Centerfire, single-shot rifles approved for deer hunting in Illinois
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 6 months ago
Illinois deer hunters will soon have more tools available to them during the hunting season after the signing of a recent law.
House Bill 4386, signed by Gov. Pritzker on May 27, allows for the use of centerfire, single-shot rifles for deer hunting in the firearm set as set by the director of natural resources every year.
These lighter rifles join the list of legal hunting firearms, which includes slug-ammunition shotguns, muzzleloading rifles and centerfire handguns.
The newly-approved firearms must still abide by site-specific regulations and use legal ammunition.
Additionally, the law makes it illegal, during deer hunting season, to possess or be in proximity of a non-centerfire rifle or a magazine capable of making a rifle not a single shot.
The bill goes into effect on January 1, 2023. You can read the text of the bill here.
Have y’all ever been to Ilinois? I have. Only to visit on a work assignment.
What most people don’t understand is that the corn belt runs through Illinois. Miles upon miles upon miles upon miles of nothing but corn fields as far as the eye can see.
Here the controllers are “giving up” something for the deer hunters by giving them a rifle to hunt. Single shot only. I might have understood it a bit more if they had limited it to straight walled cartridges as they do in some states, but in this case, they want no semiautomatics, or at least, no magazine to be found near the hunter.
I’m glad I don’t live there.
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On June 15, 2022 at 1:39 am, Miles said:
The only times I was even in Illinois was while I was in the process of traveling through to elsewhere and really didn’t have a viable alternative.
Usually I transited south of Cairo where I would be ‘feet dry’ for less than a mile leaving Missouri and entering Kentucky.
I never once saw a Illinois State Police Occifer while taking that route (which was fortuitous as I was quite often in violation of several Illinois state firearm laws).
And I too am glad I don’t live there.
On June 15, 2022 at 6:56 am, June J said:
I lived in Illinois for 20 years. It’s the big Democrat controlled cities, especially Chicago, that makes the state a horrible place to live.
Central and Southern Illinois has beautiful country and good conservative people who are, unfortunately, ruled by Chicago.
On June 15, 2022 at 10:55 am, Longbow said:
Deer hunting? Oh, you mean that activity which gives you justification for possessing firearms. Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that… target shooting too.
On June 15, 2022 at 11:01 am, Bones said:
I grew up hunting in Southern Wisconsin, right on the Illinois state line, (we called it the Illinois Border). You would hear the semi-auto “rat-a-tat-tat” of someone who missed the deer and followed up with four more missed shots, and know there’s “another F-ing flatlander,” (Illinois resident)
Northern Illinois has conservatives too, but the closer to Chicago you get, the crazier the politics.
On June 15, 2022 at 11:47 am, Herschel Smith said:
@Bones,
Oh I’m not saying you need to make five shots with a semi-, I’m just saying if that’s the gun you’ve got, why not be allowed to use it? Get good with the weapon you’ve got.
On June 15, 2022 at 1:50 pm, bobdog said:
It’s actually an expansion of deer hunting rules in Illinois. Up until now, it was shotgun slugs only, which means you were pretty much limited to a hundred yards or so.
Crew-served shotguns, anti-personnel mines and M-79 grenade launchers are still prohibited in the spirit of fairness to the Bambi lobby.
On June 15, 2022 at 3:16 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@bobdog,
Yes, I know. Some expansion.
On June 15, 2022 at 4:04 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
Lived in the Land of Lincoln for many years as a younger person. Born in the South, but when you are about to start second grade and your parents pick up and move the family, what are you gonna do?
Illinois has a lot to recommend it, if there was only a way to somehow give Chicago and “Crook” (Cook) County to New Jersey or someplace.
There are a lot of traditional, conservative people there, too, some might be surprised to learn…. but they’re badly outnumbered by the left.
And Herschel, you are right about the corn belt. Illinois, whatever else may be wrong with it, has (or once had, anyway) some of the best top-soil in the world, along with her sister states in the Midwestern Great Plains.
Just how corrupt and venal are Illinois politics? To get an idea, consider that at one time in the recent past, multiple former IL governors were charged with one criminal offense or another. Rod Blagojevich – the guy who tried to auction off Obama’s former Senate seat – is perhaps the most-notorious, but there were others, too.
Nationally, only Louisiana and New Jersey politics are alleged to be as-dirty as those of Illinois. Well, they must be pretty bad, because IL is the pits in that dept.
On June 15, 2022 at 9:34 pm, X said:
The gun-grabbers want to “expand” your hunting PRIVILEGES to keep the Fudds quiescent while they are undermining your RIGHTS.
The gun-grabber’s wet dream is the moron who says “I own guns, and lemme tell ya, NOBODY NEEDS an ASSAULT WEAPON to HUNT DEER!”
On June 16, 2022 at 6:49 am, Fred said:
Ok, Deputy Fife, you get one bullet.
On June 16, 2022 at 11:38 am, SamlAdams said:
Family is from downstate. Farmed it since 1850s. My grandad used to say “only reason you can’t see China is because the earth curves”. That flat. But deer were simply taken for meat and my grandad always left some border rows of corn in to keep the deer and pheasant healthy. But we were always warned with .22s as kids on “back stops” even though the next farmhouse was 1/2 a mile away. Straight wall would have made more sense, but there is no sense there anymore
On June 17, 2022 at 8:00 pm, Craig Hand said:
All I know is that most gun laws have one thing in common. They usually make no sense because politics have entered into it and screwed it up. You can use a 6 shot revolver, a 3 shot auto loader or pump, or bolt action shotgun, a two shot muzzleloader but because they want no semiauto’s with magazines or something else, nope can’t use them. Ill does suck for a lot of reasons. Down state does not agree with this but Chicago rules the state. Is guess I can move. Been a gunsmith for 27 years, taught ballistics and handloading at Colorado Gunsmithing Academy. Just waiting to see how it all plays out.