§715.30. Turkey Hunting Regulations

a)         Violation of this Section is a Class B misdemeanor (see 520 ILCS 5/2.9), except that hunting prior to ½ hour before sunrise or after ½ hour after sunset is a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum $500 fine and a maximum $5,000 fine in addition to other statutory penalties (see 520 ILCS 5/2.33(y)).  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 one wild turkey per valid permit (either sex may be harvested);

 

3)         to use any weapon except a shotgun.  #4 shot is the largest size shot that may be legally used;

 

4)         to hunt except from ½ hour before sunrise to sunset during each day of the season;

 

5)         for any person to hunt wild turkeys without having a signed 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 in the manner prescribed on the permit.  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 OTC permits, the leg tag is invalidated by detaching it from the permit; for permits issued by the Permit Office, the leg tag is invalidated by cutting out the designated notch on the tag);

 

7)         for any person to shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree before 7:00 a.m.; and

 

8)         to possess while in the field, during turkey season, any turkey permit issued to another person.  (Permits are non-transferrable.)

 

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 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 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)         Failure to comply with the regulations in this Part is a Class B misdemeanor (see 520 ILCS 5/2.9).

 

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9605, effective August 23, 2019)