February 18, 2012

On Saturday, February 18th, the Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen hosted it's 3rd Annual Wheelin Sportsmen Pheasant Hunt at Lick Creek Game Preserve in Pekin, IL.  This year 5 lucky Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen members were paired with volunteers from the Pekin River Bottoms Gobbler NWTF Chapter for a day of pheasant hunting, trap shooting and sampling Mr. Yergler's famous pheasant gravy with noodles and garlic toast!  The meal is always a highlight of the day and hits the spot after a long day afield.  The hunters were provided an ATV to either drive themselves, or ride on while in the field to manuever through the standing milo fields and prairie grass strips.  The Wheelin' Sportsmen partnered with the Spoon River Chapter of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVDHA) to make this day complete.  The NAVHDA chapter brought professional handlers and world class pointing dogs to ensure our hunters had the best shot at success possible.  Thank you to everyone that helped make this special event a huge success!  We look forward to seeing you all back out at Lick Creek next year!  

September 11, 2011

At the Illinois NWTF's Third Quarter State Board Meeting, Randy Green was voted in as the new Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen Coordinator.  Randy is a long time NWTF and Wheelin' Sportsmen member from Mahomet, IL.  Randy also spends his time as the Chapter President of the Two Rivers Gobblers.  Randy has been an integral part of the Wheelin' Sportsmen team for the past three years and we are excited to welcome him on as the state coordinator.  We know he will continue to grow and develop the Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen program!  For information about Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen events or memberships, please contact Randy at illinoisws@gmail.com Welcome aboard Randy!

Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen member, Carl Winger, was selected to participate in the first annual Comanche Creek Wheelin' Sportsmen Turkey Hunt with Wheelin' Sportsmen members from across the country.  Comanche Creek is a large working ranch in the Red River valley of northern Texas that is managed to provide world class hunting opportunities for Wheelin' Sportsmen hunters.  On this hunt, Carl was lucky enough to shoot his first ever turkey, a gorgeous Rio Grand long beard.  Along with outstanding turkey hunting, this ranch also provides opportunities to pursue large white tail deer, hogs and quail.  Thank you to Mr. Mike Poe of Comanche Creek for making this opportunity possible!  We look forward to returning again next spring.



    

Illinois Wheelin' Sportsmen member, Randy Green, was lucky enough to be selected to participate in the NWTF's Ultimate Wheelin' Sportsmen turkey hunt.  Randy was one of 25 hunters drawn from several hundred applicants from across the country.  This national event was held at the US Department of Energy Savanah River Site in rural Aiken, South Carolina.  The 50,000 acre site consisted of several habitat types from traditional southern plantation pine lots to lowland gator swamps.  Each hunter is assigned a 500 acre parcel to themselves.  Randy's unit consisted of mostly thinned plantation pines, clear cuts and small hardwood stands.  Randy was joined by an NWTF camera crew to capture his 2 day hunt.  Over the course of his 2 day hunt, Randy harvested 3 beautiful gobblers, including a very impressive double on the first day.  Randy's hunt will air on the NWTF's Turkey Call television series during the 2012 season. 

In addition to the outstanding hunting, Randy was able to meet Wheelin' Sportsmen participants and volunteers from across the country to learn new ideas on how to better run events back home in Illinois.  Thank you to the NWTF and all of the volunteers from SRS that helped make this "Ultimate Turkey Hunt" a reality for so many Wheelin' Sportsmen participants!