RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

try siloam springs state park. I hunted a private piece of land right next to the entrance and saw enourmous deer. These are the kind you see on the cover of outdoor life and field and stream. check it out....the closest big town is quincy.

beej

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

if you want to hunt big whitetail go to northern IL there is a place in loves park IL that is supposed to be awesome lots of hills and cliffs. email me if you need more help.

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

I don't have a big problem with people hunting out of state. I find it annoying that everyone thinks that Illinois is the "mother land" for big deer. It's that muck better than anywhere else. the land it self is not pretty like out west. nothing pretty about a bunch of corn and bean fields. I'm not worried about hunting with out of state hunters because I own my own land and all my neighobrs will not let anyone other than themselves hunt. I like the fact that Illinois raised the out of state tag fees. state's should take care of their own residents first and outsiders later. and last I checked only Illinois residents paid Illinois taxes jimmymac, and don't give an opinion on how/what Illinois residents think or feel if you do not live here. you to would find it annoying if you were driving to you hunting spot and passing trucks, expensive cars, or a four-wheel-drive mini-van called an SUV's, all along the roads.
what does the litter have to do with who hunts where? like Illinois is the only place that people litter. good guys use public land, bad guys abuse it.
by the way, outfitters are a joke. the big deer that they have are bought at auctions and released, or saved to be used as breeders. it happens all the time.

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

You are the one who started this crap by telling Belle to stay home. Notice the word National in front of Shawnee. That means National Forest which also means that yes indeed, part of my tax dollars are also used. As far as the litter, I was trying to show you that the problem doesn't always fall at the non residents feet. Many times locals will complain about the N.R.'s then turn around and do something stupid, like tossing their trash about. So in that case who has more respect for the land they are using? Also, if the sight of a nice vehicle makes you cringe, you have some serious issues. Since you said that you have your own land to hunt on why the heck would it annoy you to see me on the road with my fancy 1996 Ford Bronco while I am on my way to hunt on OUR national forest. Nicest six year old vehicle around I guess. Now if I could only find a good body man to fix the rear quarters. Get a life!

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

Outdoorsman, The Il DNR Raising the NR tags was nothing more than Greed also, Those tags sold out in a month! Il cornfed hit on the head...Stop the advertising!

IMO, outfitters need to be dissolved, they are ruining this sport, that along with the hunters who pay thier price.

I am from Southern Il and regretably will not be hunting it this year because of the price hike...I will not patronize it.

Belle, if you can catch the time, do some lobbying in Randolph and Perry counties, still alot of farmers in the area who havent been corrupted by the stench of greed.


Legion of Doom Enforcer

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm trying to plan a week long hunt for next season. I just don't like the idea of a pay hunt. I want to hunt true free roaming whitetails on public land or on a farmer's private land.

Hunt the thickets

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

outdoorsman

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> .....the land it self is not pretty like out west. nothing pretty about a bunch of corn and bean fields.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Are you sure you live in Illinois? Are you sure you live in Belleville, the lower Ohio and Mississippi valley region?

Even in the narrow corridor of central Illinois, where the glacier cut its swath, though there are many corn and bean fields, there are also lakes and timber, especially river timberlines that run for miles.

Give me a cornfield edge butting a timberline, over open and rolling hills any day. After harvest, what is it you consistently see standing in those harvested fields, and leaving obvious trails to get there and to leave?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..... and the hunter looking for a large grain-fed whitetail.

This shooter must not have any personal pride. To think that he would display to the world that he shot this buck while hunting ugly cornfields. :)


PS: Why would you want to own ugly land? :)







Edited by - c903 on 09/03/2002 21:32:21

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

I spent a week hunting the Shawnee back in 2000. There were 6 of us hunting the week before shotgun season. Saw some enormous bucks and no other hunters until the shotgun season opened. Even then we only saw a handful. I came back empty-handed but overflowing with memories.

Turc

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

Shawnee National Forest would be my first choice. I still hunt there! You can see some real bruisers during the rut.

SNF gets a lot of attention from in state and out of state bowhunters in the fall, but if you use your maps you can scout out a few spots to yourself. My experience with most other bowhunters is that they will work with you once you get there to avoid everyone hunting the same general areas. Most guys will tell you the general areas they are in (not the exact spots) so you can avoid cutting each other off. Many will even share their &quot;general knowledge&quot; of the area with you. Also, if you talk to DNR agens they can give you a bit more insight when you get there.

It is absolutely beautiful in the fall! Maps are a must! Also, if it is warm you may want your snake boots. We've seen a few timber rattlers over the years.

Good Luck!

RE: Good Public Land In Illinois?
 

Amen to map and compass. The first year me and my bud hunted there we most definately got lost. Not turned around...But flat out lost. I made sure that my orienteering skills were vastly improved the next time around. A lot of those valleys in the Shawnee look the same. I found that a GPS used in conjunction with the compass and map were the ticket. A good tip is to enlarge the scale for the portion of the map you are using. You will only be using a small portion of the topo map while hunting anyway. The scale on the map gets messed up, but with the GPS it is no big deal. Belle, if you want to, send me an e-mail and I will dig out the old quadrangle maps I have and give you the their map numbers. I probably have some GPS coordinates that I would be willing to share with you also. They show trails, hunting spots, etc. You can get way off the beaten path if you choose. However, in doing so, please remember that on the Shawnee if you have to drag a deer out a couple miles it will be brutal. Some serious mountains and valleys. A deer dolly would come in handy. The one big downfall that I experienced while out there was that some of the locals were using ATV's to get in and out of the forest. Even though they are not allowed on the forest it didn't stop these guys. It was disheartening to have some yoo hoo ride by my stand at first light when it took me 35 minutes to get to my spot by foot. Good luck.
Jimmymac:)