illinois gun season public land
 

i am looking to hunt public land during the shot gun and muzzleloader season. i am possibly losing the private land that i have been hunting. i live in northern illinois just outside of chicago. i have been hunting south of rockford. i am looking for public land that is easily accessible and not too many hoops to jump through. does anybody know of any, and if so which ones?

Every northern Illinois public land that I am aware of requires you to draw gun permits there via the lottery. 95% go in the 1st lottery. It's a real crapshoot for them. I moved to Illinois 5 years ago and drew 3 of those years, but had to be lucky I think. The only public land I know does not require drawing is the Shawnee NF down south. For there you just apply for that county's permit, which generally are available even after the 1st lottery.

If you must stay north, I suggest applying for a less popular property, but even those are hard to identify, because the ILDNR does not publish any draw stats for any public properties.

ive hunted in the shawnee the last 3 years.the 1st gun season it gets hammered friday and saturday.most people start pulling out and heading north sunday morning.2nd season is much less crowded and you get an extra day to hunt.now would be a good time to pick an area and start scouting it on the weekends.