Taylor,
Thank you for the great experience of hunting in North Carolina at Spruill’s Pasture. The accommodations were great. The hunting was awesome we seen a lot of different animals from deer, turkey, wild boar, and bear. For a 3 day archery hunt who could ask for more. Out of the 5 in our party we took 1 nice buck, 1 nice wild boar, and 4 doe. We could have taken more doe but decided not to. Remember it’s not all about the kill. It was a great experience and look forward to coming back.
If you would like to use me as a reference to anyone looking to hunt at Spruill’s Pasture feel free to have them contact me at (724)667-0751 or jfeezle@verizon.net.
The guide service from Ron was above and beyond our expectations. He really does a great job and knows the land well.
Jim Feezle
Pittsburgh, PA
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Hunting Group:
Me(Mark Gallacher), Dave, and Deran
Trip::
When planning for our trip to Spruill's Pasture from Atlanta, GA, we evaluated both driving and flying. Deran and I decided to fly US Airways into Greenville, NC. The tickets were reasonably priced and the trip time was about 4.5 hours including a connection through Charlotte, NC.
We were picked up from the airport in a camouflage Chevy Suburban by Ron White (Tater Salad). Tater had a ton of jokes and kept them rolling for the 35 minute drive to the property.
Dave drove in from the Charlotte, NC area
Arrival:
Taylor Spruill met us at the club and had just finished making sure the cabin was ready for us. There were only three people in our group and we found out that were the only ones hunting the property during our stay.
Accommodations:
The cabin is large enough to sleep eight so it was very comfortable for three. There is a toilet and a shower with hot water. The floor is all wood so the mess from a day's hunt is easily cleaned.
Hunt:
First day:
It was my first time hunting and by all accounts I was spoiled. I shot my first deer within an hour and a half of getting in my first deer stand. I hunted out of a box stand that had a folding chair that was almost too comfortable (I nearly fell asleep before first light). As soon as the sun came up a nice buck came trotting out of the woods directly in front of my stand. I hesitated while counting points and decided to take the shot. I was not sure what to do next so I called Tater Salad; he gave me the green light to get down and track the deer and I found him about 50 yds from where I hit him. Taylor cleaned, quartered, and butchered the deer for me after dragging him out of the woods. I was able to head back out to hunt in the afternoon.
In the afternoon, I headed out to a stand on the road side of the property. I watched a groundhog eat peanuts for about 2 hours before another buck came walking into my sight. He was smaller than the one I had already taken so I let him walk hoping to see a doe. In the failing light, I did see another deer but it stayed in the shadows too long for me to determine how big it was.
We ate venison for dinner that night - it was a great feeling to eat something that I killed.
Dave took a shot at a huge 10 point Buck but missed that morning. We looked for blood for over 30 minutes but never found any. Needless to say Dave was sick for the rest of his trip.
Scorecard:
Me - 1 Buck
Dave - nothing
Deran - nothing
Second Day:
I started the day in the same stand I finished the first day in. Before it was light, the deer started to come out. I watched one forn10 minutes walk around and eat oats. It was too dark to tell what size it was. Shortly after light, another Buck came walking out. He was a six pointer and was so close I could have killed him with my
boot. I was holding out for a big one so I watched him for almost an hour. A second small buck (4 pointer) joined him for a short time.
That afternoon I went back to the stand that I started in. I saw a huge buck about 300 yards away but he ducked into the brush before I could get him in the cross hairs. It was a good thing since I almost surely would have missed from that distance. Two bucks walked out as it was getting dark - one four pointer and one eight pointer. It was too dark by the time I had a shot on the eight pointer to take him.
Dave had 3 bears under his stand just before dark. Needless to say, he stayed put until Tater picked him up in the golf cart after shooting time.
Gene got a doe at 3:30 in the afternoon and it was butchered by Tater Salad before 6:00pm.
Scorecard:
Me - 1 Buck
Dave - nothing
Deran- 1 Doe
Third day:
Dave had to leave after day 2 so he did not get a chance to take a deer. He is a seasoned hunter and laid off a number of good deer looking for a big one.
Deran did not feel well and decided to stay in on the morning hunt for day 3.
I went back out to the #1 stand (they are all #1 stands according to Tater) by the road. While it was still dark I heard a very strange noise coming from the woods and an extremely fast animal streaked across the soy bean field. I did not get a look at it but it sure made odd noises.
Not 20 minutes after daybreak I spotted a pair of deer about 220 yards away. Both looked small from that distance in that light but I continued to watch them. As they came closer I realized what I was looking at. A 10 pointer and a doe were walking around together and coming closer to the stand. I got nervous once I saw the rack on that deer. I calmed my nerves and took the shot on the Buck; he jumped into the woods. Tater received my text message about the shot and headed out to help track him down. He stayed at the road until we talked on the phone. It was a good thing he did because I had a nice Doe in the cross hairs. She ran across the field before being joined by another Doe. I decided against being greedy and called Tater.
We tracked a small blood trail for an hour and a half and came up with nothing. Tater was tenacious and we took a short break before going back to the last sign of blood. We found him about 75 yds from where I took the shot. Taylor and Deran came out to help track but we found the deer before they made it to us.
All of us were excited when we got to see this Buck up close. We showed it to a couple of Taylor's friends and family that were close by and took it back to the cabin to weigh, measure, and butcher it. We celebrated with a few drinks while Tater meticulously skinned and butchered the deer. He was careful to leave enough skin to get a good cape for the taxidermist to mount. That deer and I will come face to face every time I walk into my office from now on.
We were not able to hunt the afternoon on the third day because we booked a flight out at 5:00pm.
Scorecard:
Me - 2 bucks
Dave - nothing
Deran - 1 Doe
Overall Experience:
The other hunters in my group assured me that this was the best property they had ever hunted on. The three of us saw over 20 deer on a 2 ½ day hunt. If the goal is a pure hunting experience without a country club feel, this is the place to go.
Mark Gallacher – 404-683-0237 |
