What a Buck!

Take a look at this buck that Carlee Grace is holding.....I wish I could say she took this buck during the last season but it is a pair of sheds from a buck on the C4 we call Split-2 (as I have said before - only the BIG ones get names). We mounted this impressive set of antlers on a manufacturered skull so we could enjoy his majestic-ness and I think it turned out pretty good. We found one side of this matched set of sheds in the middle of a food plot and after an exhaustive search of the woods around the plot Mahlon managed to walk up on the other side. What excited us the most the fact that we had all but decided this buck had died because we went through the entire deer season having never seen him AND never getting him on a trail camera. Needless to say we were tickled to death to learn he was still around.

Unfortunately, he is off-limits for one more year so he can "spread the love" a little bit more..... but based on past experience, I'm not sure we could kill him anyway!

We still have one trophy hunt available and a few management hunts for this upcoming season  - give us a call or go to the www.c4-ranch.com if you are interested in scheduling a hunt.

2015 Bucks are looking Good!

Here at the C4 we just started our camera census for this year so we can get all our survey information for our MLD Permit. We have been getting some great pictures of some awesome bucks and even though several of them are on the "off limits" list we anticipate taking several management bucks and at least one trophy.

WIDE!

4 year old - definitely "off limits" - Sorry!

Wow!

Oddly enough all these pictures come from the same camera on a trail coming off a food plot deep in the pines on the west side of the property. Its a shame they aren't this predictable during the season!

Here is a nice buck we intend to hunt this season:

Bruiser C4 Buck!

I believe he will score in the mid-180s by the time he stops growing - we were lucky enough to find his sheds from last year and he scored in the mid 170s and he is  much bigger this year. Give us a call if you are interested. It is the ultimate challenge in whitetail hunting to target a specific buck and try to outwit him on his home turf. This is a cagey old buck and he won't be easy to kill.

We also will have 3 to 5 "management" bucks to take this year that simple won't make the cut here at the C4. These are bucks that will score 120 to 150 and usually have 8 or 9 points. The cost various based on the score so go to our website for pricing information or give me a call to talk about it.


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Update....

Hey everybody!

I know I have been neglecting the blog for quite a while but we have been BUSY here at the C4!!!

We completed the day camp just as the 2014 season was beginning and then immediately started on a major upgrade at the the main lodge. We added a new outdoor kitchen and seating area complete with a beautiful stone fireplace where everyone can sit and relax after a hard day in the stand. It was a huge undertaking that took 9 months to complete. Here are some pics from the construction:

I don't have any pictures of it  fully completed yet because we do not have all the furniture in place and April WILL NOT let anyone take any final pictures until it is completely decorated and all the furniture is in place. We should have that complete over the next few weeks so standby - it is AMAZING!

We also made a tough decision at the end the summer to not offer any trophy class hunts for the 2014 season. Due to the extra work and effort into improving and increasing our food plots, we were able to produce an amazing improvement in antler quality in several of our middle-aged and mature bucks and, after much discussion with Dr, Kroll, we opted to place ALL of them on the "off limits" list in an effort to spread the genetics around a bit more. We did decide to put one of them on the "hit list" as a management buck due to the fact that he went from 10 points as a 4 year old to 9 points as a 5 year old. We have a strict policy that a buck MUST have 10 points once he reaches 3 years of age - no matter how big he is - so we decided to take him out of the breeding pool. Stewart Dorrington came over from South Africa to take a crack at harvesting his first whitetail deer and managed to get a good shot at him and put him on the ground. This was not your "average" management buck - take a look at the picture below - how many 9 point management bucks have you seen like this one?!

Stewart Dorrington with his first Whitetail

We are getting some good pictures of some great bucks this year and I will start posting them soon. Most of the bucks that were on the "off limits" list will be off-limits again simply because we want to "spread the love" one more year - if you know what I mean - but we will have several management bucks that will be on the hit list so if you are interested then give us call!

Stay tuned!

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Turkeys are back........

Turkeys are back at C4!

Dr. Kroll always says that "good deer habitat management is also good turkey habitat management". Well, we agree because ever since we have been following his recommendations we have seen ever increasing numbers of turkeys. I just got these pictures off the scout cams last night and Chase and I saw a small flock of them just before dark yesterday.

We hope to be able to conduct some turkey hunts during the spring in a few years. If we keep working the "plan" I have no doubt it will happen.

April and I plan to do some hunting this weekend. There is a particular buck on the hit list she is after and we finally have a chance to get in the woods and see if we can find him. We call him Casper because he is like a ghost - hard to see and only comes out at night! But she is determined to get him, and the rut is starting to heat up here in East Texas so you never know when he might decide to show himself - a pretty girl (or a doe in this case) will make a guy do lots of crazy things! I will report next week on how it goes - wish us luck!

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And the Season Begins!

FINALLY! Deer season is here!

You may think it is all fun from here on out but fall is still a lot of work here at the C4. The main focus is getting the food plots prepared and planted. We plant oats that will grow throughout the winter but few people realize that the success of a good food plot in the SPRING depends on what we do in the fall. Fertilization and seeding of clover and chicory must be done properly in the FALL in order to have a thriving food plot in the SPRING.

Chase planting oats in one of the plots

Unfortunately, here in East Texas the best time to plant coincides with the opening of bow season so we spend a whole lot more time working than we do hunting but it is a long season and we have to pace ourselves.......so we spend a lot of time checking cameras and trying to pattern some of the bucks to be hunted once the rut heats up. Check out some of these bruisers:

We hope your season is going to be as good as ours!

This just in from The Weather Channel for Android. For more information visit weather.com.

We Hunt Too!

Its been a while since my last post because....WE HUNT TOO!

I have spent the last 8 days in Alberta, Canada bow hunting mule deer - glassing the countryside for a good mule deer buck and then executing a perfect stalk to move in close enough to release an arrow for a quick and humane kill is about as much fun as you can have on the planet earth!

Me with my mule deer buck and my long time hunting partner Ronnie Walton

Two weeks prior to that I was getting packed and prepared for the hunt and shooting everyday to make sure I was ready. Most shots are from 40 to 60 yards on spot and stalk mule deer so plenty of practice is a requirement. So, needless to say, I have been a bit pre-occupied as of late but I am back now and we are focused on getting the ranch ready for the upcoming deer season.

Now that I am back it is time to fertilize and lime to get the food plots ready for fall planting so we will be busy with that for a few weeks and we are also finishing the new day camp at the barn. We are making good progress on that and just have a few things left to get it finished for the season. I'll post some pictures soon - it is looking really awesome!

A quick reminder - we have a last minute all inclusive special price of $4995 for a hunt for a buck here on the C4 that will score between 150" and 160". All you have to have is your license - we will take care of the rest. And to make it even better - if you don't take the deer you are after then you can come back later in the season and try again at no extra charge! Go to our website and call or email for more details!

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It's Going to be a Good Year!

We have had plenty of rain and an abundance of food on the C4 so the bucks are looking great! We just completed our camera census to get our game counts for the MLD Permit and boy were we excited! I won't bore you with a bunch of verbiage - just take a look...................

Management Buck

He has SEVEN Brow tines!

Incredible Mass

This one is probably only 3 Yrs Old

9x7!

1.5 yr old 8 point - gonna be good one day

Double drops - BOTH SIDES

Impressive Frame

26" wide!

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Summer Life on the C4

I have mentioned before that there is more to life at the C4 than JUST deer hunting - I know - hard to believe but there are a lot of cool things to do in the summer time when it is too hot to be in the woods or sitting on a tractor. Check out these pictures I shot this past weekend of some family time we spent down at the river that is less than 2 miles for the C4 lodge. Most people think you have to go out west to see scenery like this but it DOES exist right here in East Texas - one of our best kept secrets!

Carlee navigating the rapids

The water is cold and crystal clear and you can see multiple species of fish. We run spear fishing trips in the deeper pools on a regular basis for "rough fish" which is any non-game fish (it is not legal to use a spear gun on any freshwater game fish in Texas). We regularly shoot Gaspergoo, Buffalo, and Gar that go as big as 25 to 30 pounds - you are talking about a fight and a lot of fun!

Give us a call and come join us!

By the way - we still have some of the best whitetail hunting around!


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New Day Camp is Taking Shape

The day camp at the C4 is taking shape and we are making good headway for folks who know absolutely nothing about construction! They should put us on one of those DIY reality shows - it is quite comical at times.

New wall coverings

Wall coverings - Mini-Split A/C to the left

The A/C has been installed and the wall coverings are going up (the picture doesn't do them justice due to the poor lighting) - they look awesome! The wood panels are simply rustic fencing boards and the stone is real slate stone. All the doors have been installed and we are prepping the ceiling panels which will be old, rusted corrugated tin roofing.

We also are working on setting up the patio outside where hunters can sit around the fire pit and relax. We also have moved in a cedar picnic table to allow for eating outside when the weather permits.

Remeber, this is just a "day camp" on the northeast part of the property where hunters can relax during the middle of the day and have lunch before heading back out for the afternoon hunt without going back to the main lodge. We still have a lot of work to do but we are making progress and plan to have it finished by hunting season. I will post more pictures later as the work continues.......

By the way - I HAVE to show this picture of a one of the bucks we are getting scout cam pics of - he is going to be a BRUISER!

Come see us!

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You will NEVER be Bored at the C4

If you book a hunt at the C4 I guarantee you will never be bored - after you take your buck of a lifetime there is still plenty to do and experience. One of the favorite activities of practically everyone who visits is the awesome bass fishing here on Toledo Bend.

A great evening of fishing at the C4

I have hunted all over the world and one thing I dislike is not having something to do after I have taken my target animal. I have had a couple of experiences where I sat in camp for up to five long, boring days while my hunting partners continued to hunt - it can truly get mind numbing. Well, that wont happen here at the C4!

Fall and winter are great times to fish in Texas - the weather is usually nice and the fish really bite! I have had 40 fish outings in January and 20 fish outings are common - and these outings are rarely longer than 2 to 3 hours! After you take your buck you can sleep in the next day and we can go fishing after breakfast. The middle of the day is a great time to fish in the fall and winter - it has warmed up to a comfortable temperature and the fish are usually deeper so they bite better in the middle of the day.

Come see us at the C4 - there is no doubt you will take a great buck.....but you may take home a great fish too!


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Antlers and Fawns are Growing.......

It is only the end of June and the bucks on the C4 are looking AWESOME! We have had good, consistent rain all spring and early summer and that is the key to good bucks here in Texas. It keeps the food plots green and the natural browse growing. The bucks don't have to travel far at all to find a bite to eat and they are showing it. It looks like there are going to be some good ones this year!

We are seeing more and more fawns on the cams and occasionally see one in person. We have to continuously battle the predators to keep them from knocking a hole in our crop of fawns. Some of these will be our super bucks that some lucky hunter will be able to go after in about 5 years.

If you are interested in going after one of these bucks then go to www.c4whitetails.com for more information on booking a hunt.