Hey guys/gals
Looking to hunt some public land this 2nd gun season in Northern IL. Anyone hunt these 2 areas before? Looking at standby permits at these parks since they are either sex, not antlerless like most other parks. Lowden-Miller is south of Castle Rock SP on the South side of the Rock River (Ogle Co) & Green River is Lee Co between Harmon & Ohio. Looking for best areas to hunt & if you've hunted both, which SP you prefer. Haven't had & won't have time to scout either one since I want to hunt Thurs. & maybe Fri. Thanks for your help!

See the post "Illinois second season".

Hey Lowden-Miller looks pretty good to me for a stand-by opportunity. I'm gonna talk to my nephew for possibility. Castle Rock is right there tooyet it is AO.

Mapquest sez 82.9 miles & 1 hr 38 min from my house. Can't beat that.

Saw one deer all day & it saw me first so no shot. Now I remember why I hunt public land - think you found a spot no one else has found, lean up against a tree & get comfy & BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!! 100 yards around the bend. So then you think, crap, & still hunt your way 500 yards away to a better spot & an hour later BOOM goes the muzzleloader just behind the big tree over there....

Only like 6 permits showed up this morn, so there were 44 open spots for standby-I was the 2nd drawn, so that part was great. Just alot of people that liked the same spots.

Will try Green River tomorrow & see if it's a little less crowded.

I've hunted LM for the last 3yrs bow only. I've seen some nice bucks but only taken a small 7pt last year. I believe if you hunt in lot 5 and hike as far as you can you should be in good shape. Seems like most gunners don't want to walk that far but who knows until you're out there. Good luck!!