Illinois Hunting Journal 2010

[4khorn]

Farmers are at it hard here in the Central part of the state. There is a big corn field on the property that I hunt, and it has already been harvested. It usually is still standing into the 2nd week of the season. Not sure how that will affect the hunting. Can't be worse than last year when the corn was in til December in some places. We shall see. 17 Days!!!

[Relentless]

I have not seen any combines in the field yet here in west central IL but, it won't be long.  I think most farmers are trying to get their last cutting of hay baled and then they are going to hit the grain fields hard.  I think the rut will be much better this year since the deer will not have thousands of acres of corn to hide in.  I also expect to see bucks this year that I never got to see last year due to the corn.  These temps really have me anxious to climb a tree....I have several nice trail cam photos and plenty of stands in place.  With a little luck I will have a doe down before I leave on October 14th for an elk hunt.  I hope with the "normal" harvest that everyone gets a chance to add a little venison to the freezer!  Good luck to all....we are almost there!

[SoIll Dawg]

Checked out some public ground I am going to hunt this year.  About 1500 acres of hills, hollers, thick timber, prairie grass restoration, corn fields and bean fields.  Never hunted public ground before and not real sure where to set up for early October.  The park manager said there is at most 6 hunters out at any one time.  That sounded great!

I checked out an aerial photo shot in the winter that was at the park office.  Found a great spot to set up shop.  Went to check it out and there was already sounds of a couple of guys setting up a stand.[:@]  At least my instincts seem good.

Looks like I may do some walking, but that is ok.  Just need to get those crops out soon!!  And the temps to drop.

I plan on hunting private ground opening weekend, but October 5 & 7th I will be on IDNR ground!!

[4khorn]

Wow. 1500 acres and only a handful of hunters in the woods at one time...sounds like a dream. I bet you will have some good hunting there.

[Relentless]

With the cool temps I have been getting more daytime trail cam photos.  Last Friday afternoon while moving a camera I came across two freshly made scraps on the edge of an alfalfa field...they were cleaned out all the way to the dirt already.  I could not face my camera directly on them but, I have it about 20 feet away in a direction I expect deer to travel to and from.  Either way, seeing sign always gets me excited.....it tells me the deer are being active.  11 more days!

[SoIll Dawg]

I was able to locate an aerial that had a view of the state park in the winter (Google and others maps I have access to are all summer shots).  Not only can I see the draws and creeks better, but I was able to locate various patches of evergreen trees.  Very interesting to see the difference between the 2 seasons.  The aerial is from 2005 (not the most up-to-date) but I went ahead and printed of a nice sized 24"X36" print.

I plan to take it with me to locate deer sign, sleeping areas, doe hotspots etc. and keep track of it for future reference.

BTW, I plan to hunt this IDNR property from the ground exclusively.  I have researched enough to know it can be done and I am tired of every "hunter" telling me you cannot hunt (particularly bow hunt) from the ground.  Plus, the advantages to ground hunting really appeal to me.  Hurry up October!!

[4khorn]

Dawg, are you stalking or just hunting from blinds? There is little doubt in my mind that deer can easily be taken from the ground. I knew a guy in college that did nothing more than take a 5 gallon bucket to sit on and he killed deer pretty regularly. Stalking on the other hand, is a practice that takes a lot of experience and know how. I for one do not think I could do it. But I have the utmost repect for anyone that can.

[SoIll Dawg]

ORIGINAL: 4khorn

Dawg, are you stalking or just hunting from blinds? There is little doubt in my mind that deer can easily be taken from the ground. I knew a guy in college that did nothing more than take a 5 gallon bucket to sit on and he killed deer pretty regularly. Stalking on the other hand, is a practice that takes a lot of experience and know how. I for one do not think I could do it. But I have the utmost repect for anyone that can.

"Bucket".  Funny.  I use a seat you attach to the bottom of a tree.  Has a swivel seat.  Pretty easy to carry, but sometimes I just stump sit.  I am mostly going to focus on wind, natural cover and sitting tight.

I might try stalking, but I tend to sound like a freight train in the woods.  It is a fairly foreign concept and I need to learn to SLOW DOWN walking in the timber.  I like the idea, but lack the skills - for now[:D].

The private ground I hunt is typically from a stand or ground blind.  This public ground adventure is all new so I might as well try a new tactic.

FYI, I am primarily a venison hunter, so bucks are not a priority therefore my opinions/tactics are skewed to that effect.  After my first couple of does I will switch to a more buck-centric hunting style.

[bobow]

It looks like the weather for the northern part of the state will be interesting for the opening this Friday.

Friday: mid 60s / low 40s; Saturday: upper 50s / patchy frost! / Sunday through Tuesday: mid 50s to lower 60s lows in the upper 30s.

This could be interesting, at least I hope [&:]

Now if all the corn could come out between now and then...........[:D]

[4khorn]

Crazy right? I have never had to worry about taking handwarmers with me on opening day before. Can you believe its almost here?