So who's totin' a muzzleloader this weekend? Last year I hunted with my shotgun for the 1st weekend but hunted with a muzzleloader 2nd season. But this year I have a different plan. I'm going to use my T/C Renegade .50 caplock this weekend and will shoot the 1st antlerless deer in range. Then I will use my scoped shotgun for the rest of 1st season. Then over Thanksgiving weekend I will practice with my flintlock and maybe hunt some with it for 2nd season if all goes well. Good luck everybody. :thumbsup:
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Illinois Firearm Opener Friday
- Thread starter luieb45
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Skychief
69 Cal.
Good luck Luie! :thumbsup:
hoochiepapa
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Go, luie!
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Get er done Good luck to you :thumbsup:
Maynerd62411
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I haven't used a shotgun for 5 or 6 years , now. I think it was rainy on that opening day. :hmm:
I will be taking my T/C .54 GreyHawk. I KNOW... it's a synthetic stock and stainless barrel, but it is a side lock, and I don't worry about getting scratches on her. Plus, she shoots like a dream. Best $100 I've spent. I've taken several deer with her. :thumbsup:
I will be taking my T/C .54 GreyHawk. I KNOW... it's a synthetic stock and stainless barrel, but it is a side lock, and I don't worry about getting scratches on her. Plus, she shoots like a dream. Best $100 I've spent. I've taken several deer with her. :thumbsup:
Good luck Luie! :hatsoff:
I hope the first deer you get a crack at opening day is a monster buck. Then you'll quit worrying about that scoped shotgun all together. :wink:
Ya know, the best chance you'll have at seein' that biggun is opening morning.
I hope the first deer you get a crack at opening day is a monster buck. Then you'll quit worrying about that scoped shotgun all together. :wink:
Ya know, the best chance you'll have at seein' that biggun is opening morning.
John Wasmuth
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Good luck sir!
Maybe :idunno: . I haven't hunted opening day since my first year of hunting when I was 10. I've been making sure I make it out on all opening days this year, squirrel season, archery season, and firearm season. I keep worrying that there won't be any big bucks anymore since I wounded that 14 point last weekend with the bow :shake: . I feel a lot better this year about my gun's reliability since I started cleaning better, and cleaning out the oil before loading the gun, and using real black powder now. Hope you get a big buck to add to the list of game killed with that Stroh built .62 Virginia, Jethro. :thumbsup:
buttonbuck
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I am stuck on public land until 2nd season when the muzzle loader comes out. They do not allow muzzle loaders where I am hunting yet. I need to petition the county board. I have not tried this angle "well a smooth bore muzzle loader is not a rifle" it is a muzzle loading shotgun. Well I just hope to fill the freezer the opening weekend. Where I bow hunt I saw 2 trophy bucks and a respectable 8pt rutting I hope to see them 2nd season. I have no qualms about using a 54 prb on a big buck if the right shot presents itself.
slumlord44
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I will be hunting Friday with my CVA .50 Cal Express double rifle. Been using it since late '80's. Will only shoot accurately with both barrels using round ball. 90 grains of Triple Seven 3f is good out to 100 yards. Most shots here are under 50 yards. Hunt behind my house on the edge of a strip of woods about 100 yards behind my barn. Got nice 10 pointer last year. In no rush to shoot anything this year unless it is a really nice buck. May try to take a doe in January.
longrifle78
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I just finished cleaning and oiling my lock and put in a fresh flint getin ready for friday mornin. Ill be usin a .62 fowler. This will be my first time usin a smothbore on deer so im realy lookin foward to it. Good luck to all you guys, hopefully we can meet back here friday night with some good huntin stories. :hatsoff:
Luie,
It has long been my belief that your best chance for a big buck is on opening day of our 1st firearm season for the following reasons;
1. They are not all spooked yet on opening morning. Those big bucks have been out all night doing their thing, if you are in the right spot to catch 'em on their way home in the morning you might just catch one by surprise. By the time the day is done most of 'em know it's deer season.
2. There's more hunters out there. There's a good chance that another hunter will kick a big buck up or push one out of his home area. That buck just might cross your path. After a big buck gets bumped once or twice he becomes MUCH harder to hunt.
My best opening day hunting advice is to pack a good lunch and sit where you can watch a good bottleneck. Stay put! All day!
The first couple hours you'll see natural deer movement as they work their way back toward their beds.
Around 9:00 a lot of the other hunters will get bored or cold and start tramping around looking for deer. They will move deer that they never even see. Some of them may pass your way.
10-11:00 even the hunters that didn't get bored or cold will get hungry and start heading back to the truck for lunch. They will move deer. Stay put and eat your lunch.
2:00 the hunters who went for lunch are going back to their stands and kicking deer around yet again.
Last hour and a half you start seeing natural deer movement again as they head out to feed.
And don't forget, the rut is still on and bucks will be running around looking for does at any time. They run all over. There are always more big bucks that will come in and take over a good area as soon as the dominant buck is gone. He may not be quite as big as the other, but he'll be next in line.
You never know anyway, the buck you wounded might be just fine. One time several years ago, I shot a spike buck in October with my bow. The shot looked good and got full penetration. Good blood trail... for a loooonnnnggg ways. He doubled back a few times, circled around, then it looked like he was feeding. :idunno: We finally gave it up as lost.
A month later, I shot a spike buck with my shotgun. DRT. When I hung him up and skinned him out I found a broadhead hole in the hide. Pulled the other side down and found another. This was the spike I shot with my bow! The arrow went thru just below the spine and above the lungs. There is just a little strip of meat there that doesn't much matter to a deers health apparently. A quarter inch up or down and he'd have been dead! Stuff happens...
I'm gonna sure try to add a big whitetail buck to Runaround Sue's list of game taken. H'yar's luck! :thumbsup:
Buttonbuck, Where the heck are you huntin'? I know there's public land where they don't have ML season, but I never heard of places they don't allow ML during gun season.
Good luck to you too :thumbsup: , even if you hafta carry a shotgun. :wink:
It has long been my belief that your best chance for a big buck is on opening day of our 1st firearm season for the following reasons;
1. They are not all spooked yet on opening morning. Those big bucks have been out all night doing their thing, if you are in the right spot to catch 'em on their way home in the morning you might just catch one by surprise. By the time the day is done most of 'em know it's deer season.
2. There's more hunters out there. There's a good chance that another hunter will kick a big buck up or push one out of his home area. That buck just might cross your path. After a big buck gets bumped once or twice he becomes MUCH harder to hunt.
My best opening day hunting advice is to pack a good lunch and sit where you can watch a good bottleneck. Stay put! All day!
The first couple hours you'll see natural deer movement as they work their way back toward their beds.
Around 9:00 a lot of the other hunters will get bored or cold and start tramping around looking for deer. They will move deer that they never even see. Some of them may pass your way.
10-11:00 even the hunters that didn't get bored or cold will get hungry and start heading back to the truck for lunch. They will move deer. Stay put and eat your lunch.
2:00 the hunters who went for lunch are going back to their stands and kicking deer around yet again.
Last hour and a half you start seeing natural deer movement again as they head out to feed.
And don't forget, the rut is still on and bucks will be running around looking for does at any time. They run all over. There are always more big bucks that will come in and take over a good area as soon as the dominant buck is gone. He may not be quite as big as the other, but he'll be next in line.
You never know anyway, the buck you wounded might be just fine. One time several years ago, I shot a spike buck in October with my bow. The shot looked good and got full penetration. Good blood trail... for a loooonnnnggg ways. He doubled back a few times, circled around, then it looked like he was feeding. :idunno: We finally gave it up as lost.
A month later, I shot a spike buck with my shotgun. DRT. When I hung him up and skinned him out I found a broadhead hole in the hide. Pulled the other side down and found another. This was the spike I shot with my bow! The arrow went thru just below the spine and above the lungs. There is just a little strip of meat there that doesn't much matter to a deers health apparently. A quarter inch up or down and he'd have been dead! Stuff happens...
I'm gonna sure try to add a big whitetail buck to Runaround Sue's list of game taken. H'yar's luck! :thumbsup:
Buttonbuck, Where the heck are you huntin'? I know there's public land where they don't have ML season, but I never heard of places they don't allow ML during gun season.
Good luck to you too :thumbsup: , even if you hafta carry a shotgun. :wink:
I doubt I'll ever be able to sit all day. But I'm going to try to stay a lot longer this year. For some reason, on my grandpa's farm, big deer move in after 1st season into a draw we call "the little draw". This is a very thick patch of woods along a small creek and back in the '90s my my dad and cousin and some others were doing a deer drive in that draw and my cousin had one jumped to him that he shot. It ended up scoring around 180 in. Now this same cousin owns expensive ground all over western illinois including ground in Adams, Schuyler, and even Pike County just for deer hunting. But this is still his biggest deer and it was just on some "lower quality" Hancock county land. My first buck I ever shot was in 2006 on Saturday of 1st season which was my first day of hunting w/ shotgun that year and the first time I ever sat by myself. We were late because halfway there I forgot to bring MY shotgun instead I accidently brought my brothers and I had no 20 gauge shells. So when we got back we were probably 15 minutes late. After sitting for a little bit and passing on some does behind me stands a decent 8 point at no more than 30 yards.
hoochiepapa
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Man, you guys get me fired up! Too bad my season is over.
Good luck to everyone!!!
Good luck to everyone!!!
Maynerd62411
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That's what I was wondering. :hmm:
I know Ramsey State Park only allows Bow hunting for deer.
I know Ramsey State Park only allows Bow hunting for deer.
Well Luie, stay put as long as you can anyway. Snacks, drinks, a good lunch, and a paperback book keep me occupied during the slow periods. For me anyway a ground blind is much more comfortable than any tree stand. I don't think I could stay all day in a tree either.
Them big bucks are heading into your little draw because of the super thick cover in there. They'll probably start showing up by afternoon of the first day. If I were you, I'd try and find a spot to sit where I could watch the trails they use to get in there in the first place. Don't go down in the draw, just sit on the edge somewhere and wait.
Them big bucks are heading into your little draw because of the super thick cover in there. They'll probably start showing up by afternoon of the first day. If I were you, I'd try and find a spot to sit where I could watch the trails they use to get in there in the first place. Don't go down in the draw, just sit on the edge somewhere and wait.
buttonbuck
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I am hunting Lake Evergreen also called Comlara Park. This is run by Mclean County Parks and Rec. There are some parts of the park in Woodford County. This is where I hunt for shotgun since the small 11 acre private ground I also hunt on gets crowded. Anyway I will get off my butt and go to some board meetings this year and see what I can manage. I know modern ML can shoot far but so do the modern shotgun slugs with their special barrels. My Goal is to fill the freezer here with does and get the buck with a round ball.
Buttonbuck,
I checked out their website. Man, if that buck on the front page of the hunting section is really out there... :shocked2:
Sounds like a great place to fill the freezer. Way too many deer there if their estimates are right! 60 per square mile.
When I looked at the rules I didn't see anything about ML rifles not being legal. Are you sure? Is somebody interpreting the rules for themself at the orientation meeting? All I saw said you had to stick to state rules. Plus check-in and parking stuff...
Well, good luck whatever you're totin'. :hatsoff:
I checked out their website. Man, if that buck on the front page of the hunting section is really out there... :shocked2:
Sounds like a great place to fill the freezer. Way too many deer there if their estimates are right! 60 per square mile.
When I looked at the rules I didn't see anything about ML rifles not being legal. Are you sure? Is somebody interpreting the rules for themself at the orientation meeting? All I saw said you had to stick to state rules. Plus check-in and parking stuff...
Well, good luck whatever you're totin'. :hatsoff:
