Although many whitetail hunters firmly believe that hunting on public land is a waste of time, Greg Wilson would probably disagree. In 2007, he shot an absolute giant while hunting on public land in Illinois.
By Greg Wilson
While drinking coffee with various family members after the morning hunt on Nov. 18, 2007, the author's nephew told him about a spot on public hunting land where he had seen several "good" bucks. Greg went to this singular spot that afternoon and ended up shooting this 222 5/8-inch monster!
When the 2007 firearms season rolled around in Illinois in mid-November, I had no idea what lay in store for me. I live in Litchfield, Illinois, and I come from a long line of deer hunters. I've been deer hunting for some 28 years, and I've taken some nice bucks in my time. These days I often hunt with my son Rob. He's been hunting since he was 12 years old. He, too, has taken a few nice bucks with both bow and shotgun. Many of our bucks have scored between 140 and 170 points.
In 2005 my youngest daughter, Nicole, started hunting. She enjoys the sport as much as we do. She has taken a few does with bow and shotgun, but she had yet to take an antlered deer. My other daughter, Jamie, doesn't enjoy the sport as we do, but she and my wife always enjoy the good venison we bring home every year.
On Nov. 16, 2007, the first morning of the firearms season, we all packed our gear and headed out before first light. We hunted public ground all day with no luck. The following day, Saturday, we went back to the same public area, and again no luck. We returned home for lunch and decided to make another plan. On the evening of the 17th, Nicole had other arrangements and didn't go with us. My son harvested a good doe that evening, but I came home empty-handed.
A FAMILY OF DEER HUNTERS
On Sunday, Nov. 18, the third and final day of the first firearms season, I hunted a different spot owned by my nephew Randy. He and his father had already filled their tags with good deer, including a nice 10-pointer and a 7-pointer. That morning I hunted one of my nephew's ladder stands and saw one small spike. Again I went home empty-handed.
In our family, after the morning's hunt is over we usually head back to town and gather at my parents' house to see who in the family has filled their tag. My father Chuck had harvested a really nice 10-pointer. My brother-in-law also filled both of his tags with a doe and a nice 7-pointer. While we were all sitting around drinking coffee and talking about our various hunts, my nephew David started telling me about several bucks that he had been seeing. He had already harvested two nice bucks with his bow before firearm season started.
David bugged me about going to his "honeyhole" with the idea that maybe I could tag one of the nice deer he had seen. The area he was talking about was familiar to me because it's public ground and I used to hunt it with my father and brother when I was younger. However, I had stopped hunting there several years ago because it had become overpopulated with hunters.
David assured me that he hadn't seen many hunters there during bow season. That evening I agreed to go with him. My son Rob took my daughter Nicole to my nephew's place while I went with David. I had no idea that this spur-of-the-moment hunt would soon turn into a life-changing experience.
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