zmschillin

Hello,
I was drawn for a deer reduction hunt at Big Oaks National Wild Life Refuge in SE Indiana as well as Harmonie State PArk just outside of evansville IN. Has anyone on here ever hunted either or these areas? or know anything about them? I am needing to call in my areas where I want to hunt but I have no idea where to go. Plaese help me out if you can

Thanks!

HooSIER|Hunter

I have hunted Big Oaks a few times formerly known as Jefferson Proving Grounds, the place is huge I hunted it during archery mid October 2 days seen 3 deer. Don't let that discourage you there are some really nice deer in there I just wasn't lucky enough to see any. Good luck

The Outdoorsman

I've hunted Big Oaks many times and my cousin has taken a 22pt from there. Same area has yielded a couple of 12pt bucks by a pair of brothers as well. There is a small area on the south end that has produced some nice deer as well, I think area 70, only 2 hunters allowed in there. Usually surrounded by corn too. The southwest perimeter has been a hot place to hunt, so getting in there may be tough. But like its been said, there is big deer in there everywhere. It doesnt get hunted like it used to when it was Jefferson Proving Grounds. You cant pattern deer like you used to when it was JPG and thus allows the bucks to get bigger. And dont believe for a second that they dont roam around the impact areas and stay safe knowing that hunters cant get into those areas. Rumor has it that there is a state record running around in there and the DNR has been keeping a close eye on it so its not poached. Again, thats rumor but I've seen first hand the size of deer that have come out of there. I've even seen a monster 15pt and very nice 8 pt killed within 45 mins of each other on the same trail.

zmschillin

thanks for the help.
Mike, I do not se an area 70 on the map. But just going anywhere alnong the south west part of the map would be the place to go?

PastorJim08

I had hunted it several times when it was JPG but I haven't been there in several years. I would suggest you look at an ariel map of it on google earth and get a good idea where the funnels and pinch-points are. Then I would try to get a topo map so I could get a better feel for the actual lay of the land. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Blessings.....Pastorjim