I think some may be wondering if he can bowhunt during a firearms weekend - on private property. And the answer would be yes wearing the requires blaze orange.

While the regulation is a bit confusing, this is not true except in the Counties surrounding Chicago where firearm Deer hunting is not allowed. Rather than try to explain it myself, see the link below. It clearly states that archery hunting is not allowed during the 7 days that comprise 1st and 2nd slug seasons except in the above referenced counties.

www.dnr.state.il.us/admin/deer/deerseasondates.htm#archery

From what I have been told, other than the counties surrounding Cook, it is illegal to bow hunt during firearms season. I have heard it was because they don't want to have people bring both weapons in the woods and tag a deer with a bow tag and vice versa, not completely sure though.

If you can get the nonresident antlerless tag that would be a great thing to do. I'd just make sure that you can obtain it without first obtaining the combo license. I know a few years back in Wisconsin we were going to just doe hunt and do it a little cheaper by buying the antlerless only buy to stay legal we had to but the combo. Hopefully its not the case in Illinois though. Good Luck!

your non-res hunting license may cost you more than your permit in that case...

I think they offer non-residents a 5 day or an annual license.

A little late on the response here but non-residents cannot just simply by an antlerless only tag to hunt IL from what I remember. You must purchase the Either sex tag before you can purchase an Antlerless Only.

I looked over the regulations pretty clearly and it stated that antlerless non-resident archery tags will be available over the counter.
And if I am under 16 do I need to purchase a license? Or just the antlerless permit?

Thanks for all the help guys

I'm relatively sure you have to buy an either-sex tag before you can buy a bonus antlerless-only tag, and they are a bit higher than $25! You can archery hunt that weekend though, unless there is a county reg against it.

rw

I would read the digest... there is a lot of conflicting info you are getting here. some people are just guessing at what they are telling you... and some is just wrong... sorry guys.

For gun season you absolutely need to purchase an either-sex tag before you can purchase ANY antlerless-only tags. Per the Hunting Digest:

"Applicants must purchase an either-sex permit to be eligible for an antlerless-only permit."

The footnote for the above is clearly stated for the gun season, archery does not specifically state you need an either-sex tag. However, it does not clearly state you can simply purchase an antlerless-only. It's not worth the risk. I would contact DNR directly and ask them.

I'm not trying to hate on Illinois. But it seems they are not very organized on very important regulations. Last year when I tried to see if I needed some kind of small game permit to goose hunt (I am under 16) the three people I asked that sell tags said they were not sure.