The IL. second firearms season was Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1 and 2, Thursday-Friday. On Thursday morning, didn't see anything for the first couple hours. No shots around close and not many in the distant either. I decided I was going to try to make something happen so I headed out across an open field from the creek I had been sitting by to a wooded hill side where deer bed. I had heard deer walking in there before it got day light. I made my way across the field slowly and stopping frequently to watch the hill side. The wind was in my face. I made it to the edge of the woods and would take one or two steps then stand and look for a minute or two before I took another step. I did this all the way to the top and stood for a few minutes and didn't a thing. I took one step and the timber exploded right in front of me with deer. There were 8 or 9 doe that were bedded not more the 20 yards from me. They all ran except one that apparently didn't see me because it's head was behind a tree from me. I shot it at 17 yards with my shotgun. It wasn't a big one but that's ok because a friend of ours was wanting some small deer for sausage.
This deer filled my last firearms permit so on Friday afternoon I took my wife out for her first deer hunt and the video camera. The wind wasn't right for where we were going to hunt so we had to come into it from a picked cornfield the deer feed in. I didn't like the setup very well but that's the way it is sometimes. I told my wife we'll probably get busted from a deer that would come from across the field and that's just what happened. A few minutes later a doe and fawn come across the field but was to far for Linda to take a shot. As we watched these two, I very tall unique 6 point buck came across the field trailing the doe. If I would have brought my muzzle loader along I could have shot it and filled one of my muzzle loader permits, but I was hoping to get a video of Linda shooting her first deer and didn't take it.
Sat. morning didn't see anything and again, not much shooting going on around the area. Sat Lucas shot these two deer, one with shotgun and the other one with his muzzle loader.
Here is a nice 8 point buck Lucas shot with his bow.
I'll be posting our muzzle loader season results later.
Enjoy it while you have it, because things will change.
“Never trust the veracity of anything you read on the internet. That’s how World War I started.” — Abraham Lincoln.