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Illinois ML Season

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Jim Blair

58 Cal.
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May be a little harder to fill a tag this year.First season reports show the deer harvest is way down over last year.I wonder if the drought last year has effected the deer population more than thought.


"The preliminary harvest total of 55,708 for the first three days of the 2013 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 72,111 deer during the 2012 deer season. For the entire seven-day firearm season in 2012, hunters harvested 99,546 deer in Illinois."

http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Pages/HuntersHarvest55,708DeerDuringIllinoisFirearmFirstSeason.aspx
 
Over here where I hunt the blue tongue hit the herd real hard last year. I saw almost as many bone piles as live deer. :(
The DNR said it wasn't that bad, but I disagree.
They should have shut down the late antlerless season. We're gonna need those does to re-populate.

Besides that there was the drought...

1st season here this year was cold and windy all 3 days which didn't help matters. Where I was used to seeing 20 deer in a morning before last year, now I saw 3 in 3 days.
Times are tough for deer hunting where I live.
 
Wow, same all round. Each year our drought lasts the deer population slims down. The does only have one fawn a year instead of twins like in good years. The fire that hit this county two years ago took out 23,000 acres of prime pine and oak forest, that'll take a generation to replace. But we just move on to whatever's next. Keep a good thought, it will get better...it's amazing how nature can adapt!
 
Deer herd around here..Shawnee..S.Il. has been shot out since about 5yrs ago and getting fewer and fewer every yr since.

This yr is the worst so far I've seen around here. EHD..Blue Tongue didn't hurt right where I hunt..this go round anyway..did kill quiet a few about 5yrs ago.

Main problem was and is killing too many does with unlimited doe tags.

But, that's what the state wants..fewer deer and why the unlimited doe tags..and no real quota on non-res. and multiple deer seasons.
 
As an Ill. native, your part of the state is definitely the best, the people too. By a misfortune of birth, I was born in the NE corner. :barf: If I were forced to live under the 'commie' gun laws there, I'd pick the Vienna area.

I hope you score despite the problems.
 
Missouri numbers are down close to 50%, last year the total was over 311,000, right now with just the late season and late youth left, there has been just over 151,000 taken this year.
I've seen 3 deer this year, one was a not legal buck, granted I haven't been able to put much time in the woods.
 
took a young buck during shotgun season glad I did he was shot up really bad by other hunters, intestines exposed, back leg shot out through the shank. I am going tomorrow with the muzzleloader in Woodford county the highest incidence of blue tonge at 68 32 of which are 2 miles from my stands. I also heard that they found 130 dead near lake Bloomington I would need to confirm this anyway this is where I hunt and I need to hunt even if I don't harvest anything.
 
It is good to be out. Would be better if it weren't 20 degrees and windy tho.

2nd day of 1st season I shot a small doe. With my flintlock even if it was shotgun season. That was the last deer I saw. Saw a decent buck in the brush earlier that day and a big doe Friday. Nothing at all on Sunday.

So far 2nd season has been no deer seen in the last 2 days. One cat and a lot of squirrels...
Ain't even hearing many shots fired.

I still have 3 tags, one of which is antlerless-only but all I'm looking for is one decent buck. Not gonna shoot any more does. Not gonna try for more than one buck either. If I tag a buck I'll just switch to squirrels.

Good luck out there.
 
I think you're right about the blue tongue and the drought.I'm in Edgar County and there was talk of a lot of dead deer in Coles.It'll be interesting to see the county totals compared to last year.This second season is gonna be rough,supposed to be about 6 degrees tomorrow morning.Don't hunt anymore,too broken down but I like to see what's going on.Everybody I've talked to locally has said they haven't been seeing deer in large numbers all year like previous years when you'd see herds of them running around in the summer and fall.
 
Hoyt said:
Deer herd around here..Shawnee..S.Il. has been shot out since about 5yrs ago and getting fewer and fewer every yr since.

This yr is the worst so far I've seen around here. EHD..Blue Tongue didn't hurt right where I hunt..this go round anyway..did kill quiet a few about 5yrs ago.

Main problem was and is killing too many does with unlimited doe tags.

But, that's what the state wants..fewer deer and why the unlimited doe tags..and no real quota on non-res. and multiple deer seasons.

I've never understood the reasoning behind unlimited doe tags. You could limit it to 1 doe a day and still maintain the herd. With unlimited tags you have folks shooting to many young deer that are in the prime baby making years. You could keep it at 1 doe a day and still have a healthy deer population. I hope to get out soon myself, Maybe next weekend? and try to put one in the freezer. I sure would like to get a nice buck this year.
 
I got a doe on opening morning in Pope county on Shawnee Nat Forest. Just picked her up. Not much meat but she will eat good.

We saw a decent number of deer. Plenty of shooting around us too.

I have not heard how my buddies have faired second season.
 
I have heard it mentioned increased bag limits on deer in Illinois has less to do with game management and more to do with number of insurance claims paid out for car/deer collisions by politically connected insurance companies.That's just heresay you understand but this is the Land of Corruption where "the fix" is always in.
 
Scots Jim said:
This second season is gonna be rough,supposed to be about 6 degrees tomorrow morning.

It was a bit chilly... had a mustachecicle going...


I did see 3 nice bucks today. They were all 3 running together across a field about 200 yards out tho.
 
Jethro I believe its gets cold up there :shake: Too cold for me. I will stay down here in the South.
 
I believe that another large portion of the numbers being down is because there are no more check stations. It is either on the phone or the net. I would place a bet that a large amount doesn't even get called in. Throw a tag on it to look legal. Get it home and butcher it quick. Take the tag off and you are good to go for another deer with the same tag.

I saw a few bucks first season and a few does as well, but I never saw a buck chasing a doe until second day of second season. I also got a button buck and my father in law got a small 6 point opening day with our shotguns. I think something is off with their habits too. Even though they were young two bucks wouldn't be running together in what is supposed to be prime rut.
 
Yeah, I was surprised to see 3 nice bucks running together at this time of year too. They should be whoopin' up on each other this time of year.
What county are you hunting in Dan? I'm hunting Peoria county.
 
I misspoke. It was third day of second season, and by the way that also includes archery season.

Also I am hunting in Mason.
 
I skipped archery season again this year but while out driving around I've seen bucks out feeding with does but no chasing or interest at all.
 
Another thing that I noticed between both bucks and does is that majority of them were probably 1 1/2 or younger. I saw very few deer that were probably older than that. I saw one big buck that was probably 3 1/2 or 4 1/2, and maybe one or two does around 2 1/2 but the majority would have been 1 1/2 or younger.
 
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