Red Bluff Lodge

Late October/Early November Action

Here are assorted pictures from October. Once we slow down a bit, we'll be able to load them all into their respective photo albums; in the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy a sampling:

Jake Walters poses here with a nice 170# hog that he took on October the 6th.

Russell Fowler shows off his 'flying' piggie, taken the 7th of October. She weighed 120 pounds.

Here's the dynamic duo of Ryan Ensko and Amanda Bell, who came on a hunting trip with their dads, Mike and Jake. Ryan got this nice hog on November 10th. 

Hank Williams here, all smiles as you can see, shows off his 75# hog, taken the 13th of October.

Joe Lucas here proudly show his hog, a 75 pounder also taken on the 13th of October.

Now for some deer:

What a smile here on Bob Shaner--it's his first deer! This is his second year hunting with us at Red Bluff; his patience really paid off. This 7-point deer, taken on November 10th, had a 17.25 inch spread and weighed 170 pounds. (By the way, now all of our hunters want a lucky hat like Bob's!)

Mike Ensko here shows us a really nice morning buck that he took on November 11th. This 9-point had a 17 inch spread, and weighed 170 pounds. What a fun morning!

What's wrong with this picture? Oh, yeah, the wrong hunter! Here's the actual shooter:

Kevin Teachout here poses proudly with the 8-point buck he took on November 9th. It had a 17 inch spread. He had a great hunt story--heard first, then saw this buck chasing a doe down in the G section one morning. The buck stood still for just one second, and it was enough for Kevin to take him. Great job!

John Stowe smiles here with his second nice buck he took during his trip with us this year. He took this November 11th; an earlier 7-point was harvested by John on the evening of November 8th.

Please go to our photo galleries for a more complete collection of pictures of what our hunters have harvested to date!

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.

The Bucks are Coming....The Bucks are Coming!!!

Well, it's that time of year again--the leaves are beginning to change, there's a bit of coolness in the air, and the bucks are getting restless. Just look what our hunters have been lucky enough to harvest this week--and in morning hunts, too!

Chance Wagler is shown above with the buck he took on Monday morning; 15.5" spread 10-point that weighed 200 pounds!

The very same morning, Chris Todd scored with this 8-point, which had a 15" spread and weighed in at 175 lbs.

Now, this morning, Jim Stashluk got this 8 point buck, which had a 15.5" spread and weighed 175 pounds. As Jim says, "Boys, they're starting to move!"

Greetings from the Upstate!

Last year Jim and I completed a 4H course at the NWTF headquarters to become certified shooting instructors. During the course we met a great guy from upstate New York that travels around giving historical reenactments as well as blackpowder demonstrations. (Surprise, surprise, Jim just HAD to get a blackpowder rifle as soon as we got back) Through him, we donated a hunt to their 4H Shooting Sports banquet which was purchased by Ron Surdyka.

Ron, his son Ronald Jr., and his grandson Robert Hadley, Jr. recently completed their hunt with us. Robert had the great luck of taking his first buck here at Red Bluff and what a nice deer!:

This buck, taken on October 8th, weighed in at 200 pounds! It was a 9-point with a 15 inch spread. What a way to start your hunting career! Here are a couple more of the 'ritual' shots for Robert:

The Surdykas fit a lot into their hunt; quail hunting the afternoon they arrived, then this great deer Robert took. Each of the big guys was able to harvest a hog, and Ron Jr. got 2 deer as well. We enjoyed hosting them, and hope they return!

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!