Newsletter #8

Deer Season drawing to an end
As deer season draws to an end there is lots of room to fill our minds with new outdoor adventures. Only a few months ago most of us whitetail junkies were spending every spare minute thinking how to dupe that big majestic whitetail that we have yet to tag this year. Some have tagged one or two and are already on to other adventures!

Lance Sleeter of Lexington, IL slipped away to enjoy the coastal warmth and wing shooting that Southern California has to offer…….. lucky dog (yes I mean Lance)

2700 miles away on the opposite side of the country Josh Byrd of Pennsylvania takes his limit of Geese in a bit cooler climate, either way there is a lot going on in the outdoors this time of year.

If you’ve had enough of the cold and need something to fix your dreams on; there are always gobs of new gear coming out each year. These two bows are among the best bows ever made in my opinion, of course every half decade I hear the age old “they can’t make them any better” saying……. But then they do!!! Amazing,Fast, Quiet and Smooth is what many of the new bows have in common (the only innovation that still needs work is how to produce them for half the price)

Below are the new Elite Judge and Bow Tech Destroyer respectively.
They are my top picks if I had the $800+ to drop on a new bow

Now that Christmas has gone, there should be no pitter patter of reindeer on your roof top.
If you do hear something alarming it’s probably Chad Schieler doing some nuisance pest control………and yes he does like a plate of milk and cookies left out for him :)

As you can see some of our wildlife can be very damaging to our dwellings, more proof that hunting, fishing and trapping are much needed and go on as God intended!

Enjoy the rest of winter, be safe
And God bless,
Matt Cheever- Flatlander Outdoors

Newsletter #7

How cold is cold?
It depends on what part of the country you are in as to what the word cold means. In Florida 50 degrees Fahrenheit is cold, in North Dakota it isn’t cold until its -15 degrees. I am making an official statement that in Illinois anything under 5 degrees with a wind chill of -15 is officially cold. Now that it is cold in Illinois there are two things to look forward to: Ice fishing and coyote hunting.

Kevin Stuepfert gets the jump on prime coyote hunting while laying out this nice looking yodel dog! If you haven’t shot a savage rifle with accu-trigger you’re missing out. Every hunter should own one, they are super accurate, even Chad Schieler can shoot one well

The beginning of a new year brings the end of Pheasant and Rabbit hunting in just a few days in the north and another week in the south. Fortunately my dad and I got out to enjoy a day of bird hunting despite brutal wind, cold and snow. This bird tasted awfully good on Christmas day.

A new season- many hunters have mixed emotions about the new extended antlerless season in Illinois. I for one enjoyed it since I had a pocket full of tags left over from 1st, 2nd shotgun and muzzleloader season. Mike Manley, Danny McDaniels and I all shot small does for the freezer and enjoyed a toasty warm deer camp in the cabin after brutal wind and cold.













More to come
Stay warm, keep huntin’ and GOD bless
Matt Cheever- Flatlander Outdoors

Newsletter # 6

Illinois slow down
Even though the deer hunting in Illinois is slowing down
the days in the outdoors of autumn are far from over.

Good friend Josh Byrd from Pennsylvania put his coveted buck tag on a nice deer this season. The folks from PA. are allowed 1 buck for the entire season and Josh had his eye on this Giant for much of the season.
















After a long and grueling season and the disappearance
of the Big 8, Josh decided to pull a management buck
off the property and continue to hone his archery skills
at the last of the buck season with this beautiful deer.

















Many of the Illinois hunters are filling the whitetail void

with lots of other critters, Kevin Stuepfert trapped
this nice beaver, and will look really nice tanned
hanging on the wall of his man cave

Jim Crowley got the opportunity to hunt with Mark Rongers and Johnny Vucko of the Mighty Layout boys the other day. www.mightylayoutboys.com Layout boat hunting on lake Michigan. Chicago in the back ground and a boat full of multi- specie ducks makes a good way to break up the monotony of the flatlands of central Illinois.

Jim and some nice Bluebills

Meanwhile on the baron corn stubble tundra of the Midwest, Lile Stein (The nation’s best coyote hunter in my opinion) continues to get in the Christmas spirit by making life easier for the occasional pheasant and rabbit that continually look for cover these days.

Enjoy the outdoors, God bless, and Merry Christmas
Matt Cheever-Flatlander Outdoors

Newsletter # 5

Still some luck left
While some of us have had a bit of a lull in the deer action, not everyone has. Those who are persistent reap the rewards.

Ross Edwards wrangles another fine buck with the archery gear this year.
This fine specimen comes from the “show me” state. To this bucks dismay he should not have shown himself during daylight hours around Ross, it won him a free truck ride from Missouri to Illinois. I am sure Ross was grinning all the way home!

8 Oak Acres Hunt Club
8 Oak Acres is a name given to a group of properties managed by a Christian family
Near Lexington, IL and they have been implementing Quality Deer Management for a couple of years now. Their main focus is letting the little guys grow up and getting a better age class of bucks and good buck to doe numbers. So far they are on the right track but the girls seem to be showing the boys how it’s done! Not to worry the guys know their stuff and will no doubt rally in the late season!

Seasoning a muzzleloader
Flatlander Outdoors Prostaffer Matt Dittbenner puts his new muzzleloader to work on this world class 8 point. Tall, wide, good mass what a dandy buck!

Even though gun season was slow for the Flatlander Oudoors guys,
I feel optimistic that we will see some good bucks around

Christmas time!!


thanks, and GOD bless
Matt Cheever

Newsletter # 4

Beards and Bucks
Some have noticed I was a bit scruffy this Fall, I had a modified beard, fu man chu, goatee, sort of growth on my face. Well it dates back to when I took up hunting again after college, good friend and fellow bow hunter Kaine Hilt and I cut our teeth together learning to bow hunt and we had an agreement that neither would shave until our first deer was down. After talking with Kaine this summer I thought I would go old school and grow back the whiskers. Back in 94’ I took my deer early and got to shave, while Kaine was getting a bit wiry! This season thank goodness we both have our deer on the ground and none too soon. Kaine shot this extremely nice 7 point, what an awesome old majestic animal. Dark, wide, thick antlers are just impressive to me and good mass doesn’t hurt either, Kaine’s deer has it all! CONGRATS



Other good deer from the prime mid November window of opportunity
include Ross Edward’s dandy archery buck. Ross is the best bow hunter in Illinois that you have never heard of. He is modest, honest and a true mountain man, spending a good portion of his time chasing Bull Elk in the mountains. (He is the great grand nephew of Jeremiah Johnson) :)

Also Big Buck Boland (aka Philippe) took a dandy mature buck on film (filming himself, not an easy task) during the first shotgun season




















Philippe’s friend that’s new to the sport got a crack at a deer with a history that they had had on their farm in an unknown county
The deer’s name is moose…….. No explanation needed










And last but not least is a story about a multi talented individual.

I have often been amazed by the professional athletes that can excel in two sports,
It’s very rare indeed. But I know one sportsman who excels in 3 different areas that just amazes me. His Name is Jim Crowley; many of you know him from his fishing on Mid west outdoor television or his hunting adventures, but Jim actually shines as one of Illinois best outdoor educators. You see Jim taught my wife to shoot clay birds, something I have never succeeded at. In one short morning Jim had my wife Amy shooting doubles with her Mossberg pump 12 ga.. She beat most of the men on the shooting line that day. Was I proud? …… you bet! still am!! Thanks Jim, for your dedication to the sport and all its aspects!

You can follow Jim by going to his web site
http://www.hookandhunttv.com/
and sign up for his newsletter as well. You will be entertained and educated for free,
what else could you ask for!

Below are Jim and his hunting partner Chesney after bagging some honkers’

Thanks, and God Bless
Matt Cheever