Each year thousands of Illinoisans head to the fields in hopes of capturing a whitetail in the cross-hairs of their shotguns. This year, there were wide spread reports of success in the field but the first season firearm harvest numbers show otherwise. Many factors played into the decline of 3,087 deer during first firearm season including high winds and rain on Saturday. However, these numbers could have fooled some of the orange army. Mark Stewart of Braidwood traveled to Southern Illinois for first firearm season. "We heard over 230 shots by 8:30 opening day in Hardin County and the last I heard was mine at 10:00 AM"
Northern Illinois counties where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is prevalent hunters who harvest a deer are required to register them during firearm season by taking them to a check station between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Biologists will be present to take CWD samples for testing at the time of registration. Testing is voluntary, but all hunters with adult deer are encouraged to participate. We have video from a CWD Check Station where they were taking samples provided by our pro staffer Rick. Watch the video here.
Northern Illinois counties where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is prevalent hunters who harvest a deer are required to register them during firearm season by taking them to a check station between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Biologists will be present to take CWD samples for testing at the time of registration. Testing is voluntary, but all hunters with adult deer are encouraged to participate. We have video from a CWD Check Station where they were taking samples provided by our pro staffer Rick. Watch the video here.
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| Heather got herself a nice mature doe during firearm season. Nice Going! |
