After a long history of being a shotgun only deer hunting state, Illinois is the most recent state to join the movement by allowing straight walled/single shot rifles to be used in the pursuit of whitetail deer. While the ammunition industry has advanced shotgun slug technology significantly in the …
Pre-Rut Whitetail Hunting Using Calls & Deer Decoys Hunting whitetails during the pre-rut can be a great time to get a shot at a mature deer. Cupple the right weather conditions, trail-camera scrape monitoring, a good food source, and you have all the right ingredients for a high-quality pre-rut hunt. …
Shed season to the most avid shed hunters has an early, middle, and late season. And each has its own unique strategy. Unfortunately, we are entering the latter end of the season here in Illinois. We’re at our peak hiking levels; most of us are probably in the best shape …
Numerous factors lead to when a buck sheds its antlers. Stress related to weather is one of them. This year, here in West-Central Illinois, we’ve hardly had any snow, and other than a few short days of extreme cold, this winter has been mild (so far). We had an extreme …
Whitetail & Upland Guiding Positions Available for this Season! Please call 217-734-2526 for more details today! SIGN UP HERE TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN A GUIDE POSITION OPENS >>> Looking for hunting guide job for upland, deer or turkey hunting? Heartland Lodge is always searching for hunters interested in becoming …
It was day 5, and after a long week of bowhunting hard, Dennis and I were making our long, uphill trek to a secluded beanfield where Dennis had already made three long sits without any sightings of the buck he was after. A mature, main frame eight point nicknamed “Hank”. …
Purchasing Illinois Deer Hunting Land Specifically for Upper-Age Class Whitetails There are hundreds of farms for sale right now in Illinois being marketed as Illinois deer hunting land. How do you choose one from another when the ads all say something like- “big buck factory, whitetail paradise, dream deer hunting …
Our long time friend Rick Stavola took this mature main frame 8 pointer. Notice the unusual drop tine in front of his right eye. This deer scored 148” and was a great deer to harvest as he was an older buck. Rick is a perfect example of what persistence
Brad Doughty took this very mature buck (7yrs old) on the last morning of his whitetail archery hunt. Brad had been seeing shooters every day in the tree stand but just could not connect on one. He sat in the stand all day, ever day maximizing his opportu
Kirk Scribner took this monter whitetail during Illinois archery season in mid October. This mature whitetail weighed over 280lb pounds and scored 157″ as a 9 point! Congratulations Kirk on an awesome buck!!
