Rumors of a cougar in Macoupin Co. IL near Gillespie Lake have been around since the early 80's. I myself have never seen one, but I know personally a few different guys that have in fact that do hunt this area. My Uncle for example lives near the lake and one evening heard sounds of what sounded like a woman screaming. He got on the phone to our local taxidermist that frequently does big game hunts and held the phone out the door so he could hear the sounds. Surprisingly it was so loud that the taxidermist confirmed that it wasn't a woman and in fact a big cat of some sort. Not a bobcat either. So who knows. If one were to come into range while hunting, Im not sure if I would take a shot or not.