September Upland Hunting Promotions!

Guided wild pheasant hunts

Now is the time to book your September Upland Hunt! Our schedule is filling in quickly, give us a call at 217-734-2526 to reserve your hunt!

September is an incredible time to experience the phenomenal wingshooting opportunities that Harpole’s Heartland Lodge has to offer. The first signs of fall tout its arrival as the gently rolling farmland around the lodge turns into a mosaic of beautiful yellows, oranges and reds. Our guides and dogs have conditioned and trained all summer for “opening day” and anxiously await for the first hunt of the year. Hunting the early season offers comfortable hunting conditions, more wild birds than any other part of the season and a variety of exciting wingshooting action.

Take advantage of our September upland hunting promotions below! Rates are for a LIMITED TIME ONLY!!

Regular HuntsRegularPromotion RateSavings
Four Night/Three Day$3,630$3,000$630
Three Night/Two Day$2,460$2,040$420
Two Night/One Day$1,290$1,075$215
One Night/ One Day$1,170$960$210
Daily Includes Lunch$1,055$845$210
Premium Upland HuntsRegular Promotion RateSavings
Four Night/Three Day$3,930$3,300$630
Three Night/Two Day$2,660$2,240$420
Two Night/One Day$1,390$1,175$215
One Night/ One Day$1,270$1,060$210
Daily Includes Lunch$1,155$945$210

The average daytime highs for the month of September are in the 70’s and overnight lows are typically in the 50’s. These temperatures are ideal for our early morning and afternoon upland hunts. Typically, on the morning hunt, you can count on a wet dew on the prairie grasses. Even though we mow walking strips along our milo and sorghum food plots, we still recommend wearing waterproof or water-resistant boots.

Early season upland hunting in Illinois

On a typical morning or afternoon hunt, you can expect to walk a mile or two over gently rolling or mostly flat, “dry” terrain. We recommend bringing several lighter layers of clothing for your hunt. Moisture wicking material or cotton works just fine for those warmer days (we offer a selection of Orvis upland gear in our pro-shop at the lodge). A typical day at the lodge starts off with a homecooked breakfast served at 8 A.M. at the Prairie Ridge Lodge dining hall. You’ll enjoy a hearty breakfast served family-style with your hunting party and other upland hunters. Immediately after breakfast, you’ll meet with your upland guide and head to the upland fields. We have multiple different upland farms but the furthest is about 15 minutes away.

Once we’re in the fields, we’ll make about a 45 minute to an hour round and circle back to the truck to refresh ourselves with a water or sports drink, unload birds and change out dogs. After our break we’ll head back out to the fields for another hour or so before heading back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we’ll give you some time to relax, settle your food, and enjoy socializing and swapping stories with Gary and other hunters before heading back out for the afternoon hunt. We’ll have you back in time before supper which will be served at 6.

Early Season Upland Hunting Strategy

During the early season, quail and pheasants will still be fairly dispersed throughout the countryside as food sources and suitable cover for birds is still aplenty. Ditches, water ways and small streams adjacent to our milo/ sorghum food plots create a thriving habitat of seeds and small insects.

 

“Cast & Blast” Package

If you enjoy fishing as well as upland hunting, we have 4 ponds that have a variety of fish species including largemouth bass (8 pounders have been caught!!), crappie, bluegill and channel catfish! To access the fishing ponds, you will need to rent one of our side by sides (see rental information below). With the UTV rental, you will have full access to 1,200 acres of the beautiful ATV park as well! For more information about fishing at the lodge, Click Here >>.

**NEW GETAWAY PACKAGE**

Guided Mississippi River Catfish Trips- This new excursion pairs perfectly with a half-day of upland hunting in the early season! Enjoy fishing trophy catfish on the majestic Mississippi just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn! We offer guided catfishing trips from March to the third weekend in October. For more information on our guided fishing, Click Here >>.

**If you are planning on doing full-day upland hunts, we recommend you take advantage of our fishing opportunities on the day of your arrival or day of your departure.

Polaris Side x Side Rentals

Heartland Lodge offers side by side rentals (UTV) at our ATV riding park. There isn’t a better way to enjoy our beautiful rolling countryside than taking an equally relaxing and exciting ride on our rental side by side! You can spend hours riding the main trail that goes throughout the ATV riding park. We have several miles of trails on our main ATV park open for our rentals. All of our rental units are automatic and easy to operate. There are plenty of riding trails for the beginners and inexperienced ATV riders to enjoy. For more information, please visit our UTV Rentals page.

We also offer horseback riding and plenty of trails for hiking. To view the full list of activities we offer here at the lodge, Click Here>>

If you are a History Buff, you probably already know that Illinois and our area specifically has strong ties to Abraham Lincoln. Our local town, Pittsfield has several historical sites and Springfield (about an hour away) has a Lincoln Museum that is defiantly worth checking out on your way into the lodge or during your stay.

During the month of September, several of our small towns and communities hold their town festivals. For more information on local attractions and special events click here>>

Pheasant Hunting Outfitters>>

Quail Hunting Outfitters>>

Lodging Options>>

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: August 23rd, 2023

26 thoughts on “September Upland Hunting Promotions!

  1. Looking forward to an early hunt in September as a warm up for my girls!
    If all goes well maybe another hunt before the season openers in
    Missouri& Iowa? With a little luck close one last hunt right at the end of the season as even Florida closes before You do.
    This is in my plan as I hope its in GOD`s

    Regards Bob

  2. Interested in early September upland hunt for quail and pheasant, would also like to hunt waterfowl in the morning and pheasant in the afternoon on a second trip if two are available. Group will range from 3-5 guys and we have our own dogs. Please email me back with availability dates and any other information you might need from me in order to reserve specific times. Thank you!!!

    1. Hello John, thanks for inquiring about an upland hunt for this fall. We will email you more information regarding our hunts. Thank you!

  3. Early bird special sounds great.,me and wife love hunting birds
    Have done a lot of grouse past years want to do pheasants is License included or is that separate and how many birds are you allowed a day thank you

    1. Hi Richard! Thanks for reaching out. We’ll send you an email with more information. Our early season waterfowl hunts start in September as well.. Thanks!

    1. Hi Marty! Thanks for inquiring about an upland hunt! Yes, we do offer self-guided upland hunts. Did you have any particular dates in mind you were looking at reserving?

  4. My brother an I are both in our late 60’s or early 70’s we are looking for a guided hunt one day we live in the area we are thinking October or November

  5. Is their a discount for maybe 8 to 10 people on a pheasant and quail hunt plus definitely fishing in those ponds

  6. Checking on availability for the weekend of Oct 22-24 and I also have a new hunter so I wanted to understand options with a new hunter…thanks

  7. Would like information on upland bird hunt for two hunters. Please include info on availability, non-resident license requirements, bag limits, and any other need-to-know information.

  8. We use or own dogs and Hunt mostly wild birds (Grouse & Woodcock in Maine/PA and pheasant/SD). Have not found a place other then Texas & Mexico with good population of wild bobwhites….. What % of your Quail are wild vs released/supplemented ? I would think it’s very difficult to sustain a wild population under that kind of hunting pressure – how often are you supplementing Quail during the hunting season? Are birds added every few days/week to insure we would always be able to enjoy high volume shooting – what is a reasonable expectation for number of “flushes” per day? Appreciate your time and have only read good things about your operation. Chuck

  9. We would probably be a group of 4 looking towards the end of September or first week of October. 4 nights. Can you quote this for bird hunting and maybe a day of bass fishing. Thanks. Where do we fly into if we don’t drive all the way.

  10. I am an experienced newspaper hunting and fishing columnist. I thoroughly enjoy writing about my adventures in the field and on the water. Do you offer complimentary hunts – any time of the year – or hunts with a writer’s discount? Thank you for your consideration!

    1. Hi Jerry, thanks for reaching out! We’ll email you additional details about bringing a non-hunting spouse. Thanks!

  11. I’m definitely interested in coming for a three day hunt and bring my Brittany I have ran a preserve for years and never get to hunt my self, you’re place is on my bucket list I’m getting over hip replacement and knee surgery right now but hopefully can make plans for this season or next for sure

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