Hunting Stories

Deer hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 99,419 deer during the seven-day firearm deer hunting season on Nov. 20-22 and Dec. 3-6. The preliminary harvest total compares with 105,595 deer taken by hunters during the 2008 firearm season.

Late Winter Deer Hunt: Permits for the 2009-2010 Illinois Late-Winter Antlerless Deer Hunting Season will be available from DNR Direct license and permit agents beginning Dec. 15. The Late-Winter season has been expanded to a seven-day season for 2009-2010, with the season dates Dec. 31-Jan. 3 and Jan. 15-17. For more information, check the IDNR web site at this link: http://www.dnr.state.il.us/admin/late.htm

Here are some early photos of a great deer taken during the youth hunt this year. Grant County produces some great bucks every year. This buck green scores 203 Typical, NET, not gross. If so, this would place this buck in the top three typicals all time in Wisconsin, and that includes the great Jordan Buck at 207 that was world record for decades. These pictures were taken in front of the Cabela's store in Prairie du Chien.

Youth interested in a goose hunting experience during the holiday break are encouraged to register for the 10th annual Central Illinois Youth Goose Hunt sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on Dec. 27-28. The youth goose hunt will be held at private waterfowl hunting clubs in Peoria, Fulton and Knox counties.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) reports that hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 66,126 deer during the opening weekend of the 2009 Illinois Firearm Deer season, Nov. 20-22. The second portion of the firearm season will be Dec. 3-6.

While poachers don't wait for legal hunting times, hunting season increases the likelihood that licensed, ethical hunters will encounter poaching, which is the illegal taking of fish, game or non-game wildlife.

When that happens, DNR Law Enforcement urges hunters to use the TIP hotline to file a complaint. TIP is an acronym for Turn in a Poacher. Firearms season for deer runs Nov. 14-29.

Dear Friends,

This year God's Outdoors Disciples Ministry has agreed to take fifty whitetail deer that are being harvested as a way of controlling over population in a portion of the county. After the fifty are received we will reevaluate our freezer room, demand and money and may take more. This is all being organized through The Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. We take the deer to a processor and have ground into burger. We will then distribute the meat out to local food banks in Union County and families that are in need.

If a sunrise over fog laden water paints the picture of your hunting passion, then gather your decoys and dust off your gun for the opening of waterfowl season, Oct. 17.

Indiana waterfowl hunters have a lot to be excited about this year, according to DNR waterfowl biologist Adam Phelps.

A cool, wet summer followed by an even cooler and wetter fall makes excellent conditions for deer breeding and produces lots of deer foods and cover. Whether this bounty makes for good hunting on the Nov. 14 opening day of modern gun deer season remains to be seen.

Safety always comes first, but for adult mentors, patience isn’t far behind. Hunting for big bucks or to fill the freezer may be an adult hunter’s goal, but kids are out there mostly to have fun.

“I would recommend more than anything to make sure the young ones enjoy it,” said Will Connelly, a hunter training officer with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “You shouldn’t put pressure on them to shoot something.”