A Few Basics About Me
My name is Matt Federman and I want to invite you to learn more about me. Read through this page to get a feeling of what I’m all about. I was born and raised in a Northern Illinois suburb of Chicago. The outdoors have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Hunting, Fishing, Camping, and Canoeing were at the center of every family vacation we had. I am a father to 2 amazing kids, both of which I hope will turn into great hunters. Currently, my 9 to 5 day job is accounting.
Hunting Background
I have been whitetail hunting since I was 12 years old. Absolutely cannot get enough of it. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, I have deer hunting on the mind. 
As many before me, I was introduced to hunting by my father but I know that there are many out there who have not had that luxury. We as hunters all must start somewhere, knowing just about nothing on how to hunt these gorgeous animals. Up until 2009 I had only gun hunted for deer, but that quickly changed. I was fed up with thinking about deer hunting for 365 days and only having 3 of those days in order to actually hunt. That summer I picked up the bow that had been sitting in my garage for a very long time and began practicing.
I have to admit that I wasn’t all that confident that first year out, but I did get the job done! My first bow kill was a fawn button buck. I thought it was a doe fawn and was disappointed to take a buck out before it had a chance to reach it’s potential. Regardless, I am still extremely proud of him. Since then, I have taken many does with my bow. I missed a few shots on a couple really nice mature bucks and also passed on many opportunities at does and young bucks. As far as I’m concerned, those hunts that I pass on great opportunities are successful hunts. I was within range with completely clear shots.
My Mission
My goal in creating this site is to educate those whom do not have someone to show them the ropes. I’ve done my best to write articles that will help all hunters. Even those whom have been hunting for quite some time can still learn something. Please let me know if there is information you are looking for and is not included here. If you are wondering about something, chances are there is someone else out there wondering too. If I am able to help just one person have success in the whitetail woods I will consider this site a huge success.
I hope that my passion and excitement shows through as my journey to harvest mature whitetails evolves along with my hunting habitat. I have a true passion for learning, both in general and in the whitetail woods. That passion has driven me to begin this quest and share my experiences with you. I have included a place for comments on all pages so that I can get feedback from you. Let’s have some open discussions about anything and everything having to do with whitetail deer.
Hello, Just subscribed to your youtube channel and then followed it to your website. I am from Florida and try to hunt the Midwest every year(KS.,MO.) so far. I am trying to put together a DIY public land bow hunt in Southern IL. next season. Looking for your opinion on the Shawnee National Forest. It looks pretty overwhelming. From watching your videos I take it the second week is the best time(rut) to be in the woods in this part of the state. How is the mid to late Oct. time frame? Are campsites hunter friendly ? I appreciate any and all help you can provide. One again thank you and have a blessed day.
Thanks for subscribing! I really appreciate the support.
To be completely honest, I haven’t ventured too much in to the main part of the forest. When I am in Southern Illinois, I am on my family farm so I don’t have any idea about the campsites. But, I’m sure that they are pretty used to people camping in the area in order to go hunting. Years back (before we had the bunkhouse and cabin built) a guy in our hunting party used to bring his R.V. and park it in an R.V. park near the highway. It was always full of people hunting in the national forest. That was during gun season though. I have to agree with you that the forest looks overwhelming. That being said. I think that there is a huge amount of the forest land that you can eliminate pretty quickly. The forest is mainly a mono-culture of hardwoods. Do some aerial scouting before you go. If you aren’t familiar, I have an article on the subject (http://deerhuntertips.com/scouting-for-deer-aerial-style/). I also plan on doing a video during this off season. You can also feel free to ask any questions and I will be happy to help you out as much as I can.
I know that there are some big old bucks out there. Our family farm backs up to a landlocked piece of the forest and I know there are some big deer in there. In fact, this off season I plan on doing some extensive scouting in that piece so that I can incorporate more public land in to the videos and website.
By second week, I’m assuming you are referring to November. Based on that, I would say that it sure was this year! I wasn’t there this year for shotgun season but everyone that was saw a lot of deer and more than one good buck. Every year, Illinois has their shotgun season during the weekend before thanksgiving. So when planning a trip up here be mindful of that. I was actually down there this year during the last weekend of October. I saw a lot of younger bucks chasing does all over the place. Though I wasn’t in the stand when it happened, there were also 2 different big bucks that passed by a camera on Halloween during mid day. I would say the last 3-4 days of October would also be a great time to be in the woods there.
I hope this helps!
Matt