hc4runner

I live in MO. and do most of my bowhunting in IL. I lucked out and found a good piece of private ground that I have been hunting for about 10 years. I see alot of bowhunters from out of state and have talked to several of them and most of them hunt the Shawnee or state ground and every year and they kill some huge bucks on public ground. I do of most of my hunting in Johnson County and there is a large chunk of Shawnee there. But most of the nonresidents hunt in Pope County. If anyone hunts either of these counties, drop me a line or two and tell me what you think about the area or let me know of a differnt area in southern IL. I would really appreciate some comments on this. Thanks 4runner

Turc

HC4, I'm from NY and I hunted the Shawnee near Murphysboro in Jackson County 2yrs ago. Beautiful area with lots of deer and several big bucks. We saw a few wallhangers but none came in close enough for a shot. I was very impressed with the area and would love to make the trip back there some year.

My neighbor is hunting there this week and already scored on a big 9 point. I shoulda went with him. Would have loved to have seen the look on his face.

Turc

Zingnut

I live in Carbondale and hunt in Jackson, Williamson, Pope, and Johnson counties. I have seen the most and best deer in the Johnson and Pope couty areas. We hunt public ground in Pope county and private in Johnson. Some good public areas are the La Rue Pine area just north west of Jonesboro and the Cache River wetlands is real good also. There are several unmarked Gov't areas open to the public that are not posted but the locals know about them. Thats where I am finding the biggest deer and the best hunting.

DBL-LUNG

Sorry, to change up your subject a little but, is there areas for camping and are there four wheeler trails to get equipment in and out? Very curious about hunting down there... Thanks guys

hc4runner

There are several campgrounds in the area,one is Fyrne Cliff state park. Go to the Dixon Springs State Park headquaters between Vienna and Golconda and pick up some maps and brochures for more information. As far as 4wheelers are concerned I do not know of any public areas that allow them, but there may be some you will have to check at the National Forest headquaters for more information on that. The National Forest headquaters is in Vienna, thats in Johnson County in Southern Illinois.

Don K

When i hunted in the Shawnee a couple years back there was a guy that showed up in the campground with a ATV in his pickup. The ranger told him he would ticket him if the wheels of the ATV touched the ground. He said keep it in the back of your pickup truck.....or else.

We used a deer cart to toss stands on and get back in. There are some areas that NOTHING with wheels is allowed into though so do your research. Also get GOOD maps. The Shawnee is not one large piece of land. Its many many pieces, mixed with private land and some not marked very well. With good maps look for pieces that are hard to get too, or overlooked. We found a piece that had difficult access, and had a great time there..........

"Im not a guide, but i did stay at a Holiday Inn Express recently"

hc4runner

Actually the best thing you can get is a county plat book. In Vienna go to Johnson county courthouse and you can get one that has both Union and Johnson counties in it. At the Pope county courthouse you can get one that has both Pope and Hardin. You also get the names of the landowners if you want to knock on some doors and try to get permission to hunt on private land. You will get more NOs than YESs but one YES is better than nothing.