orthobowhunter

I finally couldn' t stand being cooped up studying anymore, so I xeroxed some pages out of my book and headed for my treestand for the afternoon. I was thinking that the hunt should be great- the weather has cooled down some and the posts on this site have tended to be more favorable. My juices really got going when I saw a large buck standing in cut corn at 1:00 pm. Anyway, I finally got to my spot and the wind was perfect for my setup. I was quiet by 2:30. I was expecting the action to start at any minute, but NO. I finally saw three does right at sunset. They spooked when a coyote about 100 yds away started to howl at the nearly full moon. Am I correct in guessing that the moon is screwing the hunting right now? I sure was expecting to see action after seeing that buck in broad daylight 100 yds from a major road. What are other Illinois hunters seeing? (I was in Menard county, just north of Springfield).

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orthobowhunter

Bigbuck00- I believe you about the mornings. I got a good report from a friend about this mornings hunt. I just always seem to get hosed on afternoon hunts with a nearly full moon.

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peashooter

Mornings just might be the key. Then again, the height of my activity for today was at about 2:30 in the afternoon. At this time of year it' s hard to say. Deer aren' t very predictable right now, so a lot of it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. You might have been in a good area, the deer just weren' t there at the same time you were.

peashooter

triton_tj

With the hot weather last week the deer were only moving in the morning we managed to harvest 2 bucks most of the activity was in the morning with bucks chasing does. Lots of scrapes all over and we passed on alot of smaller deer. We left wed morning the cool weather should get them moving. Good lucl cant wait untill the 18th when i get back down there. We hunted pulaski and union Co

triton_tj

first deer was my partners hear is mine

titleist_03

I saw some small bucks chasing and sparing two weeks ago. Then last week with the warm temps I didn' t see too much. A couple small bucks feeding with a doe in a corn field. Showed no interest in each other or the doe. I thought that was kinda strange. Went out tonight for a few hours. Saw 6 does, all in the last 45 of legal light. I' m headed out in the morning bright and early to a spot where I have pics of a nice 8 ptr, a 7 ptr., and seen a huge 8 or 10 three weeks ago. I' m planning on adding a little estrous to my mock scrapes on the way in, possibly doing some rattling and hopefully I' ll get one of those bucks. With the full moon and incredibly cold temps I' m gonna try and stay till noon or a little after then go grab a bite to eat and head back out hopefully by 130 or 2. Good luck to everyone!

ahunter55

I invited a friend of mine to bowhunt Illinois this year & scouted & placed stands. I just filmed. On the 3rd afternoon-28 Oct around 5pm he arrowed a nice 8 point Buck at 25 yards. he had passed on a 3x2 the 1st afternoon-we saw very little in the am, but, I tried putting stands where we had a chance at a decent buck-this one was good enough for us. JoDavies county

Stephen Grace

I live in the northern third of the state here in Illinois and this cold weather has them moviing good. The does are getting chased pretty good the last couple of days. I' m leaving for the stand pretty quick.