I have to say to be careful at Crab Orchard. It has many, many hunters per square mile. I have flown over much of southern IL during a few deer firearm seasons and it is absolutely amazing how much orange is concentrated into that area. It is actually used as a visual flight marker for the Wiliamson County airport during shotgun season. (JJ) My family is from Marion and I spent much time in Crab Orchard as a kid and thru the years.

But seriously a guy in my friend's hunting party caught a slug in the thigh some years ago there. The guy who shot him faded and disappeared. The guy who got shot almost died from simple blood loss if it wasn't for another hunter who was an EMT who tied him off in the field after responding to the screaming.

My recommendation would be to get in shape and get out WELL AHEAD of first light and travel with a bright light (so you don't get shot at) DEEP into an area and let the regular hunters who start showing up push deer to you. There are GREAT deer in Crab Orchard! Study airiel & topo maps to find good spots and maybe find a bit thinner "travel corridor" to get ou in there the easiest.If I myself went deep I wouldn't shoot the first deer I start seeing because there are ALOT of deer in there -might want to wait for a real nice one? And if you're deep you are gonna need to be in good shape to get it out.

And there are plenty of other guys who get our super early so the earlier the better in my opinion.

Be safe in there! I'm telling you Crab Orchard would be the place to be on double-super-extra-hyper alert. Do not move without a light before sunrise or after sunset. Small, brightblinky LED lights are the ticket for safety.

And good luck!

And the "NO" to the SECOND SEASON OPTION means that you did not check the second season box on your application which would have given you a "preference" in the first lotteries drawing. Meaning if you didn't receive a full season permit you were willing to take a second season only permit.It has nothing to do with whether or not you choose a second county.

Where are you thinking or set to stay when there? You might be able to grab a motel room in Marion if you called right now.