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The Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic will be held in Peoria at the Peoria Civic Center in 2011, for deer hunters, turkey hunters and their families. |
- NEW in 2011
Seven things to make the Classic bigger and better, keeping the event fresh and interesting. View Details » - Core of the Classic
The three main support legs of the Classic, according to your responses on our survey cards. View Details » - Contests
Trophy deer (some of the largest whitetail antlers to be seen anywhere), plus trail camera photos, outdoor photos and state turkey calling & owl hooting championship. Four contests in all. View Details » - Tech Information Center
Get your gear questions (archery, rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, hunting clothes/footwear, optics), deer questions and turkey questions answered by nationally-recognized experts. Plus food plot demo area of grains & grasses & plenty of solid info. Great face-time opportunity. Lots of hardware to inspect. See the binocular dunk tank. View Details » - Events & Demonstrations
Four interesting, informative and entertaining events: 1)Byron Ferguson, renowned archery trick shot (Saturday & Sunday only); 2) venison butchering & processing demonstrations by professional butcher Bill Hesselgrave; 3) cooking venison & other wild foods, by Jason Coleman, a professional chef and enthusiastic hunter; 4) flint knapping demonstrations. Mark McDaniel chips arrowheads and tools from stone. If you have stone arrowheads, spear points or tools, Mark asks you to bring them in. He’ll tell you hold old they are and which ancient culture they came from. View Details » - Activities
Fun for kids of all ages – Shooting ranges, bow tryout area (try before you buy), and Puppies & Kids Sunday, a new area that should be fun for everyone in the family. Puppies available for purchase, too. View Details » - Displays
New-products display area near the main entrance; examine products without a sales person looking over your shoulder ... Forage crop pocket guide for anyone thinking food plots ... Several natural history displays, including live game animals & predators. View Details » - Tell Your Friends...
ON-LINE EXPO PREVIEW magazine, with all Classic details, will be posted one month prior to the Classic. It also will contain a downloadable $2-off ticket discount coupons. Exhibitor list is posted 45 days before Expo and updated weekly. View Details »
New Location & New Dates
Peoria Civic Center (PCC), Peoria
March 25-26-27 ... one month later than last year
The Classic will be in one big L-shaped room on one floor under one roof. More than 7,000 parking spaces within five blocks of the PCC. Easy access to parking areas and to the PCC. See the map for details.- Women's Hunting Apparel & Related Gear
Female hunters are the only growing segment of the hunting community. Manufacturers now are paying attention ith new hunting products and accessories designed for women, and not just in clothing.
There will be 10-12 designated booths for clothing manufacturers, with plenty of other booth spaces nearby for related items. Each clothing booth will have its own fitting room for privacy and security. Women’s apparel booths are marked with a W on the floor plans. - Puppies & Kids Sunday
There will be a designated area Sunday for puppies and kids to congregate. The area will be easy to find due to the concentration of cages and dogs. Puppies can be for sale, of course. Upland bird dog species and waterfowl species welcome. There will be location banners for this area, and it will be noted on floor plans and the on-site Show Guide handout. - DVD Theater
DVDs are everywhere, it seems. This new theater will be a sampling area, a good place to get a good look at short versions of new DVDs. Maximum video length is 25 minutes. DVDs will be played every day, nearly all day long. Theater location will be noted on floor plans, in the Show Guide on-site handout, and at the theater entrance. - USSA Raffles, Sweepstakes & Sentry Program
An expanded version of our long-time support of the US Sportsmen's Alliance and its work protecting our hunting privileges and conservation efforts. You will have opportunities to win all sorts of hunting gear and accessories, all to the benefit of a great cause. Stop at their booth and sign up.
Additionally, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Foundation's Trailblazer Adventure Program is the largest scale outdoor program of its kind. By working with groups like the Boy Scouts of America, Trailblazer will introduce its 1 millionth youth to the thrill of outdoor sports this year. - "Deer Answer Man" and "Turkey Answer Man" Added to Tech Info Center
'Deer Hunting Answer Man' and 'Turkey Hunting Answer Man' have been added to the hugely successful TECH INFO CENTER that debuted last year, to provide more one-on-one Q&A that today’s young buyers really like. (Average age of our attendees skews young.) Gary Sefton, a Tennessee-based champion caller and hugely successful turkey hunter will be Mr. Turkey. Dan Schmidt, editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine, hunts deer with firearm, bow and muzzleloader. If there were a rock-throwing season, he most likely would hunt then, too. - Tradeshow Sunday (dealers invited)
The Classic is open to the public, of course, but there's an addition. Tradeshow Friday is now TRADESHOW SUNDAY. Shops are closed or on short staff Sunday, so it is easier for dealers and staff members to attend that day, get new product and pricing info ... see new products ... talk to exhibiting manufacturers and decide which products they would like to stock in their shops during the upcoming sales season. Dealer are invited from throughout the Classic's multi-state market area (see details).
Core of the ILLINOIS Deer & Turkey Classic
These are the three main support legs of the Classic, according to your responses on our survey cards.
1. SEMINAR SPEAKERS / TOPICS
- All seminars are FREE once you have purchased your admission ticket.
- Most speakers and topics change every year. The food plot topic is one of the few that have become continuous because of its popularity, but even here we vary the specific subject matter within the broad food plot field. (No pun intended.)
- 2011 Illinois seminar schedule will be posted soon.
2. EXHIBIT BOOTHS
- See NEW PRODUCTS and talk face-to-face with factory reps. Get your hunting equipment and accessory questions answered here. An alphabetical list of exhibitors will be published 45 days before the Classic and updated weekly.
Many companies exhibit on a rotating basis, exhibiting on alternating years so they can reach a wider market over a two-year or three-year span. Those you missed last year may be back this year.
- More than 350 booths.
- Centerfire firearms, black powder and bowhunting gear.
- Accessories - scopes, binoculars, game and bird calls, tree stands, GPS, scents and lures, hunting blinds, deer feeds, knives, camouflage and other hunting clothing, footwear ... and a lot more.
- Guides and outfitters from throughout the United States, Canada and South Africa for all types of big game.
- Wildlife art and artists, book and magazine publishers, video producers
- Wild game cooking items and seasonings, cooking equipment and supplies, jerky and sausage.
- Outdoor lifestyle and home decorating items and ideas. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors will like these items for home, office, den, cabin or lodge. Products include food seasonings, clothing, cooking gear (kitchen & camp), carved and painted wildlife art, log homes and furniture, antler art, hats/purses/leather goods, etc. These exhibit booths are distributed randomly among all booths.
3. ILLINOIS TROPHY DEER CONTEST
- One of the best displays of huge whitetail antlers to be found; 500 or more heads.
- See details in CONTESTS page.
- See last year's winners in TROPHY DEER CONTEST WINNERS page.
ILLINOIS TROPHY DEER CONTEST & DISPLAY
More than 500 Illinois whitetail deer trophy entries are expected. Measuring and scoring is by people certified by the Boone & Crockett Club, Pope & Young Club, or Illinois Big Buck Recognition Program. Boone & Crockett / Pope & Young scoring system is used. Contest fee is $20; in return, you get a three-day pass to the Classic.
See the Contests Page for all rules on contest trophy entries and 'measure only' non-contest trophies.
See Illinois Whitetail Deer Photo Gallery.
ILLINOIS STATE TURKEY CALLING & OWL HOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
Contest held Saturday, March 26. Contact: Gary Eichenberger (309-454-6502 evenings) for details. This is a sanctioned NWTF event.
See the Contests Page for details and rules.
TRAIL CAMERA PHOTO CONTEST
Trail cameras see some strange things among wildlife populations -- and some big antlers -- when no humans are around. More than 225 photos are expected.
See the Contests Page for details and rules, and last year's winning photos.
See Illinois Trail Camera Photo Gallery.
OUTDOOR PHOTO CONTEST
Photos of good times in the outdoors make good memories. Show those memories, and your photography skill, by entering this contest. More than 225 photos are expected.
See the Contests Page for details and rules, and last year's winning photos.
See Illinois Outdoor Photo Gallery.
Want to go one-on-one with experts to get your questions answered?- Want solid advice on gearing up the best way possible within your budget for the animals and birds you plan to hunt?
- Want to see what food plot grasses, grains and vegetables look like at various growth stages ... and which might work best for you?
The Tech Information Center offers all this, with the attending experts giving you straight, unbiased answers. There are five equipment specialists, one food plot demo area, and two new additions for 2011 – the Deer Hunting Answer Man and Turkey Hunting Answer Man. All are recognized experts in their topical areas. Some of the topics also will be seminar subjects. Check the seminar schedule for details.
| The Tech Centers – (click here for bio info on all T.I.C. specialists) | ||
| Firearms Answer Man | Ron Spomer | |
| Archery Answer Man | Larry Wise | |
| Muzzleloader & Slug Guns Answer Man | Dave Henderson | |
| Optics (Scopes & Binoculars) | Spomer & Henderson | |
| Hunting Clothes & Footwear | Mike Faw | |
| Food Plots | Judy Helgeland | |
| Deer Hunting Answer Man (NEW) | Dan Schmidt | |
| Turkey Hunting Answer Man (NEW) | Gary Sefton | |
BYRON FERGUSON, ARCHERY TRICK SHOT
Byron Ferguson and his entertaining archery trick shooting is an annual event. He is fun to see and his shots are awesome. Your entire family will enjoy his performance.
He will give two performances Saturday, March 26, and two performances Sunday, March 27.
Byron has videos and books titled "Become The Arrow" to help you learn his shooting system.
COOKING VENISON & OTHER WILD FOODS
Cooking demos, plus venison handling, freezing, thawing, seasoning and serving tips will be given as regular seminars. See the seminar schedule for time and place. Be ready to sample great flavors. Come prepared to take notes. Venison and wild food cookbooks will be available.
VENISON BUTCHERING & PROCESSING
Bill Hesselgrave and his venison butchering and processing demonstrations return annually. First-timers want to see how to do it right, and returning folks like to review Bill's demonstrations to be sure they heard right and remembered right when it came time to do their own venison butchering.
SHOOTING RANGES
- Laser
- Airgun
- Archery (FREE shooting instruction)
Airgun and archery ranges are operated under the watchful eyes of adult range masters for best learning and safe operation. One laser range has big game video footage complete with sound; one has video game-type action. Shooting and safety equipment is provided. Airgun range is operated by the Lexington Sportsmen Club; archery range is operate by the Illinois Bowfishers.
Bow Tryout Area
“Try before you buy” is an old, and very good, adage. This is the place to find out whether the handle fits your hand, or the draw is as smooth as you like, or...
PUPPIES & KIDS SUNDAY (New)
Put some puppies and kids together, and let them interact, and you definitely have an Activity on your hands. Of course, puppies and people of any age can, and often do, create an activity. If puppies and/or kids could hold still a while, this might have been labeled an Event, but you know how it is...
Enjoy!
NEW-PRODUCTS SPECIAL DISPLAY AREA
New 2011 hunting products and accessories from exhibiting manufacturers are displayed together in one area near the exhibit floor entrance. All products are identified by exhibitor name and booth number.
Many people don't want a sales person hanging on their elbow when they first look at a new product. This is the perfect opportunity to examine new products on your own.
Forage Crop Pocket Guide
This 52-page, info-packed guide book will be available at the Food Plot Demo Area. There's more good info per page in this little booklet than you'll find in any other book. It's affordable ... only $3.
See Forage Crop Pocket Guide on Bookstore Page for details
Natural History Displays
You and your family will enjoy these.
- Complete whitetail deer skeleton in a glass case. Artwork of the skeleton identifies every bone. This will help you figure out best aiming point-of-impact for quickest results, where to shoot and where not to shoot.
- Flint-knapping demonstrations -- Bring arrowheads, spear points, or other ancient stone tools you have found and show them to Mark McDaniel. He will tell you how old they are and what style they are.
- Hides / furs / pelts of Illinois fur-bearers -- Provided by Illinois Trappers Association.
- Live Game Animals & Predators -- Cougar, wolf, black bear, grizzly bear, bobcat, coyote.
- Our Twitter and Facebook addresses will have news/information items added regularly. The addresses are:
Twitter -- http://twitter.com/deerinfo
Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/deerinfo
YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/deerinfo
Our YouTube will have videos added from time to time – expo videos and in-the-field videos. - Information POSTERS and FLYERS are available FREE.
- Flyers include the $2-off ticket discount coupon.
Contact us if you want free posters and/or flyers to give to friends, companies, stores and organizations that cater to the hunter and outdoorsman. - ON-LINE EXPO PREVIEW magazine, with all Classic details, will be posted one month prior to the Classic. It also will contain a downloadable $2-off ticket discount coupons.
