Well folks, it's getting closer.  As I watched a couple hunting shows this morning, one program was highlighting a rut hunt in Iowa.  The skies were overcast, and there were no leaves on the trees.  Boy, was I excited.  But then, I looked out the window with a big frown on my face....the temperature is already over 90 degrees, with a high today pushing 104.  The midwest is currently experiencing the worst drought since the 1950s, and I can't ever remember it being this hot, for this long.  As a deer hunter, I know one of the most important things to do this time of year is scout velvet bucks, and maybe hang a stand or ten.  This blog entry is about staying safe in your summer scouting adventures.  Let's get to it.

I'm betting that all of you guys reading this blog have some knowledge about mineral and mineral stations. The months of June, July, and August are when mineral stations see the most use.  During the spring and summer months deer are feeding a lot more on new vegetation that is growing throughout the woods and areas these deer inhabit.  This vegetation lacks sodium which is required for deer to stay healthy by having the right amounts of sodium in their diets.  Now I will say and have done a lot of research and sodium or salt is important to a deers health but does little to no good in growing big antlers.

Well things are really starting to get busy for us here at ScentMaster.  Jamie has been in North Carolina at a show for the last few days. He visited with several bowshops in the area that are very interested in carrying ScentMasters. He will also be making several stops this week at archery shops as he travels to the next show.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to write about on my latest blog entry.  A lot of things came to mind, but this felt most fitting to me.  The purpose of this post is to discuss the phenomenon of trophy buck hunting, how it evolved, and where it's going.

If any of you have ever hunted over a late season food source, you know what I mean about it being a hotspot! Three years ago on the farm I hunt, I suggested we plant soybeans and not harvest them so the deer have a place to feed late season when the weather gets tough.  The only problem we faced was where we were going to plant them.  All of our fields were currently being farmed.  After thinking about it, we decided that after the wheat was harvested, we would drill beans into the wheat stubble just as farmers do when they double crop their fields to get more profit, but for us hunters, instead of profit, we have a late season whitetail hotspot.  The beans weren't the greatest and were maybe 20 bushel to the acre, but we had a seven acre field that seemed to be a magnet come late season.  Mid December it turned cold.  It was one of the coldest Decembers I can remember in the last 10 years.  The snow flew several times a week and took a huge toll on the whitetails' health.  The deer that were on our farm seemed to be in great health with all the food that was available to them.

Bowhunting is life for me.  I don't say that to sound cliche, but it's something that's absolute truth.  Any of my friends will tell you the same thing, as I take my hunting as seriously as my family and job.  I am convinced one of the biggest factors in becoming a successful hunter, especially with big game species, is managing your scent.  Countless articles have been written over the subject, but this one is different; this article deals specifically in the relationship between the clothing you put on your body during your hunting outings and the scent that gets absorbed into these clothes.

How many of you die-hard whitetail hunters can believe that in just a few short months season will be back on?  For most of us whitetail hunters, we think about deer or deer hunting almost every day of the year.  With antler growth in full swing, now is the time to get out and put up those scouting cameras in and around food sources or mineral stations.