Illinois hunting: Youth deer hunt expanded

Illinois Youth Firearm Deer Hunt is October 12-14 All Hunters Reminded of Blaze Orange Requirement During Youth Hunt SPRINGFIELD, IL – The 2013 Illinois Youth Firearm Deer Hunt is Oct. 12-14 for those hunters with a valid Youth Deer Permit who have not reached their 16th birthday by the first day of the hunt. Youth Deer Permits are available over-the-counter at license vendors throughout the state. Hunters may purchase only one permit (either-sex) for one of the open counties. Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law legislation extending the Illinois Youth Firearm Deer Hunt from a two-day to a three-day season, providing an additional hunting day on the Columbus Day holiday on Mon., Oct. 14 this year. All participating youths must have completed an IDNR-approved Hunter Education course. All youth hunters must have a current, valid Youth Deer Permit and have a hunting license or Apprentice Hunting License, unless exempt. Each hunter participating in the Youth Deer Hunt while using an Apprentice Hunter License must be accompanied by a non-hunting, validly-licensed (Illinois hunting license) parent, guardian or grandparent. All other hunters participating in the Youth Deer Hunt must each be accompanied by a non-hunting supervisor (parent, guardian or responsible adult) who has a valid Illinois hunting license or who has in his or her possession a valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. The non-hunting supervisor must wear the orange garments required of gun deer hunters (blaze orange cap and upper garment with a minimum of 400 square inches of solid blaze orange material), and must remain with the hunting youth. Each supervisor may only accompany a single youth at any given time during the hunt. Shooting hours for firearm deer hunting in Illinois are one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. All Illinois counties except Cook, DuPage and Lake Counties, and that portion of Kane County east of State Route 47 are open for the youth deer season. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise on to one-half hour after sunset on Oct. 12-14. The bag limit is one deer per legally authorized permit. All either-sex permits are subject to the following restrictions: no hunter, regardless of the quantity or type of permits in his/her possession, may harvest more than two (2) antlered deer during a year, including the youth, archery, muzzleloader and firearm seasons. Successful hunters must register their harvest by 10 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer is taken by calling the toll-free telephone check-in system at 1-866-ILCHECK or by accessing the online check-in system at www.dnr.illinois.gov/vcheck. They will be provided with a confirmation number to verify that they checked in their harvest. This number must be written by the hunter on the temporary harvest tag (leg tag). Youth hunters are reminded that archery deer season will be underway and archery hunters will be afield during the Oct. 12-14 youth hunt. Archery deer hunters and all other hunters are reminded that they must comply with requirements to wear blaze orange the weekend of the youth deer hunt (except in counties closed to the youth deer season). The IDNR-managed sites in the counties listed below are open to youth hunting during the Youth Deer Hunt. Note that some of the IDNR sites allow participation in the Youth Deer Hunt only by site-specific permit. Contact the sites listed below for special site regulations: Adams – Mississippi River Pools 21 and 22 Adams/Brown – Siloam Springs SP Alexander – Cape Bend SFWA, Horseshoe Lake SFWA Calhoun/Jersey – Mississippi River SFWA Cass – Jim Edgar Panther Creek SFWA Clinton – Carlyle Lake – East Fork Unit, Eldon Hazlet SP – North Allen Branch Unit Crawford – Crawford County SFWA Effingham – Wildcat Hollow SHA Fayette – Carlyle Lake SFWA Franklin – Campbell Pond SHA Hancock – Cedar Glen SNA Henderson – Mississippi River – Pool 18 Jackson –Kinkaid Lake SFWA; Burning Star 5 Jackson/Union – Giant City SP Jackson/Williamson/Union – Crab Orchard NWR Jasper – Meeker SHA, Newton Lake SFWA Jefferson/Franklin – Rend Lake SFWA and COE managed areas of Rend Lake Jefferson/Hamilton – Ten Mile Creek SFWA Jersey – Copperhead Hollow SFWA, Pere Marquette SP Jo Daviess – Apple River Canyon (Salem/Thompson Units), Hanover Bluff, Rall Woods (Falling Down Prairie), Tapley Woods, Upper Mississippi River NWFR – Lost Mound Unit to include IDNR properties Eagles Landing and Stewardship Park (special permit required from USFWS), Wards Grove, Winston Tunnel Johnson –Cypress Pond SNA, Deer Pond SNA, Ferne Clyffe – Cedar Draper Units only, Glass Hill SNA, Skinner Farm SHA, Wise Ridge SNA Johnson/Pulaski/Massac – Cache River SNA Knox – Spoon River SF Lawrence – Chauncey Marsh Lee – Green River SWA Marshall – Marshall SFWA Mason – Sand Ridge SF Massac – Fort Massac SP, Mermet Lake SFWA, Seilbeck Forest SNA Menard County – Oakford CA Mercer – Mississippi River – Pool 17 Moultrie – Lake Shelbyville Project Lands in Moultrie County including Shelbyville SFWA Montgomery – Coffeen Lake SFWA (Upland Management Area only) Peoria – Portions of Marshall SFWA Perry – Pyramid SRA (East Conant, Galum and Old Park Management units only) Pike – Mississippi River (Pool 24), Ray Norbut SFWA Pope – Dixon Springs SP, Dog Island Randolph – Turkey Bluffs SFWA Randolph/St. Clair/Monroe – Kaskaskia River SFWA Saline – Saline County SFWA Sangamon – Sangamon River SFWA Shelby – Hidden Springs SF, Lake Shelbyville Project Lands (NOT including Eagle Creek and Wolf Creek State Recreation Areas) Schuyler/Brown – Weinberg King SFWA including Scripps and Spunky Bottoms units Tazewell – Mackinaw SFWA Union –Trail of Tears SF, and Union County SFWA Union/Alexander – Devil’s Island SFWA Note: Crab Orchard, Dixon Springs, and Lake Le-Aqua-Na offer youth firearm hunts during the statewide firearm deer season and require a site specific firearm deer permit. For more information on the Youth Deer Hunt in Illinois, check the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer.