South Carolina Woodcock
 

Many firsts for me...first time to fly with a gun, first time to ever see a woodcock and first time to hunt in rubber boots. Gum Leaf boots are very comfortable to wear and definitely necessary. The rivers in SC were all way above flood stages. I now understand everyone’s affection for woodcock! Just love them! Our best day we moved 18 birds in 2 hours. The shooting in that stuff is dang tough for a short grass open prairie guy! Can’t wait to go back next year!

Looks awesome!

Not to derail your thread, but which type of Gum Leaf boots did you buy?

I have been thinking about buying a new pair of knee boots since a discovered a hole in my Muck boots.

I got the Viking Tex that's not insulated

Shawn did you hunt with a guide or just go on your own? Nice pics!

Indian guide :rotf: I hunted with Matt Lee who's an oral surgeon from SC and a Parker fan as well as a member on here.

Shawn - Which of those two fellows is you?





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The uglier one! :)


The first one :eek:

Probably werent able to bring your dogs, were you? Would have been great exposing them to woodcock--they would have done fine, no easier bird for a dog to handle.
Ina few weeks we will start finding woodcock here as they begin their migration north again, usually start to find them by mid February--no season then, just out looking for them and get the dogs some exercise.

Oh - the old guy. :rotf:





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I am hoping to get in some woodcock hunting before the season goes out.

Mills, leave some to come back north so we can hunt them next fall:rotf:

This thread got me to thinking and i realized that they are hunted from Sept in Canada, with a limit of 8 i think, until at least Jan. here. That seems like a lot of time. It did not matter when years back Evans said once they passed him no one bothered them. As they migrate they are subject to a 5 month season. Food for thought and i am not being critical of you southerners at all, just wish i was with you.

I've always thought that 8 bird limit a bit excssive, and figured they would drop it, but hasnt happened. I remember when we could shoot 5/day in Michigan, and we did, but we cut back on our own before they dropped the limit to 3. Only shot at 2 this year, and thought the one was a grouse going out off a spruce copse in the snow--of course I got that one.

For a migrational bird that is incredibly excessive and should be reduced to 4 birds per day (8 possession) per state... and the season per state should be capped as well to 21 days/state.





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It is 3 a day in Georgia and that is fine with me.

Almost no one hunts them in Georgia. I think the total killed in the state is about 500 a year

Great topic! I'm a recent transplant to SC from the northeast and grew up on woodcock and grouse (still spend the month of October up near the Canadian border and a couple weeks in SD every year since retired.) We have 2 bird dogs (and an old Parker) that would love to find a woodcock or two down here in SC but I am clueless as to what kind of cover to find woodcock here. We did hear the mating ritual in a half grown up and swampy woodlot late last winter...I assume the muck boots is a clue same as up north? Any guidance would be appreciated.
On a happy note we have found a couple wild quail on national forest WMA land but they are few and far between!