General Hunting Blog

Find the beds, find the sheds

Want to find more whitetail sheds? Here are 7 quick tips to help you find more shed antlers this spring… Find the Food Food is the name of the game in finding deer antlers. If you don’t have a quality late season food source you probably won’t find many sheds. Standing beans or corn will

Large Shed Antler on Southern Slope

Finding a match set of sheds can be a difficult task to say the least. Bucks can be one sided for multiple days allowing them to drop their antlers literally miles apart. However, the majority of bucks if left undisturbed, will stay within a distinguished late season pattern as long as cover and a quality

basic coyote calling tips and coyote decoy set up

There’s no better time to go coyote calling than right now in the midst of winter! Let the snow fall and the lead fly! Here are some basic tips to get you started on coyote calling… Wind Direction and Coyote Calling Coyotes tend to come in downwind, or at least try to circle in downwind

Will your grandchildren hunt?
This is not only a question for the grandparents of today but for the next 2 generations that will be grandparents in say, 40 years. Think back to when our forefathers came to this part of the country and to what it must h

Opening weekend duck hunt.

The 2022 Waterfowl season is in full swing! We have had a phenomenal start to our season, even with the above average temperatures- our clients have had several great hunts! In the beginning a lot of grey ducks (teal, gadwall) moved into the area, now we’re starting to see more mallards and specklebelly geese as

Boone and Crockett Scoring Measuring a bucks score with the B&C (Boone and Crocket) scoring method is one of the most utilized ways of determining a whitetail deer’s score. It’s a relatively simple technique that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort to complete. All you need is a 1/4 inch wide, steel tape

To shoot or pass a buck weighs on many whitetail hunters’ minds each season. The looming question “what will he be next year?” might be squandering in your head when an opportunity at a buck presents itself. For years hunters have tried to justify there deer as “trophies” because of the number of inches of

If you enjoy watching monster, velvet toting bucks in the summertime, Pike County, Illinois might just be the top destination throughout the Midwest! Heartland Lodge is located in the heart of prime whitetail country that supports some of the biggest deer in the nation. The fertile farmlands that surround the lodge help to supplement growing

Zach Jumps scouting for whitetail sheds

Access to a new deer hunting lease or hunting property is always an exciting experience whether it be 20 acres or 500 acres, you probably day dream about what caliber of bucks waiting to be hunted. I’ve compiled a short list of tips you can utilize to help get started on a new deer hunting

Great memories with father and daughter during Illinois Youth Turkey Season.

Any turkey hunter’s first turkey holds a special place in their heart. The anticipation and excitement that goes along with the adrenaline rush of having a big tom at close range kicks off an addiction that will last a lifetime. Few things can be compared to the awakening of the spring woods on a calm