Post by Woody Williams on Mar 9, 2006 23:07:58 GMT -5
Illinois Newspaper article..
Nearing the end of another successful Illinois Deer and Turkey Classic, Glenn Helgeland made a passing remark that resonated.
"You are spoiled in Illinois," he said of all deer hunters who spend time in the woods here.
And he's right.
Raise your eyebrows if you want, but what other logical conclusion is there after marveling at yet another bumper crop of Prairie State antlers.
Of the first four bucks I saw Sunday after walking into the Interstate Center's roller rink, one scored 251 6/8 inches and the other was Brent Van Hoveln's 229 2/8. The first bruiser, from Clark County, didn't even win best of show for non-typicals killed with a firearm.
That honor went to a 255 6/8-inch buck Steve Wallis of Montgomery shot in 2004 near Henry. Other best-of-show winners for non-typicals were Van Hoveln's McLean County bow kill and Kirk Vollmer of Mapleton's 192 2/8-inch Knox County black-powder buck from 2004. Winners for typical racks were Jeffrey Jordan of Hudson's Woodford County black-powder buck from 2004 (182 1/8), David Walters' 13-pointer from LaSalle County (180 4/8) and Joseph Summers' Montgomery County bow kill (179).
Incidentally, Wallis bagged his buck while field-dressing a doe.
"He walked to within 40 yards, I set everything down, picked up the gun and went to town," said Wallis, who was hunting out of his brother's tree stand. "I've been hunting long enough to know that if you get out of the stand to do anything, you keep the gun next to you."
Wallis' buck was the last I passed in the spacious aisles of the roller rink, a new venue that earned glowing reviews. In between those first trophies and the last were enough antlers to get anyone excited about next fall.
"This is the only show I do where the measurers, after the show, walk around looking at the mounts with their jaws hanging open," Helgeland said. "And it isn't from exhaustion. It's from amazement."
No question there; the Classic attracts amazing racks. This year's head count was 589, down slightly from the past two shows but still worth the price of admission.
By my count, at least 15 bucks from 2005-06 measured more than 200 inches. If that doesn't mean much, imagine the biggest buck with the most points you've ever seen. That deer might have made the 200-inch class.
And although a final tally wasn't available, the count of Boone and Crockett Club bucks - a distinction reserved for elite antlers netting at least 170 inches typical or 195 inches non-typical - should be similar to last year's haul of 56. That's right, 56 Booners under one roof.
Now consider Helgeland's Wisconsin classic might have eight or nine Booners. His Michigan show is lucky to produce one. And both those states kill twice as many deer as Illinois.
"In Michigan, the best of shows are all in the 160s," Helgeland said.
At Bloomington, 160 inches barely rates a mention - unless its a 166 6/8-inch 8-pointer like the one Roger Secymore shot this year in Mercer County. That buck was so massive and so perfect it stopped as much traffic, as did the many multi-pointed non-typicals.
"That's the Sophia Loren of 8-pointers," Helgeland said. Or for a younger generation, the Jessica Simpson of 8-pointers. Either way, you get the point.
Despite complex problems with land access, deer hunting in Illinois remains amazing. That's not some new phemonenon, either. Scorer Tim Walmsley once measured an Adams County buck from 1903 that went 211 inches.
"It was shot by a hired hand in an apple orchard," Walmsley said.
Told that story, Helgeland shook his head: "You are not in reality here."
I disagree. That is the reality of Illinois. The reality is 88-year-old Clyde Winkler of Washburn can bag a buck that scores 203 6/8 inches and 14-year-old Justin Clark of Havana can shoot a 170 6/8-inch 12-pointer that grown men elsewhere spend their falls fantasizing about.
Until this gun season, Clark had shot one doe. But he shrugged when asked if he felt lucky. He doesn't know any different. Clark lives in Illinois and is happily spoiled by the world's best whitetail hunting.
Nearing the end of another successful Illinois Deer and Turkey Classic, Glenn Helgeland made a passing remark that resonated.
"You are spoiled in Illinois," he said of all deer hunters who spend time in the woods here.
And he's right.
Raise your eyebrows if you want, but what other logical conclusion is there after marveling at yet another bumper crop of Prairie State antlers.
Of the first four bucks I saw Sunday after walking into the Interstate Center's roller rink, one scored 251 6/8 inches and the other was Brent Van Hoveln's 229 2/8. The first bruiser, from Clark County, didn't even win best of show for non-typicals killed with a firearm.
That honor went to a 255 6/8-inch buck Steve Wallis of Montgomery shot in 2004 near Henry. Other best-of-show winners for non-typicals were Van Hoveln's McLean County bow kill and Kirk Vollmer of Mapleton's 192 2/8-inch Knox County black-powder buck from 2004. Winners for typical racks were Jeffrey Jordan of Hudson's Woodford County black-powder buck from 2004 (182 1/8), David Walters' 13-pointer from LaSalle County (180 4/8) and Joseph Summers' Montgomery County bow kill (179).
Incidentally, Wallis bagged his buck while field-dressing a doe.
"He walked to within 40 yards, I set everything down, picked up the gun and went to town," said Wallis, who was hunting out of his brother's tree stand. "I've been hunting long enough to know that if you get out of the stand to do anything, you keep the gun next to you."
Wallis' buck was the last I passed in the spacious aisles of the roller rink, a new venue that earned glowing reviews. In between those first trophies and the last were enough antlers to get anyone excited about next fall.
"This is the only show I do where the measurers, after the show, walk around looking at the mounts with their jaws hanging open," Helgeland said. "And it isn't from exhaustion. It's from amazement."
No question there; the Classic attracts amazing racks. This year's head count was 589, down slightly from the past two shows but still worth the price of admission.
By my count, at least 15 bucks from 2005-06 measured more than 200 inches. If that doesn't mean much, imagine the biggest buck with the most points you've ever seen. That deer might have made the 200-inch class.
And although a final tally wasn't available, the count of Boone and Crockett Club bucks - a distinction reserved for elite antlers netting at least 170 inches typical or 195 inches non-typical - should be similar to last year's haul of 56. That's right, 56 Booners under one roof.
Now consider Helgeland's Wisconsin classic might have eight or nine Booners. His Michigan show is lucky to produce one. And both those states kill twice as many deer as Illinois.
"In Michigan, the best of shows are all in the 160s," Helgeland said.
At Bloomington, 160 inches barely rates a mention - unless its a 166 6/8-inch 8-pointer like the one Roger Secymore shot this year in Mercer County. That buck was so massive and so perfect it stopped as much traffic, as did the many multi-pointed non-typicals.
"That's the Sophia Loren of 8-pointers," Helgeland said. Or for a younger generation, the Jessica Simpson of 8-pointers. Either way, you get the point.
Despite complex problems with land access, deer hunting in Illinois remains amazing. That's not some new phemonenon, either. Scorer Tim Walmsley once measured an Adams County buck from 1903 that went 211 inches.
"It was shot by a hired hand in an apple orchard," Walmsley said.
Told that story, Helgeland shook his head: "You are not in reality here."
I disagree. That is the reality of Illinois. The reality is 88-year-old Clyde Winkler of Washburn can bag a buck that scores 203 6/8 inches and 14-year-old Justin Clark of Havana can shoot a 170 6/8-inch 12-pointer that grown men elsewhere spend their falls fantasizing about.
Until this gun season, Clark had shot one doe. But he shrugged when asked if he felt lucky. He doesn't know any different. Clark lives in Illinois and is happily spoiled by the world's best whitetail hunting.
