Illinois Turkey Hunting

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Xtreme Hunts	Illinois Ohio Valley Trophy Hunts	Ohio River Outfitters
217-430-2695 - Illinois turkey hunting in famous Pike County Illinois. Affordable turkey hunting trips starting at just $200 a day with a 3-day minimum. Contact us for full details on how you can hunt with us. See our Trophy Room & Get Free Illinois Turkey Hunting Info	618-672-4755 - Illinois turkey hunting at it's best! We will guide you on over 9,000 acres of managed lands for Mature long beards. Your hunt will include lodging and breakfast at our brand new facilities. Our guided hunts include all the extras - transportation, lodging, meals and excellent service! See Our Trophy Room & Get Free Illinois Turkey Hunting Info	618-287-7037 or 618-201-6905 - When you hunt with Ohio River Outfitters our knowledgeable guides will put you on several gobbling turkeys each morning. During the 2003 spring season our 10 turkey hunting clients harvested 10 turkeys. Each day of hunting is packed with fast paced action on gobblers. See our Trophy Room & Get Free Illinois Turkey Hunting Info
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Turkey Hunting Grand Slam: In order to complete your Turkey Hunting Slam, you'll need to bag all 4 of the US Turkey species: Osceola, Eastern, Rio Grande and Merriam Turkey. After you get those 4, you can also get the Gould's Turkey native to Mexico. In Illinois, you can hunt the Eastern Wild Turkey. The Eastern Wild Turkey is found in eastern states including Georgia. The Eastern Turkey has chestnut brown-tipped tail coverts (smaller feathers which cover up larger ones) and dark-buff or chocolate-brown tail tips characterize the most abundant and most widely hunted turkey, the Eastern Wild Turkey. The tom turkey’s breast feathers are tipped in black, while other body feathers are colored with copper or bronze metallic iridescence. The primary wing feathers have white and black bars that extend to the feather shaft, while the secondary wing feathers mainly have prominent white bars. This results in a white triangular area on each side of the back when the wings are folded backward. Hens are browner with less brilliant iridescence and the breast feathers are tipped in buff or chestnut. The Eastern Turkey can weigh from 8 to 25 pounds and grow as tall as four feet! Illinois Turkey Hunting Methods: Turkeys can be hunted with the shotgun, bow and arrow or black powder. Rifles are also allowed in some states, but not so often used. Hunters use a wide variety of calls to attract and ‘romance’ the gobbler into range. Turkey calling is truly a well-practiced art and you’ll find many competitions if you check into it. Along with sounding like a hen, you’ll also need to sound like an owl to wake those birds up and get them off the trees. Turkey have excellent eyesight and hearing, and they are constantly aware of their surroundings. You’ll have to don your best camo and practice being very still and quiet to bag a nice trophy bird! Wild Turkey are also very mobile. Turkey can run at speeds up to 25 mph, and they can fly up to 55 mph. Trophy birds are judged by three things: Body size, spur size and length of the beard. Only the Tom Turkey has a beard and spurs. When mating season arrives, anywhere from February to April, courtship usually begins while turkeys are still flocked together in wintering areas. After mating, the hens begin searching for a nest site and laying eggs. In most areas, nests can be found in a shallow dirt depression, surrounded by moderately woody vegetation that conceals the nest. Hens will lay a clutch of 10 to 12 eggs during a two-week period, usually laying one egg per day. She will incubate her eggs for about 28 days, occasionally turning and rearranging them, until they are ready to hatch. A newly-hatched flock must be ready to leave the nest within 12 to 24 hours to feed. Poults (young turkey) eat mostly insects because they need the protein, while adults will eat anything from acorns and berries to insects and small reptiles. Turkeys usually feed in early morning and in the afternoon. Wild turkeys like open areas for feeding, mating and habitat, which makes them easier to hunt. They use forested areas as cover from predators and for roosting in trees at night. A varied habitat of both open and covered area is essential for wild turkey survival. Our friends at the National Wild Turkey Federation have been working hard to keep Turkey Hunting a safe and valued tradition in our country. They offer a helpful guide to assist in turkey hunting safety and success.
Statewide Wild Turkey Hunting Information (The following are excerpts from "Digest of Hunting & Trapping Regulations 2002-2003", please check the 2003-04 Hunting Digest for any changes.) WILD TURKEY HUNTING REGULATIONS In addition to statewide regulations, the following regulations apply to all wild turkey hunters: Nonresident Requirements Nonresident turkey hunters must purchase a nonresident hunting license in addition to their valid turkey permit and State Habitat Stamp. Nonresident hunters may purchase either the annual license ($50.75) or the 5-day license ($28.75) depending on the amount of time they will be hunting. Turkey Bag Limit It is unlawful to take in Illinois, or have in pos-session, more than one wild turkey per legally authorized permit. Permit Applications Everyone who applied for a spring or a fall shotgun wild turkey permit last year will receive an application by mail for that season. To receive application forms for a wild turkey hunting permit, please contact your Illinois Department of Natural Resources Regional Office or call the Permit Office at 217/782-7305. Many application forms can be downloaded from the Department's web site. Turkey Permit, Tagging and Transportation Requirements It is unlawful to: • hunt wild turkey without first obtaining a permit from the Department. • hunt wild turkey unless the permit is signed and is in the hunter's possession while hunting. • leave a wild turkey that has been killed without properly attaching the wild turkey permit around its leg. • transport a wild turkey without first immediately attaching the permit securely around the leg. Note: Leg tag must be affixed to the wild turkey immediately upon kill. The leg tag must remain attached to the leg of the turkey until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the turkey and the turkey has been checked in. • possess, while in the field during wild turkey seasons, any wild turkey permit issued to another person. • hunt wild turkey in a county or area other than specified on the permit. Harvest Reporting Requirements Successful hunters must register their harvest by the designated time on the same calendar day as the turkey was taken by calling the toll-free telephone number provided with their turkey hunting permit. See separate Spring and Fall Wild Turkey Hunting Information sections for more specific requirements. Hunters must provide all information requested by the telephone check-in system, and will be provided with a confirmation number to verify that they checked in their harvest. The confirmation number must be written by the hunter onto the leg tag. The leg tag must remain attached to the leg of the turkey until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the turkey and the turkey has been checked in. The turkey must remain whole (or field dressed) until it has been checked in. Legal Shotgun • *It is unlawful to* use anything but a shotgun (20 gauge to 10 gauge only, no .410 or 28 gauge allowed) or bow and arrow to hunt wild turkey. Note: You may not possess any other gun while turkey hunting. • No. 4 shot is the largest and No. 7 1/2 is the smallest size shot that may be used. Legal Archery Equipment • The only legal bows are long, recurved or compound bows with a minimum pull of 40 pounds at some point within a 28-inch draw. • Minimum arrow length without the broadhead is 20 inches, and broadheads must be used. Broadheads may have fixed or expandable blades, but they must be barbless and have a minimum 7/8 inch diameter when fully opened. Broadheads with fixed blades must be metal or flint-, chert-, or obsidian-knapped; broadheads with expandable blades must be metal. • Any mechanical device capable of maintaining a drawn or partially-drawn position on a bow is illegal. • All other bows and arrows, including electronic arrow-tracking systems, are illegal. Live Decoys, Dogs, Recorded Calls and Bait It is unlawful to use live or electronic decoys, dogs, recorded calls or bait to hunt wild turkey. An area is considered baited during the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of bait. Note: Additional turkey hunting regulations are available upon receipt of permit. SPRING WILD TURKEY HUNTING SEASON INFORMATION Gobblers and Bearded Hens It is unlawful to take a wild turkey, except a gobbler (male) or a hen with a visible beard. Turkey Calling Prior to Season It is unlawful to use a turkey call that imitates sounds made by a turkey, or to attempt to call a turkey by making these sounds, while in the field in the Southern Zone from March 15 through the day before turkey season, and in the Northern Zone from March 22 through the day before turkey season. This prohibition only applies in counties open to spring turkey hunting. Note: This does not prohibit the use of locator calls that imitate other species such as owls, crows, hawks, etc. Shooting Turkeys in Trees It is unlawful to shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree before 7 a.m. Harvest Reporting Turkeys harvested during the spring hunting season must be checked in by 3:00 p.m. on the day of harvest. Permit Limit Three wild turkey hunting permits may be obtained for the spring season, subject to availability. Spring Permit Application Period First Lottery - Residents: Applicants may apply for one turkey hunting permit. Applications must be received by December 2, 2002. Second Lottery - Residents/Nonresidents: Individuals who were rejected for a wild turkey permit during the first lottery, who are applying for their first permit, or who are nonresidents may apply for one permit. Applications must be received by January 3, 2003. Eligible Illinois residents have preference over nonresidents in this lottery. Third Lottery - Residents/Nonresidents: Anyone with less than two permits may apply for one permit. Applications must be received by February 10, 2003. Illinois residents have preference over nonresidents in this lottery. Random Daily Drawings - Resident/Non-residents: Anyone with less than three permits may apply for remaining permits to be allocated in random daily drawings that begin March 10, 2003. Hunters are encouraged to apply early, because drawings are conducted from the pool of permits received each day. SPRING YOUTH WILD TURKEY HUNTING SEASON INFORMATION During this season, youth 15 years of age or younger accompanied by an adult may hunt. Application dates, season dates, and open counties will be publicly announced. FALL WILD TURKEY HUNTING SEASON INFORMATION Shooting Turkeys in Trees *It is unlawful to* shoot a wild turkey with a gun while it is in a tree before 7 a.m. during the fall gun season. Harvest Reporting Turkeys harvested during the fall hunting season must be checked in by 8:00 p.m. on the day of harvest. Permit Limit Two wild turkey hunting permits may be obtained for the fall shotgun season, subject to availability. Shotgun Permit Application Period First Lottery - Residents: Applicants may apply for one turkey hunting permit. Applications must be received by July 1, 2002. Second Lottery - Residents/Nonresidents: Individuals who were rejected for a wild turkey permit during the first lottery, who are applying for their first permit, or who are nonresidents may apply for one permit. Applications must be received by August 19, 2002. Eligible Illinois residents have preference over nonresidents in this lottery. Random Daily Drawings - Resident/Non-residents: Anyone with less than two permits may apply for remaining permits to be allocated in random daily drawings from Sept. 16 through Oct. 4, 2002. Hunters are encouraged to apply early, because drawings are conducted from the pool of permits received each day. Archery Turkey Permits Fall archery turkey permits will only be available over-the-counter from license vendors. Two fall archery turkey permits may be purchased per season. Back to Top