Questions about IL firearms seasons.

[cherokee75]

Just looking for some input, and not only from fellow IL hunters, in reference to the lack of deer I saw during the two firearms seasons (not including the ML only season).  There are two of us that hunt a 165 acre farm and we saw several deer during acrhery season and both got shots (don't ask) and figured we would have no problem filling our tags with a firearm given the ranges we had been seeing the deer.  Needless to say, we were wrong.  The first day of the first season I saw a nice buck in the afternoon on another property, hence no shot,  and my partner saw four does too far away to shoot.  Those would be the only deer we saw during both seasons.

On the farm we hunt, we have a very large draw with a creek, I would not call it timber, that runs between crop fields and a large pasture.  I am not sure how many acres make up the draw, but it is the only place to hunt from stands and we have 5 stands which utilize the entire area.  The field nearest to the draw was picked corn with a field with  picked beans just to the south of it.  The surrounding properties are pretty much the same layout with varying sizes and amounts of fields and draws with the exception of one property that has a large amount of what I would call timber or hardwood, which had hunters on it.  We did not hear much shooting compared to years past but we assumed the deer must have been holed up in the timber.  The harvest total for our county was actually slightly higher than last year I believe by 50+ deer which surprised me.  Anyway, just looking for some incite on better strategies for the late antlerless season that we have this year in mid Januuary.  Also, I would be interested to hear from IL hunters who may have experienced a similar fate in Northwest IL.  It seemed most hunters I talked to had similar experiences but the harvest numbers in the whole state don't reflect my experience.

[Charlie Tango]

My family and I hunt in Pope county in southern Illinois.  We hunted both gun seasons and did not Kill a deer.  Our woods that we sit in did not have any acorns and we saw a coyote and two timber wolves.  Normally we have deer running all over us and this year we didn't kill anything.  I bow hunt in Kedall county in northern Illinois and have had deer under the stand in November but it has been tough in December.  My bow hunt spot is a big grassy hill with tall grass and a few pockets of small trees for cover.  There really isn't any big timber around so the deer wander around from fence row to fence row. 

This year I have hunted more times and more hours than I have in the past ten years and have not killed a deer.  I am worried that my freezer will remain empty.  I don't know what to do.  Like you said the numbers are showing a good year, but I think it is one of the worst ever.   What also stinks is I am a meat hunter, so I will shoot does or bucks as long as they are adults. 

[SDS-GEN]

Cherokee
I hunt on my farm in Henry county and this has been an awesome year for deer hunting on my place.  However last year and the year before were bad, I saw few deer and they were extremely nervous. If the draw you hunt is brush choked you may have a pair of coyotes living in it, if they just hunt there its no big deal but if they actully have a den there the deer will steer clear of it.  Also have any farming practices changed in the area, alfalfa or food plots (or baiting)on neighboring properties?  Any new construction or new roads going on in the area?  Any timber harvest in the big wood lot?  Any of these things can cause minor changes in a deer's pattern but I honestly doubt it is whats going on at your place.  You probably have a human disturbance screwing with the deer.  Does anyone else hunt the property?   How do people hunt neighboring properties?  I can almost always predict where I will see deer based on where one guy hunts my neighbor's property.  He tromps through the woods right past a doe bed that I know of on my neighbors place, regardless of wind direction, and I can bet the deer will run down an escape trail onto my farm.  How do you approach your stand, it should be varied to keep the wind right and keep you out of sight. 
 
The two seasons I had trouble I noticed drastic changes in the deer's patterns, the problem was poachers.  I caught one guy trespassing and threw him off, then I called the game warden.  During gun season the warden caught a guy who shot one on my place without permission or a tag.  A couple of other guys have been caught since.  My cousin saw one fair buck on the 400 acres he hunts this year(along with 2 dozen doe).  He was perplexed at the lack of bucks since the property was so lightly hunted and bucks were almost always seen, some real dandys too.  While talking to the Conservation officer after season he was told that someone was shining (jack-lighting) deer and shooting them with a rifle and taking the heads.  This poacher is still at large but it explains why no bucks were seen.

The 2nd gun season was windy and snowy, perfect still hunting conditions.  Did you stay on stand or get down and sneak after them?  In a strong wind look on the lee side of hills or in little dips where heavy brush grows.  sneak along and scan over/around hills looking for ears/antlers, this will usually be the first thing you see.  In windy, quiet conditions you will be able to get within a few yards of some deer (you'll spook a lot of them too.) Hope this helps

[cherokee75]

SDS-GEN, I hunt Henry Co. as well.  My hunting partner and I are the only ones who hunt the farm.  I am not sure how may people hunt the surrounding properties or how they hunt.  The big timber I described on the adjacent property I suspect may have food plots, which I wish I could have but I don't own the land and consider myself lucky enough to have a place to hunt.  I had not heard about the poaching, however, Henry Co. is rather big geographically speaking.  I did see quite a few coyotes durign the bow season and even shot one but I also saw a lot of deer so I don't hink that is the problem at my particular place.

Are you hunting the late antlerless season and if so, how do you plan to hunt it?  I suppose a lot will depend on the weather but I am open to some suggestions.  To answer your question from before, I sat on stand some during the 2nd season and still hunted and I honestly only saw two sets of deer tracks in the snow on Saturday and Sunday and  as you know, the snow came only that previous Friday morning.

[jdinil]

I hunt in Fulton County. There was great hunting here 5 to 10 years ago. It has gone steadily downhill since. I think there is more than one reason why. But I think the biggest thing is the explosion in bowhunting in the last 10 years or so. There is just so much hunting pressure during the loooonnnngggg bow season that most of the deer become completely noctural by the first gun season. By the middle of November, I no longer see deer out in the daytime. Maybe a few fawns and dumber yearlings, but no decent deer. As you know, Illinois allows bowhunters to hunt until it's basically dark. Deer get arrowed at dusk and are not found until morning or not at all. Of course, the coyotes get those.  I'm convinced that 2 or 3 deer are killled in my neighborhood for each one brought to bag during bow season. And, of course, the poachers are taking a share also. Unless something is done about the bow season problems, and the poachers, the gun hunter might as well stay at home. At least in my area.

[cherokee75]

I never really looked at it that way as far as the bow season goes, but your right.  Also, it seems to me that the new IL bow tags and check in system tends to favor those who may not always be the up and up. I did not get one with a bow this year, but I see you have to actually supply your own fastner, i.e. string, zip tie for the tag.  Seems to me, that if you are a gambler, to put it moderately,and if you make it home from the field without getting checked, that tag will slip right off and is reusuable providing you had not called to check it in from the field.  Basically the tags do not stick together like years past, such as the current firearm tag, which if placed on correctly is all but impossible to remove intact.  Who knows, maybe that is the state's way of banking on reduced herd numbers without raising any red flags in the anti-hunting community by publicly saying we want to kill more deer.  Just my thoughts.

[GRIMJIM]

I hate the new laws. No more check in stations? That was a huge part of the whole experience for me. Talking with other people, checking out their deer, getting your pin. Now I'm told you have to go to a store and buy the pin, if they have any left.

I also liked the seperate firearm seasons. Now you can use whatever whenever except for muzzleloader only.

The really wierd part is that you can use unfilled tags from early firearm season or muzzleloader season during late season in January.

Back to the subject though, I got skunked so far this year too. Hunt early season in Johnson county on public land, and wasn't too surprised about not getting one. It's gotten worse every year down there, you see more orange than deer. Hunt second season on private property in wayne county and have seen plenty of deer in years past but nothing this year. Still have late firearm season, good luck to everyone.

[jdinil]

I think you are right about the check stations. I always liked going to them. I think the new system is just a boon to poachers. I also agree with what you are saying about the old season structure. I'd sure like to see a handgun only season again, for one thing.

[GRIMJIM]

That's for sure jdinil. I keep it the old way anyway. Shotgun in nov, muzzleloader in dec, and handgun in jan.

[SDS-GEN]

I hated going to the check stations, however they were an excelent way to keep track of the herd and keep honest people honest.  I talked to our game warden last year about the new rules and he said the only people it will benefit are the poachers.
The biggest problem with bow hunters are the guys who are only half serious about it.  You know the guys, they go out to their stand five minutes before shooting time, take the quickest route, fidget on stand, get bored,are afraid to walk out in the dark, and pay no attention to wind direction.  They mostly grew up gun hunting, where these tactics got them deer, with so many deer around and so many hunters in the woods in seven days of hunting they usually killed something.  Bow hunting is completely different, the woods you screw up in October will be void of deer by November if you use the above tactics.  You can spook deer from their beds once or twice, more than that and they will move on, you can leave scent around the woods a few times, after that the deer move on.  When I'm bowhunting I treat the woods with kid gloves, I'll get a little agressive during the rut but I always vary stand locations and how I approach the stands and am very careful not to spook any deer that I see. This has worked for me in the past, some years I am still seeing deer on the last day of season.

Cherokee
I have two tags for the late season, a land owner firearm and an antlerless muzzleloader.  I will decide later in the season how I will hunt, this morning I saw seven does feeding in our picked bean field.  If they hold their pattern I will sneak out after they bed down, probably an hour after dawn, maybe later and try to sneak up on them in their beds.  If they bed off of my property I will wait until afternoon when they come back out to feed.  I will use a creek for entrance into the woods so they won't see me.  Hopefully there will be snow on the ground and a 10-15mph wind.  Late in the season everything depends on food, find where the deer are eating and set up that pattern.  I have a big advantage living on the farm I hunt, it's only 40 acres (20 is tillable) but I take deer off of it every year, some big bucks too.

[cherokee75]

I hate the new laws. No more check in stations? That was a huge part of the whole experience for me. Talking with other people, checking out their deer, getting your pin. Now I'm told you have to go to a store and buy the pin, if they have any left.

I also liked the seperate firearm seasons. Now you can use whatever whenever except for muzzleloader only.

The really wierd part is that you can use unfilled tags from early firearm season or muzzleloader season during late season in January.

Back to the subject though, I got skunked so far this year too. Hunt early season in Johnson county on public land, and wasn't too surprised about not getting one. It's gotten worse every year down there, you see more orange than deer. Hunt second season on private property in wayne county and have seen plenty of deer in years past but nothing this year. Still have late firearm season, good luck to everyone.

Grimjim- You don't have to buy the regular pins.  You just have to go to a local retailer that carries them and provide your confirmation number.  You can get a list of the retailers on the ILDNR website.  I just got my muzzleloader pin last week (it is the same one as archery according to the clerk at the bait shop)

[GRIMJIM]

Thanks cherokee75, that's goos to know. I thought they were going to hit you up for even more money.

I also agree about it helping the poachers with the call in system. You can get a deer anywhere and call it in for the county your tag is for and it's all taken care of. Not that the old system was infallable it just seems like the new one is easier to get around to me.

[SDS-GEN]

Cherokee, did you do any good in the late season?  I nailed one Saturday afternoon.

[GRIMJIM]

I finally got to find out for myself cherokee thanks. I went into the local walmart and asked for the pin. The kid behind the counter didn't even ask for a number or anything just how many do you want. That kind of bothers me.

Anyway got a huge doe friday afternoon. Didn't get skunked this year. How'd everyone else do?

[cherokee75]

Cherokee, did you do any good in the late season?  I nailed one Saturday afternoon.

SDS-GEN
I went out Friday afternoon and did not see anything.  Saturday morning I saw a doe feeding at about 250 yards and she fed away from me of course.  I kicked up two more does walking around at about 0930 but had no shot.  Sunday morning I did not see anything while sitting then kicked up a doe while walking but no shot either.  Oh well, it was nice to get out one last time.  Now it's time to chase the coyotes.  Congratulations on getting one.  What did you use firearm wise? I Wish I could have gone out Saturday and Sunday afternoon but I had other things to do.  There is always next year.

[SDS-GEN]

I really wanted to get one with a muzzle loader but when I looked out the door rain and ice were coming down pretty good so I grabbed my 20ga ultra slug hunter.  Rain and ice on a new muzzle loader means twice as long to clean and I had dinner with the wife at 6:00.  A doe and two fawns came out on a trail 60-65 yards from my stand, I watched them for about ten minutes as they walked back and forth from field edge to woods.  Finally decided if I was gonna shoot something I had better pull the trigger.  I knelt down and aimed behind the leg of the fawn I had the best shot at.  At the shot I saw the deer hunch up then run off, she made it about 60 yards and fell right in the trail.  I went and got the truck and drove right up to her, love it when the fall in the open.  The copper solid slug blew the top of her heart off and exited the off shoulder but missed the bone.  As I walked back to get the truck I had a shot at the other two deer that had run off.  Problem is my other tag was a muzzle loader only tag.

[GRIMJIM]

cherokee, I got to christen my new 11-87. Grey laminated stock, cantilever scope mount and fully rifled barrel. I put a nikon prostaff 3-9x40 on it. Glad I got to the range to try different slugs in it. It wouldn't group sabot slugs very well but would one hole berneke 1 1/4 oz. field short magnums.
I usually like to keep late firearm season for handgun but seeing as I hadn't gotten a deer yet this year I went with the shotgun.