WhiteRiverHunter, I grew up in West Central Illinois spending my time hunting McDonough and Fulton counties. I did not think the deer hunting could get any better....until I moved to Southern Illinois! I have lived in Jackson county the past four years, hunting both Jackson and Williamson. I am still amazed at the number of deer down here. To answer your question about big deer, yes there are plenty of those too. If you have access to ag and timber it would definitely be worth your time to come up and hunt. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.