Illinois Administrative Code › Title 17 - CONSERVATION › Part 710 - THE TAKING OF WILD TURKEYS - SPRING SEASON › Section 710.30 - Turkey Hunting Regulations

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) It is
			 unlawful:
1) to use live or electronic turkey
			 decoys, recorded calls, dogs, or bait (an area is considered as baited during
			 the presence of and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of the
			 bait);
2) to take any wild turkey
			 except a hen with a visible beard or a gobbler (male);
3) to take, or attempt to take, more than
			 three wild turkeys during the spring season, one must have a valid permit for
			 each turkey that is taken;
4) to
			 use any weapon except a shotgun or bow and arrow. #4 shot is the largest size
			 shot that may be legally used or possessed while turkey hunting;
5) to hunt except from 1/2 hour before
			 sunrise to 1:00 p.m. during each day of the season;
6) for any person having taken the legal
			 limit of wild turkeys to further participate with a weapon in any hunting party
			 for the purpose of taking additional wild turkeys;
7) for any person to possess while in the
			 field during wild turkey season any turkey permit issued to another person
			 (permits are non-transferable);
8)
			 to transport or leave a wild turkey without first attaching the temporary
			 harvest tag to the leg in the manner prescribed on the permit. Immediately upon
			 kill and before the turkey is moved, transported or field dressed, the hunter
			 must properly attach the temporary harvest tag to the leg. Successful hunters
			 must register their harvest by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day as the
			 turkey was taken by calling the toll-free telephone check-in system at
			 1-866-ILCHECK or by accessing the on-line check-in system at
www.dnr.illinois.gov
. Hunters must
			 provide all information requested by the 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 on 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;
9) for any
			 person to shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree before 7:00 a.m.;
10) for any person to hunt wild turkeys
			 without possessing a Wild Turkey Hunting Permit which shall include the
			 hunter's signature recorded on the permit and carried on the person while
			 hunting, except that a person without a weapon may accompany a turkey hunter as
			 a caller or observer;
11) for any
			 person 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 the 1st turkey
			 season and in the Northern Zone from March 22 through the day before the
			 1st turkey season. This prohibition only applies in
			 counties open to spring turkey hunting. This prohibition does not apply to
			 participants in the Youth Turkey Hunt with a valid permit, or their
			 accompanying adult, during that season as prescribed by Section
			 710.70.