I just thought I would throw this out there. Here in northern illinois there has been a sharpshooting program going for about the last 8 years or better now, mainly due to cwd (chronic wasting disease) cases. It has focused on counties such as boone, winnebago, ogle and few others. I know this may not affect alot of you, but I was curious on everyone's opinion whether it affects you or not. For me it makes me sick, which is why I don't hunt alot in that area anymore. There is too much going on behind closed doors, and for the sake of the sportsman it's wrong. I would like to see if there are similar feelings or other outtakes on it. Alot of beautiful mature bucks have been harvested in this process which makes my stomach tremble. There have been alot of petitions passed around to try and stop this but it keeps on going.
i would like to see something like we had in MN... you could apply for an Urban Tag, pass the archery test (5 or 6 arrows in a spot at 20yds) then guys would show up at a meeting and the land in the areas that needed to be "thinned out" would be divided. it gave us hunters the chance to harvest the deer before the shooters went in and killed the deer. i dont like the fact that folks are shooting ANY deer nice bucks or not from choppers, but i guess that is what we elect the politicians to figure out... aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhh!
I hear ya... Always irritates me when a city has plenty of fringe land that could easily be bow hunted but they won't allow hunting in City limits but then yet they petition the DNR to go in and bring in sharpshooters to thin out the heard because of over population (of course often times at a significant cost to taxpayers - would seem there is a pile of qualified bow hunters that would do it for free)....
IMO sharpshooting is a big waste of money. Like isaiah said let the hunters get first crack at the deer. Why are they shooting bucks,you have to bring down the doe population to control the herd #'s not bucks.
That's what is really making people mad, my wife's uncle had a pic from the marengo illinois area back around 05' of a pickup truck full of about 6 bucks, smallest probably 140's to biggest pushin boone and crockett. I've heard them stooping as low as to detinating bait piles once deer have heared around. I think even insurance companies were paying people off to shoot deer because of collision cases with deer.
Of the folks who have posted on this thread........ 1. How many does are you allowed to kill in a season (Including provisional tags)? 2. How many have you killed in the last 5 seasons? 3. How many bucks (in that timeframe)?
great point! totally true. i would just like the ability to go into the areas that the sharpshooters are going. again.... i should be taking more does. 1. as many as i harvest then can buy another tag 2. shot one didnt find her 3. 2 in IL, 1 in MN
1. Unlimited 2. 9 3. 4 This particular situation that he's referencing surround's Illinois attempt at handling CWD in our Northern counties. Unlike WI where it was widely publicized, debated, and argued our state has chosen to operate "under the radar" so to speak. Sharpshooters have been brought it (many of them from out of state) and our DNS has spent tens of thousands of dollars to reduce deer numbers in counties that didn't have very high deer density numbers to begin with. Much of the sharpshooting is taking place over bait sites on private land, where landowners have given the DNR permission to do this. They have done this b/c the DNR convinced them it was necessary to stop the spread of CWD. Many of the local hunter in these areas are po'd at the overall reduction in deer numbers because it effects their deer sightings and ultimately their harvests. While there have been a lot of rumors and speculation, I haven't seen any real evidence of the sharpshooters abusing their power. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I haven't seen it personally and I'm sure at least some of that information is false and/or exaggerated. My feelings are mixed on this. As Wisconsin has proven, reducing the deer numbers hasn't effected the rate of CWD cases that are being found as a percentage of the whole. So there's a very good chance that we're wasting a lot of taxpayer money for no good reason. Seems about right for IL government these days. Now many will argue that the DNR should let hunters do the work of thinning the deer numbers while making money via special license sales. While great in theory, I think it's been proven that hunters, who want higher deer numbers, will not shoot every deer they see and then enough of the herd to make the DNR happy b/c we have opposite agendas. We want more deer to hunt, the DNR wants less deer to spread disease. In most cases, we're not willing to meet in the middle. Many people cry foul about not giving them a chance, when in reality they probably wouldn't act on it if the DNR agreed. With that said, I personally feel that the deer numbers are plenty low in these areas that the DNR should stop spending my tax dollars on killing deer and worry about bigger issues that our state is facing.
In some cases you can - they're shooting on MCCD grounds that are open to bow hunting with special permits. In some cases you can't - it's being done on private ground w/permission of the landowner. Not much you can do about that. Now, one thing I do disagree with is the reduction of deer using sharpshooters in areas that are off limits to hunting. Places like the state park in Zion which is being thinned not because of CWD, but because of general overpopulation. In cases where hunters aren't allowed at all, and would pay a hefty fee even for an earn-a-buck hunt, I think it's ridiculous to allow sharpshooters. Spending money when you have a golden opportunity to make money is just plain ignorant.
I agree with a lot of what you said. This last statement hit home for me though. A good portion of Michigan's SLP has a an overpopulation issue. Many hunters "feel" or "think" they know whats best. Unfortunately, all the scientific data comes from the state. Lets just say its possible that data could be a little skewed to meet their agenda. It would be nice to have an outside source conduct a few studies. I have no idea how Illinois does it, just saying. Deer hunters are emotional about deer. No matter what side you're on (quality vs quantity), each "thinks" they are right. Majority of MI hunters are on the quantity side no matter what kind of problems that may cause in the future.
thats what im talking bout Willis!!! shoot charge the hell outta me to hunt right next to my house.... i'll pay it gladly!
