LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
After another agonizing 9 month wait the Illinois archery season is finally open! For our first weekend of the season Mike and I decided to head to West Central Illinois. We figured it was our best shot at capitalizing on an early season buck before they figure our we’re after them. So we made the nearly 5 hour drive from our homes on Friday night and arrived just in time to hang a few stands in the dark and climb up before first light on Saturday morning.
With temperatures in the 40’s and not having dressed properly Mike and I were both pretty cold, but we stuck it out for a few hours before finally calling it a morning. We only saw one deer, a small doe, from stand but it felt good to get out in the woods regardless. After our hunt we pulled our stands down and decided to reposition them, and also hang another set to hunt for the evening hunt.
The evening was rather uneventful as we didn’t see any deer, but the following morning with yours truly behind the camera we had a great hunt. Despite the full moon and heavy foliage limiting our view we still saw nearly 20 deer this morning, many of which were well within bow range. Having already filled a doe tag in Wisconsin Mike elected to pass up on these shots, but it was still a great hunt and we got some really good footage. Check out the video below for a quick recap of our first weekend in the bowhunting woods!
Mike and I will be back down South this weekend to finish getting all of our stands prepped before Novemember, and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to put a doe down on film. Be sure to check back early next week and see how we do! Temps are supposed to be even colder this weekend and with a good moon phase I think we’ve got a legitimate chance at seeing and harvesting some great deer.
