Confused in Illinois
 

I finally couldn' t stand being cooped up studying anymore, so I xeroxed some pages out of my book and headed for my treestand for the afternoon. I was thinking that the hunt should be great- the weather has cooled down some and the posts on this site have tended to be more favorable. My juices really got going when I saw a large buck standing in cut corn at 1:00 pm. Anyway, I finally got to my spot and the wind was perfect for my setup. I was quiet by 2:30. I was expecting the action to start at any minute, but NO. I finally saw three does right at sunset. They spooked when a coyote about 100 yds away started to howl at the nearly full moon. Am I correct in guessing that the moon is screwing the hunting right now? I sure was expecting to see action after seeing that buck in broad daylight 100 yds from a major road. What are other Illinois hunters seeing? (I was in Menard county, just north of Springfield).

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RE: Confused in Illinois
 

Bigbuck00- I believe you about the mornings. I got a good report from a friend about this mornings hunt. I just always seem to get hosed on afternoon hunts with a nearly full moon.

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RE: Confused in Illinois
 

Mornings just might be the key. Then again, the height of my activity for today was at about 2:30 in the afternoon. At this time of year it' s hard to say. Deer aren' t very predictable right now, so a lot of it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. You might have been in a good area, the deer just weren' t there at the same time you were.

peashooter

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

With the hot weather last week the deer were only moving in the morning we managed to harvest 2 bucks most of the activity was in the morning with bucks chasing does. Lots of scrapes all over and we passed on alot of smaller deer. We left wed morning the cool weather should get them moving. Good lucl cant wait untill the 18th when i get back down there. We hunted pulaski and union Co

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

first deer was my partners hear is mine

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I saw some small bucks chasing and sparing two weeks ago. Then last week with the warm temps I didn' t see too much. A couple small bucks feeding with a doe in a corn field. Showed no interest in each other or the doe. I thought that was kinda strange. Went out tonight for a few hours. Saw 6 does, all in the last 45 of legal light. I' m headed out in the morning bright and early to a spot where I have pics of a nice 8 ptr, a 7 ptr., and seen a huge 8 or 10 three weeks ago. I' m planning on adding a little estrous to my mock scrapes on the way in, possibly doing some rattling and hopefully I' ll get one of those bucks. With the full moon and incredibly cold temps I' m gonna try and stay till noon or a little after then go grab a bite to eat and head back out hopefully by 130 or 2. Good luck to everyone!

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I invited a friend of mine to bowhunt Illinois this year & scouted & placed stands. I just filmed. On the 3rd afternoon-28 Oct around 5pm he arrowed a nice 8 point Buck at 25 yards. he had passed on a 3x2 the 1st afternoon-we saw very little in the am, but, I tried putting stands where we had a chance at a decent buck-this one was good enough for us. JoDavies county

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I live in the northern third of the state here in Illinois and this cold weather has them moviing good. The does are getting chased pretty good the last couple of days. I' m leaving for the stand pretty quick.

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I hunt in illinois. The cold front moved through earlier in the weekend and i seen deer activity all over. I seen more bucks this past week than i have ever seen in my past 5 years of hunting combined. I have seen many bruiser bucks this year. Im so excited about gun season cuz im gonna bag me a large one. Monday morning it was very bright and i spooked a bunch of deer out of the place i was hunting so i switched spots but the last couple mornings i havent been able to go im going tomm morning ill get back to you after that. You just have to get out there earlier and make sure u stay out of the moonlight the deer still move no matter what unless its really windy, raining heavy, or hot.
Ghillie 86
Pike County Illinois

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I also had alot of activity in the mornings. some REALLY late in the afternoon

RE: Confused in Illinois
 

I' ve been seeing activity all day long on pretty much all of my stands as of the last week or so. Last weekend I saw a combined total of 8 different bucks in 2 days. Some in the morning, some during mid day and some during night. I think right now it' s all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Try hunting doe hotspots and funnels connecting them. The big ones are out looking and running does all day long. If you sit long enough in a well used travel corridor it' s only a matter of time before one' s gonna come walking through. Well, at least that' s what I keep telling myself. :D