#1948882 - 06/04/10 06:46 AM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: Winchester]
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BigSatt
10 Point
Registered: 05/15/09
Posts: 3499
Loc: Northern Middle Tn.
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TTT
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#1949497 - 06/04/10 06:34 PM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: Winchester]
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BigSatt
10 Point
Registered: 05/15/09
Posts: 3499
Loc: Northern Middle Tn.
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Dang, I would have thought several people would have been interested in this. Oh well.
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#1950019 - 06/05/10 07:32 AM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: BigSatt]
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102
10 Point
Registered: 08/01/02
Posts: 3650
Loc: Tennessee
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BigSatt,
What you are saying makes little sense to me. I have been a public land, Southern Illinois hunter since 1999. I have taken several P/Y class bucks and have enjoyed EVERY hunt. I have never gun hunted because I do not wish to be limited to a few days. It is possible to get TWO buck tags in Illinois and unlimited doe tags if you have the cash. And the hunting license for non-resident is 57.00 while the habitat stamp is 5.00. Doe tags went up this year to about 25.50.
We bought land there in 2001 and built a cabin. If I had it to do over again, I'd head to Ohio. Illinois is simply TOO un-friendly to non-residents and has RIDICULOUS prices for their LOTTERY drawing permits.
But I completely agree with Winchester...I would MUCH rather take my chances with a bow for the WHOLE season than a few days with a shotgun.
I SERIOUSLY doubt that a 2 year observation of successful gun kills makes for a HARD truth that those bow hunters altered your success rates. Unless they killed ALL the bucks with their bows, which I doubt.
I guess if they were COMPLETELY wreckless about their scent, sound, and disturbance of the hunting areait would be possible but then, more than likely, they weren't very good bowhunters anyway.
Our experience has been that the RUT brings bucks and does from ALL OVER the place. IT seems that deer show up that NO one has seen before during the chase phase.
I believe, knowing a thing or two about the rut in Illinois the last several years, that a more accurate answer to why your gun kill was down, is because the rut has been REALLY weird the last few years. In fact, we have had a VERY hard time "hitting it right". And according to everyone we know up there in Illinois, they have all had similar experience. ANd these are the LOCALS.
We aren't sure, but the local biologists tell us that EHD hit harder than first expected. THis really hurt our BIG buck sightings and noticably dropped our large doe harvest. THis seems to be supported by the fact that EHD tends to affect the more MATURE deer in the herd.
I guess the good news is that it has been a few years now and hopes are, the bruisers will be "grown up" this season.
We'll see, I just put in my app. and got my license for 2010.
Anyway, good luck to you guys, let us know how it goes.
102
p.s.-I would allow bow hunters during at least ONE of the gun segments, I believe the muzzle loader segment allows archers.
Besides, this will be after the first shotgun hunt. Then you might allow a December bowhunt.
And BTW, if you are concerned about killing next years crop...put limits on the bucks.(age is best)
_________________________
God, Family, Job, Bowhunting
Luck is where Opportunity and Preparation MEET!
When in doubt...back out!
SCAPAS.stay calm and pick a spot.
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#1950177 - 06/05/10 01:18 PM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: 102]
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BigSatt
10 Point
Registered: 05/15/09
Posts: 3499
Loc: Northern Middle Tn.
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I appreciate you input 102, but I will have to disagree with a few of your points and I will attempt to explain why we are gun hunting only.
First off, one of the guys that has already committed, is a close friend of mine that happens to be a high school football coach in Franklin Ky.. He simply will not have ANY time to bow hunt, nor do very little (if any) scouting. The other guy is a friend of mine who is fairly high up the ladder of a local 7 county public utility. He is unable to get more than 5 workdays off at any one time; hence he can't justify paying the high price for the bow and gun tags both. And, yours truly, stopped bow hunting up there three years ago when the tag prices skyrocketed. Now the other two potentials, as I referred to them (lol), are both very good friends of mine. One of them lives in southern Alabama and his job requires him to work 2 weeks on/2 weeks off, so he can't hunt both weapons seasons during November to start with; and the other buddy lives just outside of Atlanta. He is self-employed, so he does not have time to hunt with both weapons either.
Now, having explained our personal situations, let me explain our main reason. Remember, our goal is for everyone to have an opportunity at a buck that makes them happy and maintain the future productivity of these properties. If, let's say, we have 8 people in this club, and we hunt 4 or 5 small farms (that are spread out around Wayne county) that collectively contain 450 to 500 acres; then we just might realize our goal. But, if we allowed bow hunting as well, then the number of tags available just doubled, thus jeopardizing the long-term (year in...year out) potential of these properties. Some of the high end 2 1/2 year olds that most likely would get a pass during the firearms season, just might get whacked with a bow, not to mention that you might wined up taking MORE than 8 bucks. No, I would like to see everyone in the club possibly have an opportunity with one weapon, as opposed to having a "mixed" bag if you will; and hopefully maintain the quality level on these farms for many years to come, instead of constantly looking for "new" properties each year.
As for the rut, Winchester is primarily hunting in Pike county, which is almost half a state away from Wayne county. The rut up there may indeed be the first two weeks of November. I have no way of knowing that for sure, as I haven't hunted up there before. I have confidence in Winchester's ability, so I am sure that he knows what goes on there. But, we are talking about the southern most 1/3 of the state. In 10 years of hunting there, the transition from peak chase phase to the peak of the rut has ALWAYS occurred during the first segment of the firearms season (Friday, Saturday, Sunday BEFORE Thanksgiving). I've hunted many different states throughout the midwest, and I have yet to see a more classic rut than what occurs in southern Illinois during this time frame.
As for the example that I gave in the earlier post about the effect of the increased bow hunting pressure. That 1,300 acres was primarily made up of CRP/weed choked river bottoms fields. What little timber there is, that is suitable for tree stands, is along the Elm river and its tributaries. I agree that many unseen before bucks show up during the rut, especially along the river systems. I am sorry that you "SERIOUSLY doubt our 2 year observation on successful gun kills"(....you'll just have to take my word on it I guess), but the "effect" that I am referring to wasn't just on bucks. In fact, I was MAINLY referring to the number of buck attracting does that inhabited the property. During that time frame (rut), it's hard to have rutting bucks with out estrous does. No ,they didn't kill all the bucks with their bows; and yes, they are very good hunters in general. It's just that, with the limited ambush locations along the rivers and the HEAVY increase in time afield, BEFORE the firearms season, by the guys that were laid off, resulted in higher pressure on the local deer herd, which definitely reduced the amount of daylight activity by the resident deer(doe)on that property.
I hope this helps to answer a few of your questions 102, and I wish you the best of luck this year as well.
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#1950191 - 06/05/10 01:55 PM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: BigSatt]
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BoneHead1
4 Point
Registered: 09/15/09
Posts: 199
Loc: East tn
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All this talk of Illinois is making my blood run hot! We have been gun hunting public land in southern Illinois for the past 5yrs.Ehd has had an effect on our sighting as well.Ohio is allot cheaper with some awesome bucks. I have always wanted to bow hunt Illinois, but never had the time or $.The way vacation fell this yr was perfect for us. We are going up for 10day this yr.We are going to bow hunt the 7 days before the first gun then pull out the slug guns!!! Tags are high, but it should be an unforgettable trip. No matter what plays out this year we plan on shifting back to Ohio after this trip...we shall see. Good luck to you guys!!!
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#1950206 - 06/05/10 02:51 PM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: BoneHead1]
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BigSatt
10 Point
Registered: 05/15/09
Posts: 3499
Loc: Northern Middle Tn.
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All this talk of Illinois is making my blood run hot! We have been gun hunting public land in southern Illinois for the past 5yrs.Ehd has had an effect on our sighting as well.Ohio is allot cheaper with some awesome bucks. I have always wanted to bow hunt Illinois, but never had the time or $.The way vacation fell this yr was perfect for us. We are going up for 10day this yr.We are going to bow hunt the 7 days before the first gun then pull out the slug guns!!! Tags are high, but it should be an unforgettable trip. No matter what plays out this year we plan on shifting back to Ohio after this trip...we shall see. Good luck to you guys!!!
Good luck to you, BH1!
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#1950219 - 06/05/10 03:26 PM
Re: Illinois Deer Hunting Opportunity
[Re: BigSatt]
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102
10 Point
Registered: 08/01/02
Posts: 3650
Loc: Tennessee
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BigSatt,
I understand your situation. I only wish to help you attain your goal of filling the spots. I see NO REASON not to allow ONE BUCK tag per hunter. PERIOD. THe ONLY limitation on the buck should be that:
*THERE is only ONE buck per hunter per year
*The buck must score a MINIMUM P/Y NET to kill it.
I just don't get your problem. If you want 8 hunters, and allow these guys to choose gun or bow, then the bow hunters...in YOUR words...do NOT get the best of the rut. THe gun hunters DO!
So you have your memberships, you have happy hunters because though the bowhunters get there first, the gunnies get the best RUT!
This is all just a suggestion. I REALLY don't care. I hope yall have fun and maybe I'll see you traveling up/down 24 E/W.
102
_________________________
God, Family, Job, Bowhunting
Luck is where Opportunity and Preparation MEET!
When in doubt...back out!
SCAPAS.stay calm and pick a spot.
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