Illinois 2008 Fire-arm Deer Harvest Total

[flyfishmaster]

Well IDNR has just release the deer harvest info for the Fire-arm season.

Here it is:

Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 105,595 deer during the seven-day firearm deer hunting season Nov. 21-23 and Dec. 4-7

The preliminary second-season (Dec. 4-7) harvest total was 33,701, compared with the 31,218 deer taken by hunters during the second season in 2007. This year’s preliminary first-season (Nov. 21-23) deer harvest was 71,894, compared with a first-season harvest of 85,490 in 2007. The preliminary harvest total includes deer taken in all 99 counties in which firearm deer hunting is permitted, as well as Chain O’Lakes State Park in Lake County.

Preliminary reports show that Pike County once again topped the county deer harvest totals for the firearm season as hunters there took 3,342 deer. Other top county harvest totals were Fulton (2,688), Adams (2,649), Randolph (2,489), and Jefferson (2,451).

“A number of factors may have impacted our deer harvest this year, including the cold, wintry weather during both the first and second portions of the firearm season, the amount of standing corn in parts of northern Illinois, and even the slightly later timing of the seasons,” said IDNR Forest Wildlife Program manager Paul Shelton. “In addition, our effort to reduce deer numbers may be paying off in some areas.”

The three-day Illinois muzzleloader-only deer season is this week, Dec. 12-14, while the Late-Winter Firearm Antlerless-only Deer Season and Special CWD Deer Season are Jan. 16-18, 2009.

Here are a few interesting facts:

• Only 7 counties had positive increase in total harevested, the highest being 6%.
  
• 23 counties reported being down more than 15%, McHenry county was down 31%.
  
• 2007 Total = 116,798, 2008 Total = 105,595, Over all a decline by 9.6%
  
• Over 350,000 Tags were issues, which comes out to a 30% success rate.
  

How were the harvest numbers is other states?

Later,

FFM

[Phil Lilley]

That's about the same as Missouri isn't it?

[oneshot]

Don't know number of Tags Sold.But I would say our % is higher.I do know kill was down some.Here is the numbers I found.

http://www.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/maps/deertur...Deer%20Firearms

oneshot

[oneshot]

Found this too.

JEFFERSON CITY—Missouri’s November firearms deer harvest dipped by 6.4 percent this year, leading the state’s top deer expert to believe that antler-point restrictions and an emphasis on shooting antlerless deer are paying off.

The statewide deer harvest during the 11-day November Portion of Firearms Deer Season was 200,679. That is down 13,815 from last year.

The top harvest counties were Macon, with 4,021 deer checked; Benton with 3,600 and Texas with 3,590.

Resource Scientist Lonnie Hansen is in charge of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s deer-management program. He said that except for a cold, windy opening day, weather was not much of a factor in holding down this year’s deer harvest. He described conditions as “about as close to perfect as possible.”

Hansen also dismissed acorn availability as a significant factor in reducing this year’s deer kill. Instead, he attributed the reduced harvest to a combination of regulation changes and disease.

“I think there is no question that more than doubling the number of counties with antler-point restrictions reduced the harvest,” said Hansen. “Requiring hunters to pass up deer that don’t have at least four points on one side necessarily reduces the number of deer they can shoot. That is especially true the first year, before younger deer have a chance to mature and grow into the legal range.”

When antler-point restrictions went into effect in 29 counties in 2004, the overall deer harvest dropped by about 14 percent in the northern portion of the pilot area and approximately 3 percent in the southern portion. Hansen said this year’s harvest decrease is consistent with that pattern.

Antlered deer made up 37 percent of this year’s November deer harvest compared to 45 percent last year.

Hansen noted that deer numbers also are decreasing in some areas in response to other factors. “We have been trying to encourage hunters to shoot more does for at least a decade,” he said. “Attitudes change slowly, but I think hunters have kind of taken the doe-harvest message to heart. In addition to our encouragement, popular deer hunting groups, like the Quality Deer Management Association and Whitetails Unlimited, also encourage doe harvest.”

Hansen said more hunters are recognizing that responsible deer management is needed to minimize the incidence of deer-car accidents and crop damage and to improve the quality of deer hunting. “Over time it is becoming more acceptable to shoot does,” he said.

Hansen said localized outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, particularly in southern Missouri, also played a role in reducing deer numbers and therefore deer harvest.

Missouri’s record November firearms deer harvest of 235,409 took place in 2006.

Hansen said Missouri’s deer herd remains healthy and relatively stable, and he expects future years’ November deer harvests to hover somewhere around 200,000.

“Overall, I am very pleased with this year’s harvest, and with the trend in deer harvests. Deer management is a balancing act between the advantages of having enough deer and the disadvantages of having too many deer. I think a lot of people would be unhappy if our deer population increased or decreased much from where it is now.”

The Conservation Department recorded four firearms-related deer hunting incidents – all nonfatal – during the November hunt. That is the same as last year’s record low.

-Jim Low-

oneshot