Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game East to Illinois....

It's easy to believe the Campfire is nothing more than a giant pissing contest about optics, politics, and which caliber is the most overrated....6.5 Creedmoor by a mile btw. It's all of those things of course, but it's also a lot more. At it's best it's a conduit for like-minded folks to forge friendships and share experiences. It's this last part that brought my son and I to Illinois for a pretty epic deer hunt.

It's been 7 or 8 years now since Tim (TDN) and I met on a shared thread to buy some bullets here on the Campfire. I think our initial commonality was Model 70s, but it's been long enough now I can't swear to it. A couple of years after that first discussion, Tim generously offered to host Skane and I on a deer hunt on his family farm in southern Illinois. I didn't manage to tag anything in spite of Tim's best efforts. Still, it was an amazing trip and I couldn't wait to return the favor. Last fall Tim came out to Idaho and the moon and stars aligned for one of the best hunts of my life. Barely 5 minutes into opening morning, Tim connected on a great OTC, public land bull.



I think I managed to wait a whole 5 minutes after Tim had killed his bull to very subtly suggest (beg) that I would love a second chance to come hunt on his family's farm with with him again. In the euphoria of the moment Tim graciously agreed to let me return. Fast-forward to June of this year and I jumped online purchase a plane ticket to Illinois. Unbeknownst to me, Covid-19 had driven the cost of plane tickets down to a ridiculously low level. I was shocked to find a round-trip ticket from Boise to Chicago was only $159. My wheels started spinning. My son (Rowdy) is 18 and a freshman at the University of Idaho. Like his old man, he's also pretty eaten up with all things hunting. I called Tim feeling like a bit of an azz for even asking quite honestly. In typical Tim fashion, he graciously agreed to let me bring the boy along.

It would be a short trip as the season was only three days long for the period we had allocated to hunt. We'd fly out on Thursday, hunt Fri/Sat/Sun, and then fly back home on Monday. Considering I hadn't even taken the safety off on the first trip five years prior, my expectations were tempered for Rowdy and I. People think giant deer are behind every tree in Illinois, but that's simply not the case as I learned the first time out. There is the potential for a monster every time you step outside for sure, but those deer don’t come easily.

Flying with Covid was a royal pain for the record. Here is Rowdy on the flight out. He's he kid in camo, not the rather effeminate looking gentlemen in green....



Tim picked us up at the chaos that is the O'Hara Airport in his Tundra that Rowdy correctly described as "badazz". We couldn't get in the truck and on the road fast enough. Chicago is a cesspool and that's all I have to say about that.

A couple of hours later we arrived at Tim's cousin's house. I'd had the good fortune to meet Garen and his buddy Jordan on the previous trip. To say they are likeable is an understatement. Garen had kindly welcomed us all in and we'd be staying with him for the duration of the trip. Garen's father (Glen) joined us that evening, as well as a couple of other buddies from the area. It was a great way to introduce Rowdy to the gang as we shared a few beers, and even more laughs to follow...




Garen has a couple of sheds in his garage that are the stuff a guy dreams about...





Tim gave me the pick of several great options to hunt the opener, and I elected to watch a small patch of CRP ground bordered by a small creek and some corn field in various states of harvest. It was quite simply one of the most perfect places to hunt whitetail that I have ever seen. A small 3x3 materialized at the edge of the CRP field as the sun began to rise. He wasn't the type of buck I had traveled to Illinois to take, but it sure made my pulse quicken as I strained to make out his rack through my binoculars in the early darkness. Not long after he wandered off, a small forked horn worked his way along the creek below me. The sun was fully risen by this point, and he all but glowed. It was a beautiful morning and I was thoroughly enjoying watching him feed along when I suddenly caught sight of two deer coming across a distant field in my direction. Even at 500 yards, I could tell it was a good buck trailing a doe. I lost sight of them at about the 300 yard mark, which was just a bit too far even for Tim's long range muzzle-loader setup. It was equal parts frustrating and exciting watching the buck for a good 20 minutes that I could see him. I wouldn't be putting my tag on him that morning, but it sure was a great reminder of what Illinois has to offer.

Here is the little forked horn making his way up the creek....




To be continued....

Tag

What a Richard.

Keep us waiting in such excitement. Geez

Really looking forward to the rest of the story

Man, I can’t wait to hear the rest!

continued...

Friday evening brought nothing except a beautiful sunset.



The same was true for Rowdy and the rest of the boys. In spite of the lack of opportunities we were having the time of our lives. Friday night back at Garens brought more of the lie telling, drinking, and scheming for the morning to follow. I THINK I drank some of this. I don’t remember for sure, which means I probably did.



Saturday morning I headed out just north of the main farm to a spot Tim called the “money blind”. It was a new blind he’d hung just a couple of months prior, overlooking a pinch of land between two tracts of timber. I scrambled my fat azz up the steps in the darkness and settled in for the wait. The mountains of Idaho aren’t much fun to hike most days, but ten minutes on a cold piece of steel suspended 25’ up had me missing what I know. The sun finally began rise and reveal yet another fantastic landscape around me. I ignored my aversion to heights and tried to stay still and focused. Maybe fifteen minutes after legal shooting light I craned my neck slightly and was mildly suprised to see a good buck headed my way.

He was only 200 yards out and walking at a steady and easy gate. I could immediately hear dull thudding in my ears as I was flooded with a healthy shot of adrenaline. The wind was in my favor and I was well concealed. I was confident this was going to play out in my favor and I did my best to try and mentally slow down time and just enjoy it.

I let him get to about 80 yards out and when he gave me a good angle I gave a light grunt and stopped him. At the shot he sprinted maybe 30 yards before he began to falter. I immediately texted the boys to give them the good news, and Jordan called to tell me he’d be out to pick me and the deer up in a few minutes. I climbed down the tree and made my way to the buck. He wasn’t nearly as big as the local boys have taken over the years, but he was a fine-looking buck and I was immensely pleased to put my tag on him.

Jordan snapped this photo for me before we loaded him up.



Thank God Jordan is a big, strapping lad because deer are HEAVY in Illinois and he did the lion’s share of the pulling to get him loaded up.



to be continued...

Nice deer and good whiskey Dave. 👍 great write as well

....”Money STAND...”.

My western brother,
Blinds are the camo pop-up tents we use
Stand/tree stand is what had your goofy ass up in a tree

Tamato/Tomoto

Most excellent - and congrats on a fine buck, Dave.
I'm glad Rowdy got to experience a flatland hunt too.

Wow, I'll echo that! Helluva nice buck and some good sipping whiskey!! Awesome across the board!

Great story!!

More to come gents.... we’re only 1/2 way through the trip!

That bottle is going to be empty at that end, isn't it TDN?

Well... I can’t remember if the Angel’s Envy got drained, but I did ribs on the smoker for that Saturday so there were ample empties by bedtime that night

I've only had the Port-Finished version of Angel's Envy, but it was pretty tasty.

EDIT: I now see that you had the same. Good stuff.

Tales like these are why the 'Fire still has redeeming value.

Good folks who'd never meet otherwise, come together as kindred spirits to drink kindred spirits. Sometimes, hunting even occurs.

Excellent, all-around. Weidmannsheil!

FC

Awesome write up so far! That’s quite the assortment of beers in the first bar pic! And some Pendleton I think!😃
Great buck also! Congrats!

Good stuff Dave. So glad Rowdy had the opportunity to make the trip! I'm already itching to get after it again next season...