Pope County, IL / Shawnee National Forest advice

[SIUCpilot]

Howdy! New member here. My name is Dave from Northern Illinois. I drew Pope County season 4.... Will be shotgunning. I am not looking to set up on top of anyone's honey hole, but the Shawnee Forest in Pope co is HUGE. I have been looking at topo and satellite and have ideas....

Can anyone help point me in a general area? looking to be at least 1/2 to 3/4 mile from roads. I love hunting deep woods and ridgelines. I have noticed MANY wildlife/ag/burn fields but they are close to roads and I suspect will be crowded. Will probably set up a tent half a mile from the hunting grounds.

Again, any advice would be most appreciated.

Dave

[renegade19]

Should be plenty of fire trails and access roads.  Boots on the ground always is a good idea.  If you've got a mountain bike, might be a good idea to bring it down.  Only drawback that I know is with budget issues some of the trails aren't maintained now.  Hunt mid to late morning after everyone else goes home and don't be afraid to try locating those birds close to the trailheads.  One of my favorite spots has produced birds near a trailhead mid to late morning on several occasions.  Last time I struck a bird there I wasn't 100yds from the truck.  Good luck!

[hobbes]

You wont find many places in shawnee that when you hike a mile, you havent closed in on access from the opposite direction.  There is pretty good access to everything there, but it never stopped me from finding lonely turkeys often enough to make some great hunting.  Start high before daylight and let them tell you where they are. 

[opster246]

In my experiences there, by 4th season a good deal of the birds are pusshed off the public and into private land. I would focus on areas furthest from camping areas-out of town hunters camp in the campgrounds and hunt the areas within 20-30 min drives. Get away from the campgrounds and give it a go!  It can be tough hunting, but a beautiful area.