info from illinois hunters

[mathews4life]

or possibly anyone else who might be of assistance. Me and some of my buddies are thinking about traveling up to the great state of illinois next yr to do some bow hunting. Thinking about hunting the shawnee national forest near union county. Any info on this area? any of you guys hunted this national forest before? its illinois so i'm sure the hunting is fantastic. its a huge national forest so we are trying to zero in on some of the better places to hunt. Any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[fly]

Been hunting the S.F. in union county for 20+ years now. There are some big deer there, but it's not easy to come home with one. Historically the best time to plan a bow hunting trip is in the first two weeks of November (prior to the firearm season). I've had the most luck around the 14th/15th. There are state forests in the area you can hunt as well such as the trail of tears state forest. The TTSF has a nice road through it and some ideal locations for camping. The S.F also has several nice campgrounds. ATV's are not allowed, but in the state forest the conservation officers will use one to get your deer out for you. The state guys are really great people! The federal officers tend to be more interested in distributing fines. Make sure you're legal! I have the best luck hunting in the most remote areas possible. The state and national forests see a lot of hunting pressure during the gun seasons which keeps most deer at 2.5 years or younger. Your best chance to find a mature buck would be to hike in at least 1/2 mile from a road and preferable a full mile. Get some maps from the ILDNR. You'll find areas with water holes and open areas that were created back in the 30's-40's during/after the depression. I have the best luck in the mornings hunting hilltops or saddles. The deer tend to go high and in heavy timber in the mornings. In the afternoons they travel down to fields. The hike in can be tough, with the drag out being even harder. You might think of IL as flat, but in union county it isn't. The hills are steep and all over the place. Attached first is my 2008 seaosn buck I took on the opening day of the IL gun season in the S.F. The others one is buck taken by a hunter camped next to us. Out of about 20 hunters in the campground these were the only 2 mature bucks taken during the first gun season (3 days). My hike in was 3/4 mile and it took me 6-7 hours to drag my deer in. He weighed 205 lbs field dressed and was 3.5 years old. I've got some more pictures of a S.F. buck in the Deer room (look under Knife Valley).

Edited February 18, 2009 by fly

[cahching]

i have 2 spots open for a private lease in pike county just outside of pittsfield.great property email me if your [email protected]

[ildrhntr]

If I were you I would come a little farther north and hunt one of the state parks. They recieve a little pressure during archery season but not near what they get in gun season. I am willing to bet the sucess rate is a little better. It is like fly said that area get a lot of pressure. I know guys who leave here (east central illinois) to go down there and hunt. We have a State Park here locally that has had some monsters taken off it and it has a camp grounds and cabins. If your interested take a look Fox Ridge State Park. If you want to hunt it let me know and I will point you in a good direction. I have lived, farmed and hunted that area all my life.