Lady Forge

I hate to see the money just all lump sumed together wish they would keep the money paid by hunters going to departments directly related to hunting and fishing and land acusitions etc.. Personaly i could care less if i ever saw another bike path on public land im sorry if i offended anyone i didnt mean to its just that they are not supposed to be any bikes allowed on one paticular piece of stste land near here and they ignore the sign and ride all over the place,but on the flip side they do allow horseback riding and they are supposed to stay on marked horsetrails but of course they dont they ride all over the place, and the horses tear up the trails and land alot worse than the cyclist do, So why ban bikes but allow horses??????In regards to checkstations there is one at middlefork state fish and wildlife area except in the 2 years that i have hunted there(hunted it alot) I have yet to see it open for anyone to check in a deer or report an emergency god forbid,so how much could this one checkstation cost them to run if it is never open,I talked to the ranger that is supposed to run this check station and he was as friendly and helpful as a headache. Okay time to step down off the soapbox.

Bud Light

How many people do you think actually check their deer in now? South of Chicago we all can skin a buck and run a trout line too. A country boy can survive! Of course you do your part and buy the tags, but why haul the deer up town when it got shot in the back yard? Waste of time. Need to just call them in like we do the geese.

Don K

Why haul the deer uptown???? Because its illegal not to check it in. You dont check the deer in your a Poacher. Do what you want but hunters obey the law. And im sure you dont have to shoot a deer to survive........

Heres a good article:
http://www.sioutdoors.com/stories/deer120200.html

If other states are looking to us on how we manage our herd, then the DNR must be doing something right....

Lady Forge

Don K: Interesting article i wonder why the IDNR would even entertain the idea of closing checkstations after reading the article Dosent make much sense to me. Curious where does Paul Shelton stand on this matter now? Bud light: it may be a persons time to waste or not how they see fit but the deer herd belongs to all of us so when a person chooses not to checkin their deer they are stealing from all of us that hunt legally also known as poaching.I personaly will take the drive you call a waste of time to checkin my deer in person if it will benifet the herd and the future of deer hunting.

Bud Light

I have personally only shot two deer in my life. One in self defense and one I hunted and tagged. I checked it in and me and the dogs ate it. But I'm not going to knock the coal miner who worked 29 years and lost his job. Some families have to shoot a couple just to make it through the winter months. Some in Southern Illinois just aren't fortunate enough to hunt for pleasure. Sad but real. You read in the papers about thousands of meals being donated from deer hunters donating their kill but have not ever heard of a family receiving it. Maybe it's just a northern thing. How do all the packing plants come up with free sausage samples? Don't take me the wrong way, I am a very ethical hunter. I shoot the ducks when I can see if they got bands on their legs. I only shoot as many quail as I turn loose. I shoot pheasants on a state release site just to let the dogs have fun. I let the dogs chase the rabbits. I don't shoot ANYTHING that I won't eat(yotes the only exception). I will shoot a turkey this year and if it tastes like S%$#, I will never shoot another. And to add one last thing. The deer I am talking about are not trophys. Usually just a young doe or the first one that comes by. Just food.

Bud Light

Don K: Did you used to live in Effingham and was related to me?

Don K

Sorry, never lived in Effingham. Been there a couple times and i dont beleive i have any relatives near there.

jkhunter

Bud Light your a riot. I also believe there are some 'not so honest' hunter out there that will do anything for HORNS! So I hope that they keep the check-ins.My turkey hunting partner and I have wondered how many turkeys made it to the freezer only to be called in at the end of the season. As I would like to believe all Hunters are honest,deep down I know better. Good Luck to you all this season John

keep'em in your sights

Bo Hunter

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
But I'm not going to knock the coal miner who worked 29 years and lost his job. Some families have to shoot a couple just to make it through the winter months. Some in Southern Illinois just aren't fortunate enough to hunt for pleasure. Sad but real. You read in the papers about thousands of meals being donated from deer hunters donating their kill but have not ever heard of a family receiving it. Maybe it's just a northern thing. How do all the packing plants come up with free sausage samples? <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

Easy, there boy. Some people on this board, like myself, actually live in S. IL and know how things are here. And if what you just wrote isn't one of the biggest crocks of crap, then nothin' is.

Bow tags are 2(!) for $26. If anyone can afford archery equipment today, then they sure as h*ll can afford $26. And there are a boatload of archery check station in S. IL, so not being able to get the deer checked doesn't cut it, either.

BTW, I have seen people get food that was donated by HFTH. They're called food banks. Poor people, like you described, can get food from them, including donated venison.

ixkaped2

I think permits are plenty high already!when they dropped turkey checkstations I talked to a couple of tavern owners that would have been glad to become check stations,but Idnr doesn't allow alcohol to be served on the premises.Maybe they could change that rule and we could kill two birds with one stone,especially with the price of gas these days!

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there's no such thing as luck,it's just preparedness meeting opportunity!!!!