Food plots work in Illinois

By Danny Wahl

         I want to start by saying thanks to the Whitetail Institute for great products. I have been a Whitetail Institute customer for several years and have five food plots with mainly Imperial Whitetail Clover and Alfa-Rack in them.

         The first year, we planted in the fall and saw more deer that season than we had ever seen before. Two bowhunters shot three bucks and two does over those food plots in one weekend. Since then, we have become more selective about what we shoot and have seen some real monsters.

         This past season, I was hunting in southwestern Illinois and sitting in a stand I call the Honey Hole because that’s what it is — a honey hole. I have only been able to hunt the stand five times in the past three years because of wind direction and lack of time in the woods, but during those five sits, I have taken three bucks. Two of those monster bucks won a contest at work. The bedding area is next to a creek with a trail that leads to my food plot, which is planted in Imperial Whitetail Clover.

         One day in November during the last hour, which I call happy hour, three does walked out of a bedding area and followed a trail angling away from me at about 80 yards. A couple of minutes later, another deer followed them. The tree canopy was a little heavy, and I couldn’t see the deer’s rack, but the posture gave him away as a buck. I quickly glassed him, and all I saw before he went behind some brush were antlers and mass.

I thought it was a deer I had seen three days earlier: a 10-pointer with the spread just between his ear tips. If given the chance, I would shoot that deer.

         I grunted and called a few times and apparently, it was working. The buck was heading for the trail that crossed the creek and offered me a 10-yard shot I put on a nice 8-pointer the previous year. I was pumped.

         But the buck didn’t read the script. After a while though, he offered a 30-yard shot to my left.

         After the shot, the buck took off and stopped 25 yards away, looking around as if to say, “What was that?” I thought I had missed. I started getting that sinking feeling when I saw him stagger. I started doing the bowhunter’s prayer: “Fall down. Please! Fall down!”

Then he fell. I almost jumped out of the tree with excitement. But he stood up, and I thought I must have gut-shot him. However, he only staggered and slid into the creek.

I started packing my gear and climbed down to gather my scent canisters. I immediately found my arrow. I went to my pack and got my camera for a picture before it got dark and then walked to my deer.

         The first thing I saw was how massive his left main beam was. It had five points on the main beam, three large stickers at the base and another on the back side The buck had another pair of stickers on that side with five typical points, making him a typical 10-pointer with six nontypical points.

         I was shaking so bad that the pictures from my digital camera turned out blurry. Did I mention I get buck fever? I’m sure glad I didn't see all that before I shot.

         The buck field-dressed at 205 pounds and scored 164-4/8 gross Pope and Young inches. I knew I was doing a full-body mount of this deer.