I just got back from a week of hunting in Illinois. All I can say is WOW! That place has a ton of deer. Although I did not fill my buck tag I did fill both tags with some nice does.
The hunt went very well. Day one started out at a cool 24 degrees and windy. After a uneventful morning hunt I moved to a stand in a fence line overlooking a bean field. I had a few scrapes and heavy trails coming into the field so I was very excited about the area. After about a hour I had a doe walk right down the fence line feeding and after about an hour of watching it I knew she was alone so I decided to fill my doe tag. The funny thing is I have been practicing for a few months at 45 yards preparing for a long shot if needed but my shot on this deer was 5 yards. My tribute did me proud with a clean pass and the deer ran about 40 yards.
The rest of the time was a little rough with a couple days of rain with temps up and down but I still hunted passing on several small bucks and other does. I waited until the last hunt and did not want to come home with a tag soI fill my other tag with another doe.Although Iwas a little disappointednotgetting a buckbut I was very happy to take some nice does.
Atleast my freezer is now full so Ican concentrate on my home land and get my buck. Iam very happy with the performance of my new tribute. Both deer had clean passes and none went over 40 yds.
I cansay thatall that practice has paid off. I fussed about practicing for a long shot but that practice made my 2 short shots seem like a chip shot.
To all you folks that live in the mid west all I can say is WOW you guys have some nice deer. I will dream about that 10 pointer that was 3 inches outside his ears and had atleast 12in g2's till next year. I am thankfull he gave me a look at forty yards in some thick brush but never a shot but I will be back.