Q: What types of stands or blinds are available?
We have a variety to accomodate all types of hunters. Lock-on Stands, Ladder Stands, Ground Blinds, and Elevated Blinds.
Q: What am I responsible for and what do I need to bring
You are responsible for the following: Purchasing your appropriate tags and licenses. Obeying the rules and regulations of the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources. Your own personal hunting equipment e.g.. firearms, bows, clothing, coolers, safety belts and harnesses, boot dryers, etc. Any special dietary requirements. Transportation to and from the hunting areas. If you choose to bring your own stands, we will help you set them up. Meat processing fees and trophy mounting fees plus any shipping fees involved. Controlling the weather and having a great time!
Q: What about food and cooking arrangements?
Our lodge hunts are just like staying in a condo. Food is included and there are outside grills available for anyone to use. We are about ten minutes from Carmi, a town of about 5000, that offers McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, three local diners, a pub that serves food, a Mexican restaurant, three local pizza joints, and one Chinese restaurant. There are also three grocery stores, five convenience stores, and a liquor store.
Q: What is included with your lodging?
We provide all bed linens, pillows, towels, and meals. Bring your own snacks and personal items. Please call us if you have any specific dietary requirements as we try to be as accommodating as we can. All of our linens are laundered with non-scented detergent and a washer and dryer is available for guest use. Our hunting office has internet access, a fax machine and copy machine, telephones and computers that we can also make available to you. Our farm office next door has a constant satellite link to weather updates every 15 minutes.
Q: What if my vacation time doesn't exactly match your hunt arrival and departure dates?
We will be happy to make special arrangements for you and your party so long as you give us plenty of time. Generally speaking we can be more flexible during the early and late season hunts.
Q: Do you offer weekend hunts or 3 day hunts in addition to your listed hunts?
Yes, but you'll need to call for availability.
Q: I want to bring along a non-hunting guest. Is this allowed? What will it cost?
Non-hunting guests are welcome depending on available lodging. Usually there are more rooms available during our non-rut hunts. Cost is $60.00 per person per day.
Q: I'd like to bring my son/daughter with me on a hunt. Do you have any special rates for children?
Yes, each child age 16 and under hunts free with a paid adult on selected archery hunts.
Q: What about caring for the deer meat and the trophy?
We help bring the deer in from the field and hang it in a walk-in refrigerated cooler right here at the lodge. There are several meat lockers close enough that will process your deer for you to take home. The cape and antlers can be packaged for you to take to your taxidermist, or you can take it to a taxidermist here to have mounted. All meat processing and taxidermist fees are not included in your hunt price. Processing fees average $50.00/deer while taxidermy fees run about $275.00. Shipping costs are extra.
Q: Is there a trophy fee if I kill a Pope & Young or Boone & Crockett buck?
No. We don't have trophy fees. The reason a hunter comes to hunt with us is for a chance at the buck of a lifetime. We will impose penalty fees if you shoot a buck less than a 130 inch P&Y score.
Q: What is your policy on wounded bucks?
We always make every effort possible to recover any and all wounded animals. A hunter will not be allowed to resume hunting until a representative of Campbell Illinois Whitetails determines that the wounded animal can not be recovered. If a second animal is wounded, that hunt will be considered completed.
Q: How do I tell if a buck will score a 130 Pope & Young?
Typically we ask a hunter to judge the deer by ear width. If the deer's rack is 2-3 inches wider than its ear tips then it is considered a shootable buck. You will be given more details on how to accurately judge a qualified Pope & Young buck when you get here. If in doubt - don't shoot! There are plenty of does if you are interested in only the meat. If you just want to shoot any antlered deer that presents itself, we will be happy to recommend another outfitter that can better fit your hunting requirements.
Q: Do you have a size restriction on your bucks?
Yes, we strive to protect our young bucks! Bucks must have a minimum 130 inch P&Y score to be a shootable buck. If you take a buck with less than a 130 inch P&Y there is a $500.00 penalty. Button bucks carry a $250.00 penalty. We would much rather see them bigger next year than have the penalty money. Please don't shoot them!
Q: Do you have some bowhunting only areas?
Yes. If you are interested in hunting one of these areas, please contact a member of our staff for more information.
Q: Do you have food plots?
Yes, we have hundreds of acres of food plots scattered throughout our hunting areas. In this agricultural area, food is not the limiting factor for the deer. We plant food plots for two reasons. One is to offer the deer an alternate food that they would not normally have access to. For this reason the deer come to the food plots, not for more to eat, but for something different to eat. The second is to make sure the deer have a constant source of protein available to them throughout the year. PLENTY OF PROTEIN = PLENTY OF BIG RACK BUCKS!!!
Q: Do you have a management policy in place?
Yes. We constantly monitor the balance between our deer herds and food available for them. In each hunting area we estimate the number of does and trophy bucks that can be harvested to maintain the quality of hunt that we demand for our guests. We will cease to hunt an area before the pressure on the herd becomes too great. This helps us maintain a healthy herd and enables us to place hunters in prime areas every time. When possible, we strive to honor our repeat hunter's requests to hunt areas where they have hunted before.
Q: What size deer will I be hunting?
Most of the bucks harvested have typical racks that range from 130 to 145 on the Pope & Young scoring system. In the past the largest typical bucks from our areas have scored in the 180's and the largest non-typical bucks have scored in the 250's. These bucks are the exception. There are bucks of this caliber running in our areas now but a hunter should be realistic and know that the odds of taking a buck like this with a bow are stacked in the deer's favor. The average field dressed weight of a harvested buck is 175 to 200 lbs. Some have weighed in as high as 250 lbs. field dressed. Does will average 135 to 165 lbs. field dressed.
Q: What is your hunter's success rate?
Gun hunter's average success rate is 75% on bucks. We usually average close to a 90% shooting opportunity. Bow hunters success is around 25% on bucks. Opportunity rates average 85%.