Here's one option for you to sell your furs:
The Odell Fur Auction (produced by ITA) will be held Jan 11, 2014. Contact Mike Gragert for more information at (618) 637-9061. This auction is about 80miles from you in St. Charles. They only take skinned hides, no carcasses.
(Keep in mind, a fur hunter should have a fur shed, or at least a deep freeze in their garage to store pelts frozen until sale, unless you are going to go through all of the legwork to flesh, salt, and stretch the hides. So waiting until January is only a problem for patience.)
I would also be 100% confident that Mike or anyone else at the Illinois Trapping Association would be able to point you in the right direction to find a local trapper or caller that you could give your hides to if you don't want to sell them at auction yourself.
The North Central Illinois Fur Takers Chapter is based out of Marengo, which is ~30mi from you. They'd also be a great resource for you. Contact Irv Schrimmer (815) 923-2229. Again, I'm sure he can point you in the right direction for a local buyer, or other hunters.
If you have someone willing to buy the meat from you, I'd jump on it. BUT, keep in mind, in most states, it is illegal to sell game meat. Those other countries that like eating dogs can keep it. I have a lot better things available to eat. Beef rectum is a delicacy in some countries too, but I'm not jumping on that one either.
Originally Posted by
wannahuntit
I was shocked to find this place 15min from the house when you have to travel so far to hunt.
How many deer are harvested in a given area has absolutely nothing to do with how many hunters live there. Most cities, especially their suburbs, have very healthy populations of hunters. It makes sense then, in that case, that processors would be closer to the population centers where there are more hunters that don't have room to butcher the game themselves.
You'd be amazed at how many coyote hunters there likely are in the Chicago area. Predator calling has become all the rage in recent years, especially with hunters that live in urban and suburban areas because they can travel out and have instant gratification much moreso than traditional big game hunting.
You'd also be surprised at how far you have to travel to find coyote hunters. I worked in Rochelle back in 2008 and called coyotes with some of the local guys there between Rochelle and DeKalb, which would be about 30min to an hour from you.
Originally Posted by
wannahuntit
I will be buying the savage arms 11/111 trophy hunter xp in 22-250 caliber but cant decide on the scope. it comes with either a nikon 3x9 BDC with the range finder built in or a bushnell 4x12 standard cross hairs.
Pick one, flip a coin, can't go wrong, both are decent scopes, neither is really better than the other. The 4-12x40mm Bushnell will have higher magnification than the 3-9x40mm Nikon, which is nice for longer range shots on coyotes, but not really necessary. The BDC would not interest me.
The Savage is a good choice. You'll be very happy with it. The 1:12" twist should treat you very well with 50-55grn bullets which are great for coyotes. Look into the Hornady V-max, seldom doesn't shoot well in most rifles, and is fantastic on coyotes.