Thanks for the comments...I finally broke my string of bad luck

I am hunting on the edge on Randolph and Monroe county and things have been real slow. Lack of water and hot weather equals no bucks moving. I have seen a few does and a bunch of turkeys. Hopefully some rain and cooler weather will get things moving this week.

Finally got out Saturday afternoon and I didn't have any luck, saw 3 does and forkhorn. My buddy was able to stick a small doe and also missed a nice doe when he underestimated the yardage. So all in all not a bad day for the first time out...

I got out yesturday. Had a decent 8-point 3 or 4 year old come out, but offered no shot. Two hours later, a 6-point yearling came out and gave me a beautiful broad-side pose at about 10-yards. I let him walk. He looked like he'd be something to think about in a year or 2. Definetly a wall-hanger in 3 years. He had a decent spread and some length to his tines, for a yearling.

My point is, they were both 'cruising', looking around, noses to the ground. I'm thinking they may be starting the pre-rut.

Choked on a 150-160" on Columbus Day. Shot it square in the shoulder at 8 YARDS AWAY, only got 2 inches of penetration(hair and meat). Still get sick thinking about it.

I was reading that some of you guys hunt Will Co. Public land. Have always been interested, but never gave it a shot. Been agun hunter all my life and due to loosing my land to housing developments, am out of options to hunt. I started up shooting a bow 5 years ago and consider myself efficient enough to start deer hunting. I have many deer under my belt with a gun, but was loooking into bow hunting. I was wondering if anyone could give me any opinions on some good spots in Will Co.? I have looked into Des Plaines, Mazonia, Heidecke and Kankakee, but worried that they might be so over hunted it would be impossible to see anything. I live in Downtown Chicago near Wrigley Fieldand am probably the only late 20 something guy, letalone any guywith a deer pole rigged over my first floor balcony! Any help would be greatly appreciated, its tough finding spots to hunt whenyou live inChicago and grew up in theNorth Suburbs where Iwould see8 pointers every mile at the forest preserves, but none in the back of pick up trucks where they should be! Any help would be appreciated, I have all the gear with my climber, bow and camo, so Im just looking for an opportunity. Im sure nobody wantsto give up there "Secret Spot" but anywhere I could get a chance to harvest a deer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all and also, if anyone knowsif these places offer public small game (rabbitand such) I would appreciate it, justtrying to get out in the woods this fall.Thanks to all and I wish you all 150+ bucks this year!!

I'd seriously consider Mazonia. It's a little far for me now, but I hunted out there a few years ago, and if you want to hike in a little, there's some pretty good spots to be found. Plus, they opened up a couple new sections either last year or the year before. I don't think it gets as much pressure as the other places mentioned.

DesPlaines can only be hunted with a permit, and they only give out 500 now, and they gave them out Sept. 1st. Kankakee use to require permits, but they stopped that last year, and now anyone can go there and just sign in. There's alot of newbie nit-wits out there which just spooks the deer. It's tough hunting.

Heidecke isn't that bad, and it's not far off I-55, so it's pretty easy to get to. Remember tho, they have a minimum point number (I think it's something like 4 on a side). And Goose Lake across the way is doe-only. That's a hard place to hunt (Goose Lake), since it's a Tall Grass prairie. No trees, and very little cover. I got within bow range of deer a few times (I was always facing the wrong way....), but it's hard.

Starved Rock State Park has a bunch of new areas open for bowhunting now. I'm gonna spend some time there this year. It's a bit of a drive, but alot of it has never been hunted before.

Marseilles Fish and Wildlife Area south of Marseilles is an excellent area. It's one of my favorites. You have to get in there deep to get away form all the damn pheasant-hunters, but there's alot of deer in there, and some really nice bucks. It's a haul, but it's a great place to spend the day. And it's not that hard to get around in if you have a compass and know to look for a few of the landmarks (high tension towers) to keep an eye on. I love that place. And I think it's something like 2500-2600 square acres. Pretty huge. I see deer there almost ever time I go out. Not everytime, but close.

Another place you might want to look into is Iroquois Fish and Wildlife Area. It's due south of the city and doesn't get alot of pressure. Momence Wetlands is a little closer (north of Iroquois), but I've never been there.

Moraine Hills state park is a decent place. It'snorth and west of the city. 1400 huntable acres and a good deer population.

I could go on, but if you grab a Hunting Digest form Walmart or anywhere that sells hunting licenses you can look them up yourself. That's how I found them all.

Good luck!