Illinois Rifle Season for Deer 2023

[GLTaylor]

It's been a good thing in Indiana but I do miss the challenge of slug gun hunting

Butterbean,
You're joking, right? Thought you hunted with a RUM?

 

[cornshank]

What is EDH?

Electrolyzes Decalsifing horns

Eastern Dark horn

Errosion disfigured horns

Eat Daily hornsoup

Every Deer heard

Easily doable headshot

Elmer didn't hurry

Early Deer hunt

 

[Mcranch]

EHD is basically blue tongue disease

Ok , learned something new. I thought blue tongue happened in pigs? Transmittable.

 

[Mcranch]

Electrolyzes Decalsifing horns

Eastern Dark horn

Errosion disfigured horns

Eat Daily hornsoup

Every Deer heard

Easily doable headshot

Elmer didn't hurry

Early Deer hunt

Is this due to deer density? Last season deer were checked for CWD in my county.

 

[XxaquadogxX]

Illinois has bigger deer because of the crops that they eat. You have some valid points, but the new crossbows people are using have as much lethality. Besides all of the other reasons, we should all boycott BLUE states, until they change their way of thinking about firearms rights. Money talks.

 

[Glenn Tullius]

fyi-we went through this in WI over thirty years ago. The anti rifle crowd said "people and livestock are going to get shot and die a half mile away, and all the big bucks are going to get shot off from 500 yards away". All of it, proved to be completely false. We shot slug guns in WI in the western part of the state most of my life, and as a MN resident, still do in the southern half of the state. I use a 20 gauge with Winchester Supremes at over 1,900 feet per second. I'll bet that slug can kill a human at 800 yards easily. The law says you can't shoot a firearm with 100 yards of a "human occupied dwelling". My custom Ithaca averages less than 2" ctc at that range! My gun holds 5 rounds, but Illinois doesn't considerate that a problem.

Unethical hunters exist everywhere. Iowa recently went to rifles with a straight wall caliber. Check out how far a 350 Legend will shoot, and Iowa is every bit as wide open as as Illinois. It's NOT a problem. Right now, MN has a bill in to change as well, and I will not worry about it. Where I hunt here in SW MN is heavily wooded, and my longest shot is 100 yards max. I sit in my tree stand, shooting downward into the dirt, and with my 20 ga I have harvested a half dozen bucks over 140, with one shot, and all less than 60 yard shots. If anything, rifles are more ethical because of the superior accuracy, and fantastic bullets creating one shot kills!

I find it hard to believe that this law was crafted by ethical rifle hunters, but more like ignorant law makers trying to restrict gun ownership and buy votes. "look at me I voted for your rifle hunting rights, so vote for me'...yeah right.

This law is just another example of this...."creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist". Dang, I wish i had thought of that...so true. IMHO,

 

[meatyrem]

Electrolyzes Decalsifing horns

Eastern Dark horn

Errosion disfigured horns

Eat Daily hornsoup

Every Deer heard

Easily doable headshot

Elmer didn't hurry

Early Deer hunt

Hemorrhagic Disease of Deer | Cornell Wildlife Health Lab

cwhl.vet.cornell.edu

Had it here in Michigan a few years back. Many hunters were finding dozens of dead deer all over their properties usually around or near water

 

[meatyrem]

Illinois has bigger deer because of the crops that they eat. You have some valid points, but the new crossbows people are using have as much lethality. Besides all of the other reasons, we should all boycott BLUE states, until they change their way of thinking about firearms rights. Money talks.

Illinois and other states near major River basins have super rich soils with high minerals=big bodies big antlers.

 

[meatyrem]

fyi-we went through this in WI over thirty years ago. The anti rifle crowd said "people and livestock are going to get shot and die a half mile away, and all the big bucks are going to get shot off from 500 yards away". All of it, proved to be completely false. We shot slug guns in WI in the western part of the state most of my life, and as a MN resident, still do in the southern half of the state. I use a 20 gauge with Winchester Supremes at over 1,900 feet per second. I'll bet that slug can kill a human at 800 yards easily. The law says you can't shoot a firearm with 100 yards of a "human occupied dwelling". My custom Ithaca averages less than 2" ctc at that range! My gun holds 5 rounds, but Illinois doesn't considerate that a problem.

Unethical hunters exist everywhere. Iowa recently went to rifles with a straight wall caliber. Check out how far a 350 Legend will shoot, and Iowa is every bit as wide open as as Illinois. It's NOT a problem. Right now, MN has a bill in to change as well, and I will not worry about it. Where I hunt here in SW MN is heavily wooded, and my longest shot is 100 yards max. I sit in my tree stand, shooting downward into the dirt, and with my 20 ga I have harvested a half dozen bucks over 140, with one shot, and all less than 60 yard shots. If anything, rifles are more ethical because of the superior accuracy, and fantastic bullets creating one shot kills!

I find it hard to believe that this law was crafted by ethical rifle hunters, but more like ignorant law makers trying to restrict gun ownership and buy votes. "look at me I voted for your rifle hunting rights, so vote for me'...yeah right.

This law is just another example of this...."creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist". Dang, I wish i had thought of that...so true. IMHO,

Law makers who have no idea what they're talking about. There's a member on here who helped draft michigans straight wall cartridge regulations

 

[74honker]

I've never hunted in Illinois so I'm curious as to what keeps someone from using a centerfire rifle? Do you have enough game wardens around to check every property where a shot is heard? Do you still have to check deerin? I understand the concern with people taking pot shots at deer with a 350 legend but I would be really surprised if there weren't people already doing that with 300 win mags and 22/250's or even 22lrs for that matter.

The difference in report between a rifle and a slug gun is obvious from a very long ways off. Does it happen? I'm sure it does. Is there some caught and severely punished for it, yep.

 

[74honker]

Illinois and other states near major River basins have super rich soils with high minerals=big bodies big antlers.

You are correct, good dirt makes good deer. But they aint born with 160" of horns. That takes time. Time that many young bucks will not get the chance at with this.

 

[74honker]

fyi-we went through this in WI over thirty years ago. The anti rifle crowd said "people and livestock are going to get shot and die a half mile away, and all the big bucks are going to get shot off from 500 yards away". All of it, proved to be completely false. We shot slug guns in WI in the western part of the state most of my life, and as a MN resident, still do in the southern half of the state. I use a 20 gauge with Winchester Supremes at over 1,900 feet per second. I'll bet that slug can kill a human at 800 yards easily. The law says you can't shoot a firearm with 100 yards of a "human occupied dwelling". My custom Ithaca averages less than 2" ctc at that range! My gun holds 5 rounds, but Illinois doesn't considerate that a problem.

Unethical hunters exist everywhere. Iowa recently went to rifles with a straight wall caliber. Check out how far a 350 Legend will shoot, and Iowa is every bit as wide open as as Illinois. It's NOT a problem. Right now, MN has a bill in to change as well, and I will not worry about it. Where I hunt here in SW MN is heavily wooded, and my longest shot is 100 yards max. I sit in my tree stand, shooting downward into the dirt, and with my 20 ga I have harvested a half dozen bucks over 140, with one shot, and all less than 60 yard shots. If anything, rifles are more ethical because of the superior accuracy, and fantastic bullets creating one shot kills!

I find it hard to believe that this law was crafted by ethical rifle hunters, but more like ignorant law makers trying to restrict gun ownership and buy votes. "look at me I voted for your rifle hunting rights, so vote for me'...yeah right.

This law is just another example of this...."creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist". Dang, I wish i had thought of that...so true. IMHO,

Alls I can say to this is if it didn't change the quality of the deer in those places for the worse, then why is it that IL is being inundated with outfitters and hunters from the very states you are speaking of? Why? Because they ALL say they can't get deer like this where they are from. And they ALL say anything with a horn that steps out into the open gets shot and they don't get to grow. Same thing in MO. Lets see what Iowa has to say in a few years when they start loosing entire age classes of bucks.

I do agree with you on several points. Slugs are a very potent and lethal round when used properly as is any form of hunting. I also agree that this is a bogus solution to a problem we didn't have.

 

[74honker]

I figured I would end up the whipping boy for speaking out about this and that's fine. Most people just don't realize how screwed up this state really is especially when it comes to anything hunting and fishing related.

 

[Mcranch]

Alls I can say to this is if it didn't change the quality of the deer in those places for the worse, then why is it that IL is being inundated with outfitters and hunters from the very states you are speaking of? Why? Because they ALL say they can't get deer like this where they are from. And they ALL say anything with a horn that steps out into the open gets shot and they don't get to grow. Same thing in MO. Lets see what Iowa has to say in a few years when they start loosing entire age classes of bucks.

I do agree with you on several points. Slugs are a very potent and lethal round when used properly as is any form of hunting. I also agree that this is a bogus solution to a problem we didn't have.

It don't take no time to shoot out a place for mature quality bucks and leave the scrub bucks to breed inferior quality bucks. People are just people, some will take their share and yours to.