Perspective is everything in deer hunting: I suspect we are going to see far better numbers for the opening three days of Illinois firearm deer season than we did last year, not that I individually contributed to that.
I am tempted to put meaning on the black cat, who padded out mid-morning Friday and prowled to within a few feet of my stand before I psst'ed at it away.
I am gathering reports from Chicago-area hunters around the state and things look solid to outstanding.
For example, Carl Harris sent this note on the success of a group of hunters who hunted in the Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois:
Out of 11 guys, we took 9 deer. Not bad! Was unable to get deer pix as I had to leave early. Maybe one of the guys did and if so, I'll send you some. Hope you had a good hunt. Watching squirrels gets boring after a few days.
I will attest to that squirrel comment, as much as I love watching the antics of fox squirrels that climb within arm's reach nearly every year.
More later. With luck, we will have the official numbers before Thanksgiving break for the first firearm season, which ran Friday through Sunday. The second firearm deer season is Dec. 2-5.
My friend had one of those black cats cross his blind 25 years ago......... that was the day he met his x-wife
You should have shot that timber cat!
The thought crossed my mind, but I halted myself. That discussion is a good one for another day.