Section 720.30  Turkey Hunting Regulations

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 bait;

2)         to take, or attempt to take, more than 1 wild turkey per valid permit during the fall archery season (either sex may be harvested);

3)         to use any weapon except a long, recurved or compound bow with a minimum pull of 40 pounds at some point within a 28 inch draw.   Minimum arrow length is 20 inches, and broadheads must be used.  Broadheads may have fixed or expandable cutting surfaces, but they must have a minimum ⅞ inch diameter when fully opened.  Broadheads with fixed blades must be metal or flint-, chert-, or obsidian-napped; broadheads with expandable cutting surfaces must be metal.  All other bows and arrows, including electronic arrow tracking systems utilizing radio telemetry, are illegal.  Any mechanical device capable of maintaining a drawn or partially drawn position on a bow without the hunter exerting full string tension is illegal, unless authorized for eligible disabled persons by 17 Ill. Adm. Code 760.  Crossbows may be used as provided by 520 ILCS 5/2.33;

4)         for any person having taken the limit of wild turkeys to further participate with a weapon in any hunting party for the purpose of taking additional turkeys;

5)         for any person to hunt wild turkeys without having a signed Archery Wild Turkey Hunting Permit in possession, except that a person without a weapon may accompany a turkey hunter as a caller or observer;

6)         to transport or leave a wild turkey without first affixing the turkey permit securely around the leg.  Immediately upon kill and before the turkey is moved, transported or field dressed, the hunter must invalidate the leg tag and the tag must be affixed to the turkey (for over-the-counter permits the leg tag is invalidated by detaching it from the permit; for property only hunting (POH) landowner permits, the leg tag is invalidated by cutting out the designated notch on the tag); and

7)         to possess, while in the field during archery turkey season, any turkey permit issued to another person.

b)         Successful hunters must register their harvest by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day 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 http://dnr.state.il.us/vcheck.  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 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.

c)         Violation of this Section is a Class B misdemeanor (see 520 ILCS 5/2.9).

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 14843, effective August 27, 2008)