 "Deer hunting is part of our outdoor heritage in Illinois, and we
want to encourage all hunters heading to the field this week for the
start of the firearm season to make safety their first priority,"
said Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller.
"Hunters always need to be conscious of firearm and tree-stand
safety to ensure a safe and enjoyable hunt."
Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 106,018 deer
during the seven-day firearm deer hunting season in 2008. More than
360,000 permits have been issued to date for the 2009 firearm
season. For information on remaining permits, check at
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/admin/firearm.htm.
The legal hunting hours for the firearm deer season are a
half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset.
Hunters successful in taking a deer during the firearm season in
most counties must register (check in) the deer they harvest by
going online at
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/admin/harvest.htm or by phoning 1-866-IL-CHECK
(1-866-452-4325). Hunters using the online or phone-in system must
register their harvest by 10 p.m. on the day they take the deer. It
is recommended that hunters using cell phones to register their
harvest wait until they are out of the field and have a clear cell
phone signal before attempting to make the harvest report phone
call.
Firearm deer hunters in Boone, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle,
McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties are reminded to
bring their deer to mandatory check stations. Biologists will be
sampling adult deer for chronic wasting disease, in order to
determine areas of infection and prevalence rates. The check station
locations are listed below:
(Note: Except for Winnebago County, the locations are the same as
last year.)
-
Boone: Boone County
Fairgrounds, located one-half mile north of Route 76 and
Business Route 20, Belvidere
-
DeKalb: Shabbona
Lake State Recreation Area, 4201 Shabbona Grove Road, Shabbona
-
Grundy: Gebhard
Woods State Park; 401 Ottawa St., Morris
-
Kane: Shabbona Lake
State Recreation Area, 4201 Shabbona Grove Road, Shabbona
-
LaSalle: Buffalo
Rock State Park, three miles west of Ottawa on Dee Bennett Road
-
McHenry: Moraine
Hills State Park, McHenry Dam day use area, east of McHenry on
River Road, 2.2 miles south of Route 120
-
Ogle: Castle Rock
State Park, Route 2, three miles south of Oregon
-
Stephenson:
Stephenson County Fairgrounds, one mile east of Route 26 and
Fairgrounds Road, Freeport
-
Winnebago (new location): Rock
Cut State Park. Hunters should use the Highway 173 entrance and
follow the signs.
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Hunters who participate in the sampling for chronic wasting disease
can check the status of their deer through
http://dnr.state.il.us/cwd/.
Hunters who provide samples from deer that test positive are
notified by the Department of Natural Resources.
While not believed to be contagious to humans or livestock,
chronic wasting disease is known to spread from animal to animal
among deer and elk. The disease affects the brain of the infected
animal, causing them to become emaciated, display abnormal behavior,
lose coordination and eventually die. Illinois expanded its CWD
surveillance effort in 2002 following the discovery of the disease
in neighboring Wisconsin.
For more information on Illinois deer hunting regulations changes
for 2009-2010, check at this link:
http://www.dnr.state.il.us/
pubaffairs/2009/September/deer.html
Hunting safety facts
-
Illinois law
requires that anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1980, must
successfully complete a hunter safety course before a regular
Illinois hunting license is issued.
-
The No. 1 cause of
hunting accidents in Illinois is falling from a tree stand.
-
Last year in Illinois, there were 38
reported hunting accidents; 30 were the result of tree-stand
falls and five of those resulted in fatalities. So far during
2009, there have been 13 reported hunting accidents in Illinois,
of which six have involved falls from tree stands.
When using a tree stand, remember
the following:
-
Check ladder
stands before you climb to make sure they are secure.
-
Wear a fall arrest
system or full body safety harness the moment you leave the
ground until you return.
-
Use a haul line to raise an unloaded
firearm or bow into a stand.
When hunting with a firearm,
sportsmen should remember three primary rules of firearm safety:
-
Point the muzzle in
a safe direction.
-
Treat every firearm
as if it were loaded.
-
Know your target and what is beyond
your target.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Natural Resources file received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information]
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