Davidmil & IL_BOW_MAN,

Here is an article from the Pike County Press. Please note the section I changed to bold text. And Steven Drone is the Pike County CPO. You can feel free to contact him throught the INDR Division of Law Enforcement should you have any questions about the incident.

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Pike County Press

Deer kill up despite weather

The deer kill was up in Pike County for the first shot-gun season of the year, despite Sunday being a miserable cold, rainy day.

"They were down a little on Sunday" said Brad Poulter, of the IDNR. "The weather was a big factor in that."

Poulter said an abundance of standing corn could have also kept the numbers lower than expected. "It give's them more refuge area," he said.

The ratio of bucks to does was 61% bucks and 39% does. "That's about normal for the first season," said Conservation officer Steve Drone. "The second season it reverses. People are not as selective."

IDNR offials say the hunt was routine, no injuries, no unforseen calamities.

Drone said the Department wrote 106 tickets district wide and issued 98 warnings in the same area. The district includes Pike, Adams, Brown, Schulyer, Green, Hancock, and Scott Counties.

"I've hardly ever issued a ticket for an uplugged gun," said Drone. "The first day I wrote seven. I found one whole family - father, mother, son - without plugs in their guns."

Drone said other violations include uncased guns, loaded guns in vehicles, permits not signed, deer not tagged and blaze orange violations.

"A hunter must wear a blaze orange hat and vest with 400 inches of blaze orange at all times," said Drone. Alot of hunters like to take it off once they get to a deer stand and that's not allowed. "It's a safety issue."

Drone said most of the warnings were for unsigned permits. "It's just basic stuff", he said. "You have to sign your permit, you have to tag your deer as soon as you get it, you have to have your permits with you while you are in the fiield."

Drone said a local veteranarian has received 5 dogs who were wounded since the deer season began.

"One case was particulary heinous," said Drone. "I went to an outfitter's lodge and there were all these deer hung up on display and stretched out on the ground beside it was a beagle. There it was displayed like it was some kind of trophy. Everbody knows you can't shoot a dog."

Drone said the hunter, from PA, would be ticketed and so would the outfitter.

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