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Originally Posted by nwwaterpolo11
As a new hunter, I figured it would be best to give deer hunting a shot on public land before attempting to go private. Close, and therefore preferred, sites will be bolded and ones that are farther will be in normal font. Kishwaukee River FWA, Rock Cut SP, and Rockton Bog SNA. Castle Rock SP, Franklin Creek SNA, Lake Le-Aqua-Na SP, Lowden-Miller SF, Lowden Memorial SP, Shabbona Lake SRA, and White Pines SP. Has anyone hunted these locations, and if you have, how were the results and were there any special regulations? Thanks for helping a fellow hunter in need!
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Are you looking at archery or firearm?
Don't know how much help this is but I moved up from Florida and have never hunted public land before. So I have been doing some research for archery season.
You probably already know this but the Illinois DNR site has alot of useful information including data for how many hunters hunt each site and how many deer are taken each year.
here is the link
http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/default.aspx
Depending on archery or firearm, there are different rules.
Generally most sites have a printable windshield card that must be printed out anytime and must be displayed in your vehicle while hunting, and there is no limit to how many people can hunt that day.
Some of the busier sites and smaller sites have daily quotas that are alloted on a first come first serve. There are also a few archery sites that allot a small number of hunters a 4-7 day permit on smaller land. The deadlines to enter the drawings are different from site to site but a few end on August 31st.
So check out the DNR site and print out the "Hunter Fact Sheet" for each area.
My understanding is Shabbona, Castle Rock, and Lowden all get very crowded.
Your best bet is to print out some typographic maps of each site, and try to find one that has some rugged terrain a mile or so away from a parking lot.
Although you won't be the only one doing it. Most people are not going to carry a 30 pound climbing stand, bow, backpack and gear 2 miles into the woods through water, hills, and ravines, so that is probably the best bet.
Less human contact, less spooky deer, but if you go thru the effort of hiking out that far you may want to spend the whole day in the field at a morning and evening spot.
Although this sounds easy in theory. Most of the sites have tons of parking spaces, trails, and access. so it may be hard to find a secluded spot, especially when there are hard-core local guys that have been hunting these places for years.
Good luck!
Northern IL Public Bow Hunting Land
