Is it difficult to get drawn in IL?

[stringtown]

I'm trying to start planning a hunt for next spring. Need to knock Iowa and IL out and wouldn't mind doing it in combination. Seems like Iowa is pretty straight forward and good chance to be drawn. How is IL for a NR?

[renegade19]

http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Illinois DNR website.  I'm a resident so I can't say from experience, but it looks pretty tough to me.  I'd suggest 5th season as your best bet.  Somewhere on that site is a page that shows how many permits are left for each county and what season.  That would be my try.  Lots of public land birds in some counties if you're mobile enough to get to them.  Good Luck.

[hotrod3h]

I'm no expert but depends on what county your putting in for and what county. I can tell you that you've already missed the deadline for second season. Season 3 deadline is approaching fast. All this information is the southern zone. I know a little cause trying for a 2nd & 3rd season permit and maybe a 3rd in random daily draws. Now I'm applying for an area that doesn't get a lot of applications I believe. I imagine something like Pike county may be tougher. Anyway good luck and you better definitely start looking at dnr site for deadline on application dates. Iowa a little easier due to the outrageous price of non resident tags. Their turkeys are huge but over priced for licensing in my opinion.

[hobbes]

IL drawings have nothing to do with which season you apply for.  1ST DRAWING Iis res only, 2ND DRAWING is NR and any res w/o a tag from 1st,  3RD is for anyone and allows a second tag,  4th is first come first serve; so you can draw up to 3 tags.  You can apply for any season in each of the drawings.   However,  residents suck up most of the first and secon season during the first drawings.   They usually put out a list of remaining tags per county per season after each drawing.   Some counties will have lots of tags left some wont.  I couldn't find the list this year. 

The county I like usually had enough third seadon tags for me to draw in the 2nd drawing as a NR.  I didnt apply ( so far) this year but may in the 3rd drawing so will likely be limited to fourth and fifth season.

[stringtown]

Thanks for the info Hobbes. I'm actually planning for next spring not this one and just trying to figure things out. Being county based makes it interesting bc that's pretty dern specific. I like to plan out a yr or so in advance to make sure all my ducks are in a row.

[fallhnt]

I would look to see where you want to hunt. All good public land spots in IL will be taken up 1st season. In IA a NR can't hunt 2nd season. I have always drawn IA 1st season as a NR but if you don't have private land to hunt in IL that won't help. IA will set you back over 200.00 and IL will be 125.00 just for a permit plus a license as a NR. Both top shelf price. IA you can hunt all day and IL shuts down at 1:00. BTW IL can't seem to figure out how to work the draw system...we still haven't drawn for 1st draw yet. So you will have to keep up on the draw and send in your stuff.

[fallhnt]

NR may be able to hunt 2nd season in IA. For years we couldn't that may make it easy for a trip to both states.

[stringtown]

The current property I have permission to hunt is in Jefferson county. I'm working on some other leads. Usually best way to find somewhere to hunt is to find another guy down here in MS that has a deer lease and get permission to hunt turkey.

[hobbes]

NR are not elibible in the 1st drawing in IL.  The 1st drawing is resident only.  A NR has to wait for the second drawing regardless of when you submit.

[J. Adams]

As most have said it depends on the county, the county I hunt in southern as a non res it's been impossible to get prior to 3rd, I have always been able to draw 5th and have gotten to where I just put in and plan on 5th since I can plan my trips around those dates and I know I have good draw chance.
Good Luck

[hobbes]

I prefer 3rd season in southern IL under normal circumstances.  I have killed birds in all 5 seasons when i was a resident.  I think I have killed birds in 3rd, 4th, and 5th since I became a NR in 2006.  At least 75 percent have been on public land. 

[ads1]

The lottery system is kinda shut down right now in IL. First lottery is for residents and then second lottery is usually for residents plus non resident. The rule is that if you apply for resident first lottery then you can't apply for second lottery. This year they have not done the first lottery so all of us that applied for the first lottery could also apply for second lottery. If we make the first lottery then DNR will automatically move our second lottery request to third lottery. Sounds complicated this year and it is. We will know the results of the first lottery on January 24, 2014 so just a couple of days left before we know. This year because of the delay in announcing first lottery, it is unclear how they will handle non resident permits but the resident permits will probably be issued and any leftover permits will probably be issued to non residents.

Next year, if you are a non resident you should apply during second lottery and indicate what season you want (There are five distinct seasons) and four lotteries - First, second, third, and a random daily drawing lottery. There are deadlines for entering each lottery. All of this is spelled out on the DNR site and I've found out that you can call them and they will talk to you about specific questions. You can also go on site and see how many permits are remaining after each lottery and this will give you an idea about your chances.

It shouldn't be this complicated, but it is in Illinois.

[hobbes]

When it is working correctly it isn't that complicated, at least I never thougth it was.  However, it sounds like they have somehow made a mess of it this year.  IL will always be home, I love the family and friends, the whitetails, and the turkeys, but Southern IL would be better off if they could split off from the northern 1/3, if not 1/2, of the state.

[hotrod3h]

Guess I was really mistaken. Maybe I need to call the dnr to figure this out. I'd like to get 2 tags for second season & 1 for third. Can you even get 2 tags for one season ?

[fallhnt]

Hotrod3h,Yes you can get 2 tags in the same season but the county or public land you want to hunt may not have the permits by the time you get to the random daily draw. BTW is this the hotrod I met the day I killed my bearded hen this fall?