Well Mag you asked us what we would do in your circumstances.

Since you have so much time to hunt, I would definately fill your doe tag for the freezer and if that meat is gonna be enough then hunt for the buck you want 'till the last week, then harvest for the freezer again if needed.

Good luck my friend, I hope it all works out for you.

Troy

Well coug, you didn't provide a big piece of information for an Illinois boy. Do you slug or smokepole hunt? Have you already tagged a buck in one of those seasons, or are you on just your archery tag.

My situation is close to yours. I am sitting on one either sex tag right now. I am tentativly waiting on a shooter buck. But come early december I will shoot another doe and then go buy another tag at the store and keep on gunning for the big ones. I find it hard this part of the season to shoot a doe when I only have an either sex tag and you never know what could be following her or be by a little later.

But if I was sitting on a doe tag along with my either sex, I would be wacking the first doe by, as long as I could tell nothing was trailing her..wouldn't want to blow an opportunity at mr big following her in.

i would drink a beer and think about it[X(]

I also hunt IL and have an anterless and buck tag left. My personal strategy is to strictly trophy hunt for a buck until the last two weeks of the season, then fill my tags with a doe or mature buck, whichever I get a crack at first.

I really like late season hunting around here, there's less food so the deer are more congregated, most people have tagged out or quit hunting so it's like I have the world to myself. I've got access to two acres of standing corn in a woodlot food plot that I can't wait to get into. Late season afternoon hunts on a hot food source are a blast...