This Illinois hunt actually started the year before in NY. For the last few years, a bunch of the guys get together for a Russian Boar hunt in S. Central NY. During the 2008 hunt, one of the guides mentioned that he also guided for an outfit in southern Illinois and that we should consider a group white tail hunt there. The outfit, Lamont Outdoors, lease and manage over 7000 acres of farmland. Consisting of soy bean and corn fields with several biological plots mixed in.

After a few weeks of deliberation, we decided to put the trip together. We were able to secure five days for a bow hunt during the rut in November. Eleven of us met at the lodge the morning of the 10^th ready for the afternoon hunt….it was 70 degrees. Not conducive to deer movement or hunter movement for that matter.

We were all assigned tree stands within a 5 mile parameter based on the wind conditions and only saw a few saw deer. All doe. The next day was not any better. The temperature was still in the high sixties. We all hit the stands and again, not much activity.

The third day the temperature dropped to the low forties. Deer were on the move. We all saw several deer including some smaller bucks. We all had one doe and one buck tag. The bucks harvested must measure 130+ or a fine is imposed. This is the outfitters rule and it helps maintain a decent herd of mature bucks. A few shots were taken at bucks with no hits and two doe were harvested.

The forth day had me in a different stand. Temp was in the upper thirties. Several of the guys switched stands this day. I had several large doe under my stand and in the area for a few hours. One shooter 8 point buck passed by at 60 yards but I let him go by. Too far for a shot. Several of the guys saw shooters but none within range.

The final day. Mid forties. Again, I was in a new stand. The stand was on a hardwood edge adjacent to a 30 yard wide food plot on my left with the Wabash River just in front of me 50 yards away. At 7:20 AM a large doe came out on the other side of the plot from the hardwoods. Since it was the last day, I decided I was going to take her if the opportunity presented a decent shot. I was about to draw when out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement over my left shoulder. A monster buck emerged from the hardwoods with that doe on his mind. By this time, the doe had almost made it to the Wabash river bank and if the buck followed, I would not have a shot.

As luck would have it, the buck turned toward my stand and stopped behind the only bush within 40 yards of my stand. No shot. The bush was 12 yards to my 10 o’clock. I drew and he stood there for over a minute. I knew if he stayed put much longer, I would struggle to hold my draw. After almost two minutes, he moved forward giving me a clean shot. I hit him just behind the right shoulder. He turned left and ran across the food plot into the hardwoods and I saw my arrow fly into the air from his right side. I sat in the stand for 30 minutes wondering if it was a good hit.

I found my arrow 10 yards from where I hit him. The arrow was snapped just behind where the broad head used to be. It was gone. The arrow was also broken 3 inches from the tip. I was relieved to see that there was blood on the arrow almost all the way to the fletching.

We found the monster about sixty yards away. The buck of a lifetime. Weighed in at 260 lbs and scored 177 green. Unfortunately, I was the only one to take a big buck this trip. All of the guys saw shooters but never close enough to get a shot. 

Thanks again to Lamont Outdoors for a great hunt!

Bob Fregeau