Howell Woods in Franklin County offers hunters a unique combination of deer and hog hunting.
While N.C. legislators wrangled with pork-barrel spending from a $2.1-billion surplus, Luke Vande Guchte of Wake Forest knew what his family would be spending some of their money for – a taxidermy mount of his first big-antlered buck deer. Hunting at Howell Woods Environmental Learning Center in Johnston County, Vande Guchte and other hunters are making Johnston Community College’s property pay for its own upkeep.
The place should become a model for managing other publicly-owned properties by providing opportunities for outdoor activities funded by hunters’ dollars and efforts.
“We got in the stand about 6 a.m.,” Vande Guchte said. “It was cold and we saw some deer. But I didn’t want to shoot a doe for my first deer. I wanted to shoot a buck. So I grunted at the deer.”
He was in the elevated stand with his father, Tom Vande Guchte. While the young boy hadn’t had much opportunity to hunt deer, his father had taken him a few times and taught his son how to use a grunt call.
“I saw two deer about 200 yards away,” the youngster said. “Dad said to stop grunting. Five minutes later, the buck came up, trying to figure out why the buck that made the grunts wasn’t there. I shot him at 55 yards.”
The deer was hit in the chest with a New England Arms single-shot rifle in .243 caliber. There wasn’t much of a blood trail. But the deer only traveled a few yards before the hunters found him by tracking bits of tissue and bone.
“I thought he hit him, the way he ran,” his father said. “We found him and were shouting and high-fiving.”
“It was awesome,” Vande Guchte said that day. “I can’t wait to call mom.”
The buck had two broken brow tines, which would have made the wide-racked deer an 8-pointer. The buck weighed 155 pounds and was one of three trophy deer taken at Howell Woods during the program’s first year of gun hunts for deer.
Another hunter at Howell Woods that November morning was Bill Barrett of Stafford, Va. He killed a wild pig weighing 180 pounds. The boar was black as coal and had the characteristic stiff keel of bristles on its back, making it a sure-enough “razorback.”
“It’s my second time hunting at Howell Woods,” Barret said. “I killed a deer last time I was here.”
Barrett used Browning bolt-action .30-06 mounted with a scope sight to take his pig. Wild pig hunts at Howell Woods have proven the need for large caliber rifles when participating in combo hunts for wild pigs and deer.
James Sasser is director and wildlife biologist at Howell Woods. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fish and Wildlife Science from N.C. State University and has headed the program since 1998, except for an extended deployment with the U.S. Army National Guard two years ago.
“We began our feral pig hunts to try to control the population,” he said. “We know we can’t eradicate them because of all the pigs at the adjoining property, and they also have a high reproductive rate.
“The pig hunts began in 2000. But a bowhunting club had the deer-hunting lease until two years ago. When the lease wasn’t renewed, we began having deer hunts.
“Not only do the hunts help control the populations, they also are big fun-draisers for the management of the property. At Howell Woods, we want to provide outdoor recreation with sustainable use.”
Howell Woods encompasses 2,856 acres, mostly of mature bottomland hardwoods in the Neuse River flood plain. But there are also old farm fields, borrow pits, ponds and upland habitats.
The many types of land have moved the property toward multiple-use purposes. In addition to hunting, camping, bird watching, dog field trials, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding, birding, bird banding and many other outdoor activities are conducted at the facility. It was established in 1995, when Rudolph Howell donated the property to Johnston Community College.
“Last year we set up some additional stands because we need to kill more does,” Sasser said. “We have at least 20 stands and only have 14 hunters at one time.
“We have auxiliary stands in case there are floods or if a tree falls on a stand and damages it. We have two, two-person stands for adult-child or husband-wife hunters.
“Anybody 12 and older can hunt with a licensed hunter 21 years and older.”
The hunts are successful due partly to limited hunting dates, which have a minimal impact on wildlife. But the largest reason for success is the incredible diversity of Howell Woods habitats. Just seeing the mature hardwood forest is amazing because such stands of trees are rare near the coast.
During 2005, 62 pigs were shot and recovered by hunters, along with 39 deer, including 26 does, three trophy bucks and 10 button bucks. Several deer and pigs were shot but not recovered.
Assistance from Howell Woods’ staff is required to look for animals that run from sight after being shot. Searches for animals aren’t allowed to continue more than 30 minutes.
In most cases, an animal not recovered in that amount of time can’t be recovered because of water and canebrakes.
Another objective is to keep disturbance to a minimum to increase the odds of success during subsequent hunts. Deer and pigs wise up fast to the presence of hunters.
“There were a lot of nice-racked bucks passed up,” Sasser said. “We find our hunters want to take something larger than our minimum because the opportunities are there.
“Our trail cameras show lots of nice bucks on the property, and we’re putting some of the pictures on the web site if anyone wants to see the deer. One buck is a real monster, but there are many shootable bucks and at least five or six real trophy deer.”
The biggest pig taken in 2005 weighed 260 pounds. But pigs totaling more than 400 pounds have been taken in the past and several bigger than 200 pounds are taken each year.
However, truly large wild pigs seem to have become scarce because so many have been killed at the property. Today’s porkers average 90 to 130 pounds and usually are 1 to 2 years olds, perfect for loins and pork roasts.
All stands at the property are ladder types with camouflage material at the sides and on the tops. But hunters may bring their own stands as long as they use a full-body safety harness and don’t move from the view of their assigned stands. Stands are assigned by lottery the week before the hunt.
Howell Woods’ personnel are in the woods the entire year and are aware of movements of deer and pigs.
Stands are placed at good locations. Some have been in place for years because of their consistency and others are adjusted periodically. All stands overlook automatic feeders baited with corn to attract pigs and deer.
“Our hunts are timed according to moon phases,” Sasser said. “We listen to our hunters because we want them to be successful.
“We know from our hunter observations that most of the pigs are taken during the dark of the moon and in the afternoons, so we plan pig hunts accordingly. Deer hunts are also timed to the moon phases as well as the rut for the November hunts.”
Howell Woods’ deer hunting is conducted in conjunction with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Deer Management Assistance Program and receives 60 antlerless tags per season. While antlered bucks must be tagged with a hunter’s regular deer season tags, antlerless deer taken under the DMAP program are in addition to the hunter’s regular season limit for antlerless deer.
“We’ve had some hunters do double-headers, taking pigs and deer,” Sasser said. “It’s always a possibility.”
Bucks must meet two out of three criteria for them to be harvestable. Antlers must be wider than the ears, antler bases must be bigger around than the eye, and brow tines must be long as the face. There is a $250 fine for antlered deer that don’t meet minimum requirements.
Button bucks are allowed although every effort should be made to avoid taking them.
“There are three methods for hunting,” Sasser said. “With a ‘stewardship hunt,’ you pay for the days you hunt. They are $325 for two days, and you can shoot all the deer and pigs you want.
“We have lottery hunts where the hunter can send in as many applications as he wants at $10 each.
“We have five donor hunts, which cost $1,500. Donors can set up two personal stands besides using our stands. They may hunt 20 days per year and use all facilities. Eight of those days must be used during scheduled hunts. A donor can renew his hunting up to five years.”
In addition to buying a hunts, individuals can receive hunts by donating their time. Much of the Howell Woods’ facilities have been built and maintained by hunters. In exchange for 40 hours of volunteer work, a hunter receives a two-day hunt.
“Volunteers work on projects for which we need help,” Sasser said. “They help with hunts by assisting other hunters and recovering and cleaning animals. They get bonus hours helping with prescribed burns.
“They helped with construction projects like replacing a wooden plank bridge and building the bird-of-prey enclosures.
“Rather than sit around during hunts, volunteers have swung hammers, helped with GPS mapping and checked wood duck and bluebird boxes. If they have an area of expertise, we capitalize on that.
“Some spend the day and some a couple of hours. The important thing is advance scheduling.
“We’ll need help building duck blinds this year. Some guys who volunteer all the time have a flexible schedule, and we call them for that type of project.”
While any legal firearm or bow and arrow can be used at Howell Woods, Sasser said he prefers hunters to use rifles. Calibers from the .30-30 on up are preferred.
“It’s brushy so slow, heavy bullets work well,” he said. “It’s best to shoot pigs in the head because they’re tough animals.
“But we want the hunter to bring the rifle he shoots the best. We’ve had situations where bowhunters could have taken lots of pigs if they had guns.
“A few animals have been taken with handguns, but not many. You need to put the animal down fast. If you bring anything else, at least bring a rifle in case you see animals out of range. This is a control hunt, and we want as many deer and pigs harvested as possible.”
September archery hunts occur during the WRC’s scheduled archery season. Then there’s an October hunt and two November hunts during the rut periods.
Lottery hunts begin the first weekend in December.
Howell Woods’ lottery pig hunts start in January and continue into February and March. Fridays and Saturdays are basic hunting days, but additional days for stewardship hunts the preceding Thursday and Friday can be purchased for $75 per day.
A safety-and-orientation test is given before each hunt and hunters must answer all safety questions correctly.
Howell Woods also offers quail, turkey and squirrel hunts and, during some years, dove hunting.
Hunters may stay in the bunkroom and use the kitchen facilities. Construction plans for two cabins that will sleep 16 guests are underway. Electric gambrels, water, ice and facilities for dressing animals are available.
Howell Woods is a fine example of how hunters can help maintain and enhance a parcel of public land not owned by the Wildlife Commission.
Perhaps other state agencies will follow Johnston Community College’s example by providing outstanding opportunities for hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts while saving taxpayers’ dollars for other purposes.
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