Hunters Prepare For Second Firearm Deer Season in Illinois December 4-7
December 2, 2008
Hunters in Illinois Harvest 71,894 Deer During First Weekend of Firearm Deer Season
SPRINGFIELD , IL – Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 71,894 deer during the opening weekend of the 2008 Illinois Firearm Deer season, Nov. 21-23, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Sam Flood announced today. The second portion of the firearm season will be Dec. 4-7.
The preliminary total for the first three days of the 2008 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 85,490 deer during the 2007 deer season. The top county harvest total was in Pike with 2,194 deer, followed by Adams (1,900), Fulton (1,878), Randolph (1,770), and Jefferson (1,650). The preliminary first-season figures reported for each county include those deer taken on special hunt areas within that county as well as on private land.
“Deer hunters in Illinois once again provided a good deer harvest for the first weekend of the firearm season,” said Flood. “We offer some of the best deer hunting opportunity in the world here in Illinois , and the firearm deer season continues to be our most popular hunting season.”
Illinois has issued approximately 350,000 firearm deer hunting permits for the 2008 season. Most hunters register their deer harvest online through the IDNR web site or by phoning 1-866-ILCHECK (1-866-452-4325) by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest. Hunters in Boone, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties take their deer to county check stations where IDNR conducts sampling for chronic wasting disease.
“The weather was unseasonably cold to start the season on Friday, but it appears many hunters were in the field enjoying some success on that day and throughout the first weekend of the firearm deer season,” said IDNR Forest Wildlife Program Manager Paul Shelton. “Most corn had been harvested, although 10 to 12 percent remained in the fields in the northern part of the state.
“The good news for managers and for deer hunters with permits remaining for the second season is that most of the decline in harvest was a drop in buck harvest,” Shelton added. “This means that our doe harvest was fairly comparable to last year and that there are plenty of both bucks and does still out there for second season hunters.”
Approximately 59 percent of the deer taken this past weekend were bucks, compared with 62 percent bucks taken during the first weekend of the firearm season in 2007.
The Illinois firearm deer season concludes Dec. 4-7. The muzzleloader-only deer season is Dec. 12-14. The Late-Winter Antlerless-only firearm deer season and the Special CWD deer season are Jan. 16-18, 2009. The state’s 2008-09 archery deer season continues through Jan. 15 (except closed in firearm counties during the second firearm season Dec. 4-7).
The table below provides preliminary county harvest totals for the first segment of the firearm season and comparable figures for the first season in 2007.
| County |
2007 |
2008 |
| Adams |
2140 |
1900 |
| Alexander |
339 |
335 |
| Bond |
877 |
632 |
| Boone |
133 |
90 |
| Brown |
1135 |
996 |
| Bureau |
1205 |
1030 |
| Calhoun |
1036 |
889 |
| Carroll |
921 |
740 |
| Cass |
665 |
510 |
| Champaign |
272 |
195 |
| Christian |
574 |
466 |
| Clark |
1122 |
896 |
| Clay |
1177 |
998 |
| Clinton |
808 |
635 |
| Coles |
621 |
550 |
| Crawford |
950 |
831 |
| Cumberland |
693 |
654 |
| DeKalb |
213 |
136 |
| DeWitt |
320 |
303 |
| Douglas |
212 |
156 |
| Edgar |
608 |
555 |
| Edwards |
434 |
354 |
| Effingham |
923 |
795 |
| Fayette |
1684 |
1480 |
| Ford |
123 |
115 |
| Franklin |
979 |
827 |
| Fulton |
2003 |
1878 |
| Gallatin |
451 |
402 |
| Greene |
1209 |
989 |
| Grundy |
354 |
269 |
| Hamilton |
1036 |
901 |
| Hancock |
1698 |
1553 |
| Hardin |
907 |
780 |
| Henderson |
586 |
432 |
| Henry |
742 |
561 |
| Iroquois |
548 |
548 |
| Jackson |
1824 |
1612 |
| Jasper |
1049 |
915 |
| Jefferson |
1997 |
1650 |
| Jersey |
790 |
670 |
| JoDaviess |
2055 |
1518 |
| Johnson |
1435 |
1385 |
| Kane |
48 |
43 |
| Kankakee |
191 |
157 |
| Kendall |
67 |
53 |
| Knox |
1244 |
1048 |
| Lake |
25 |
19 |
| LaSalle |
1127 |
957 |
| Lawrence |
497 |
420 |
| Lee |
577 |
446 |
| Livingston |
498 |
392 |
| Logan |
401 |
298 |
| Macon |
252 |
217 |
| Macoupin |
1677 |
1228 |
| Madison |
995 |
648 |
| Marion |
1677 |
1404 |
| Marshall |
696 |
607 |
| Mason |
489 |
484 |
| Massac |
471 |
369 |
| McDonough |
902 |
759 |
| McHenry |
360 |
216 |
| McLean |
541 |
490 |
| Menard |
392 |
288 |
| Mercer |
828 |
632 |
| Monroe |
910 |
863 |
| Montgomery |
1149 |
861 |
| Morgan |
899 |
674 |
| Moultrie |
251 |
224 |
| Ogle |
1035 |
730 |
| Peoria |
1317 |
1133 |
| Perry |
1161 |
964 |
| Piatt |
184 |
134 |
| Pike |
2610 |
2194 |
| Pope |
1473 |
1301 |
| Pulaski |
547 |
533 |
| Putnam |
454 |
361 |
| Randolph |
1890 |
1770 |
| Richland |
745 |
635 |
| Rock Island |
806 |
610 |
| Saline |
734 |
726 |
| Sangamon |
743 |
598 |
| Schuyler |
1346 |
1166 |
| Scott |
508 |
374 |
| Shelby |
1193 |
1025 |
| St. Clair |
868 |
724 |
| Stark |
258 |
216 |
| Stephenson |
837 |
643 |
| Tazewell |
625 |
527 |
| Union |
1551 |
1323 |
| Vermilion |
719 |
648 |
| Wabash |
252 |
218 |
| Warren |
554 |
481 |
| Washington |
1083 |
864 |
| Wayne |
1446 |
1316 |
| White |
808 |
699 |
| Whiteside |
806 |
542 |
| Will |
287 |
267 |
| Williamson |
1391 |
1176 |
| Winnebago |
410 |
315 |
| Woodford |
837 |
753 |
| Total |
85490 |
71894 |
Related posts
SC DNR Small Game Project Ranks Top Counties for Quail and Rabbit
November 6, 2008
Survey results for the 2007-08 hunting season show Georgetown, Clarendon, Calhoun, Lee and Richland counties were the top five counties for quail, while the top five counties for rabbits jumped per hour were Saluda, Fairfield, Chester, Newberry, and Hampton, according to biologists with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Small Game Project.
Through intensive field observations, South Carolina quail and rabbit hunters maintained detailed records of their hunting excursions throughout the year and provided the data to the DNR Small Game Project for analysis. Hunting data compiled included the number of quail coveys flushed, covey size, number of rabbits jumped, the dates and counties where hunts occurred, and the amount of time expended in pursuit of these species. The S.C. State Council of Quail Unlimited assists with funding for the supplies necessary to conduct the surveys.
Complete results of the Quail Hunter Survey and the Rabbit Hunter Survey are available on the DNR web site. To receive a copy of the Quail Hunter Survey report or the Rabbit Hunter Survey report or to have your name added to the list of potential cooperators, please contact the SCDNR Small Game Project at (803) 734-3609.
Statewide survey results indicate a slight decrease in the number of quail coveys flushed per hour and a slight increase in the number of rabbits jumped per hour when compared with the previous year. The quail covey flush rate was 0.58 coveys/hour during the 2006-07 season, down from 0.59 coveys/hour the previous year. Quail hunters in the top five counties reported flushing an average of 0.71 to 1.79 coveys per hour. The rabbit jumping rate increased from 1.27 to 1.37 rabbits/hour during the 2007-08 season.
The Northern Coastal Plain, defined as a seven-county area from the Charleston-Georgetown county line north to the North Carolina line and inland to Dillon, Florence, and Clarendon counties, claimed the highest rate of quail finds at 0.87 coveys per hour. Piedmont quail hunters had significantly less success than those hunting in other regions of the state, said Billy Dukes, DNR Small Game Project supervisor.
The Rabbit Hunter Survey indicated an increase in hunting success during the 2007-08 season following 3 years of declining success. A majority of rabbit hunting by survey cooperators (75 percent) occurred in the Piedmont. The Southern Coastal Plain exhibited the highest rate of rabbits jumped per hour (1.44), among regions with a minimum of 25 hunts, said Judy Barnes, wildlife biologist with the DNR Small Game Project.
Written comments from hunters in the surveys provided some excellent field observations, particularly on habitat conditions for quail. Many cooperators noted that a lack of prescribed burning on public and private lands has resulted in impaired habitat quality and hunting success.
“To ensure continued accuracy and usefulness of future small game surveys, the Small Game Project would like to increase the number of hunters participating this coming season,” Dukes said. Avid quail and rabbit hunters across the state who are willing to assist by taking careful notes on their hunts should write to DNR Small Game Project, PO Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202. Indicate whether you are interested in participating in the Quail Hunter Survey, the Rabbit Hunter Survey, or both. Survey materials will be mailed to cooperators in mid-November, just prior to the opening of statewide quail and rabbit seasons.
DNR protects and manages South Carolina’s natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state’s natural resources and its people.
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