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2014 Shawnee Squirrel Hunt

66K views 973 replies 53 participants last post by  Shotshooter  
#1 · (Edited)
HOWDY ALL!

1. this hunt is to take place Sept. 20-24, 2014.

2. all people who read this notice are invited to attend.

3. the hunt will take place on the southern tip of illinois in the shawnee national forest.

4. this is PRIMARILY a rimfire hunt. if you need to bring a shotgun to hunt with, we won't taunt you.....too much. lol.

5.the city closest to the hunt area is ANNA-JONESBORO. anybody who wants to make motel reservations should try to go there as it is the closest to the campground that is going to have motels. the town is about 10-15 miles away.

6. most of us plan to camp. the chosen campground is "pine hills campground" and is located not far from the town of WOLF LAKE. DIRECTIONS TO THE CAMPGROUND ARE TO FOLLOW. camping fees are $10.00 per night. be forewarned...there is NO ELECTRICITY, HOOK UPS OF ANY KIND OR DRINKING WATER! THERE ARE, pit toilets, fire pits, picnic tables and lantern hooks. that is all! you will not get cell phone reception from the campground! thank God! you will have to drive a couple miles for that.

7. illinois sells a 5 day non resident license for $35.50. a habitat stamp is also required and will cost you and extra $5.50. these can be bought on-line and i highly suggest you do so.
if you go to ilinois dnr site you will find on-line license there. http://www.dnr.state.il.us
under the heading LICENSES/PERMITS/STAMPS, you will find the link for online license purchases.
you can put the dates of the hunt on the permit and it will become activated at that time. the limit on squirrels is 5/day 10 IN POSSESION. we aim to eat a bunch as we go along!
note! if you were born after jan 1,1980, you will need either a hunter safety certificate or an old hunting license issued from your own state.
ALL GUNS MUST BE CASED WHEN INSIDE A VEHICLE! PISTOL HOLSTERS DO NOT COUNT AS A CASE. IT MUST BE ZIPPERED, TIED OR IN A HARD CASE. you may carry a pistol while hunting.
NOBODY FROM OUT OF STATE NEEDS A F.O.I.D. CARD and can buy ammo without it. i can't...go figure.

8. a list of things that you may want to know about would contain these items..skeeters, ticks, chiggars, poison ivy(lots!), rattlers, copperheads, and cottenmouth water moccasins. (the snakes are all protected!) Mt. lions and black bear are also protected.

9. PART of the area we will be hunting lies in a special regulations zone. all plants and animals EXCEPT THOSE LISTED in the hunting regs are protected and not legal to take. squirrels, yotes, g-hogs and skunks are listed in the regs. and CAN BE TAKEN while this hunt is going on.

10. snake safety! there are 3 kinds of poisonous snakes there. i also was not kidding about them being protected. they actually close about 7 miles of road there, twice a year, so they can migrate to higher ground with out getting squished.

a. DO NOT PUT YOUR FEET WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE!
PRETTY BASIC. IN OTHER WORDS DON'T GO
WADING OFF THROUGH SOME HAY FIELD OR WEED PATCH ON YOUR WAY TO THE WOODS.

b. DO NOT STEP OVER LOGS OR LARGE ROCKS! INSTEAD STEP UP ON THEM AND LOOK ON THE OTHER SIDE AND IF YOU CAN,T SEE BACK UNDER IT,WALK AROUND.

c. BE VERY CAREFUL IN CLIMBING STEEP CREEKBANKS. SNAKES LIKE TO LAY UNDER THE WASHED OUT ROOTS OF TREES AND WHEN YOU
GRAB THE TRUNK TO PULL YOURSELF UP, YOUR
ENTIRE BODY CAN COME INTO STRIKING RANGE.

d. DO NOT CHASE CRIPPLED SQUIRRELS
THROUGH THE WOODS! MOST OF YOU HAVE REPEATERS AND RIMFIRE AMMO IS CHEAP! IN SNAKE COUNTRY, ANY SQUIRREL THAT EVEN LOOKS LIKE HE MIGHT
HAVE SOME LIFE IN HIM SHOULD BE SHOT AGAIN IMMEDIATELY!

e. IF YOU'RE IN THE WOODS BEFORE OR AFTER DARK CARRY A GOOD LIGHT. PROBABLY WON'T HELP BUT YOU'LL FEEL BETTER.

f. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN IN ROCKY CREEK BEDS OR ANY WET OR EVEN DAMP SPOTS AND ALONG ROCK WALLS THAT BORDER THE WATER.

11.hunters are required to keep game seperately identifiable. if you share a cooler with somebody , then you will need bags that can be marked with your name.

12. people who can't do without hook ups for trailers can camp at devil's backbone in GRAND TOWER. THE camp is right on the banks of the ole mississippi river and is about 10-15 miles from the PINE HILLS CAMP. grand tower can be located on rt. 3 just north of wolf lake.

13. no vehicles of any kind are allowed off the road. no 4 wheelers or dirt bikes, so leave em home!

14. there are places to fish around there and a one day license can be had for $5.50. just in case you need a break from hunting....yeah ...right!

15. women and children are welcome. BUT! there will be a designated camp at which after a certain time in the evening children and sensitive folks will be politely asked to make their disappearance! no offense meant to anybody and that's how we aim to NOT OFFEND ANYBODY.

16. the terrain in shawnee can be very tough. the hills only go to about 600 feet but can be quite steep. there are flat places to hunt but you may have to drive a couple of miles to get to them. in the hills you will find 99% grey squirrels. in the bottoms you will find some fox squirrels.

DIRECTIONS TO PINE HILLS CAMPGROUND:
FIND RT.3 THAT RUNS ON THE SOUTHWESTERN EDGE OF S. ILLINOIS. IT RUNS CLOSE TO THE MISS. RIVER. LOCATE THE SMALL TOWN OF WOLF LAKE. THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE CAMP GROUND IS ON THE SOUTH EDGE OF WOLF LAKE.THERE IS A LARGE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT JUNK YARD ALL ALONG THE ROAD THERE. THE ROAD IS AT THE BOUNDARY EDGE OF THE JUNKYARD. THERE IS A BROWN SIGN THAT POINTS TO TRAIL OF TEARS STATE FOREST. THE ROAD ONLY GOES EAST.
TAKE THIS ROAD FOR 1-1/2 MILES AND YOU WILL FIND A SIGN THAT POINTS TO THE PINE HILLS CAMPGROUND. THE CAMP IS ABOUT 1 MILE DOWN THE ROCK ROAD. FEES ARE $10/NIGHT.
 
#4 ·
Proud to say, that after 2 yrs. of listening to you guys, and reading almost page for page about past hunts, I intend to be there. I got the guns, clothes, etc., what I don't have is the camping gear. Going to be making some purchases, this winter, and will probably have a ton of questions, on what to bring. As long as i keep my job, and me and momma stay healthy, I want to be there, possibly for all five days! I wanna drink a beer with you, Sarge, patience, semo, CF, Nobody, bolt, and the rest of the crew! More questions, later.


Maddog
 
#8 ·
Yah, mabe, thinkso......

Been pondering this question for a while now "would I go if they have a 2014 hunt and was lucky enough to get invited?" Whooo got the invite, maybe I'll just put some new shoes on the old Airstream and head on down! Way too many questions and way too early but reserve me a spot:t!
 
#13 ·
1. Don't think it is legal. Most states have laws against it now to prevent the spread of ash bores and such. you can find plenty of firewood(if you need it) up and down the roads around there. it is legal to cut any down timber for firewood and there is no shortage of that.

2. There are campsites for multiple tents. just pay and don't park on the grass.
 
#11 ·
I think folks have brought firewood in the past, but I don't know what the rules on it are, if any.
I believe that you can officially put two tents on a campsite. We pay not attention to that as tents are scattered all over the place there. The park rangers know us and expect us every Sep. They know that we will be scattered throughout the campground.
 
#12 ·
Were there really any squirrels killed?

Finally finished reading all 70+ pages of the 2013 Shawnee hunt and sounds like all had a good time (with a few pucker factor moments :eek:). I even found a couple of pics of dead squirrels. How are hunt areas assigned? Think I saw 40+ in camp, do you just take off and pick a parking spot or is it more organized? You also post a number of cautions on snakes - We have copperheads and a few rattlers around my neck of the woods but only have seen one. Other than common cautions i.e. keeping eyes and ears open, are snake guards/boots recommended? Snakes don't freak me, just don't like them!
 
#17 ·
Finally finished reading all 70+ pages of the 2013 Shawnee hunt and sounds like all had a good time (with a few pucker factor moments :eek:). I even found a couple of pics of dead squirrels. How are hunt areas assigned? Think I saw 40+ in camp, do you just take off and pick a parking spot or is it more organized? You also post a number of cautions on snakes - We have copperheads and a few rattlers around my neck of the woods but only have seen one. Other than common cautions i.e. keeping eyes and ears open, are snake guards/boots recommended? Snakes don't freak me, just don't like them!
This is a camp of squirrel hunters and no person is in charge of it. There are things that we do traditionally together.

There is more ground around there than most any group that shows up could hunt. Shawnee is close to 300,000 acres but interspersed with private holdings. Around the campground there are miles of timber to hunt. Folks walk out of camp and folks drive out and hunt. If you walk away from camp to hunt, there is more likelihood of running into somebody else.

These folks are great people and will help you out if only approached politely.

Come for the fun! Bring any musical instrument you play and an iron sight gun for the iron sight contest if you want. Irons contest always held Sunday evening.

There are snakes. Since they have become protected, they have become more numerous. They are not thick but it will pay a person to be cautious.

There is more poison ivy than most anybody ever saw. If you contract poison ivy...you will get it. Bring what cures you.

There also can be loads of chiggers or turkey mites. Preventive measures are highly suggested.

No squirrels are guaranteed! Hunters come with all different skill levels and Shawnee squirrels are not easy. But, you will probably learn something about squirrel hunting even if you have done it for decades. I still do.

If you shoot rimfire rifles, I suggest a scope with some higher power settings. Variables that start with 4x or 6x and go to 12x-18x or even 24x are what most of us carry there.

luck!
 
#27 ·
Hoooooowdy

Hey All-

Up late doing chores as we've already canceled Church services and our jam scheduled for tomorrow with the sub zero temps and snow movin in...

Riverman, MissedEm and Maddog-Hope U all will be able to come to the hunt. I've never found a better gatherin of fine folks at a great but challenging place to hunt. I hope U'll plan to join us at the Hillbilly Deluxe for a visit and a breakfast, one mornin'.

TFrank-I hope U won't disappoint us and will be able to come this year. U drive the furthest, but swear it's worth it!

Reb-Now why U got to make fun of the banjo, some of us are just gettin used to bein one string short of a set...Please don't say nothin bad around my new to me Gibson, Leon. He is of the sensative sort, unlike some of them inported kind.

Sarge-can't imagine a Shawnee w/o U my friend, prayin the good news will only get better.

Lookin forward to this years hunt makes missin my friends easier.

SEMO
 
#28 ·
Well boys, I'm in my office and watching it snow out the window. Couple more questions. Like I said, its been close to 20 yrs. since I camped.


1. Got it down to 3 different tents. Eureka tetragon 5, Copper canyon 4, and the coleman 6 instant tent. All are priced within $40 of each other. I know bolt and sarge like the coleman. anybody use the other two?

2. Do you guys recomend one of those E Zy up canopies for out in front of your tent?


Maddog
 
#31 ·
I had one little bit of leakage during a bad rainstorm. The next time I set it up I'll spray some seam sealer on it and that will do it. They claim that a rain fly is not needed and that was the only time I ever had mine leak which was just a small spot on the floor. I came from the very peak of the tent where I had the lantern hanging.
 
#32 ·
:)I think that just about all of the tent campers have found out that they also need a tarp over the tent as well as the rain fly. And if you get one long enough and a couple of adjustable poles you can extend it out front and have a nice porch canopy/shade. Just count on your tent, any kind, leaking and you'll have it made.
Personally, I sleep in the back of my truck.
Crow Feather
 
#33 ·
That's right. a big tarp over the tent is good insurance against getting everything wet. A cot to stay off the ground is more insurance against sleeping wet. get a big enough tarp to extend out over the opening of the tent for an awning.

The folks around my camp(Crow for 1) have brought those easy ups. they are great. we stick a couple together and throw a large tarp over them all. extend out the edges and you have a larger waterproof cooking and sitting area. it's shady under there and out of the direct sun.

luck!