Illinois Bound!

Well…Mr. Big is still alive!! Saturday afternoon the landowner saw him fighting with a big 8 point that I’ve been getting pictures of on my trail camera. I’m disappointed that I haven’t had a shot at Mr. Big, but am VERY thankful to learn that he’s still alive.

I leave in two days. Wednesday at 3 a.m. my man and I are hitting the road for the 12 hour drive to Illinois. I am SO excited! My boyfriend feels pretty confident that I’ll at least have a chance at a big buck. Me, I just plan on having the time of my life whether I kill a big buck or not. This is my first time hunting out of state, and I’m sure it won’t be my last. If I tag out in Illinois, or if we both tag out, we’re packing up our gear and heading to Missouri. Really, there is a chance I could come home with TWO big bucks, but I think I’m getting ahead of myself.

As for Mr. Big, my dream buck in NJ, I have a different sort of plan laid out for the next two days. This morning I set a ground blind up in the timber where, from my stand, I’ve seen bucks chasing does every night…where I had a stand earlier in the season but saw nothing…but is where the landowner saw the big bucks on Saturday.

I remember last year how he told me he saw them up in the timber during the rut, and during late season. For some reason I turned a deaf ear on that, or maybe it just didn’t click. This early season I was getting tons of pictures of bucks at my stand I’ve been hunting, and tons of pictures of Mr. Big. But, though I’ve seen plenty of small bucks chasing around my stand, I haven’t been getting pictures of any bucks at all. Not even the little ones. So, OBVIOUSLY, they have to be somewhere else.

I don’t really have time to put up a stand or even move my trail camera. Since it’s the beginning of hardcore rut activity, I want to make as little noise as possible with my setup so a ground blind seemed the easiest solution. Lately I’ve been feeling a little depressed about the Mr. Big situation, but I’m thinking that a change in location could be a change in luck. I know the land pretty well; I’m 100% confident that I’ll be seeing deer. The question is, will I see Mr. Big?

I will have no computer access while I’m in Illinois so won’t be able to update until I return…I’m hoping that my next post will be a success story!