Trophy Whitetails of Illinois/ "Outdoor Illinois"
IONN
for distribution by the Illinois Outdoor News Network ( E -mail IONN),
and Chauncey ( Chauncey N)
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The following stories appear in the November issue of "Outdoor
Illinois" magazine. Other stories feature Illinois' "Sportsman of
the Year" competition, how families are competing in outdoor
competition, a review of "Duck Calls of Illinois, 1863-1963" book,
an editorial about Conservation Congress II, and news stories from
the Illinois outdoors.
Single copies of the November issue of "Outdoor Illinois" are
available from the Department of Conservation for $2, while an
annual subscription featuring 12 monthly issues is $10. For more
information, your readers should write: "Outdoor Illinois"
Magazine, Department of Conservation, Dept. OL, 524 S. Second St.,
Springfield, IL 62701.
Please mention you recieved this information through Chicago Online and
the Illinois Outdoor News Network.
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Trophy Whitetails of Illinois
A hardback with 4,200 Big Buck
Recognition Program entries
now is available to the public.
by Les Davenport
More than 100 Boone and Crockett and nearly 225 Pope and Young
antlers were displayed at Illinois' first Whitetail Classic in
Decatur. It wasn't until that March 1990 event that the Prairie
State's potential for trophy whitetails was out of the closet.
Never had there been more record-book deer under a single roof.
So popular was this event that the diligent planning of Tim
Walmsley, the Decatur organizer, became derailed by an unforeseen
wave of deer hunters. Nearly all of Lincoln Land's 102 counties
were represented, and antler enthusiasts from as far away as Texas
made the drive to admire Illinois' awesome exhibition of "horns."
A "standing room only" crowd during that banner year prompted
Walmsley to grant Glenn Helgeland of Target Communications the
rights to organize future Illinois Whitetail Classics. And after
three years of attendance growth, which included turkey hunters,
Helgeland had to move the show from the Springfield State
Fairgrounds to Peoria's Civic Center.
The birth of the Classic had a positive effect on resident
deer hunters. It helped organize them against anti-hunting
factions; it educated them to be more proficient hunters; and it
bolstered pride in Illinois' copious whitetail herd. Additionally,
hundreds of trophy antlers are now being measured that would
otherwise go unrecognized.
After a five-year sabbatical, Walmsley is back on the
whitetail scene, too. T & W Production Company, owned by Walmsley,
was sanctioned by the Illinois Department of Conservation to
publish "Trophy Whitetails of Illinois."
The attractive hardback lists 4,200 Big Buck Recognition
Program (BBRP) entries. Incredibly, 378 qualify for Boone and
Crockett and 2,188 for Pope and Young.
Walmsley's 196-page first edition isn't your average state
record book. It features the history of Illinois deer hunting,
resident deer management, the best public hunting areas and how to
measure antlers. Maps, graphs and charts depict firearm and bow
success ratios, county-specific data, vehicle/deer collision
statistics, where the monsters are harvested and more.
Photos of Illinois' 10 biggest bucks in four categories adorn
the pages: firearm typical, firearm non-typical, bow typical and
bow non-typical, and the book is supplemented with photography of
huge six- and eight-pointers, locked bucks, antlered does, giant
drop tines and other unusual antler abnormalities.
Here's a preview look at Illinois' 10 best whitetails in the
four categories of "Trophy Whitetails of Illinois":
The ten counties with the most BBRP entries are Pike (169),
Adams (124), Vermilion (112), Lake (103), Montgomery (98), McHenry
(96), Will (84), Iroquois (81), Jo Daviess (79) and Fulton (78).
Eleven counties boast seven or more entries eligible for Boone
and Crocketts' all-time record book: Pike (19), Adams (17), Jo
Daviess (12), Hancock (11), Fulton (10), Peoria (9), Perry (9),
Sangamon (9), Clark (7), Morgan (7) and Rock Island (7). Only 11
Illinois counties have no Boone and Crockett qualifiers.
Officially, Wisconsin is the No. 1 state for the most entries
in Pope and Young (1,451), but Illinois trails a close second with
1,243. According to BBRP records, the Prairie State boasts almost
an additional 1,000 entries that qualify for Pope and Young
recognition. Lincoln Land bowhunters officially claim the most Pope
and Young non-typical entries (70). Minnesota (66) and Kansas (63)
are second and third.
"I would especially like to thank Public Information Officer
Cheryl Gwinn and Deer Biologist John Kube of the Department of
Conservation for their assistance in putting 'Trophy Whitetails of
Illinois' together," Walmsley said. "Dale Ream, Jr. of Unionville,
Mo., was also an invaluable advisor on the book."
You can order "Trophy Whitetails of Illinois" by sending a
check or money order for $23.95 to T & W Production Co., 1815
Commonwealth Ave., Decatur, IL 62521. Allow four weeks for
delivery.
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Illinois' Top Ten Archery Bucks
Typical
Score Hunter County Year Taken
204 4/8 Mel Johnson Peoria 1965
193 4/8 Stan Potts DeWitt 1983
185 1/8 Mark Guetersloh Jackson 1990
181 7/8 Terry Rich Logan 1986
181 4/8 Arnold Hegele Fulton 1968
*181 3/8 Mike Crews Kankakee 1993
*181 3/8 Dan Hinderliter Wabash 1991
180 7/8 Frank Marconi Sangamon 1991
180 4/8 Mike Schneider Perry 1991
179 0/8 Edward Inman Edgar 1985
178 7/8 B.J. Higley Whiteside 1990
Non-Typical
245 5/8 Robert Chestnut Vermilion 1981
*231 4/8 Donald Stiner Logan 1993
*231 4/8 Sam Townsend Iroquois 1986
230 6/8 Tophyl Simon Peoria 1984
227 6/8 Richard Keener Fulton 1977
225 4/8 Randy Lummer Adams 1993
224 0/8 Ronald Lahman LaSalle 1989
222 7/8 Kim Boes Coles 1989
220 6/8 John Angel Rock Island 1979
218 0/8 Kenneth Nelson Crawford 1991
207 3/8 John Piatt DeWitt 1991
(*tied for position)
Illinois Top Ten Firearm Bucks
Typical
Score Hunter County Year Taken
200 2/8 Brian Damery Macon 1993
197 1/8 Kevin Naugle Macoupin 1988
192 7/8 Allen Albers Williamson 1991
191 7/8 Leo Elliott Wayne 1990
190 1/8 Kevin Leemon Randolph 1990
189 7/8 Reggie Anseeuw Henry 1992
188 6/8 Elmer Agney Shelby 1992
188 4/8 Gale Kannmacher Clark 1986
188 3/8 Jill Adcock Peoria 1993
187 4/8 Charles Howell Brown 1988
Non-Typical
267 3/8 Richard Pauli Peoria 1983
256 1/8 Brian Bice McDonough 1992
255 2/8 Donald Smith Pike 1990
248 7/8 Bill Hood Sangamon 1991
244 3/8 Karl Jones Knox 1992
242 7/8 Bill Henderson Pope 1991
238 6/8 Neil Booth Fulton 1988
238 1/8 Joe Bardill Madison 1985
*237 6/8 Otis Horton Pike 1991
*237 6/8 Robert Todd Henderson 1978
236 5/8 Floyd Pursley Pike 1987
(*tied for position)