I've used many trail cams on public land I have 3 right now on public and im in Illinois I don't think it's illegal I've checked every were if you find something let me know cause I've been doing it for years now.
I dug into it and all I can find is an old Wisconsin Law that was changed back in 2011 to allow trail cameras on public land. Look ad see if it's legal to "leave personal property on public land overnight" It might not specifically say "trail camera".
The state land I hunt in Illinois you can leave property (stands at least) from two weeks before season until two weeks after close of season Sent from my SCH-I535
If there isn't a specific line about cameras, I'd say they fall into this category then. Doesn't bode well for scouting if you can only leave them out there for two weeks prior to the opener.
I searched again and they used to specifically reference cameras but I can not find that anymore in the rules. It used to be listed in the Public Hunting Area section right after the rules about tree stands!!! Glad to see they removed it from the rules.
Yeah were i hunt i can leave one stand from oct 1 to jan 19 as long as its tagged with my name address and number and we can leave property like cameras at or own risk it says. I leave my cams but not my stand i have private spots i hunt also but i dont like to over hunt them so i hunt the 2 public spots by me to.
love how Illinois has different rules for different public land parcels even sometimes in the same county! this state sucks. rant over.
Thanks for the replies guys. I'll have to look into the rules never thought it could be illiegal... Some laws are pretty stupid!
I've had more of my stuff taken on private land. Honestly, I wouldn't put anything in the woods around here that I couldn't live without, public or private.
