I definitely had a good year here in Illinois. I began trophy hunting back in 95' and have taken lots of big bucks since. This year however I Poped out for the first time. In 97' I took two monsters but one was with my gun and one with bow. The 97' bow kill grossed in the 160' s and my gun kill grossed 176 and some change. My goal since 95' though has been to kill two Popers in the same year(2 antlered deer are what we are allowed here in Illinois) This year on Nov. 16th at 9:40 I harvested my first buck of the year an 11pt that grossed 144" . He came right in to my grunt call and believe it or not he was with a border line P & Y 8pt that offered me a shot before the 11 was within range. Then 2 days later on Nov. 18th I got a crack at another 11 pt that has a 21 1/2" inside spread that green scored 161" . The second buck came in a few minutes after I had done a rattling sequence with a rattle bag. Just goes two show what patience and good herd management can accomplish. Can' t wait until next year.<img src=' http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/ILTrophyHunter/02buck2.jpg' border=0>

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Edited by - IL Trophy Hunter on 01/04/2003 05:42:44