Red Bluff Lodge

Am I in an episode of M.A.S.H.?

I just love looking at all of the names on our schedule. Some of them really make me smile. Recently we hosted a group of friends from New Jersey who had a great combination of names: Stashluk, Waliky and Corsentino. Don't you just love it? Sounds like nicknames on an episode of MASH to me. Just kind of rolls off of the tongue. Anyway..

They had a great hunt - here are some highlights:

Here's sort of a 'dreamy' shot of a bunch of hogs they took on the evening of October 16th. And a group shot of the hunters that night:

All together, the team harvested almost 400 pounds of pork here. This were first time hogs for Jim, Cathy and Dick.

I've already posted a picture of the deer Jim Stashluk shot (see the post "The Bucks are Coming....The Bucks are Coming!!! ") Joe Corsentino also scored with the deer - he shot two. Cathy shot a buck on the morning of October 17th, shown here:

We look forward to hosting them again soon!

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Every year we host a corporate group made up of customers and employees of Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers. This year, they had a GREAT hunt! In their three days of hunting, there were more than 40 shots taken that resulted in the harvest of 19 deer and 4 hogs. Put on your seatbelts, here's a photo lineup of the weekend:

Here is Kevin Rhoden with his personal best; a 9 point that had a 16" spread and weighed in at 170 pounds. (Morning buck!)

George Sterner doubled up the morning of October 27th with this spike and doe combo.

Bill Coy, above, poses with the 6 pt. he took on October 29th (another AM buck!)

This is James Gribband, posing with his first ever hog, which weighed 90# and had a nice blaze on its nose.

On the evening of Saturday, October 28th, the planets must have aligned, because suddenly all of the lead that these guys were flinging around was finding its mark (Ahem...We couldn't exactly say that about the Friday PM hunt). Here is a lineup, literally, of all of the animals harvested that night:

We also had a few firsts during the weekend. Here below is Brent McLocklan with his first buck, and the accompanying ceremonial blood, taken on the evening of the 28th:

Doesn't look too happy about it, does he?

It was a great Fall weekend; perfect for late nights around the firepit, good food and fellowship.

More Cool October Action

We had the pleasure of hosting two gentlemen from New Jersey last week - Bob Monzo and "Bucky" Buckston. They were quite enjoyable guests, and enjoyed some success in our stands as well. Look below at what Mr. Bucky got one morning:

This nice 8-point buck had a 19 inch spread and weighed every bit of 200 pounds. As I have mentioned in the last few blogs, the bucks are really starting to move; and in the morning, to boot! Mr. Bob was able to harvest a nice hog during his stay here - just look:

Here they are together with Bob's 150# hog, taken in the evening on October 24th.

Here at the same time was Kenny McPherson and James Swindall. What fun they had! Kenny Mac (always ready for a laugh) generously offered to show our webfans his "best side":

Actually, the two of them had a great hunt. One night they both scored nice bucks:

Here are some more pictures from their trip:

This was Kenny's first buck. In all, they were able to harvest 5 deer and 1 hog during the 3 days they were here with us. Not bad!

Double "Lamm"y Whammy..

We had the pleasure of hosting David Lamm and his two sons Jeremy and David, Jr. recently. Jeremy was after his first buck, since his (younger!) brother had a bit more luck in his trips to us. We're happy to report that he scored! He also got a great hog while he was here. Here are some snaps that we took of their trip:

Dad seems to be enjoying his duties a bit too much here, huh?

Doesn't seem to have dampened Jeremy's spirits any, though.

The finished product. Below, here's a great shot of the three Lamm men with their evening harvest:

The next morning, Jeremy scored with this AWESOME hog:

This guy had these wounds on each side, just past where his ear would be with his head turned. One ear was split, which happens when boars fight, and he had a few cheek abrasions. He must have been quite a feisty fellow! Here are some more shots of him:

The next morning, David and David, Jr. sat in a stand together and doubled up with just the kind of shooting that Jim likes - DRT (Dead Right There!). They took the camera, and took this fun shot:

Great work, Lamm men! Come back to Red Bluff sooner, rather than later! For other Lamm photos, check out our photo galleries to the right.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

We recently hosted several membes of the Smith family, from Pennsylvania, visit us. Three generations in all; Grandpa Carl, Dad Craig, and Siblings Owen and Rebecca. Call me biased, but I just love to cheer for our young hunters and our female hunters and WOW! did they come through for me.

Let me, though, start at the beginning of their trip...  First night out, Owen scored a deer with this deer - his 1st buck:

Here is the three generation shot, with Dad and Grandpa:

Not to be outdone, of course, Rebecca answered back the very next night with a great buck:

Notice the 'war paint' (and the big smile!). The family  pose:

Now, we have a tradition here at Red Bluff: Whenever someone kills a first, or a nice trophy, they ring a camp bell that we have mounted on a post near our entry drive. Over the years the bell has gotten quite a workout. Our hunters are usually VERY excited at the ringing; you know, a bit pumped up, so to say. So imagine our surprise the morning after Rebecca harvested her 'bellringer' buck:

AAAAAhhhhhh!!!!!!..a bell-tastrophe! How funny that of all of our hunters, sweet Rebecca was the one excited enough to rip the bell down from it's cradle (and how happy is our insurance agent that it hit the ground rather than her?) Anyway, we all got a chuckle out of it, and posed the whole family around the 'crime scene' the next day. Here they are:

Come to think of it, she looks pretty proud of herself here, huh?  Owen went on later to take a nice coyote that rounded out their great trip with us. We're looking forward to hosting them again for sure!

Fathers and their Sons..

We are very lucky here at Red Bluff Lodge, in that we get to host quite a few father/son groups. Over the nine years that we have been in business, we have watched children grow into young men, and have seen relationships grow stronger. There are few distractions, living where we do. There is a lot more time to start and to finish conversations, to play horseshoes or just to sit and be. Some recent father/son guests:

Will "Wild Man" Thomas, brought his Dad, Billy along for a hunt this past weekend. They had a great time, and Will even let Billy shoot a couple of times. They were lucky enough to get 3 deer (1 buck and 2 does) and a hog, as well. They went dove hunting and spent time at our shooting range just about each day that they were here. Will 's gonna retire his Dad to the spectator seat soon, I just know it.

Further along down the father/son relationship continuum, we hosted Fred Garcia, and his son, Gary last week as well. They both saw multiple animals, and harvested several.

Here are the two of them with an 85# hog that Gary took on September 27th. One of the really great things about hunting is that it can truly be a lifetime hobby; meaning that you can share it will other people of all ages. So father/son hunting can be a decades long tradition in families. We look forward to many more years of hosting them!

Happy 'Groundhog's Day!

If there are small children in the room, you may want to avert their eyes....Last weekend was groundhog's day here at the lodge! We were inundated by a force of Marylanders, who brought (believe you me) PLENTY of ammunition, and were ready to have FUN! Their mascot:

Yikes!

In all, the party consisted of a great group of fun-loving guys from Frederick and its surrounding areas. In the 4 or 5 days they were here they were lucky enough to take 9 Deer and 6 hogs. Here are some of the highlights:

Ricky and Fred here with Fred's 7 point buck.

Art Crum here with the 140# hog he took on Sept. 22.

Toad here shows us his 80# hog, taken on Sept 22 as well.

Ricky Sandy always brings a great group...The Remsburgs showed up again with a treasure load of goodies in their 'magic' trailer. We all enjoyed crabs, crab soup and sausages - thanks again! We'll look forward to their next trip!

I've gotta order some more body bags....

This past week we hosted a group from Pennsylavnia that hunts together a couple of times a year, and boy, what a body count! September here at the Lodge is traditionally a time that offers quite a few shot opportunities, and this September has been no exception. The group: John Kostukovich, Mike (Pepsi) Metzgar, Roger Love, Tom Traub, Rick Miller, and Dominic Depalma  harvested 19 total animals in their 6 days with us! Six were deer, and 13 hogs.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Roger Love poses here with a 210 lb. boar that he took on September 19th.

Roger also got a deer, a 3 pointer, that same evening.

We had a couple of fun meals under the shed while they were here--one was compliments of John K., who brings the most AWESOME steaks with him from PA. Hanging out and watching what comes in on any given night is a big part of the experience at Red Bluff Lodge.

One hunter in this group that is new to us this year is Dominic Depalma. In his 4 days here at Red Bluff, Dominic harvested 2 hogs and 1 deer;  the hog pictures are below:

The hog on the left is Dominic's first - the one on the right tipped the scales at 225 pounds! The leaderboard for the group:

John K: 4 deer, 0 hogs ; 50-cent (Mike M.): 3 deer, 1 hog (and see below for what else he got); Roger Love: 2 deer, 2 hogs; Tom T.: 2 deer, 1/2 hog; Rick Miller: 1 deer, 0 hogs; Dominic Depalma: 1 deer, 2 hogs. Full coolers indeed!

This "Wile E." coyote gave Pepsi a shot on the 21st of September. The coyote population in our area has really increased over the last 5 years or so. The impact they have on small game and fawn population is not yet clear, but we encourage our hunters to take a shot if they wish to do so. They are very smart animals, however, so opportunities are not all that plentiful. Good work, 50 cent!

Feral Hogs

Hog hunting is hot at Red Bluff Lodge! You may harvest 1 hog per sitting, for a total of 2 per day. Hog hunting is a year-round hunting opportunity. Our hogs are feral, free range animals. The daily rate for hog hunting is $450. We harvest an average of 90 hogs per square mile per year!