Illinois Archery 2009 - This year I returned to Carter's Hunting Lodge in Pike County to hunt with the Carter clan. This is one of my favorite destinations. They have a knack for running a very relaxed, fun hunt in one of the best big whitetail areas in the whole country. Their area is about 9,000 acres with about 4,000 acres being contiguous with the Carters as owners. This allows them to have about 300 stands set up and the ability to move hunters around at will based on the wind, deer sightings or other conditions. Their property is up in the hills right above the Illinois River. It is some of the best deer habitat I have ever seen. Big woods with giant ravines and draws with almost no hunting pressure. There is just so much cover for those big bucks to feel safe in and grow to maturity. You just never know what you are going to see. Very exciting place to be!

I met my good friend, Charlie Miller, at the lodge. He was driving in from NJ and I was flying in from PA. This is another plus for Carter's. It is within easy traveling distance from home and a short but very scenic drive from the St. Louis airport. Route 100 runs along the beautiful Mississippi River and then crosses over to the west side of the Illinois River. You have to be careful if you travel that road in the dark. The deer are everywhere and you have to pay attention.

The conditions for the hunt were not good. Our timing with the moon was okay but not great. The real problem was the amount of rain the Midwest had received. Everything was so wet that it was almost impossible for the farmers to get their crops out of the fields. Standing corn was everywhere. The deer really had no need to leave the cornfields during daylight hours so we saw very few deer in the extensive woods. The big sign was there but the deer were being reclusive and we weren't seeing them.

It kept raining and we lost 2.5 days out of 5 to downpour conditions. Nathan and Lonnie Carter did the best they could under the conditions. On the third morning, Charlie had what he thought was a good deer come by. Even though he could not see both sides of the rack, he made a great shot on the deer. As soon as he recovered it and rolled it over he knew it was under the 140" minimum. The unseen side of the rack was weak and knocked down the overall score. The Carter's have a strict 140" minimum size requirement. This allows them to manage the deer herd for trophy bucks and it seems to work well. Anyhow, Charlie was a little short of 140 so it cost him a $750 penalty. Good lesson learned!

Charlie became my cameraman and we hit it hard for the rest of the week but no luck for me on a shooter buck. Very disappointing but nobody's fault but Mother Nature! The Carter's did their part but the weather was against us. This turned out to be the pattern for most of the 2009 hunting season.

I will return again in 2010 for another chance at a big one like the 167" I took in 2006. How the years fly by!