HEARTLAND'S MONSTER BUCKS

Take The Buck Of Your Life

EDITOR'S NOTE: James Woodley is the lodge manager at Heartland Lodge located in west-central Illinois in Pike, Adams and Brown counties. Heartland Lodge uses extreme deer-management strategies to raise monster bucks on the property.

QUESTION: How many hunters do you usually have in a camp?
ANSWER: We usually have around 10 hunters per camp.

QUESTION: Out of those 10, how many will harvest a 150-point B&C buck?
ANSWER: Our lodge has a 20% success rate for bowhunters. So, out of those 10, two hunters will harvest trophy bucks, and one buck may score over 150 points. Gun hunting has about a 50% success rate.

QUESTION: How many bowhunters will you have this season?
ANSWER: We'll have around 80 hunters this season.

QUESTION: How many of them will go home with a 140 B&C buck or better?
ANSWER: Probably 10 of these hunters will get a 140 B&C buck or better.

QUESTION: How many will get shots at a 140-or-better buck?
ANSWER: Last year, we had 75% opportunity on all shooter bucks. I couldn't tell you how many of them scored 140-points or better. All the hunters had their chances to shoot at, miss or pass on shooter bucks. I would say that probably 40% had the opportunity to shoot a 140-B&C buck or better.

For more information on hunting with Heartland Outfitters, call James Woodley at (217) 773-3003.

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