Both guns did well enough that I feel comfortable heading into the morning. To say they are shooting straight would be a bit untruthful. But I do feel comfortable with either gun (both of which will be in the stand with me this weekend).

But you know what? I’m not quite as excited about this gun opener as I have been in recent years. Several mornings and evenings in the stand bowhunting have taken the edge of my need to stand in the timber. The difference in a few hours, of course, is that it’s much easier to reach out and touch the deer we will see.

And I hope to to see a few. But this is my real fear. That Friday morning will be crazy, Friday evening will be OK and Saturday and Sunday will slow up markedly once deer head to the corn.

We’ll see. For now it’s time to wish everyone luck and hope that a big 30-pointer walks past you in the morning or whenever you get out in the timber.

Well, just in the nick of time, Scrappy was adopted by a new family. After diligent efforts to find his owner came up empty, we tried to find a new home for the Scrap. Drew and Penny (above) learned about Scrappy (or Squeaky as the kids called him or whatever it is they now call the cute little dog) right here on Scattershooting. After they showed up and fell in love with the little rascal he was whisked off to his new, better life.

I say it was just in time because that little rascal was growing on me. Another few days and I would have wanted to keep him. But alas, space is an object in our pin-sized yard. And with a Lab puppy on the way in the next year, there was just no room for Scrappy. We are all happy he is now with a good family, even it if means he will probably be wearing sweaters someday soon.

FROM Loren Cook:

“It’s my observation that when checking the RSS feeds I notice more stories placing hunting in a negative light.  Some examples are ‘Indiana teen hunter shoots self’, ‘St. Louis deer hunter dies after shooting’, ‘Hunter accused of illegally killing record buck’, ‘Man dies after shooting self while deer hunting’, and ‘Deer poaching leads to record Neb. Fine’.  I thought Prairie State Outdoors was a pro-hunting Web site?  I understand that these things happen but there are so many anti-hunting groups out there that use this material to further their cause.  I just hate to see PSO give them the ammunition.”

FROM Ray Marshalla, DNR waterfowl biologist:

“Geese know when the season is closed.  I have experienced that situation many times.  Even when we closed early due to the quota being reached I can remember geese flying over me at 25 yards while pheasant hunting in blaze orange a day or two after the season ended.  I always see geese in fields they never use all hunting season the day or two after it closes. Quite amazing! Geese in the duck decoys over robo ducks when the closed segment occurs seems to happen every year to me.  If the season was open they would never land by a robo!”

FROM John Hartmann, USDA wildlife specialist:

“You (actually Flathead) have great photos of the ‘seagull with jewelry.’ I wanted to thank you for the observation information you provided on the website. We are still collecting reports of tagged ring-billed gulls that were banded in 2007. The orange tagged gull that you observed was banded by us “USDA/Wildlife Services” at Dime Pier in Chicago.  We tagged the gulls in order to determine movement patterns of gulls from various nesting colonies in the Chicago area. We are especially interested to know if gulls from outside of Chicago are coming into Chicago during the summer months and if the Chicago gulls stay in the Chicago area or do they leave.  We appreciate the information that you posted.”

FROM Ryan Hulett:

” I was reading your sub article about wanting readers opinions on shows and it got me thinking about one person who does not have his own show currently, but holds his own in an industry that thrives on viewer reviews and the who’s who has to be on TV. Not sure if you’re familiar with Randy Oitker, but he is a class act and his resume speaks for itself. 

“Check out randyoitker.com and also youtube.com and search his name. You are going to find one of the best kept secrets of the hunting industry.  I could go into detail on what Randy does and what he has accomplished but I will let his resume speak for itself. Not only does Randy travel the globe (he was in London in April setting and breaking his own Guinness book records) but he is a home-grown product right here near Plainville, Illinois. Thanks for all of the good stuff you put out on PSO and keep em coming.”

FROM Bill Stephens of Industry:

“I really enjoy the venue of Prairie State Outdoors. Sometimes I see a parallel in the comments, feedback section to the (Controversial?) Tred Barta TV program. I have not seen one of his programs for awhile, that has been by chance not choice. Tred’s format is somewhat bordering on being ‘Out there.’

“When I first started watching his programs I was somewhat turned off by his arrogance and eccentricity. The more I watched and watch him fail on some of his attempts I then started to appreciate that I felt he is the ‘real deal.’ He seems to be his own worst critic at times. The episode where he was trying to kill a coyote with his bow was enjoyable. That was something I could relate to. I have taken a couple of coyotes with my bow and it was as exciting as taking a deer with a bow. Fred concluded that program with no coyotes killed. On his next program that I was watching, he is hammering Yellow Fin Tuna. I have concluded all my off shore trips with no Tuna on board. He wins, he can eat the Tuna, I am sure I would not be filleting out the coyotes. I can hardly stand their smell when skinning them.

“I have been very fortunate to be able to meet and talk with many of the TV outdoor celebrities over the last eighteen years at different sporting shows. Watching their show after meeting them kind of makes me feel as if I am with them on their adventure. Most are very easy to talk to; a couple of them however were complete jerks. Sometimes I have to force myself to remember the only reason that the TV show you are watching is on the air is to ‘Sell you something!’

“The TV programs costs lots of money to air, which is why there is so much STUFF out there to buy. Sunday evening when we were leaving for the deer blinds I grabbed my pack. It weighs almost 12 pounds with STUFF in it. When I returned back to the truck that evening, I had not even opened the pack to see what Stuff had taken the hike with me.

“I believe there is an outdoor show for about any interest There is one show that I simply cannot stand but I have the ability to change channels and wait until ‘The guitar player gets off his buffalo’ to return to the ‘toned-down’ outdoor programming.”

Dan Baldock is an account manager for Lone Wolf Treestands who killed a nice 10-point Peoria County buck on Nov. 14. Baldock and his buck are pictured above.

But with a trail-cam he also got a picture of himself in his Lone Wolf Assault stand just seconds before he shot the buck. “If you look in the upper right corner you can see me standing in the tree with my bow still on the hanger,” Baldock noted.

Sure enough, blow up the picture (second picture below) and there he is.

Baldock went on to explain that, “I’m left handed so all I had to do was pick up my bow, draw and shoot (maybe 10 seconds total). He was 20 yards when I shot. He is a 10-pointer but he is missing his one brow tine.”

Pretty cool memento of a nice buck.

Every time I hear about a story like Sunday’s it makes me smile. Daughters are increasingly getting out in the field with Dad, and that’s great. But the fact is, fathers and sons remain more central to the deer hunting experience.

Last night during a planning meeting for our Elmwood AllOutdoors Show, all three of the other male committee members (Larry Dozard, Russ Nash and David Vaughan) told stories about hunting deer with their fathers. I hear similar stories all the time.

While I never got that chance growing up in Buffalo, N.Y. (through no fault of my father, we just didn’t hunt), I do look forward to the day when my boys will be able to join me as active participants in a deer hunt. Right now they are too young. They are tag-alongs. And that’s fine. But being more than a tag-along will be a neat experience. Bittersweet, somewhat, since it will mean they are growing up. Yett something I’m really looking forward to.

That said, it will be tough at first to accommodate both Henry and Victor, since they are so close in age. But it’s obviously possible. For proof, here are some pictures from the October youth season of brothers who shot deer while hunting with their father.

The first set is of Chase, 9, and Chance Hunziker, 8, who both shot does while hunting with father Chad (whose Hunziker’s Deer Scent I have been using all season and plan to use during firearm season). Chad has done a good job getting his boys outside for years now and can look forward to many years of hunting together.

Both kills came out of the same stand, Chase (first picture below) on the Saturday of the youth season and Chance on the Sunday.

The next set is of brothers Jake and Matt Osmulski of Elmwood, who both got bucks during the youth season while hunting with their father, Scott Osmulski in Carroll County. Jake (first picture below) shot a 6-pointer and Matt shot a 7-pointer. The only downside for dad is that the boys already filled the freezer. That meant he has not been eager to shoot any does during bow season.

And here’s a picture of Josh Cook, who shot this 6-pointer while hunting with his father Thad on the Sunday of youth season. Writes Thad, “You can tell by the
expression on his face he was pumped! Check out the smile on his face! We had a great time and I think (know) he is hooked for life.”

The first picture was taken just seconds after the shot while Thad and Josh were still in the stand. That’s a happy kid.

Seeing these pictures illustrates to me one more reason why I love hunting. People who don’t hunt don’t understand the bonds it builds with your friends and family members. In this increasingly hectic world it’s a chance to slow down some, spend time together and build memories.

Anyway, here’s to the fathers and sons who will be share time in the timber this weekend. May you all have a safe, successful and memorable hunt.

After a slow day of bowhunting, Adam Stockman (above) didn’t expect much while returning to his truck last Monday. Then he heard a “rooting noise” from a lake on the family farm 3 miles southwest of Ipava.

“I figured it was a raccoon or a possum. Next thing I saw was a wild hog swimming across our lake,” Stockman said. “He got out of the lake and shook himself like a dog.”

Though rattled, Stockman recovered fast enough to down the hog with a rifle shot. Feral hogs have been reported across Illinois, with local sightings around Bernadotte and Ellisville along the Spoon River. Incidentally, feral hogs are fair game year round provided a hunter has permission from the landowner in question.

99

Illinois counties open to firearm deer hunting Friday through next Sunday.

Carp killing ahead

The state plans to poison fish in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal from Dec. 3-7 while work is done on one of two electric barriers. Rotenone will be applied to keep Asian carp from moving into Lake Michigan. The poison should not move past the application area into the Illinois River. The canal will be closed from Dec. 2 until treatment is done.

Did you know?

In 2007, deer hunters in Moultrie County topped Illinois by filling 63.3 percent of all firearm tags issued. Next best was Jefferson County (58.8 percent) followed by Wayne (58), Marion (57.9) and Richland (56.8).

Turkey tally up

While fewer hunters are shooting wild turkeys with shotguns in the fall, more archers are taking the big birds. Through last Sunday Illinois archers had shot 556 turkeys, up 22.9 percent from the four-year average.

Recent totals are 457 (2008), 476 (2007), 446 (2006) and 431 (2005). Top counties are Pike 22, JoDaviess 20, Jefferson 19, Fulton 16 and Knox 15. Also, residents can apply online (dnr.state.il.us/license.html) through Dec. 1 for the first lottery of spring hunting permits.

IHSA bass update

A total of 226 schools signed up for high school bass fishing this spring, up from 199 last year. Area entries are: Richwoods, Woodruff, Peoria Christian, Astoria, Limestone, Beardstown, Canton, IVC, Cuba, Dunlap, East Peoria, Elmwood, Eureka, Farmington, Galva, Illini Bluffs, Knoxville, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Bureau Valley, Illini Central, Metamora, Fieldcrest, Morton, Pekin, Roanoke-Benson, West Prairie, Tremont, Midland, Lowpoint-Washburn and Washington.

You speak

“I enjoy Tred Barta. He is not only ‘old school’ but he likes to have fun at the same time. We watch Relentless Pursuit also and enjoy it. The Drury Brothers, Lee and Tiffany and Stan Potts are all good. We started watching a new one (Heartland Bow Hunter) and like their program too.”
— Phil Zobrist, Morton

Submit a comment on outdoor TV shows by Nov. 30 to enter a drawing for Lone Wolf climbing sticks.

Oops corner

Several readers noted that last week’s Outdoor Image incorrectly listed Don Dieke’s fish as a sea trout. Dieke actually caught a redfish and was not using fly fishing gear.

This ‘n that

Central Zone Canada goose season closes at sunset today and reopens Nov. 29. ... Dove season closes at sunset today.

And early on tonight, I saw a few does in the distance. I figured, here we go. Deer will be all over.

Wrong. I never saw another deer and really saw very few squirrels moving. Go figure.

The only good news tonight is that I’m back in a spot that had been closed down to me as of Nov. 8 due to the arrival of a guy from Alabama. He is gone. Without a buck. Which means the 10-pointer I had a close encounter with should still be wandering around the timber. Sure hope we cross paths this week.

FROM Joe Oyer of Morton

“I just want to congratulate Moraine State Park on their limits of horsepower of outboard motors. It is 10 hp or larger motors are held to no wake speed. This is on a small lake of 158 acres. Doing this would bring a lot more people being able to fish a nice small lake. My fishing partner is from Clinton. He had heard about Davis Lake. We had a very good day (recently) with a 60 hp motor.”

FROM Doug Franks of Peoria.

“On my way to the Brimfield Railroad Prairie Preserve (recently), I noticed a car parked at the entrance to the wet bottom prairie near Savage Road where we collected seed recently and I saw a person walk out into the prairie carrying a bag. Someone collecting seed, I thought. Well, it is a state park and there’s nothing illegal about collecting seed there (as far as I know). However, I was curious, so I turned back, parked alongside, and walked along the horse trail towards a woman now carrying a couple of bags. I reasoned that she might not have heard of the Prairie Dawgs and who knows, might be interested in becoming one (long shots are my specialty). I introduced myself and asked whether she was collecting seed.

“At this point I realized she was not, as her poly bags contained small brightly colored packages. She explained that she taught a class in Forensic Science and that she was hiding body parts to test the knowledge and skill of her class in finding them. I did not ask what kind of body parts, or the species from which they came. A different kind of geo-caching to be sure!
Don’t be perturbed if you kick up unfound body parts next time we work in this prairie.”

FROM Walt Winget of Peoria.

“I enjoyed your article on Jared Allen and Tim Wells. I understand that Tim has shot a number of very large deer with a bow and is very skillful. Having said that, I also agree with your comments about high fence big game animal ‘shooting’; it is not hunting. I am sure Tim has killed many more elk than I and his Alberta elk is truly impressive. But I have killed six elk and I well remember how truly tough the hunting was. Unless you are on one of the very expensive private but free range elk ranches such as Vermejo Park, [I was not], you can hunt for ten days and get only one shot, and if you are truly trophy hunting, not infrequently, no shot at all, even with a gun. It is the fact that the animal can go anywhere he wishes and can put miles between you and him if your stalk is not skillful that makes elk hunting the great sport that it is. “

One morning ago the sky was dark, the wind was whistling, rain was coming and geese were moving everywhere.

Not so today. Even so, the morning started in a picked Peoria County corn field (not far from The Shoppes at Grand Prairie) that has been luring big bunches of geese for days. Nate Herman, half the Herman Brothers Pond Management dynamic duo, invited me, Mike Steffa and Drew Homan for a morning hunt that was as sure as a sure thing comes.

With heavy frost and a decent northeast wind, we figured the scene was set as we crouched in some standing corn and waited. The camo was great, as you can tell by checking out Nate and Justin Herman (above) and Nate’s father-in-law Lee.

The cornfield was so good at concealing us that Justin cracked out his computer and started surfing the net. I was instantly jealous and started thinking about all the big buck stories people were no doubt submitting. That sobering thought made me glad I was not in front of a computer and was sitting in a corn field.

But the geese would have none of it. We had one flock of cacklers circle us a few times and probably could have taken a crack on one pass overhead. But they had been finishing for days in the field with no hunters around. Why would today be any different?

Why indeed. That was our only chance at geese. Nate and I shot at a passing crow with no luck. At least breakfast was very good.

To cap off the day of wild goose chases, I took middle son Victor out for an evening hunt. He threw rocks at decoys, went in and out through the dog ramp and shot his BB gun at frogs (no, he did not kill any, he’s a Lampe). Later he came and sat on my lap and told me about his day of school.

He had a ball and so did I. That was without any geese, though we did see a covey of quail fly across the lake as the sun set. Once again I was hunting the wrong species at the wrong time. But you know what, it was still wonderful to be outside.

Here’s to all the veterans who made it possible for all of us to enjoy the wonderful outdoors in this country.

Categories listed show the change in tax revenue followed by the change in the unemployment rate from 2008 to 2009, the most recent figures available. The Pew Center also includes a grade from its Government Performance Project on how well each state manages its money. A national figure is included:

State Tax revenue Unemployment rate Money management
change 2008-2009 change 2008-2009 grade
California -16.2 percent +4.6 percentage points D+
Arizona -16.5 percent +3.0 percentage points C+
Rhode Island -12.5 percent +4.5 percentage points D+
Michigan -16.5 percent +6.0 percentage points C+
Oregon -19.0 percent +6.4 percentage points C+
Nevada +1.5 percent +5.2 percentage points C+
Florida -11.5 percent +4.4 percentage points B-
New Jersey -15.8 percent +3.7 percentage points C-
Illinois -10.9 percent +3.5 percentage points C-
Wisconsin -11.2 percent +4.4 percentage points C+

U.S. -11.7 percent +4.4 percent B-

He spent years heading the fisheries department and then was in charge of the Office of Resource Conservation. He was never short on opinions.

Here’s his take on the DNR’s recent license fee increases.

“Just read your article on fee increases posted last evening on Prairie State Outdoors. You scored an absolutely direct hit. I agree with everything you pointed out. Back late last winter I was finally called down to the DNR’s front office for a meeting to discuss the proposed fees (first time I had seen the proposal or been ask to comment on it. Director Miller was not present at this meeting), I stated that I would like to go over the proposal in detail, then discuss the pros and cons. I was abruptly told that ‘We don’t have time for the facts.’ 

“I stated in writing at that time that any proposal to raise hunting and fishing license fees should be accompanied by a detailed description of exactly what we would do with the money generated. This should then be distributed widely to get feedback from our constituents. Once we had their support, we should go forward with a proposal. I also stated that any Park Entrance Fee proposal should exempt those who have a current hunting or fishing license. In addition, I cautioned that the amount of the increases should be carefully considered as we might find ourselves in the position of raising fees only to take in less revenue (the initial internal proposal was to raise both hunting and fishing license fees by $5 each), as the number of hunters and anglers has dropped significantly, nationwide, over the past 12 years.
“The proposal for hunting and fishing license fee increases was later changed to increase the hunting license fee by $5 and fishing by $2.  The rationale was that hunting licenses hadn’t been raised since the early 1980’s while the fishing license had been increased in 1994. True, but in reality, not true. About the time the fishing license was raised $5 in 1994, purchase of a $5 Habitat Stamp to hunt became a requirement. I submit that that was an increase in the hunting license fee!!! 

“My point is that both licenses should be increased the same amount, whatever amount our anglers and hunters determine they will support. That support will only come from being provided detailed specifics of what exactly it is that they will be getting for their money. Generalities like “the fishing license fees will go for support of the fisheries management program” don’t get it. Statements like that cover a multitude of possible sins and one has absolutely no idea where the dollars will be spent. Huge amounts of the Wildlife and Fish Fund have been diverted away from the Divisions of Wildlife, Fisheries, Law Enforcement, and Lands because of the General Revenue shortfalls in the rest of the DNR. 

“While I understand the rationale for some of the redirection (so long as they were legal under both state and federal law), it grew like topsy to the point where it began to undermine the core mission of the Department to conserve and manage our precious aquatic and wildlife resources and their habitats. Continuing to spend money on a “fat executive staff”  should have no place in current spending priorities, let alone be allowed to continue while proposing to raise license fees.
“I believe that Director Miller’s heart is in the right place, but it will take strong constituent pressure to get the Governor’s Office to allow him to pursue the actions that so desperately need doing.”

Not the rain, mind you. People who don’t duck hunt are always saying on rainy days how “This is good weather for a duck hunter.” Wrong. But the clouds and wind today seemed to help. The wind was really the key. Fairly strong and out of the northeast. Not ideal for our blind but good enough to keep birds moving.

We managed to shoot four ducks and a Canada goose (all capably retrieved by O’Neill’s veteran Lab Hope, who is pictured above). We should have had more.

But at least we saw ducks. Lots of ducks actually. They flew all morning until about 10 a.m. when the rain was not falling. Up and down the river. Not many worked our spot, which was Blind 24 in the Bottoms (which is run as a sub-site of the larger Spring Lake complex). But enough did that we enjoyed a good hunt. That’s been rare for many Illinois River duck hunters this season.

The high river levels have kept birds scattered and made hunting tough for most. And there’s no sign the river is going to drop real quickly, which would help matters. I’ll have a full report on the season so far this Thursday. I’m glad at least part of the report will be upbeat, since a day in the blind with good guys and a good dog should never be made out to be too much like work.

And the Bottoms are one of my favorite spots along the river. There are only four blinds and you have to draw a permit through the state to have a real chance at hunting (although two blinds did go to stand-by hunters today). The blinds are far apart in a near, marshy setting. There are usually plenty of teal and some mallards. The only key is to hunt this spot early, since it is very susceptible to early freezes.

I was lucky enough to draw a permit for today after several years of missing out. I had circled this date as a great chance to really shoot the gun, since we’ve had some 19-duck days in the Bottoms before. We didn’t hit that level, but it was still my best shoot so far this year.

Stan Weimer and his crew do a great job building blinds and maintaining the site. And I’m not just saying that because we came out of the hat first, ahead of the only other permit holder, Rusty Kaufman and son Caleb. The 6-by-12 blinds are big enough but low enough that you can shoot over the back, which is a must in this marshy setting.

One flock of ringnecks proved that today, buzzing in front, then circling the blind and passing right over my side of the box. We only managed one bird out of that bunch, but I’ll be replaying that scene tonight when I finally get done sorting through big buck pictures.

Cardinals. Sparrows. Goldfinches. Flickers. Woodpeckers. All at very close range. All completely unconcerned about me inside my little tree-surrounded ground blind.

And finally quail. Yep, a covey of about 15 quail surrounded me at one point last night and I swear they were pecking bugs off the outside of the ground blind. First time I’ve ever been that close to quail for that long without shooting. Kind of neat, really. I had seen the little suckers running through the standing corn nearby as I walked out last night and it wasn’t long before they moved into the grass of the ditch in which I was sitting.

I also had a close encounter with a mouse and heard lots of other critters snuffling through the grassy ditch.

The deer I had been hoping to encounter were not so cooperative. I did see a doe early Monday morning but passed on her while waiting for the buck I was sure to follow. Of course, he never materialized. Unfortunately, that was the only deer I saw in about 7 hours of hunting.

During one break in the morning I drove to my goose blind nearby only to scare two honkers away from the front of the blind.

Between the quail and the geese, I think they are trying to send me a message: Give up on deer hunting and pick up a shotgun.

Not yet. But I may give up on the ground blind hunting. For me it’s just not nearly as enjoyable as sitting in a tree stand and being able to see all around. That’s a part of the experience sadly limited when your only window on the world are a few small holes in dark blind.

Time will tell whether the deer shot by Michael Gregoire of Sheboygan Falls, Wis. is indeed the 217 5/8-incher that is being reported. Incidentally, that’s gross score and green. Click here to read more about the buck in the Sheboygan Press. There’s also a pretty lively debate on Scott Bestul’s blog. Click here to read that one.

I am no measurer, that’s for sure. But I will be surprised if this one tops Milo Hanson’s 213 5/8 inch Saskatchewan buck, pictured below.

Here’s an Associated Press story on Gregoire’s buck.

Wis. man shots big buck that could set records

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - A Wisconsin man says he has his fingers crossed and he’s saying his prayers as he waits to find out if the buck he shot last week is a world record.

Michael Gregoire of Sheboygan Falls took the deer with a bow and arrow Thursday on his brother’s farm just west of Sheboygan Falls.

The 12-point buck weighed 240 pounds and the rack has been unofficially scored at 217 5/8 inches. A 60-day drying period must first pass before an official score is granted.

The Boone and Crocket Club Web site says the world record for a typical whitetail rack is 213 5/8 inches, shot with a rifle in Canada in 1993. The state record is 206 1/8 inches.

Now, all Gregoire can do is wait for the day drying period to elapse and for three licensed, random scorers to render their verdict.

Here’s a shot of his buddy Frank Baxter of Chillicothe with a nice Peoria County 10-pointer shot on Nov. 1.

It’s always nice when Frank gets a buck before Flathead. Kind of puts the pressure square on the shoulders of camera-toting Flathead. It will be interesting to see which 10-pointer he comes up with this year. Or will it be the big double-beamed monster? Hmm. Time will tell.

The latest little miscreant to show up was the cutey pictured above. The boys call him Squeaky. He actually is a cute little stray. He showed up Saturday and tried to get run over a few times on Main St. (also Illinois 78, a busy street in front of our house) before we lured him into the yard. I just can’t bear to see a dog hit by a car. I’ve been through it before as a kid and I will never forget the moment that dog died in my arms. I can still see his eyes glassing over.

Anyway, so far nobody in town is claiming Squeaky. That’s not good news for me, since the attachments are growing stronger every day. But I’m not willing to feed another dog unless it’s a black Labrador female named Buck. OK, we might not name her Buck. But that’s what I will call her. She will be on the scene next year if all goes as planned.

So, if anybody wants to step up and claim Squeaky, have at it. I think he’s a miniature doberman. He’s got a docked tail, he’s not neutered and he’s good with our kids. He’s a bit spooky at first, but has taken to climbing into people’s laps of late. He licks Boo Boo in the face, too. That’s probably bad parenting, but life is what it is. Hawk enjoys his company and they have been running the yard with reckless abandon. The cat has whupped him twice, which is good, since he’s not coming in the house.

E-mail me at jlampe@pjstar.com if you have any interest in this pup. He has only a few days left here.

Wild turkeys shot in Knox County during the fall firearm turkey season — tops among counties in the Peoria Journal Star circulation area.

Deer update

The whitetail deer rut is going strong in Illinois and bowhunters are taking more bucks than does of late. From Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, hunters shot 52.3 percent bucks.

Actually, buck hunting has been good all fall, as evidenced by the Woodford County 11-pointer Joe Edwards of East Peoria (above) shot on Oct. 17.

Overall, archery harvest slipped off its earlier record pace. Through Nov. 1, bowhunters shot 27,676 deer. That’s off 2005 (29,330) and 2006 (27,949) but is ahead of last year’s 24,737. Top five counties so far are: 1. Pike 1,440; 2. Fulton 753; 3. Jefferson 677; 4. Peoria 637; and 5. LaSalle 596.

Did you know?

For every 100 bobwhite quail alive at the end of breeding season, 75 to 80 will die in the next 12 months.

Fee increases

Hunters and anglers will likely have to pay more for the privilege next year. During last week’s veto session, the Illinois Legislature passed fee increases outlined in Senate Bill 1846 that could raise $3.5 million for the Department of Natural Resources.

Pending an expected signature from Gov. Pat Quinn, resident hunting licenses will increase by $5 to $12 and resident fishing licenses will increase by $2 to $14.50.

Deer permits would also increase from $15 to $25 and the Illinois waterfowl stamp goes from $10 to $15.

Calendars for sale

Larry Dozard is selling his popular 2010 Best Times Fishing Calendar for $10.50 including tax and postage. These great Christmas gifts include top times and dates for fishing, tips, coupons and a sample lure. Visit larrysfishinghole.com or send a check to: Larry’s Fishing Hole; P.O. Box 2602; East Peoria, IL 61611.

Turkey harvest down

Fall turkey hunting continues to lose popularity in Illinois. The nine-day shotgun season ended Nov. 1 and hunters took 756 turkeys — down from last year’s 878 and from the 1,161 in 2007, 1,189 in 2006, 1,201 in 2005 and the record of 1,715 in 2000. Participation is also down in the 45 counties open to hunting. The state issued 9,180 permits (including landowner tags), down from the peak of 11,509 in 2003.

Spring turkey permits

Speaking of turkey hunting, hunters can apply for spring permits. Paper applications will not be mailed this year. Residents can apply for the first lottery at dnr.state.il.us/license.html through Dec. 1.

Ranges open

Some Illinois State Police firing ranges are open Saturday for hunters to sight-in shotguns. Ranges in Joliet, Pontiac, Pawnee, Effingham, Pecatonica and LaSalle are available to the public from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Participants must have a valid firearm owner ID card. Reservations are required. For Pontiac call (815) 844-1500, for LaSalle call (815) 224-1171, Ext. 117.

This ‘n that

This year’s flock of 20 whooping cranes following an ultralight aircraft reached Winnebago County on Thursday. Weather permitting, the next stops are in LaSalle and Livingston counties.
... Due to staff shortages, Marseilles State Fish and Wildlife Area will close at noon on some days in the next three months and late-winter firearm deer hunting will not be offered. Call (815) 795-4509.

In other words, I don’t think he was serious about this point (which eventually yielded nothing but did come in an area where I have seen pheasant roosts in the past).

Sadly, Hawk’s approach to the upland opener mirrors that of most. Actually, he was much more intense than most. Few care about upland game in Illinois anymore. Hunter numbers drop every year, dramatically. And for the first time in a long time, I almost joined the majority and sat out an upland opener.

But even with warm weather, too many crops in the field and too few places to hunt, I still feel a compulsion to get out and stroll with the dog. Certainly he feels it. So if nothing else, today was a good chance to get Hawk some exercise and to remind him why we feed him all year.

And we did shoot one dove, early, after spending half an hour in the goose blind to start the morning.

But as far as quail or pheasants, I saw nothing. Not even a roost. Oh, I know the quail are out there. As more crops come out, we’ll find them. But I’ve got to be honest: It’s becoming more rewarding for me to go deer or duck hunting right now. My heart isn’t in Illinois upland hunting.

I hope that will change with the next 30-degree day or the first snowfall. But for now, my upland hunting motivation is at an all-time low.

Similar hunts are held in South Dakota (pheasants) and Kansas (pheasants). Makes me wonder if something like that would help in Illinois?

The real question, I guess, is would we have a governor willing to hunt. I think Pat Quinn would be willing, but he may not get another opportunity after this fall.

The way I see it, a Governor’s Hunt could raise money for the DNR.

Just a thought. The Minnesota event is sponsored by the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association in cooperation with Explore Minnesota, the DNR and the community of Thief River Falls.

That gets me to thinking about another thing: Why isn’t there an Illinois Deer Hunters Association? Hmmm…

‘You hit a what?’ SUV nearly slams into elephant

BY SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - It’s not unusual to see a deer or a cow crossing Oklahoma’s rural highways. But an elephant?

A couple driving home from church nearly slammed into a giant pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday.

“Didn’t have time to hit the brakes. The elephant blended in with the road,” driver Bill Carpenter said Thursday. “At the very last second I said ‘elephant!’”

Carpenter, 68, said he swerved his SUV at the last second and ended up sideswiping the 29-year-old female elephant on U.S. 81 in Enid, about 80 miles north of Oklahoma City.

“So help me Hanna, had I hit that elephant, not swerved, it would have knocked it off its legs, and it would have landed right on top of us,” he said. “We’d have been history.”

The couple, who own a wheat farm, weren’t injured. But the 8-foot, 4,500-pound elephant was being examined Thursday for a broken tusk and a leg wound. A local veterinarian said it appeared to h ave escaped major injury.

“I thought this can’t be happening. Out here you could hit a deer or a cow, but this can’t be happening. The good Lord was with us,” Carpenter said. The elephant’s tusk punched through the side of the SUV, tearing up sheet metal.

After sideswiping the elephant, his wife, Deena, flagged some people down and used their cell phone to call police.

“The dispatcher didn’t believe her: ‘You hit a what?’” he said. “I told my wife, I don’t know whether to cry or laugh.”

Enid veterinarian Dr. Dwight Olson said the elephant was hiding in some bushes just off the highway when he arrived shortly after the accident. Handlers from the circus were able to calm it down, and Olson cleaned the leg wound and gave it some pain killer.

The elephant was taken Thursday to the veterinary school at Oklahoma State University for a follow-up exam.

“I don’t believe there’s a broken bone, but I don’t have an X-ray room big enough to examine it ,” Olson said.

The elephant had escaped from the Family Fun Circus at the Garfield County Fairgrounds earlier Wednesday after something spooked it while it was being loaded into a truck with another elephant, Olson said.

David Sacks, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said late Thursday the elephant is owned by the same license holder of two elephants that escaped after getting spooked by a tornado in WaKeeney, Kan., last year. The license holder is Doug Terranova, Sacks said.

A booking agent for the circus, Rachael Bellman, said she was unaware of the incident, and a telephone message left with circus officials wasn’t immediately returned.

Carpenter joked about being involved in such a bizarre accident on what is usually a peaceful church night.

“I don’t know what was in the wine, but it must have been pretty strong,” he said.

FROM Alan Gretz of Peoria:

“Regarding your column today about natural resources funding in Illinois, I do appreciate your willingness to publicize the need to find better ways to fund our natural resources. We’re in a tight spot, that’s for sure. But one of the options being floated around—an admission fee to our state parks—would be a tragically short-sighted reversal of more than a century of public policy when it comes to access to our public lands.

Realize that state parks and national forests weren’t set aside for the benefit of only those who could afford to buy access. Our parks were created not only to protect the resources but SPECIFICALLY for the benefit of the masses, for people of all classes and all economic means. Please review the original debates of the era, the impassioned speeches delivered in Congress and elsewhere, as America worked to set aside millions of acres for our generations. The speeches are inspiring—U.S. senators, for example, refusing to sign on to the establishment of National Forests unless free access was guaranteed for all.

As America’s wild lands began to disappear and slip into private ownership, conservationists and political leaders alike made a beautiful decision by acquiring and setting aside the wild places for
the benefit of our generation. Today we hunt, hike and fish on public lands that exist only because of these efforts. And while many of us can easily afford to pay a few dollars to buy a fishing license or buy a waterfowl stamp, there are thousands of people out there with little means to buy their way into a state park to hike alone in the woods. Thus, admission fees would instantly prevent the disadvantaged classes from having that free access originally demanded by those who fought to create these public lands.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a kid on a bike, exploring the “wilderness” of the local park. Or a 20-year-old with barely enough gas money to visit Garden of the Gods or Starved Rock. The exclusionary effect of admission fees—regardless of the several examples now creeping into other states—does more harm than good, and here’s why: When we begin to exclude our young people from nature, at a time when young people are more disconnected than ever from nature, we accelerate the trend toward fewer young hunters and fishermen, and fewer outdoors-educated young adults.

Ultimately, support for our wild places, including the revenues to support those places, will disappear. Walking through a public forest or sitting on a log by a wetland where clouds of ducks are passing overhead is not a privilege meant for only those with good jobs and a steady paycheck. Our public parks and forests were created for everybody, the wealthy and the penniless alike, for the protection of nature and for the benefit of all generations who will have, if nothing else, a place to call their own.

Please rethink your position on fees for public access. You will be in good company, with history on your side.”

No longer, of course. I joined the ranks of the archery world this season thinking I would go out a few times in October and then hang up the bow. Well, that didn’t work too well. Problem is, I enjoyed it too much. It’s fun to be out there when it isn’t freezing, when you can just sit and admire the forest and enjoy the scenery without shivering. And it’s a huge challenge, obviously.

But it’s also a big problem for a guy who also loves to hunt ducks and geese and soon will start chasing pheasants and quail. The other day while in the stand, with geese flying in range of a shotgun, I actually started pondering hunting honkers out of a tree stand. Is it legal? I’m not sure but the thought has some merit, I think.

Because basically there’s not enough time to do everything. Even taking vacation days hasn’t freed up enough time.

Even so, I’m trying to do it all. It feels like I haven’t slept in days. Today I started at the Banner Marsh drawing, then spent some time at a goose pit near Canton and wound up in a Knox County tree stand. While I didn’t fire a shot all day, it was still a great day to be out. I watched several thousand geese pile into a field just past where we were and then watched a nice 8-pointer sniff his way along the ridge opposite me this evening, well out of bow range but cool to watch even so.

Long-term how I am going to fit bowhunting into my schedule is beyond me. My dog Hawk is already mad at me and will become furious if he doesn’t take top billing after Saturday’s upland opener. But he doesn’t do water retrieves, so he can’t be relied on in the new duck blind (which calls to me like a woman every morning and night, particularly when I hear geese honking). And then there’s this darned bowhunting. My desire to hunt is so strong right now that I feel like I’m in the whitetail rut.

I can’t wait to retire. Until then, here are 10 bowhunting lessons I’ve learned the hard way already in my 10 outings.

• 1. Arrows don’t do well when fired through a thicket of saplings. I tried this the other day when a doe got real close, but wound up missing her low (not looking through the peep sight didn’t help any, either). Heading home that night, I told myself, “I’ve got to cut a shooting lane through those saplings.” Which leads to Lesson No. 2.
• 2. Cut shooting lanes before the season. Or at least cut them when it becomes obvious they are needed. Tuesday morning at about 9:40 a.m. I had a shooter 10-pointer walk behind those same saplings the doe had passed behind one day earlier. He was wider than his ears, fairly tall and had good mass. Would have been a great first buck to shoot at with a bow. Problem is, I had not cut a shooting lane. So I could only watch as the buck sniffed, strolled and then walked off into the ravine below me.
• 3. Get the mud out of your boots before climbing up the stand. Or at least get as much out as possible. While it was plenty windy tonight so the mud didn’t matter, on calm days that stuff falls out every time I move, making quite a racket below.
• 4. Leave the rattling antlers at home. I’ve got too much stuff along as it is. Those things just clink and clank too much.
• 5. Get a bigger tree stand. I love the silence of my Lone Wolf Alpha Assault stand, but a big guy like me needs a bigger platform. Not to mention a bigger seat.
• 6. The Hunter Safety Systems safety harness is great. I feel so much more comfortable in the tree than I ever expected. That thing is slick. It goes on easy and fast. And no, they are not PSO sponsors. They just have a great product.
• 7. Speaking of great products, I’ve been using Hunziker’s Deer Scents with great success. Yes, they are sponsors. And everybody I talk to swears they’ve got good stuff. But because I am cheap, I didn’t like paying $10.99 for a bottle of Hot Doe Urine. I did like watching the shooter 10-pointer sniffing around near where I had put the stuff on the ground. That led to one other lesson, though.
• 8. Put doe scent where you want the buck to wind up, not behind a bunch of saplings where you can’t take a shot.
• 9. Scout better next year and hang more stands. I keep watching deer (and bucks, four in the last four outings) crossing along a field edge across a ravine from where I sit. I know the time has come to make a move and get over there, but there’s not really any good trees in which to hang a stand. Do I hunt from the ground? Not sure. I do know now is not the time to be wandering around looking for someplace to hang a stand.
• 10. My plan is to only shoot at does in the mornings during the rut. That way I can concentrate on bucks and not worry about losing focus by tracking a doe in the dark. I want to save that wild ride for a buck.

Overall, bowhunting has far exceeded my expectations. I came into this hoping to spend some nice days in the woods and to see some bucks showing rut behavior. Based on that alone, my season is already a huge success. I’ve heard bucks fighting, seen bucks trailing and chasing and even seen a (relatively) big boy up close. Plus I’ve enjoyed every outing, even tonight when the wind was whistling from the northwest and I was glad to have a warm hood.

Even so, I guess I will revise my expectations. Now I want to kill a deer.

At least that’s been true in my hunting career. So that’s what I told seventh-grader Andrew Jordan of Elmwood (pictured below) Sunday night when we spent an evening hunting with his 1 1/2-year-old Lab Sophie. Unfortunately, he and his pup came on the wrong night. We never saw a bird close Sunday. Not even many tweety birds. But the dog was well-behaved on her first hunting trip and she showed no sign of being gun shy (we shot a few times just to check).

I would have liked to see if Sophie will retrieve, but that wasn’t in the cards. But since that was my second goose hunting trip, I had high hopes for this morning. True to form, The Farmer and I wound up bagging two big honkers. A group of five came in long past the decoys and we managed to scratch down two. One of the birds had a well-worn band, my first in several years. Actually, there’s no guarantee who shot the bird. Had Andrew been along, I would have given it to him. But The Farmer? Nah.

Even so, it was fun to see his dog Indy work on the water. And fun to see one of my many theories actually be proven correct.

1. Jim Wetherington (above) cooked an awesome breakfast, which was greedily inhaled by myself, Dave Finney (below) and Dave Asbell.
2. We repeatedly saw a large covey of fat quail.
3. We watched a nice buck running a doe all over a bean field.
4. We told many good stories.

But when that’s all you have to show for a promising day of duck hunting, you know all is not well in the waterfowl world. For the record, we never fired a shot at a duck or goose. That’s not right. Not on the second day of the Central Zone season, in a private blind that has not yet been hunted, within shouting distance of the usually very productive Spring Lake Bottoms Unit.

What gives?

“I think the ducks are just scattered all over,” Asbell hypothesized, a thought that was backed up by Spring Lake site manager Stan Weimer.

While Spring Lake shot a very respectable 118 ducks and seven geese on opening day for 64 hunters (best since 1996), Weimer saw many more ducks in the evening all over the river. “There were ducks everywhere, flying north, flying south, flying east and west,” he said.

Recent flooding has given ducks plenty of places in which to scatter and they are obviously taking full advantage. Shoot them hard one day and you might not see them again, as Nate Herman proved. Hunting the same field in which his crew had shot 23 mallards on opening day, Herman did not see any ducks to speak off Sunday morning.

I guess that leaves us duck hunters right there with farmers hoping for dry weather and for the water to recede. Maybe then the ducks will concentrate back into our hunting spots.

Until then, I hope the breakfasts are as good as today’s and the bucks keep running does.