Bart Goins - No Longer Rookies

August is finally wrapping up and I could not be more relieved. Its been a long and hot summer for us! I work hard all spring and summer with my business, and then I take off for deer season. I am definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Not to mention, Alabama football kicks off this weekend!!! Roll TIDE!

In the next few weeks, our second whitetail season for Dream Season The Journey will begin. Last year we had so much fun despite having the toughest season we have ever had. We learned so much from all the Drury teams last year and I truly feel like I will be better prepared and equipped for this season. We have some amazing hunts lined up for this fall and our southern farms are looking promising.

After last years season, Blair and I began searching leasing opportunities in Illinois. We have great farms in our home state, but we wanted a farm that would really give us an edge to compete with the other teams on the Journey. So what better state, then in Illinois? We finally found the farm that we wanted in Brown County, IL.

Throughout the summer we have spent three different weekends up there preparing the farm for the upcoming season. We leased from one heck of a guy who has done everything he can to help us. This summer we have put together box blinds, put up Big Game lock ons, cleared off brush and planted Biologic, and set up several Reconyx cameras. The first batch of Reconyx pictures absolutely blew me away. We have got some true giants to hunt this year and I absolutely cannot wait for the game to begin.The biggest problem we have been faced with this summer is the drought. Our new farm has been so dry, literally only receiving four-tenths of an inch of rain since middle of June. Our food plots were planted last week, and I have never prayed for rain so hard! I even went to church on Wednesday! God answered our prayers with sending over two inches of rain on the farm this past Sunday night.

Good luck to all my fellow hunters out there this fall. Blair and I are going to do our very best to bring all of you the best footage that Dream Season can offer. Over the next few months we will hunt over five states and put tons of miles on our trucks. Definitely going to be a busy fall, and on top of that, Im building a house and getting married right after the season! Stay safe and good luck. College football is back and if ya'll want to watch a team that WINS, watch the TIDE! Number 15, here we come!

Steve Coon - Workin It!

On a hot July day with temperature near a 100 degrees, I found myself doing my first in store for the up coming deer season! One of the owners of Dunn’s Sporting Goods asked if I would be available to work the opening of their fall sale and without hesitation I said yes.

Dunn’s is a store where you can get up close and personal with the consumer and it gives you a chance to show your knowledge of the products that we at Drury are sponsored by.




So whenever I get a chance to do that let me tell you I’m there! So prior to the store opening I did a little scouting to see where all the products were located and I was pumped to see that they carried all of sponsor’s merchandise.



As the doors open that morning, it was time to work the crowd. When I was asked what I thought was a better product there was no hesitation on what to show the customers, from the new Early Dream Season Suit from Scent Blocker in the new Infinity by Mossy Oak to all the Scent Blocker products.



Even though the store had numerous tree stands on sale I was able to give my honest opinion on the Big Game Tree Stands on how rock solid they were along with being one of the most comfortable stands that I have ever hunted out of.

So as I represented Drury Outdoors on that hot July day, I had a chance to show case my knowledge on all our products from PSE Bows, Rage, Bio-logic, Nikon, and Scent Blocker. Funny though I tried to get behind the gun counter to sell a few Thompson Centers, but the guys said the way I shoot it might not be a good idea. Wow a comedian in every crowd!



It just goes to show you when we work an in store we can be a great salesmen, because who has better knowledge of the products then us! The boys at Drury Outdoors!!!!

Next stop Bass Pro Shop August 7th with Terry and a few Drury Team Members. I hope to see you there!

Before I end this I did meet one special fan Anna. When her mom told me that Anna and her brother were big fans of Drury Outdoors and that she wanted a photo with me to show her brother, I knew right then and there that my day was complete. So Anna thank you from all the guys at Drury for being one of our fans and make sure you thank your brother also. Again thank you Anna!

Doug Hampton - The "Double Deuce"

The one we're after...

Oh yes we've got bigger bucks on our Kansas leases, but it's just something about this buck that fires me up. Maybe it's the double split G-2's that he's sporting on his rack. Or maybe it's because he's the first buck that I had pictures of on my newest Kansas lease. Or could it be that we actually could have harvested this buck last week during the youth season if I had not convinced myself that we had ruined the spot while cutting shooting lanes for a double set of "Big Game" tree-stands, only to have Reconyx pictures of him within two hours of all the activity. How could he be so relaxed when he walks into that Biologic food plot during shooting hours? Does he not know that we are filming for Dream Season and that he will do fine for a main character?

We didn't necessarily have bad luck last week, we simply fell to the natural instincts of big early season whitetails. My son and I had the big 9 x 5 buck walk by us at ten yards. The problem was that it was so dark and I could barely make it out through my Nikon's that it was him. Looking through the view finder 9 minutes later, I was only getting marginal footage at best. We needed just a few more minutes when the 4 year-old decided to exit the beans and bed down for the day. That evening brought an unexpected party on the neighboring property. Lets just say it was quite the fiesta! The microphone hooked up to the loud speakers made for a hard-rock concert's decibel output. The deer probably stopped running when they reached the Missouri line! Maybe they'll be back in time for the rut! .... Coltin had a few opportunities at some 3 year-old 130's type bucks later, but the 9 x 5 along with the Reconyx photo's of some true studs were definitely clouding the 13 year-olds judgment. I guess it's never to early to start trophy hunting.

We'll my wife is up to bat next! She's holding a Kansas muzzle-loader tag and has not so much as even seen a buck in the wild, much less shot or killed one. She has saw a few while driving, if that counts? I guess if the "Double Deuce" buck steps into the food plot while we're there, I'll have to use the ol' " he's not very big, but you can shoot him if you want" speech to keep her from getting too excited. You never know how a person will react to their first buck encounter in the wild, but I'm sure excited to see what happens! Stay tuned to the journal to see if she connects on "D.D.", or maybe even one of the other good bucks that are hanging out on our Kansas farms. Good luck and kill em' big! -Doug Hampton

Steve Coon - Time To Hunt

Joe and I were back in the middle of August working on three projects in Illinois. We had to finish our food plots, check and hang cameras, and hang a few new sets.

First on order was to check our Reconyx Camera to see what deer made it through last season and to see if we had any new players. Well as luck would have it we had pictures of three of our stars and some upcoming talent.

After checking the cameras we were off and running putting them in new spots hoping to get a few more pics. Just to give Joe and I a pat on the back, here in Illinois we don't have the opportunity to place any type of supplement at the cameras to get those up and personal photos. So what we do is scout the area just like we were hanging a tree stand and place the camera in hopes of getting a photograph of that dream buck. Because if we do our part, the Reconyx will definitely do it's part.

Next task in hand was to finish the food plots, so after we disked for the third time and we decided what seed went to which food plot it was time to plant. So with a little rain we should be just fine! "Maybe I should do a rain dance."

The third project was to put the Big Game Tree Stands together and head to the timber to place them in the locations that was scouted by the Reconyx Camera plus the two new sets over our food plots which in time will prove to be killing spots for Joe and I.

So after the sets were hung the trimming was complete it was time for both Joe and I to head home.

So with all this madness over the summer that we put in for these whitetails, in a couple of months, it's going to be "TIME TO HUNT." -Coon Dog