gutless method in Illinois

[iaengineer]

Does anyone in Illinois have any insite on this.
I am in Iowa but I have been looking at a few places in Illinois to take my son deer hunting. I have been reading the regulations and it looks like to me that it is illegal to do the gutless method in IL? It says you can check your deer in by phone but if you quarter it but you have to remove the entire carcass. Sort of defeats any advantage to the gutless method. The problem is it is illegal to bring bones to Iowa from out of state. I think this is a deal breaker for us. For the past few years I have been just doing the gutless method and my plan was to just packout the boneless meat.

 

[maxx]

Does anyone in Illinois have any insite on this.
I am in Iowa but I have been looking at a few places in Illinois to take my son deer hunting. I have been reading the regulations and it looks like to me that it is illegal to do the gutless method in IL? It says you can check your deer in by phone but if you quarter it but you have to remove the entire carcass. Sort of defeats any advantage to the gutless method. The problem is it is illegal to bring bones to Iowa from out of state. I think this is a deal breaker for us. For the past few years I have been just doing the gutless method and my plan was to just packout the boneless meat.

Why would you go from Iowa to IL to deer hunt?

How old is your kid? He can get a youth tag in IA and start hunting Sept 19. The public ground can be great during this time. Let me know where you live I can point you in some directions.

If you choose to do IL you could still pull the entire deer out, Bone the deer out and then find a way to dispose of the remains. The boys there have to be doing something.

Also check the regulations you can bring entire deer from other states into Iowa, it just cant be from a CWD area. If you hunt a CWD area then you can only bring the meat back.

For me the gutless method is great for back country hunting. I have shot some deer in some remote spots in Iowa but I still can get them out. I have a sled I use for pulling deer out. It makes it much easier to drag them out.

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

Does anyone in Illinois have any insite on this.
I am in Iowa but I have been looking at a few places in Illinois to take my son deer hunting. I have been reading the regulations and it looks like to me that it is illegal to do the gutless method in IL? It says you can check your deer in by phone but if you quarter it but you have to remove the entire carcass. Sort of defeats any advantage to the gutless method. The problem is it is illegal to bring bones to Iowa from out of state. I think this is a deal breaker for us. For the past few years I have been just doing the gutless method and my plan was to just packout the boneless meat.

My understanding is that you can quarter, but the head or other evidence of sex must remain attached to one quarter and it must come out in one trip. You could leave the sex organs attached to one quarter while boning out the quarters. For bucks there is a head and leg tag.

From IDNR

In instances where deer are checked in while the hunter is still afield, the deer may not be dismembered while afield beyond
quartering the animal. If quartered, all parts of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be transported
together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to the carcass.
Evidence of sex is:
A) for a buck: head with antlers attached to carcass, or attached testicle, scrotum, or penis,
B) for a doe: head attached to carcass, or attached udder (mammary) or vulva.
If the head/antlers are left with a taxidermist, the confirmation number must be recorded on the “head tag” portion of the permit and
both must remain with the deer. If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the temporary harvest tag (leg tag) with confirmation
number must remain with the deer while it is processed, and until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or
possessed the deer. Persons delivering deer/parts of deer to a tanner must supply the tanner with either their deer permit number,
their confirmation number, or written certification by the person from whom the deer was received that the specimen was legally
taken or obtained.

 

[iaengineer]

my son is 12. We have some nice public ground around are place. He got his first buck last year during the youth hunt last year on public ground. The problem is we are originally from Missouri so I have been kind of spoiled with the basically unlimited tags. I used to get 4 or 5 does every year for our family. I have tried to hunt public ground in Iowa during the shotgun hunts but it is too scary for me. I think the party hunting in Iowa is about the most dangerous thing I have ever seen but that is a different topic. He is planning to hunt the Iowa youth season on the public ground next to our house but I was just looking into other opportunities for him.

The quote above is exactly what I read that is the deal breaker for me.

If quartered, all parts of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be transported together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to the carcass.

I read that as all the bones must be removed and only the guts can stay in the field.

 

[Flatland Crusoe]

Most Illinois sites have a limited quota that goes in the first draw (April Draw) which is resident only. Some sites have daily standby hunting where they fill the positions that people don't show up for or have already shot a deer with $5/day permits if you have an out of state hunting license you are treated the same as a resident.

Generally speaking the only public areas I know of that are walk-in require a county specific permit are Shawnee national forest (almost Kentucky) a few Mississippi river pools that are boat accessible.

As someone who has lived in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois and who has also hunting WI, IN and NE I can't see any reason why Illinois would appeal as an out of state destination if you don't have access to private land. The state is 5th worst in the nation with regard to percentage of public land and has twice the population of almost every neighboring state. I know a lot of Illinois hunters that don't even hunt in their own state.

The quartering thing sucks on paper, but isn't an issue as I have to think hard to come up with a place I could hunt more than a mile from a road on IL on 90% of the areas. With regard to the CWD transportation issues, I had a federal fish and wildlife officer tell me it was more or less impossible to follow the rule. In that instance I was hunting in IL on an area with a few dozen other people and almost everyone was staying at hotel in Missouri because it was the only reasonable option. He made us aware of the technical problem, but stated neither he nor any LEO he knew would enforce it.

 

[maxx]

my son is 12. We have some nice public ground around are place. He got his first buck last year during the youth hunt last year on public ground. The problem is we are originally from Missouri so I have been kind of spoiled with the basically unlimited tags. I used to get 4 or 5 does every year for our family. I have tried to hunt public ground in Iowa during the shotgun hunts but it is too scary for me. I think the party hunting in Iowa is about the most dangerous thing I have ever seen but that is a different topic. He is planning to hunt the Iowa youth season on the public ground next to our house but I was just looking into other opportunities for him.

The quote above is exactly what I read that is the deal breaker for me.

If quartered, all parts of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be transported together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to the carcass.

I read that as all the bones must be removed and only the guts can stay in the field.

Go get an early muzzy tag and go then. You will need to get on it in the next day or two. They only sell 7500 of them for the entire state so the public land is still pretty open.

Depending on the county you live in you should be able to pick up a bunch of antlerless tags. Your son can kill 3 bucks in Iowa. Youth, archery and bow. Adults can only kill two bucks, one of with a gun and one with a bow. If you are not an archery hunter I would suggest picking it up. This is my favorite season in Iowa.

If you don't have a muzzy you can pick up a CVA wolf really inexpensive. My 8 year old has one and it is just as accurate as my CVA Optima or my older boys Thompson Impact.

I would think you could pick up a muzzy for less than the cost of a IL tag. IL public ground during firearms season isn't going to be any better.

 

[Pig_Pen]

I am away from my home puter but I will get a direct quote from local warden when I get back home. I have their answer in an email. I asked my local warden this exact question and they said that it is legal on public land. They prefer that you get them out whole if possible but know there are some occasions when that is not feasible. I did it twice last year and I was checked by two different wardens with no issues.

I recommend you leave evidence of sex on one quarter regardless of the head.....just to cover all bases.

That being said, why Illinois public over Missouri? I am an Illinois resident and I only hunt public land, no matter the state. For what it's worth I spend the $250 and archery hunt Missouri year over my Home state! The public land deer numbers are MO better west of the Mississippi, they are little less crooked too!