I was pumped. I had been granted access to nearly 5,000 acres of prime Illinois hunting ground. Sure, I’d be competing with some other hunters, but the area was hot, and the pressure wouldn’t be bad.
I had no time for blind foot-scouting, so I would have to uncover the best unclaimed locations from my home office. I fired up my laptop and logged on to www.terraserverusa.com. Within minutes, I had contour maps and aerial photos of the properties.
I knew I’d be hunting the rut. I also suspected that any obvious stand sites would already be taken. With those two factors in mind, I scoured the printouts for hidden funnels.
Several days later, I began the legwork. With marked-up maps in hand, I strapped stands to my back and sought out each promising location. Although one of nine locations didn’t pan out, I was thrilled with the other
