Illinois deer hunting in trouble??
 

Any one else think Illinois deer hunting is in trouble?
Anyone think the deer herd is in decline?
Lets hear your thoughts.

Ive heard mutiple guys/hunters saying they arent seeing deer...Where we hunt however is much different. Thursday and friday of this week...I know I seen atleast 100 deer...no lie....I think it boils down to pressure on the animal and available cover/protection....

I think it has alot to do with the larger lease and landowners doing QDM thus pulling deer from unmanaged property!
If your hunting unmanaged land and the surrounding land is under a QDM program IMO your S.O.L!

i have seen many deer out where i hunt, but mostly i have been seeing the movement at dark and not nearly as much during the daylight hours. also where i hunt the farmers are cutting down anything that would resemble anything that looks like cover. i know of several land owners that wont allow anyone to hunt their property and are feeding the deer. i know this is a huge problem out by me.

Deer
 

They are breaking the law. Call the Game Warden.

Are you saying this for this year or years in the past as well? It seemed a lot of people had a tough first gun season with the full moon as well as warmer than usual weather. There are few things that I think the state of Illinois does right and managing their deer herd is one of them. I know there are a few things that could be changed but overall I think they do a pretty good job. Earn a buck on your second buck would be one of the things but after seeing how Wisconsin has destroyed their deer herd I cant be too upset.

I have access to several privately owned acres, and completely agree with the deer numbers are DOWN in central IL. Not sure if it is the knats in the spring, or the all the tags they keep offering.

Spent 7 days hunting up home and can count the number of deer I saw out a stand on both hands. Been bowhunting IL. for 17 years and this was the worst year yet. The last three haven't been worth crap either.

Deer & Deer hunting predicted a much later rut than usual, I hunted Pike County the 1st week of November and saw just a couple of bucks chasing and hunted there again after Thanksgiving and saw a couple of bucks chasing. I did see more deer bucks and does after Thanksgiving. Because of the pressure I think you are only going to see the big boys during day light hours during a hard rut but there are always a few exceptions to the rule. Sunday there was a 160 class taken that I saw at the butcher shop ( not mine) I believe this will lead to a boomer harvest next year if we get the normal rut we are used to getting and I have been hunting that area for 15 years. My two cents.

I live in the middle of the timber and see deer almost daily. I have noticed a considerable decline in the deer population ever since the late season, doe only season began here. You have to figure that each doe that is taken reduces the population by either 2 or 3. Take 5 does from 100 acres and there will be 10-15 less deer the following year. Add in all the does killed during what has become almost an open season (over counter doe permits) and the deer population suffers even more.

A guy near me has 5 acres of timber surrounded by crop field on both sides. A few years ago he bragged that he killed 7 deer with his bow. The next year he killed 5 and this year he is complaining that he only saw a few. I think this idiot must have flunked math class.

In my opinion - the deer population is declining directly due to the number of does being killed. You can thank State Farm insurance company and the other insurance companies who have hired lobbyists to lobby for a smaller deer herd. In turn, less vehicle/deer accidents, less damage, more profit for the insurance companies.

No one has yet mentioned that the deer harvest year to year has stayed relatively steady, not gone down appreciably. There may be fewer deer, but it has yet to affect the harvest numbers, so what exactly is the problem ? :confused0024:

CALL the Game Warden.
Everyone needs to do this when the anti's do these things. If we can't do it because it is against he law, why can they get away with it.
CALL THE GAME WARDEN!

You actually believe their figures? I don't. I have a farm in Fayette Co. and have noticed that I see less and less deer ever year. My neighbors express the same feelings. My property is set up for deer. This year is worse than last year. 5 years ago I could put you on a stand and you would have a shot at a deer with a bow. Not any more.

I have many friends that aren't seeing deer like they used to in other counties and feel the same as I.

Illinois is letting to many deer be harvested, in my opinion.

I hunt public land in central IL and have not noticed any difference the last 5 years.

There were a hell of a lot more turkeys this year than in any previous by probably double! Anyone else note this? Maybe was a mild dry spring?

In our area we had a big die-off over the summer a couple years back. We haven't seen very many mature deer this year. Most of the bucks that I saw with does were spikes and fork horns. I think many of the deer that would now be mature died a few years ago. I'm sure it will pick back up. Til then I'll keep the freezer full of young does :) yummy!

Do you think they are overstating or understating?

The 98,700 is just the firearm total. Tack on another 55,000 or so archery kills. I suppose I believe the number. Not sure I understand why the IDNR would lie, but this is Illinois. If our Department of Natural Resources is going to lie to us about harvest numbers, then not much else matters, anyway. They are clearly going to do what ever they want. I hope it hasn't gotten that bad.

I would bet the late gun seasons will produce less this year, and will decline until they do away them. Numbers were better this season(gun and bow) versus the last 2, because crops were out this year. Numbers will start and continue to fall if IL just keeps handing out tags. Most people I talk to shot one of the only deer they saw this past gun season.

Here's another thought. Since the IDNR has done away with check stations and gone to "call in" how many deer have been killed, not tagged, and not checked in? I would assume it would be way more than the IDNR had anticipated when they did away with the "in-person" check stations.

Don't see where that makes a difference. If your not going to check deer in I guess you could just bypass the check station.

I have friends who hunt on public land in southern Illinois and the past couple of years were on par with their past history.

I stopped hunting with them and went instead to my friend's farm the past two years. Last year, the crops weren't in and I didn't see squat. This year, we saw deer - a lot of deer. My buddy said that he's seen more deer on his farm this year than ever before.

So from my perspective, there is no problem. But Illinois is a big state and isolated observations really do nothing to indicate the overall population.

This is Illinois. You can call in a road kill, then take it to the taxidermy man. I believe there is so much of that going on. How many people don't even call in after they kill one? There is no state out there that is as crooked as this one.

The tags they keep offering.

Exactly....