Ben & Brian's Hunting & Fishing Adventures
November 2006
"Stephenson County Deer Hunting"
Even though I haven't been deer hunting in years, Ben for some time now had an interest in going deer hunting. This year he applied for a special youth hunt on a state park in Northern Illinois. To my surprise Ben drew a tag for the first firearm season. I purchased Ben a slug barrel for his 20 gauge that I gave to him for his birthday in October. I had my doubts about him shooting slugs with a 20 gauge due to the recoil, but after sighting in the gun I could see he was very comfortable with the recoil. After several more target practice sessions, he managed to get very accurate with the shotgun.
At the state park you are designated a site from which to hunt from. The week before the hunt, Ben and I went out to scout the area and build a natural ground blind. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of deer trails, rubs and scrapes within 20 yards of our designated site area. Below us a draw would bring deer coming from that direction over the creek and right past our blind location. I was excited for Ben to see so much deer sign in this area.
On the opener we arrived early so that we could settle in well before shoot time. I had a cup of hot tea while Ben slept slumped against a large tree. As shoot time slowly approached I could hear rustling leaves as some animal walked by in the dark. I woke Ben about 10 minutes before shoot time. It would be some time after shoot time before he would be able to see the sights on his gun. The overcast skies and the hardwood forest would keep the sun from lighting up this part of the woods.
Though we heard quite a bit of early shooting from the other hunters at the park, the morning wore on without much action from deer. The fox squirrels and wood peckers at least gave us a show while the deer remained elsewhere. Finally Ben whispered that he saw deer on the far ridge. His eyesight proved to be much keener than mine! We watched the deer wander through the forest for some time. To our disappointment they did not follow the deer trail past our blind.
Later on we went back to the truck had lunch and even took a quick nap. Ben decided that he would like to continue to hunt so we went out for the afternoon hunt. Although we did not have any action in the afternoon, we both enjoyed the hunt. It was an absolutely beautiful area with an abundance of wildlife. I had an opportunity to show him the buck rubs and scrapes and explain their significance to him.
We will definitely get out next season for another try at a whitetail!
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