I am from central Ark and have never hunted anywhere else. I have family living in the Cairo/Mounds area of southern Illinois. They farm corn, beans, etc. HOW IS THE DEER HUNTING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS??? I am thinking about asking them if I can come up next year to hunt (I know they'd say yes)...would it be worth it. I want to try for a "BIG" deer. Are their any trophy class deer in that area?

no big deer in illinios only small spikes maybe a basket eight once in awhile your better off to stay at home

oops!!!!!!!!

I broker hunts and guide in Western Illinois. Our hunting is very,very good.

The deer in southern Illinois share most of the genetic material as my Pike County bucks so I would expect the genetic potential to be outstanding, especially if they have the corn and beans.

Southern Illinois has some counties that are among the state leaders in deer harvested. The Shawnee National Forest lies in the general area so there are thousands of acres of public land to hunt for free. You can check the Illinois DNR website for kill data to see how that county lies in harvest numbers.

The NR tags in 2003 sold out in about 4 days so I would not dally when it is time to call for tags. That is usually the second Saturday in July.

Good luck and email me if you have more questions.

LLBUX
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They have some phenomenal deer down there, great genetics and forage! I would go for it!

WhiteRiverHunter, I grew up in West Central Illinois spending my time hunting McDonough and Fulton counties. I did not think the deer hunting could get any better....until I moved to Southern Illinois! I have lived in Jackson county the past four years, hunting both Jackson and Williamson. I am still amazed at the number of deer down here. To answer your question about big deer, yes there are plenty of those too. If you have access to ag and timber it would definitely be worth your time to come up and hunt. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.