ILLINOIS WHITETAIL ADVENTURE
By
Scott Hall
To those who don't know me, my name is Scott
Hall and I am a disabled hunter with spina bifida. I hunt small game, doves and turkey but my
passion is whitetail deer. While most of
my hunting is done in my home state of North Carolina, I have also been blessed
to be able to hunt in Virginia, Texas, Ohio and most recently Illinois. My most recent hunt in Illinois is the
purpose of this article.
Those who know me know that I am an avid
Facebook user and log on nearly every day to keep up with family and friends,
to read all the latest hunting news, and to enter online contests.
In April of 2012, I entered a Facebook
contest to win an all-expense paid whitetail hunt with Trophy Buck Outfitters
in Hillview, Illinois. Having never
hunted in Illinois before, and knowing the kind of bucks that come from there,
I was hoping against all odds, that my name would be drawn and I would be
hunting trophy whitetails in an area where so many Boone and Crockett bucks
have been taken.
In June 2012, the date came for drawing the
winner of the contest. When the winner
was drawn, I was a little disappointed to read that someone from Tennessee had
won the hunt instead of me. Rather than
brooding about it, I quickly dismissed it and just moved on and looked forward
to the upcoming deer season in my home state of North Carolina instead. That is when an unexpected event took place.
One night about two weeks after the contest
ended, I received a Facebook message from Andy Chandler, co-owner of Trophy
Buck Outfitters. The message simply
said, "Scott call me at this number please. Thanks, Andy." I called him back but was unable to reach
him. The next morning the phone rang and
it was him. He introduced himself then
asked if I had entered their contest on Facebook? I replied that I had. I also told him that I also knew a winner had
already been chosen. He laughed and
said, "Well that's why I'm calling, we have had a problem getting in touch
with the original winner so we drew another name and had the same problem so
basically you're the fifth person I've tried to get in touch with to give this
hunt away. Would you like to come hunt
with us?" When he said that, I
could hardly believe it! My hands
started to shake just like they do when I encounter a big buck and my reply was
a very enthusiastic "WOULD I?! YOU
BET I WOULD!" This was just like
buck fever. The only thing missing was
the buck. He said, "Okay then
you're our winner, I'll post it on Facebook."
At that point Andy began filling me in on the
process of applying for a non-resident tag, buying a non-resident license and
habitat stamp. He also gave me a list of
all the things I needed to bring with me.
I hung up with him and immediately called the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources where a very helpful agent was able to walk me through the
process for applying for my non-resident deer tag. In September my tag arrived in the mail and I
was pleased to see that I had drawn both a non-resident buck tag and a
non-resident doe tag as well.
My dad Ken has been instrumental in
nurturing my love of hunting and the outdoors and so I wanted him to come along
with me on this hunt to make another hunting memory and to share some time out
in God's creation together.
Finally the day of my departure had
arrived. After leaving North Carolina on
November 14th, we drove to Corydon, Indiana the first day where we got a motel
room and got a good night's rest, then drove the remaining 250 miles into Illinois
the following day. After arriving, I
went to a local Wal-Mart store near where we were staying and bought my
non-resident license and habitat stamp.
I was now a "legal beagle".
We arrived in Hillview, a small community of
just under 200 residents, on November 15th and after stopping to ask for
directions, we found our way to the Trophy Buck Outfitters Lodge where we were
greeted by Andy and his guides as well as the other hunters who would be in
camp that week.
Situated in the rolling hills and farmland
between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, Trophy Buck Outfitters has a fully
handicapped accessible lodge that sleeps up to 14 hunters. With two large sitting rooms, two fully
stocked kitchens, private bedrooms with 2 beds per room, two handicapped
accessible bathrooms, and satellite TV, a hunt at Trophy Buck Outfitters is a
trip I will always cherish. At Trophy
Buck Outfitters, meals are provided but breakfast is a do it yourself affair
and hunters are asked to take a sack lunch with them into the field because
unless other arrangements are made, hunting takes place from daylight until
dark and a deer can be spotted at any time of day during the rut. A deer is not guaranteed at Trophy Buck
Outfitters, but the owners and guides go out of their way to place you in big
buck areas and make your hunt as enjoyable as possible.
With a minimum harvest requirement of 130
B&C or P&Y points, there are many trophy bucks in the 150-180 inch
range taken there every season. Hunts
take place on several different privately owned farms and there are thousands
of acres of land on which to hunt.
Trophy Buck Outfitters does not overbook their properties and there is
plenty of room to hunt. I never
encountered another hunter in my hunting area during my hunt which is more than
you can say on many properties in big buck states.
After my arrival that evening, I talked with
Phil who is one of the guides and he told me that in his opinion, the gun I had
brought from home may not be suitable for the terrain on which I would be
hunting because it did not have a rifled barrel. Going into the next room, he returned
carrying a brand new 12 gauge Savage Model 212 slug gun. Holding it out to me he said, "Here!
Take this and try it out. I just got it
yesterday and it's never been hunted with but it's sighted in to hit dead on at
200 yards so if you can see him, you can hit him with this!" I graciously accepted his offer and I am glad
that I did.
We turned in very early that night and by
3:30am we were awakened to the sound of guides and hunters already up and
preparing for the first days hunt. My
dad and I got up, dressed and ate a quick breakfast then Andy and one of his
guides loaded me and my dad and my wheelchair into a van and took us out to our
stand location for the day. After they
left, my dad and I settled into the blind and awaited shooting light.
Situated on the edge of a large CRP field
with thick hardwoods and brush on all sides, the blind faced east and the CRP
field we were on rose gradually from our blind to the top of a ridge some 160
yards distant. This particular farm we
were hunting was over 3,000 acres and we were the only ones hunting there.
In my opinion, there is no better place to
be on this side of Heaven, than in a deer blind with my dad. As the sky started to lighten in the east,
the creatures of the forest began to stir from their slumber. As I sat there in silence, taking it all in,
I said a silent prayer thanking the Lord for allowing me the opportunity to be
here and listen as the world woke up around me.
As the sun rose above the horizon, I saw a deer about 150 yards away,
then another and another. Slowly lifting
my binoculars I was able to make out the shape of a doe then following her were
two small bucks, both non-shooters. I
was a little disappointed at the size of these bucks but I knew the area held
bigger bucks and the hunt was young and I still had plenty of time remaining.
Just then, the tranquility of the morning
was broken by a large fox squirrel who was chattering noisily just to my
right. I slowly turned and scanned the
woods to my right then up the field edge in front of me until my eyes caught
movement further out. Raising the binoculars
I picked out the shape of a deer. An old
"high headed" doe as I call them, came out fully alert and looking
for any sign of danger. I slowly pulled
my camera from my pocket and snapped a quick photo just as she spotted me. She stomped her front foot, then bounded back
into the forest, blowing loudly as she went.
Unfortunately the remainder of the day
passed uneventfully with no other deer spotted before nightfall. Back at the lodge, we found a very nice 150
class ten pointer hanging on the meat pole, and a very happy hunter sitting in
the lodge. He re-told the story of how
he was able to take this good looking buck and we all congratulated him on his
achievement. That night around the
supper table, I was able to get better acquainted with Andy, his partner Eric
and the other hunters, all of whom were from the state of Michigan. They were all a great group of guys and I
enjoyed my time spent with them and with my dad. After a supper of pizza from a nearby pizza
place, we turned in and prepared for day two of our hunt.
Arriving back in the same blind, we settled
in again and shortly after sunrise were treated to the sound of a turkey
gobbling just behind us and coyotes howling way off in the distance. A short time later a very large and beautiful
coyote trotted out of the timber some 180 yards away. I had the green light from Andy to shoot one
if I saw it, but this one never paused long enough for a shot.
All during the day we were treated to the
sight of several deer but no shooters.
About noon, a yearling six point buck, sporting the smallest six point
rack I think I have ever seen, came out in the field. Sniffing the ground for sign of an estrous
doe, he slowly meandered across the field from our left to right before
disappearing again into the woods.
About an hour before dark, and with my
confidence on a downhill slide, my dad tapped me on my right shoulder and
motioned for me to look straight ahead.
I looked and there was that same "high headed" doe we had seen
the day before. I sat motionless this
time and watched as doe after doe filtered out of the timber and began to
calmly feed in front of us about 160 yards away. Just as I raised the gun to attempt to fill
my doe tag, I caught more movement out of the corner of my right eye. Glancing over, I saw the glint of antler as a
buck strode out of the brush. I glassed
him and saw that he wasn't particularly wide but he was still a good buck. His rack was tall, extending well above his
ears and while he didn't appear to be an old buck, I knew that day two of a
three day season was nearly over and with only one day remaining, I did not
want to pass him up then go home with an unfilled tag.
I quickly ranged the yardage to be 167
yards. With the buck calmly feeding
broadside and totally unaware of my presence, I rested the gun on the window of
the blind and with hands shaking, settled into the gun and eased off the
safety. Placing the crosshairs directly
behind his shoulder and taking a deep breath, I exhaled half of it and slowly
squeezed the trigger. At the sound of
the shot I heard the thwack as the 12 gauge slug hit home and I saw the
buck mule kick with both back legs then take off quickly to my left. Thinking fast, I doe bleated loudly with my
mouth and he stopped dead in his tracks and looked my way. Ranging him again I saw he was now at 176
yards. I quickly racked another shell in
the chamber and slowly squeezed the trigger.
This time the buck "hunched up" in the middle, lowered his
head and took off again to my left.
Stopping a second time, he began to flick his tail vigorously from side
to side, a sure sign of a hit. I ranged
him a third time and saw the distance was now 202 yards. This would be the longest shot I had ever
attempted on any deer and especially the longest shot I had ever attempted with
a shotgun. Settling in for the third
time I squeezed the trigger and saw the deer run off to the left, this time
disappearing from sight.
I felt fairly confident of the shots but
still with the buck out of sight, the presence of coyotes around and night
quickly falling, I knew it was important to find the deer as soon as
possible. After calling Andy on my cell
phone and telling him I had a buck down, my dad said he was going to go look
for the downed deer. He walked across
the CRP field and over the rise and disappeared from view just as the buck
had. A little while later he re-emerged
and began waving both hands back and forth over his head. I thought this signal meant "no sign of
him". What it actually meant was
"buck down". Dad got back to
the blind a couple of minutes later, breathless and telling me "He's down
but he's way out in the field. A long
way off."
The later it got the more anxious I became
for Andy to arrive. Just a few minutes before
dark he and Tim, one of the guides, rolled up in the van. We quickly loaded up then drove in the
direction my dad said the buck had taken.
As we scanned the field for sign of the deer I saw a dark shape just
ahead. I pointed and said, "There
he is!" Andy stopped the van, got
out and went to the buck then gave me the thumbs up sign. He and the guide then unloaded me and my
chair and after congratulations and a few back slaps, we took a few photos
before night fell. The buck was a nice
mainframe nine pointer with a kicker point off his left G-2, making him a legal
ten pointer. He also had a crab claw on
the end of his left antler. A real
"character" buck. He wasn't an
old buck, probably three years old, but he was a trophy to me and I was blessed
to have been given the opportunity to take him.
After Andy and Tim
loaded the buck, we headed back to the lodge.
As news of my success spread in camp, all the guys were coming up
congratulating me. Someone who has never
hunted or been in a deer camp has no idea what this is like but to a hunter, it’s
one of the best feelings in the world to be congratulated by your peers.
A little while later, Andy came into the lodge
and announced to the whole group that "Scott hit that buck with all three
shots and I could cover all three shots with the palm of my hand." He went on to say that, "The first shot
was a double lung hit. Shot two hit dead
center in the heart and shot three was one inch to the right, but also dead
center in the heart." Even after
taking three fatal hits, the buck still was able to run 186 yards before
collapsing. This just goes to prove how
tough that a whitetail can be.
That night, sleep came easily and I slept
the sleep of the just. I chose to sleep
in the following day while others in camp went out in a last ditch attempt to
fill their tags. That afternoon with a
doe tag still in my pocket and hearing that there was a family in that
community with small children and they had recently fallen on hard times and
who could really use some meat, I decided to go out for the afternoon to try to
take a doe in order to donate to that family.
I was unsuccessful in doing so, so I opted to donate the meat from my
buck instead.
It was sort of a somber mood around camp that
last night. Not everyone in camp had
been able to fill their tags, but that was not the reason for the somber mood. Nobody really wanted the season to be over or
for this time to end. Filling a tag is
not the primary motive for going to deer camp.
The primary motive should be having the opportunity to experience God's
creation in all its majesty, to form friendships, and to share experiences with
your fellow hunting brothers and sisters.
Taking a buck is just a little extra icing on the cake. While the bucks taken in these deer camps may
not all be record book deer, the memories made there are ALL Boone and Crockett
size!
