I?ve got some good news and some bad news.  Starting with the bad news, a private group of duck hunters bought out the rights to the land my hunting club was ?currently? leasing.  This caused my father and me to be out of a place to hunt for about 3 weeks. Though, instead of joining another hunting club, we decided to lease our own land down in Andrews SC.  For readers not familiar with South Carolina, Andrews is in the lower part of the state.  I really believe that leasing our own land is going to work out best.  By leasing our own land we?ll be able to do what we want? when we want to. In our previous club we had to battle for good stand locations etc...I?m sure those of you who have been in hunting clubs before have had similar experiences. The other bad news is that I broke a bone in my hand last Friday night in our football game against Bishop England.  With it being my senior year, I was really bummed about being out for the next few games.... but I can still shoot my rifle!  There?s always some positive in something negative?you just have to find it!

The title of this blog entry is appropriate because at my previous hunting club, the opening day was August 15^th as our first club was located in game zone 6, but the location of our new lease in Andrews falls in game zone 5 and the opening day for this game zone was this past Wednesday, September 1st.  Since we had a new lease, we needed to do some more work that we would have normally done in the pre-season.  So last weekend we went out and set up stands, put out corn, and some game cameras. We also sat in the stands and saw 2 does, a small 6 point, and even a few turkeys.  I think it will get better as time goes on, as we learn more about the land, and as the deer find the corn. 

Now that we?ve got our lease together and some stands up, it?s time to start hunting.  At this time of year it?s still very warm and so it?s easy to get winded by a deer.  In my opinion, scent control is really crucial this early in the season.  I?m a strong believer in scent control when hunting.  This year, we?re using the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag (www.McKScent.com) to help control and cover our scent. You tell me what you think... I went to the local sports authority and picked up a few pine scent wafers.  I put the scent wafers, along with pine needles, in the bag and let it run for a few hours the night before I hunted.  The next morning when I pulled my hunting clothes out of the duffle bag they had a heavy pine fragrance and the smell filled the room.  Well that happened to be the same morning that I saw deer, and the same held true for that evening.  Sunday I didn?t use the bag and I didn?t see a single deer.  I think the bag had, and will continue to have, a big effect on how I hunt.  I think the success of my hunts will be directly related to how I manage my scent.  So far the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag is the ticket.  Along with the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag, I was representing the SC Camo company by rocking my True Timber hat?and yes, it smelled like pine straw too!

Derek