I recently shared with you my experiences with the emotions that resulted when an afternoon bow hunt Nov. 3 went very wrong. I shot a 2.5-year-old buck, and despite a great start to a blood trail, looming darkness and heavy rains that began soon after I shot him made quick work of washing it away. Even without blood, we grid-searched…
(Photo by Bill Diers)Well, the Illinois 2018-19 deer season is officially underway. As always, I was in the deer woods on opening day for morning and afternoon hunts. The day was damp and dismal at best. I’ve never killed a deer opening day, but I’ve never not seen one, either. This year the only critter I saw was of a…
So you’re sitting in the deer woods, or driving down the road, when you notice something completely out of the ordinary. It’s definitely a deer, but what in the world is all over its body? The deer appears to be covered with some sort of unsightly warts or tumors. You may not know exactly what is happening with the poor…
Just like last year in the days leading up to the Oct. 1 bowhunting opener, the Illinois DNR has scheduled a series of public meetings to provide information about CWD, its effect on future deer populations, and the state’s efforts to control the disease.
Gov. Bruce Rauner finally signed House Bill 4231 into law Saturday at Conservation Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The new law permits hunters to wear blaze-pink clothing as an alternative to blaze orange. But bowhunters need to take heed that the law doesn’t take affect until Jan. 1, so for the first half of the season, it remains strictly blaze-orange…
The DNR estimates the new restriction will reduce doe harvest by 25 to 30 percent.
Two public meetings to address possible changes.
A day of bowfishing and bowfishing education is scheduled for May 19 at the Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area boat access. The all-day Illinois’ Bowfishing Festival and Conservation Shoot will feature bowfishing instruction and ranges, fishing instruction for kids with supervised rod-reel fishing opportunities, fish cleaning and cooking demonstrations and activities for children. Experts will be on hand and displays…
A research team from the University of Illinois says its findings could help explain the movement of CWD across the landscape.
Now, with another season in the books, let’s get the shed hunting and gobbler chasing parties started!
When I received a text from Dan Schmidt, editor-in-chief for Deer & Deer Hunting, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, letting me know that Charlie Alsheimer – renowned whitetail behaviorist, photographer, writer, and speaker – had unexpectedly passed away over the weekend, like many others, I was stunned. And just plain sad. I’ve been good friends with “Schmidt,”…
Even as an extremely hectic year speeds to its end, I’m allowing myself a brief moment of contentment to breathe and reflect upon my 2017 hunting season. It was good. Actually, it was phenomenal. There were no debacles, no forgetting a vital piece of equipment, only to realize after getting situated in a stand that it was still in my vehicle, a…
The ultimate goal has been a long time coming. The last time I killed a buck was in 2010, and the last time I harvested anything was a horse of a doe back in 2012. So, burning up a doe and a buck tag within a two-week time span has truly got me feeling like the most fortunate hunter there…
Right now, my work schedule is insane and doesn’t allow much time to do anything, let alone hunt. But I’ve been taking every opportunity I’ve been afforded to spend time in the deer woods. On Oct. 28, I got off work at four in the afternoon, raced home, and headed to a stand. Obviously, a late start was not ideal, but you’ve gotta hunt…
As it does every year, Oct. 1 found me in a treestand, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was a little too warm for my liking for the beginning of October, but at least I was in a stand. Amen, glory, and hallelujah! After almost nine long and agonizing months, my world has been righted once more. When it comes to hunting,…
If you’ve followed my columns or blogs, you’ve read that, for me, Oct. 1 is sacred. Regardless of all else, I’m in the deer woods. I haven’t missed an Oct. 1 in the deer woods since I started bow hunting. Half the time, I don’t even know what day of the week it is, let alone the actual date. But if…
Personally, I prefer doing only minor trimming at this point, enough to afford a small window or two, during the early part of deer season.
When you’ve got a deer in bow range, you forget you’re off the ground and neglect to consider the possibility of losing your footing.
It’s time to start “earning” that gold medal for the amount of time we in Illinois spend in the deer woods each year.
Is the trait a function of the way the offspring was born, or is the trait a function of external circumstances and/or what was learned?
By not considering the environmental dynamic, a superior buck, and his DNA, could be eliminated.
Pair of conservation police officers helped make the Mighty Mississippi a safer place on this day.
Last year, the DNR implemented changes to hunter safety requirements that I’m absolutely not okay with. In fact, in my opinion, they’re downright irresponsible and could lead to tragic consequences. Now, it appears that more modifications are coming soon, and like last year’s, I don’t see them as a positive thing.
When it comes to the growth cycle and outcome of an individual buck’s antler formation, the most crucial and overlooked element, by far, is the role of the doe.
Probably the two biggest misconceptions about culling to improve antler genetics are the “spike” debate and environmental influences.
Basically, it boils down to costs vs. benefits, and how the variances in this ratio affect buck movements during the breeding season in countless ways. But it doesn’t end there, as we’re well aware of how buck activity comes to life around the end of October.
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