seen it. In addition to mowing we’ve also had to clear low tree branches that have grown across the narrow part of our trails.
At camp we’ve been getting rid of items that seem to collect on their own and are never needed. Our camper needed some repair work and now it’s working great. We had an AC problem which is pretty important on a hot summer day!
We’ll need at least one more weekend like this before mid-October and we should be ready to harvest some venison! And probably some pork.
It was a beautiful but hot and humid day at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club. I spent a couple days mowing the yard and the path to our closest feeder, straightening up camp, taking a few large bags of “stuff” to the dumpster, cleaning inside the RV, spraying lots of bug spray and weed killer, spread fire ant killer, changed oil in generator which is a backup now that we have electric installed and more.
Our biggest issue has been mice in the RV. It’s a constant battle. We’re trying some new tactics this year and hopefully they will work.
So, camp is in pretty good shape since it will be a while before we can get back out. We’ll get trails mowed soon and then again just prior to season.
It is a challenge to get the whole team together anymore since the “young guns” have jobs.
You can see photos from this year and the fall season as we get them in this online album: 2021-22 CPHC Photo Album
This deer season at my mid-Georgia hunting lease property I was selected to test drive a John Deere Gator XUV 855M S4 model year 2021. I’ve been deer hunting for over 30 years and my Crystal Pig Hunt Club buddies and I have test driven a number of vehicles. I have to say I got most excited about them when we moved from 4-wheelers to utility vehicles. This is the second Gator we’ve used and it’s a beauty. Our local dealer, Blanchard Equipment, delivered the unit which had brush guards and front/back windows attached. Those are very handy for the amount of weeds and vines we have to run through. This is also the first diesel I’ve tested too.
So, let’s get started with a little bit about what’s new on this model that I was most impressed with. This includes improvements to the transmission controls, digital displays, gear positions and power steering. The power steering is huge when you’ve got very tight turns that come up fast!
Some of the key uses for a Gator for us include hauling corn to fill feeders, getting to and from stands and hauling a harvested deer back to camp which also includes driving a little off trail in the woods to get to it. The standard lights package also provides more visibility at night than any vehicle I’ve driven and that’s great for those end of the day hunts.
Likes: Power, hey it’s a diesel. Two seats for comfort and back seat flips into a table with storage compartments below that. Digital display to see what gear we’re in along with speed, fuel level and messaging. One touch 4-wheel drive. Super responsive power steering. Much more comfortable suspension for rugged trails. Very easy cargo bed dump control.
Suggestions: Cup holders need to move away from transmission stick. I know this sounds minor but you can’t put a full size tumbler there. Seat side rails need some cushion. Very easy to catch on them sitting down onto the seat, especially a big body. If you’re hunting, a gun rack accessory is a must. I also think a winch is too. Too many times over the years they have been more than worth it.
In the video you can see some footage of the Gator in action and I end with a recap on location before the unit was returned to John Deere.
I want to thank John Deere for allowing me and my hunt camp members to use one of the newest Gator models. We have had a very successful season and using a Gator made it very enjoyable. Hope we can do it all again next year.
If you would like to see some photos of the Gator in the field you can find lots of them here: John Deere Gator Hunt Photo Album
We had the best weather for opening days of the season at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club that we’ve had yet and took advantage of it to harvest a few deer. Paul and I got these bucks on the same afternoon. We have seen some much larger racks and will be back, hopefully during the rut.
We saw a lot of deer and mostly does. I had a spike buck walk up underneath me while sitting in my stand. He literally sniffed the foot of the ladder. I let him go since we have lots of better choices and maybe he’ll be back nest year.
A couple of us were on site before opening day and glad we did that. Basically, all our feeders were not working for different reasons. We had to change motors, batteries, re-program and refill. Of course, it’s a good workout. But the property is in the best shape for hunting since we leased it.
One of the most significant improvements to our camp is the installation of electricity. We’re run a lot of hours on generators over the years and now everything is quiet and we have lots of outlets to handle everything we need electricity for.
Big thanks go out to John Deere for the use of a new Gator which we’re test driving, making notes and will be writing about soon.
I’ve got updated photos from our hunt. 2020 Crystal Pig Hunt Club Photo Album
This is an exciting time for deer hunters. The season is about to get started for those of us who hunt in Georgia. So, preparations are being made for a great opening day at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club.
My preparation includes getting to test drive a new John Deere Gator XUV855M S4. This crossover utility vehicle will take us out into the woods over some tough terrain and hopefully to include transporting some of our harvest. I’ll be documenting our experience but thought I’d kick start things with an interview with Mark Davey, John Deere Marketing Manager, in my weekly podcast, The ZimmCast.
There are many features on these new Gators that make them ideal for hunting. Some of those include easier shifting and instant engagement of 4-wheel drive, better power steering and a digital display panel to see important indicators. In this week’s program Mark and I talk about the new Gator models and what the key updates are. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 657 - 2020 Hunting John Deere Gator Style (15:57)
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