Illinois Game & Fish Magazine Article

[BuzzH]

Its really absurd when Zim hunts all over the West as one of them damn Nonresidents each year.

Its OK for him to hunt all over and expect NR tags in UT, CO, NM, AZ, NV, etc for elk, mule deer, antelope, shiras moose, sheep....but heaven fuggin' forbid if a few NR's hunt illinois...for ditch parrots and whitetails...BFD.

 

[Zim]

BuzzH, Please answer my question. It's really not that complex. A very simple question.

How many times have you hunted Illinois?

 

[BuzzH]

None...and it has no bearing on the discussion.

Now you're going to whine and tell me, "you dont know how crowded it is on public here".

Then I'll tell you that one of the pronghorn units I hunted this year had 2,000 buck permits and 3,000 doe permits along with about 10-12 accessible state sections on it.

You can cry all you want about the State being crowded...been there done that...and have lots of dead animals to prove it just doesnt matter for a hunter that has a clue.

I hunt rather than whine.

Shot this buck just as the sun was coming up on a piece of state in that above mentioned pronghorn unit:

 

[shoots-straight]

I wonder if they (unknown conspirators) will ever delist Grizzlies, or if those giants that they imported from Kodiak Island will eat us out of house and home? It'l take a mass murder of civilians to get their (unknown conspirators) attention. They aren't native Griz, there 2000 pounders, 4 times what our native ones weighed.

The other Griz play under the lights tomorrow night. Norther Iowa, and Montana. Who's going to win?

 

[nickdooley987]

Well i am a public land hunter from illinois, i hunt in adams county
Oak, your charts show all the non residents (people from out of state) but the areas that i hunt all the pressure is from "non residents" (people from chicago) may as well be non residents. They show up big time during the shotgun seasons

 

[wgiles]

In downstate Illinois, we consider "people from Chicago" to be non-residents.

 

[Oak]

Well i am a public land hunter from illinois, i hunt in adams county
Oak, your charts show all the non residents (people from out of state) but the areas that i hunt all the pressure is from "non residents" (people from chicago) may as well be non residents. They show up big time during the shotgun seasons

In downstate Illinois, we consider "people from Chicago" to be non-residents.

Yeah, we don't have all kinds of people coming over to the Western Slope every year from Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Ft. Collins.......

With the lack of public land in Illinois, I'm sure what is there seems crowded. But I think it's absurd to blame the non-residents (by true definition) for the crowding problems. I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of non-residents is even lower than 13% on public lands there.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I believe a big part of that 13% of nonresidents that deer hunt in Illinois are not hunting on public land, but rather private land in Pike County and that general area around there where outfitters have been making/taking big bucks the last ten years or so. I don't believe it takes a rocket scientist to know that in a state the size of Illinois that just the people from the Chicago crowd would probably create what Zim considers overcrowding by nonresidents. It does seem a little ridiculous to harp about nonresidents hunting Illinois and creating supposed problems and then to turn right around and go out to other states to hunt as a nonresident himself. Rather than cry about the lack of opportunity to have good hunts that Zim says is lacking on Illinois public land, maybe he should stay home and save some of that money he spends in other states and lease a good chunk of private land somewhere in Illinois! That still would probably not stop the bitching about everyone else though, with what seems to be a me, me, me attitude! I think there is another even bigger problem with more and more land being leased for big $ by outfitters that used to be open to anyone that asked. It appears to me that a bigger rant could/should be made about that than moaning about what Zim feels is nonresidents taking over his hunting areas!

 

[Zim]

This is a joke...............right? Several here making judgements about Illinois, name calling, foul language..................but none has ever hunted here?

These are direct exerpts from comments above..................."I believe", "I don't believe", "It does seem", "what seems to be", "I think", "It appears", "I'd be willing to bet", "I suspect", "I can't say for sure", and a lot more "I thinks".

All coming from the mouths of those who have not even hunted here???...............................Really?

All backed up with name calling and foul language???.........................Really?

The percentages posted here are nice but I don't see any near the 75% NR figures that show up in the Illinois state lands I see with my own eyes.

 

[Oak]

For wanting your questions answered, you sure have a hard time answering them yourself.

Do you think 13% of tags to non-residents is too much for states to offer? Simple yes/no question.

 

[putm2sleep]

Shut up already and hunt. Congrats on your successes elk hunting sir, but you lose.

 

[putm2sleep]

And answer Oak's question. You are like our fine Attorney General last night getting grilled about Fast and Furious....deflecting and not knowing a dam thing about nothin'.

 

[Zim]

I have absolutely no problem with 13% NR's hunting in Illinois. Even a little more would be OK with me. As I've said from the start it's the unregulated 75% on state land that is the problem here. There are a lot of DIYers on this site and I would like to help educate any new prospects of what they have to deal with if they choose to hunt state land. Nocturnal bucks, and lots of them, and very overcrowded conditions. BTW - I met zero Chicagoans in any of the lots I hunted the last 3 years, but I was in the southern 1/3rd of the state.

It would be nice if they put some system in place to spread out the pressure, which is what I am working on with the site manager right now for next year.

Also, I think it's rediculous what they charge NR's here for a tag. The fees should be more reasonable, but the numbers limited. The money is ruining our DNR's management philosophy.

 

[BuzzH]

The only thing in need of regulation is whiners from illinois...

 

[Smoked]

I have never hunted Illinois so I dont know how bad the overcrowding is but I am all for NR hunters because the do boost the economy and most NR DIY hunters are awesome people. It is the NR that are booking outfitters that I am not a huge fan of.

I love it when an area is overcrowded, I will then look at a map and figure out where are the animals going to go with this many people. And with a little walking and little research you will be surprised what you find. Big Fin on here I think has proven that theory time and time again.

And if you don't like hunting public land then don't, go lease out a ranch or a farm and hunt that way. No rules or regulations are ever going to make every single hunter happy so all we can do is just hunt hard and have fun. That is what I love about NM is that if I don't draw anything then I am off chasing ducks and geese, or competing in coyote tournaments or chasing rabbits or quail or whatever I can go chase.

 

[TLC]

zim is right when he talks about STATE lands here, but only because we have so little STATE ground here. state parks and conservation areas. pay to play areas that you can hunt deer, pheasant, quail, and small game on. but, we are not over run with non residents.

"Springfield - Illinois' non-resident combination archery deer permit quota is again capped at 25,000, but the demand has been dropping ever since it was expanded three years ago.

Back in 2009, when the quota was first expanded, 20,853 permits were sold to out-of-state deer hunters, who pay a considerable sum more than residents.

Since then, the number of permits sold has dropped, with 18,776 purchased last season.
"The availability exceeds the demand," said Tom Micetich, deer project manager for DNR.

The quota, which was once at 12,000 many years ago, was slowly expanded over the years to account for out-of-state demand, especially as parts of the state became recognized for producing world-class bucks.

Residents pay $26 for the combination permit, which allows a hunter one deer that can be either-sex and one that is antlerless only.

Non-residents pay $411 for that same license.

The only notable change to the archery deer regulations this year was the availability of a single either-sex permit for residents, which had been previously eliminated in 2006 to encourage hunters to also kill a doe, in addition to a buck through the combination permit.

The new permit was created by an act of the state Legislature last year, but hunters had until Sept. 1 to apply.

Micetich said he does have some concern that fewer does will be taken as a result of the permit.

With the combination permit, "they can shoot a doe and stay in the woods looking for Bullwinkle." And last year, 60 percent of deer shot didn't have antlers.

But now, those with the single either-sex permit will likely let does walk, he said.

"Passing opportunities at female deer broadside is not conducive to good management," Micetich said. "Time will tell."

Otherwise, Micetich isn't expecting much change in the harvest numbers.

Last year, 63,570 deer were taken in the archery season. The archery kill numbers have been steady at around 64,000 for several years.

Overall, the state deer herd is estimated at about 750,000 to 800,000 deer, Micetich said.

He sometimes hears from hunters who believe the herd is down, but there's no statistical data to show with any certainty that the population has changed significantly, he said."


no up to date information on the amount of non resident gun permits sold.

the other thing that comes into play is that zim lives up by chicago. west of it where there is very little to no public ground to hunt. the easiest solution for him would be to drive south and hunt on the shawnee national forest. plenty of FREE ground to hunt down here.

would love to see Randy come and do an illinois hunt, but it would be tough to get it on film. three types of ground to hunt here. farm ground along trees lines or waterways. all private. river bottoms. too many trees to get a good video. forest land. again, with the number of trees, would be darn near impossible to film. but Randy, if you want to come and give it a shot, will be happy to show you where some nice bucks hang out in southern illinois.

 

[wgiles]

I live in central Illinois, near Pike county, but hunt in southern Illinois, in Jackson county. There are plenty of deer up here where I live, but I'm from southern Illinois and have friends down there. Since I have access to private land, I have never tried to hunt public land. There are quite a few of us who hunt the same property, but we are all mindful of each hunter's location and try not to interfere with each other's hunt. Given the relatively short firearm seasons, this is probably not the case on public land, even in the Shawnee National Forest. There are some state owned public hunting areas within a few miles of the location that I hunt and I believe that they require a permit to hunt that must be acquired through a lottery. This is in addition to the deer tags. Deer tags for residents are relatively easy to get, at least in the counties not known for trophy deer. This weekend is muzzleloader season and I saw very few hunters. Unfortunately, I saw fewer deer (as in none).

 

[Don K]

You got to love it here in Illinois!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Oak]

Only 4 governors serving time in 4 decades. Surely AZ is worse than that?

 

[Zim]

http://illinoispolicy.org/blog/blog.asp?ArticleSource=3446

These people don't care about deer management, just stealing opportunity and money.