Splitear_Leland

Haven't you been following any of the posts, this is a dicussion. Get off of you greedy soap box, I pay taxes too, taxes that go to help small business such as outfitters start up. I pay taxes on CRP ground that is paid to keep out of production, but still makes unknown amounts of money by people hunting on it. Do go to preaching to me about where I should hunt. You know that outfitting puts a squeeze on the average hunter yet you still want to make us believe that you are the saviors of the outdoor world. Look guys, if it wern't for outfitters paying their taxes, not only would there not be any deer, but there would be no public ground for us lowly deadbeat hunters to hunt these great gifts that were given to us from the almighty outfitter.

Kid

Actually, none of the Shawnee National Forest is privately owned. And, it is owned by the Federal Government not the State, so i find it hard to believe that any of it gets leased out by the State.

Cougar Mag

I beg to differ, at least about some of it not being privately owned. While picking up a plat map at the National Forest Service headquarters in Harrisburg an official told me that not all of the available public hunting land was marked as sometimes signs are weathered or torn down. On the plat map I bought (which shows all of Shawnee in Illinois) there is quite a bit of the forest itself which has been private property for many years. They advised me to pick out an area or two I was interested in and buy maps for those specific areas detailing the boundaries.

englum_06

People like you... you just don't understand anything. There's no sense in even talking to you about it.

burniegoeasily

Dont care for them. The w h o r e out the land and animals for top dollar, leaving the land and animals in bad shap. Then move on. I had outfitters ruin one of my properties. They leased land next to mine and raped it, until it was out of animals, then moved on. It took more than 8 years before I started seeing animals agian. That was after they gave up the lease next to my land. They had clients out 7 days a week. Thats a lot of deer for one area. They didnt care, they leased it, and when the animals were gone, they gave up the lease and moved to the next streach of land. Im see that very problem around me right now with all the goose outfitters. Use to be thousands up on thousands of birds around here. Now you are lucky to see a few. The outfitters have just about drivin them out of this county.

bhunter50

we run coyote dogs all over this part of IL, and I can't tell you how many outfitted properties we have permission to coyote hunt that we find dead bucks on.......with the heads cut off!! It's sad. There is an investigation going on....short fruitless one.....pointing towards outfitters that dumped a half dozen dead headless bucks in the local gas station dumpster!!! I don't like the idea of hunting becoming a big money industry, but if they are doing it LEGALLY....why not.

Kid

Actually, there are lots of pieces of private property that are completely surrounded by National Forest Land. I think that is what is confusing the issue here. I never meant to imply that the National Forest was one contiguous piece of ground.By definition, if it is National Forest Land, it is public, not private. The point is, the parcels that aremarked on your map as private property are not part of the National Forest,therefore i stand by my statement that NONE of the Shawnee National Forest is private property.

Cougar Mag

Point taken. I guess I'd like to see it as one huge block of public land, be easier for people like me to interpret the maps.......lol. Hope to make it there for a few weekend hunts sometime just for the fun of it.

englum_06

Cougar, not to get off topic, but just noticed that you're from SE central, IL. Around where at in central Illinois? Im from Paris. (Edgar county)

Cougar Mag

Robinson in Crawford County.