Hey, Illinois residents.......
 

Is it possible the IDNR finally gets it? Of particular interest take note of the IDNR wildlife division head's comment about "pandora's box". Think they finally realize what a monster they have created? :bash:

www.prairiestateoutdoors.com/index.php?/pso/article/dnr_drops_two_bucks_for_non-residents/

a 2nd buck tag for non-residents? without earn a buck? are they kidding?!? this was even an idea/possibility?

Of course I'd rather see residents than non-residents have a 2nd buck option, but overall residency isn't the issue, I think we need a "earn a 2nd buck tag program"

resident or non, people are shooting 2 bucks and going home, without taking any does. If you want to shoot a 2nd buck I think it should be mandatory that you harvest a doe first.

i dont know im just asking but do alot of resident not shoot does , i know where im located alot of the reidents do . my family takes at least ten a year of our farm maybee i just blindly thought everybody else did the same . i persolly think we need more outfitter regulations

IMO there an EAB program should be put in effect immediately and it should be for every buck!

my experience has mostly been some guys/hunters shoot does, others do not...

my cousin for example, I think has shot 1 or 2 does in his lifetime in IL....and has taken 1-2 bucks every year since IL has had a season.....just about....

and the year he took a doe, i know we were riding him to shoot a doe for meat/management.

The more people learn the more they may take a doe, but I'm convinced so many hunters fee like less of a man or less of a hunter to actually take a doe instead of a buck, personally I'd take a doe over a immature buck/buttonbuck/yearling/dink...

I do understand that a buck does have more meat on him though, so pure meat hunters may be into it for that reason, but then again meat hunters probably shoot anything they can, does, bucks, etc...

depends where youre located too, if youre in a pure farming community where deer are harvested for crop damage and guys want to kill every deer they see, of course those guys are gonna be taking does...

I definitely think a Earn a 2nd buck could be put in right away without causing a problem and hopefully get a lil something done...much better than cancelling a 2nd buck tag for everyone as well...or forcing guys to pass up a shot on a buck opening day because they've yet to take a doe...

make me the IL deer czar already! haha.

Yes, IL residents have ALWAYS done an excellent job of shooting Does. The problem with some areas is the fact that they have been taken over by high dollar Outfitter leases and its these Outfitters that ae trying to get as may NR hunters as possible on their properties to hunt. Obviouly,a non-resident hunter comes to IL and pays a few grand to hunt for just one week.... they aren't to interested in shooting a Doe. This has created some seriously high Doe numbers in these regions. Police the Outfitters.... leave the resident sportsman alone! :mad:

Outfitter regulation is absolutely needed in my opinion. The former Golden Triangle has been decimated by outfitters not doing their part with the doe harvest. A money machine was created by national media hype about the giant bucks behind every tree, but at the expense of the overall herd health.
As for the 2nd buck, I see absolutely no problem with the 2nd tag being EAB. But, with our current check-in system, awfully hard to police something like that. Naturally, a valid, used tag would have to be submitted to get that buck tag, but without actually showing up with the carcass, hard to validate something like that. Only thing I can think of is that the state would have a "bank" of numbers and when someone called their doe in, that number would then be taken out of circulation AND the license vendor would need to be able to check the number into that "bank" system to make sure that it is a valid tag. How that will work, I have no idea. In parts of WI that went to EAB, roadkilled does became awfully valuable.

I totally agree.

Exactly, with todays call-in system, it wouldn't be any big deal for any IL resident to call-in an invisible Doe. Just to easy.

I wonder if they build in a certain amount of no-calls when they are figuring out the final deer harvest numbers.