petey
05-03-2008, 08:51 PM
The Huntchat prostaff had another successful year in SE IL hunting on Keven Hammell's property. Despite the near tornado weather (I believe one touched down somewhere near by on Friday) we managed to shoot 3 for 3. We got 2 kills on film and shot some coyote to boot.
It was definitely a bit harder this year with winds ranging around 30+ mph every day, thunderstorms and rain every day and birds that just weren't too talkative. We killed a bird each day on our three days of hunting. The last season had the wheat fields coated with at least a foot of green and the full foliage with high winds made it near impossible to hear a bird, if he did gobble. I normally close the deal in the first 5 mins but it took me the full 3 days to shoot mine. Bigbrother shoot his in the first 5 mins with a bow using the new pretty boy decoy. I'll post the footage once I get it edited. Ol_spark shot his the next day which is when the "tornadoish" weather rolled in. I shot mine about 9:00 am this morning and we hit the road. I just rolled in and decided to check my email and post the hunt.
I howled in a coyote on Friday evening and put the .223 to use. Lets just say I got my money's worth! Them little buggers are hard to hit at 400 yards and running. Ol_spark smacked one this morning with his .12 gauge.
All in all it was a great trip again and the Hammell's treated us wonderfully. We saw plenty of deer, even a few bucks already. Plenty of turkey and coyote and tons of stories and laughter. Of all the trips I got on, this is the one I look forward to the most. I only wish I had a little more time to help them plant since the whole area is behind on account of high water and the weather. Well once I get situated I post some more info on the hunts and the videos, but here's a couple pics.
It was definitely a bit harder this year with winds ranging around 30+ mph every day, thunderstorms and rain every day and birds that just weren't too talkative. We killed a bird each day on our three days of hunting. The last season had the wheat fields coated with at least a foot of green and the full foliage with high winds made it near impossible to hear a bird, if he did gobble. I normally close the deal in the first 5 mins but it took me the full 3 days to shoot mine. Bigbrother shoot his in the first 5 mins with a bow using the new pretty boy decoy. I'll post the footage once I get it edited. Ol_spark shot his the next day which is when the "tornadoish" weather rolled in. I shot mine about 9:00 am this morning and we hit the road. I just rolled in and decided to check my email and post the hunt.
I howled in a coyote on Friday evening and put the .223 to use. Lets just say I got my money's worth! Them little buggers are hard to hit at 400 yards and running. Ol_spark smacked one this morning with his .12 gauge.
All in all it was a great trip again and the Hammell's treated us wonderfully. We saw plenty of deer, even a few bucks already. Plenty of turkey and coyote and tons of stories and laughter. Of all the trips I got on, this is the one I look forward to the most. I only wish I had a little more time to help them plant since the whole area is behind on account of high water and the weather. Well once I get situated I post some more info on the hunts and the videos, but here's a couple pics.