Sumter outdoors columnist Dan Geddings: Looking at the land
Last summer I made several trips to Marion County to look at a very large hunting club on the Big Pee Dee River. The club had advertised for some new members. I was interested but needed more information. An officer of the club sent me a map and a copy of club rules. I asked for directions and was given a street address for the clubhouse.
I plugged the address into my phone's GPS and headed to Marion County. I wanted to confirm the route and the real time needed to travel from my house to the clubhouse. The condition of the roads and traffic was another item of interest to me.
As it turned out, the clubhouse was several miles down a county dirt road that was not in the best condition. I was somewhat pressed for time and did not make a thorough exploration of the property. It was enough at the time just to find the place. If my interest held out, I would make another trip to try out an alternate route and explore the property more thoroughly.
The club in Marion County was about the same distance from my house as the Lowcountry club on the Edisto where I had been a member for nearly a decade. I had recently left that club and made the excuse that it was just too far to travel, but the real reason was the land. When I went there 10 years ago there were 3,000 acres of big timber and good hunting. Over the years the timber was clear cut, some of the property was lost, and the hunting suffered. I decided to find some land closer to home.
I joined a club in the High Hills of Sumter County but was stunned to find that I was met by open hostility by some of the members. They did not know me and had no reason to treat me so poorly, but it didn't take me long to realize there was no control and the members did pretty much what they wanted to without any higher guidance. Actually, very little hunting took place, and it was more of a social club where the members would gather to drink beer and ride ATVs. The land appealed to me, and I didn't have another ready option, so I decided to stick it out for a while.
The troublesome members left after some time but in an unbelievable act of apparent vengeance stripped the clubhouse of cabinets, stove, refrigerator, utensils and even the kitchen sink. They removed awnings from the outside of the building and a bridge from a nearby creek. I wondered why?
We focus on land management and wildlife management, but there must also be hunter management. There was no viable hunter management at that club, and it didn't get much better with time. The hunting was good, but the management was poor, so I realized that I needed to move on. I could not stay where I was not happy.
In addition to the Marion County club, I have looked at a large club in the Upstate. It is also about the same distance from my home as the Pee Dee and the Edisto hunting club. Of course, I could go back to the Lowcountry, but I want to try something different. I've never hunted the hills of The Piedmont, and it's something I have always wanted to do.
I'm not going to rush into a place until I can learn more about it. That was the mistake I made at the High Hills. I'll take some time to look more thoroughly at the land and the people. If something closer to home comes up, I'll take a look at that, too.
The Upstate club is my first choice for now. I need to look at the land a little closer and meet some of the people. There is no hurry.
Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.