Illinois hunters prepare for opening of firearms season and excursion to deer camp

QUINCY — Charlie Rodgers ventured into a local retailer figuring there was nothing he really needed, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t overlook anything before heading to deer camp.

“I walked the aisles,” Rodgers said. “And I filled my cart.”

A harmless stroll turned into a $165 investment.

“You never want to go deer hunting unprepared,” Rodgers said as the first weekend of the Illinois firearms deer season opens Friday. “So even if I doubled up or tripled up on certain things like gloves and thick socks, I’m just fine with that. Once I get to deer camp, I’m not coming back to town without a deer or until the weekend runs out of daylight.

“So I needed to be prepared for anything and everything.”

There’s a checklist Rodgers and his hunting partners, who hunt a parcel of private property in eastern Adams County, follow so none of them are left out in the cold.

Some of those items were a valid hunting license, valid deer permits, shotguns and slugs, hunter orange clothing and a myriad of other things vital to the deer hunting experience.

“We’ve had guys forget stuff every year,” said Bull Smith, a former Quincyan now living in Nebraska who comes back every year for the Illinois deer season. “Usually guys forget things like gloves or stocking caps or an extra pair of pants. We had a guy one year forget his boots, so he hunted in tennis shoes all weekend.

“The killer is when someone forgets their hunting license or permits. That’s why we created the checklist for everyone. Hopefully nobody forgets anything vital this year.”

If they did, Rodgers likely has them covered.

“I might have gone overboard, but my truck will feel like a convenience store if guys need gear,” he said.

Rodgers then opened the passenger side door of his Ford F-150.

“We’ve got everything else taken care of, too,” he said.

The backseat of his truck was stacked with boxes and bags filled with deer camp essentials — bottled water, beer and whiskey. There was a cooler with steaks, eggs and milk. He had a crock pot with homemade chili ready to be plugged in, and there were chips, crackers and cookies.

He even had packages of flour and butter so he could make biscuits from scratch.

“I like to cook,” Rodgers said. “So I take on a lot of the cooking for the weekend.”

Smith typically mans the grill, which is why his cooler had enough chicken and pork chops to feed a hungry.

“You don’t show up to deer camp without a lot of food,” Smith said. “First, guys get hungry, especially after hunting all day. And you never know who might show up. We all have friends hunting on different farms or different parts of the county.

“They might stop in, especially if they have a trophy buck to show off. They might end up empty-handed and just want to come by and share a drink. You make sure you’re prepared for everything. And everyone is always welcome. It’s deer camp. The door is open.”

It’s also serious business.

The card playing and the drinking tends to taper off earlier rather than later, especially when the first alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. Every hunter wants to get his gear prepared and get to his stand under a cloak of darkness.

Each hunter in this group came to harvest a deer, preferably a buck for many of them, but they each want to put venison in the freezer. So they don’t let the enjoyment of deer camp take away from the task at hand.

“I’m here to hunt,” Smith said. “Obviously, hanging out with old friends and spending time at the camp is a joy, but come Friday morning, I’m on a mission. I’ll hunt hard morning and evening. When the day is done, you go back to the cabin and enjoy winding down. But while I’m hunting, I’m getting after it. I want to go home with a deer.”

One last trip to the store, a checklist so nothing is forgotten and years of experience both hunting and enjoying deer camp help give Rodgers, Smith and their hunting partners a good chance to make that happen.

All they need is for the deer to cooperate.

“That doesn’t always happen,” Rodgers said. “But everyone is prepared if they do.”