Belle Island

Does anyone know any good public land in southern Illinois that is not overhunted? Thanks.

Hunt the thickets

c903

You can't go wrong if you hunt public land within the Shawnee National Forest areas. Make sure you carry a compass.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt...5hfs/index.htm

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt...heet/index.htm

http://gameandfish.about.com/library.../aa121501a.htm



Edited by - c903 on 08/27/2002 21:51:14

outdoorsmen

stay at home

jimmymac

Do not stay home. That is a pretty typical response from someone in Illinois even though you want to hunt on public land that is open to all of us through the use of OUR tax dollars. The locals complain about the non-residents, but if you look around some of the service roads in the Shawnee you will see them littered with garbage. I guess they think that I drove all the way from Pennsylvania to get rid of my old easy chair and fridge! Enough of that. I have hunted the Shawnee National Forest in the past and you won't run into heavy hunting pressure during archery season. There were many times that my buddy and I had literally thousands of acres to ourselves. We saw some gigantic deer, but we weren't good or lucky enough to take one of these monsters. But, they are there! Good luck and let me know if I can assist you further. Jimmymac

Lady Forge

Jimmymac; ( stay at home )is not a typical response from all Illinois residents. Im know there are plenty of us Illinois residents that welcome all law abbiding ethical fair chase hunters.

jimmymac

Sorry if I lumped everyone in the whole darn state into one pot, but to be honest with you, I ran into a lot of opposition from residents when I was beginning my quest to hunt in Illinois. I always had the feeling that a lot of the locals just barely tolerated us. Sad to say, but I even worried that something would happen to my truck whenever it was parked on one of the service roads on the forest. Maybe that was a little paranoid, but it was a direct affect of the local populace welcoming me with less than open arms. I'm sure that there are plenty of fine folks in the state, but it took me three years just to locate a farmer that would allow me to bow hunt his place. Back here in Pennsylvania, access to land is still easy to come by. Jimmymac

Lady Forge

Jim; Ive lived in Illinois for 14 years ad it took me a few yesrs to locate private hunting ground, its hard to find private land around here also. So many farms are already locked into family only or friends or are charging a fee for a lease. And I am sure that there is always some persons that are non local unfriendlys. But dont let them spoil it for you.

Don K

Yep, not a typical answer from a Illinois Resident. Maybe you just had the bad luck to talk to the bad apples.....

If you hunt the Shawnee make sure you get some good maps. The Shawnee is not one large piece of land. It is scattered throughout private land and in many different counties. Study the maps, you can find some nice ground to hunt. 3 years ago i spent a week and a half down there in November and had a great time. Saw lots of deer, some good bucks, and even hunted with a NR from Mississippi that i met while camping there..............

Were all not bad......<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

IL-Cornfed

I think alot of the hard feeling towards NRs come from the recent outfitting pressure in the last few years. Many NRs have begun to try and buy or leases many peoples hunting spots and tempers are starting to flare. Now I try to see both sides of the coin but it is frustrating to loose property you've been hunting for 10 to 15 years because somebody from another state can write a bigger check than several workin' men from this area. Of course I've also grown fond of telling all the residents to stop entering their deer in record books and they wouldn't bring so much of this on 'em. Personally I don't see why any hunter in Illinois would care if an NR is hunting public land however.But loosing the private good stuff has to sting a little.

Big Country

Belle Island, I have never hunted the Shawnee National Forest, but hear it is fantastic!

Jimmymac, you must have had some bad luck meeting the people you did in Illinois. I have hunted in Pike Co. for 5 years now, and I can honestly say that I have met hundreds of locals while there. I have many new friends for life, and have encountered one person with an attitude towards non-residents in that whole time! The people I meet while in Illinois are as friendly as you will find anywhere. Every vehicle that passes you will wave, every time! I am ashamed to say that when I get home after spending 3 weeks hunting in Pike Co. every year, I will wave to people on the rural roads around home and about half the time people look at me like I`m nuts!

IL-Cornfed hit on a very good point! There are hard feelings, and understandably so, about non-residents like myself coming in and paying a farmer to hunt his ground. The farm my friends and I hunt every year used to be bowhunted by one man. Then, 5 years ago, the farmer decided to try to get some money out of this hunting thing. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I only get the land for bow season, it is gun hunted by the farmers friends every year. I am truly lucky, because I cannot/will not get into a bidding war over the ground. I have paid the same amount for 5 years, while outfitters have offered much more than I pay. So far, the friendship and trust my landowner has in me and my hunting buddies has kept us there.
And while I am sure it happens, since I have been hunting this farm, NOT ONE resident has tried to lease this ground for personal use, only outfitters.

NRA,UBP,BASS Member
New Stanton,PA