|
Thought
I’d mention a few things to maybe help some people this hunting season, possibly
saving them from getting a ticket from the DNR.
-
If you
hunt deer in Illinois make sure you cut out the notch on the deer tag. A lot of
hunters get so excited about bagging the deer that they put the tag on and
forget to cut the notch. I realize it’s a minor thing but it could cost you a
ticket. Also your hat has to be solid blaze orange! Any other color on
that hat such as writing or a picture of a pheasant constitutes a violation.
-
The law
also states you must have a written permission slip on you from the landowner
showing you have permission to hunt his land. While this is true, the official
Game Code of Illinois says “the officer cannot enforce (write a ticket) this
unless there has been a complaint by the landowner or tenant”. A friend of mine
got wrote up for this in Dupage Co., brought the landowner to court and was
still fined.
-
Don’t
make the mistake of coming in for lunch and leaning your empty gun against your
vehicle or laying it on the tailgate. This will get you a ticket for “an uncased
gun on a vehicle”.
-
If you
are hunting waterfowl in a field and a pheasant or rabbit pops up while you
adjust your decoys and you shoot it. Remember you must have an orange hat on
while upland game hunting. Make sure you have one in the pocket so you can tell
the man you wore it when you shot that bird. No orange hat means you are in
violation even though you were hunting waterfowl at the time!
-
Also
make sure your gun cases are completely zipped or closed. This is also a
violation that you could get wrote up for.
-
Most
hunters know but some still make the mistake—your bag limits must be kept in
separate piles! They can be divided by anything—a bag—a coat whatever as long as
they are separated.
I
believe the hunting in this State one day will come down to commercial clubs
where you will pay a fee to hunt. Our DNR does not put the effort forth that
other states do to provide places to hunt. My friend told me in Kansas whatever
is set aside as CRP land is open to the public for hunting. He says there are
plenty of birds on the land also. The DNR there release game and provides good
habitat for it also. We are not getting the bang for our buck here.
A day of hunting is a very enjoyable day, so don’t let it get spoiled by a
ticket. If you haven’t taken a youngster hunting make this the year you do.
There are plenty of neighbors or boy scouts to pick from.
Illinois is very complex on their laws. There are things they can get you on
that you don’t even know about. It’s a shame that it is this way. Other states
are more flexible and give the sportsmen more breathing room. For instance in
Wisconsin all open waters of the state are open to waterfowl hunting as
long as you keep the distance from homes etc. People are not allowed to fish nor
do any other activity within 100yds. of waterfowl hunters. I remember when I was
a young adult and could hunt without having a lawyer with me. Until things
change for the better, I hope you all have a great season and enjoy your hunt
before homes eat up the remaining land, because land is not being set aside for
hunting! They are creating wildlife areas, but not hunting areas.
|
