new to hunt in illinois

[bwhntr187]

just moved here from the north east. did alot of hunting in new hampshire where i'm from. i live in dupage county and do not know where to hunt. any suggestions?
bow/gun seasons? i've seen alot of big deer taken from this state and can't wait to hunt.
thanx

[Lot to Learn 2]

I'm from south central IL, so I don't know your area, go onto the IL DNR website, they do have public hunting sites listed there. 

[buckwild]

I live in Winnebago and hunt public land in Ogle near Oregon.  I have ran across hunters coming from your area, but it is a bit of a haul for you.  Lowden Miller State Forest has about 2200 acres of mostly timber, and across the Rock River is Castle Rock State Park.  These parks see some hunting pressure, but there are a lot of woods.

[Woods Walker]

With the bow, look into Shabbona State Park near Waterman. It's about an hour's drive from you. Also check out Heidicke Lake State Park near Morris.
 
The Illinois DNR website can help you.
 
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/
 
As far as private ground goes, you either have to have family/friends who own ground, or you'd better bring your checkbook. The days of knocking on doors to hunt is long gone, especially in northern and west central Illinois.
 
If you do shoot a bow, there are several really good 3-D shoots that occur a couple of times a month in our area (I live in Kane County, near St. Charles), from January until September. If you're interested, I can tell you more about them. Also sporting clays, if you're into that.
 
 

[muzzyliter]

lowden miller is a great place to hunt. Hunted it for years. green river is another great place for public hunts.both places have standby hunting. so if you dont have a tag for gun season, try it. never hunted bow in either spots. have my own. good luck

[hookset6969]

Pack your bag's and move before you get to comffy The DNR has done all the hunting in N.IL Sorry for the great new's try southern IL I heard that the deer population's are still good around there. I would say that WOODS WALKER is right on the money with private land, and if you do get in ya best bet that there is more than just you hunting it, Money talk's good luck